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Fund manager Ned Goodman ditches bank stocks for gold

"Ned Goodman, founder and chief executive officer of holding company Dundee Corp., shed the last of his bank shares after forecasting global inflation will make investments such as gold stocks and organic beef more rewarding. Goodman, who oversees about C$10 billion ($9.6 billion) for Dundee and its investments in real estate, precious metals, energy and infrastructure, sold the last of the company’s Bank of Nova Scotia shares earlier this quarter. With the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks printing money, it’s only a matter of time before currencies lose value and inflation rises, Goodman said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFund manager Ned Goodman ditches bank stocks for gold

Are commodity prices about to explode?

"Prices in financial markets are determined by psychology, by what people think stocks, bonds and commodities are worth rather than what they actually are worth. Recent sentiment readings for some key commodities, such as copper, gold, sugar, wheat, cattle, etc., were at extreme levels of negativity. From a contrarian aspect of course, that's very bullish. We see a similar pattern in many, but not all commodities in respect to commitment of traders, where knowledgeable commercials are comfortably long. On the other hand, speculators, who as a group usually guess incorrectly at turning points, are taking the other side of the trade with bearish bets." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAre commodity prices about to explode?

Capital Flows Back to U.S. as Markets Slump Across Asia

"Asia’s role as the world’s growth engine is waning as economies across the region weaken and investors pull out billions of dollars. The clouds forming in Asia as liquidity tightens and China’s slowdown curbs demand for commodities and goods are fueling a selloff of emerging-market stocks, reversing a flow of money into the region in favor of nascent recoveries in the U.S. and Europe. Emerging markets from Brazil to Indonesia have raised borrowing costs in 2013 to try to aid their currencies as the prospect of reduced U.S. monetary stimulus curbs demand for assets in developing nations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCapital Flows Back to U.S. as Markets Slump Across Asia

Wanted: A Boring Leader for the Fed

"Quantitative easing has amounted to an audacious experiment in trickle-down economics. Among other things, it has artificially boosted the stock market in the hope that enriching a few — the top 1 percent of American households owned 42 percent of the nation’s financial assets in 2010 — will help the many. Meanwhile, retirees who don’t dare buy stocks have seen their modest bank deposits stagnate with interest rates near zero. Economists hate to admit it, but the profession is as much faith as science. Counting on monetary policy to secure full employment is like attempting vascular surgery with a dull ax." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWanted: A Boring Leader for the Fed

George Soros Takes a Giant Put Position Against the S&P 500

"Hedge fund titan George Soros' biggest position is a huge bearish bet that the Standard & Poor's 500 will go down, MarketWatch reported. Soros has a history of rolling the dice on risky propositions in the past and making giant gains. He is known as 'The Man Who Broke the Bank of England' because of his successful bet against the British pound that led to $1 billion in profits during the 1992 Black Wednesday U.K. currency crisis. Soros Fund Management reported it bought a put on 1,248,643 units of the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (SPY) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the second quarter – its largest holding, according to MarketWatch." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGeorge Soros Takes a Giant Put Position Against the S&P 500

Funds Build Bullish Positions In Precious Metals Futures, Options

"A price rally inspired speculators to build bullish positions in precious metals futures and options traded on the Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange and the Nymex, confirming many market participants’ expectations that speculators shed short positions when prices rose. The gains in the data released Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission came via a mix of short covering, that is buying back of previously sold positions, and newly added long positions as noted in both the disaggregated and legacy reports. In copper, speculators sheared short positions, and [..] turned net-long for the first time since February." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFunds Build Bullish Positions In Precious Metals Futures, Options

Paulson’s out… But JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs Are in: Go Long Gold!

"Billionaire John Paulson, who lost over $700 million after April’s gold crash, has cut his holdings by half. As one of the last major institutional holders of gold ETFs, Paulson & Co.’s exit may signal the bottom in the gold market we’ve been waiting for. Two major institutional players also give us reason to be enthusiastic. JP Morgan is advising its customers to go long on gold 'with a four-five week time horizon,' citing further supply squeezing in South Africa and seasonal pickup in India. And Goldman Sachs recently increased its position in SPDR Gold Trust to 4.4 million shares… more than six times what it held at the end of March." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaulson’s out… But JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs Are in: Go Long Gold!

Is sentiment toward gold shifting again?

"Gold has staged a big comeback in the recent weeks, rebounding over 13 percent since hitting a near three-year low late June, raising the question of whether investor sentiment toward the embattled precious metal is about to shift yet again. The metal, which traded close to a three-week high of $1,336 on Tuesday, has been supported by short covering and robust physical buying especially from China. Latest data from the China Gold Association (CGA) on Monday showed that the country's gold consumption rose 54 percent in the first half of the year, compared with the year-ago period." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs sentiment toward gold shifting again?

Half of All Homes Are Being Purchased With Cash

"More than half of all homes sold last year and so far in 2013 have been financed without a mortgage, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis. The analysis estimates that around 20% of all homes sold before the housing crash were 'all-cash' sales (or around 30% of sales by dollar volume). But over the past seven years, the all-cash share of sales has more than doubled. There’s no exact way to know who is responsible for all of these cash purchases, though they are likely to include some combination of investors, foreign buyers, and wealthy homeowners that don’t want to go through the hassle of getting a mortgage before closing on a sale." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHalf of All Homes Are Being Purchased With Cash

‘London Whale’ Bruno Iksil Won’t Be Prosecuted By Justice Department

"Former JPMorgan Chase employee Bruno Iksil will not be prosecuted by the Justice Department, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a person close to the situation. Iksil is the so-called 'London Whale' at the center of the trading scandal that lost JPMorgan, the country's biggest bank by assets, some $6.2 billion in 2012. The New York Times reported Friday that U.S. authorities planned to arrest two former JPMorgan employees for their roles in the scandal, and Iksil will need to play a role in any arrests related to the trades, Reuters reported Thursday." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘London Whale’ Bruno Iksil Won’t Be Prosecuted By Justice Department