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With Rial In Free Fall, Iran Readies Emergency Measures On Eve Of U.S. Sanctions

With Rial In Free Fall, Iran Readies Emergency Measures On Eve Of U.S. Sanctions

As you’re probably aware, things aren’t going particularly well in Iran ahead of the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions. Last week, protests cropped up in Arak, Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz, Eshtehard and Tehran itself, leaving at least one person dead and dozens under arrest, according to various media reports. The demonstrations have been described as “sporadic” and generally […]
Safe-Havens Are For Suckers: Specs Have Never Been More Short Bonds & Gold

Safe-Havens Are For Suckers: Specs Have Never Been More Short Bonds & Gold

With stocks at record high price and valuations, and US macro data rolling over hard, it seems – based on speculators’ positioning – that only a sucker would worry about downside risks right now. Markets shrugged off a weaker than expected employment report (and constantly weaker than expected macro data) this week.. With VIX Futures and […]
EconoFact: “Threats To U.S. Agriculture From U.S. Trade Policies”

EconoFact: “Threats To U.S. Agriculture From U.S. Trade Policies”

EconoFact, today: The agriculture sector in the United States depends upon exports for its vitality. Sales of U.S. agricultural products abroad are responsible for 20 percent of U.S. farm income, supporting more than one million American jobs on and off the farm, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The three biggest buyers of American […]
Commercials Reduce Gold Shorts

Commercials Reduce Gold Shorts

Commercial gold hedgers reduced their short holdings by nearly 25% last week – a sharp reduction. Their combined positions (futures and options) dropped an astonishing 37%. Speculative shorts remain at or near record highs. For example, managed money is short 153,108 gold contracts. During the July 2017 low, their shorts reached 100,397 contracts (see below). […]
Pump And Dump Cryptos: 175 Fraudulent Schemes On 121 Different Coins This Year

Pump And Dump Cryptos: 175 Fraudulent Schemes On 121 Different Coins This Year

  ‘Pump groups’ fuel millions in trading activity, with price rises followed by quick falls. If you are messing with cyptos in general, but especially the newer coin offerings, you are playing with coins rife with fraud. The Wall Street Journal reports Traders Are Talking Up Cryptocurrencies, Then Dumping Them, Costing Other Millions. Dozens of trading […]
Forex Forecast: Pairs In Focus – Sunday, August 5

Forex Forecast: Pairs In Focus – Sunday, August 5

The difference between success and failure in Forex trading is very likely to depend upon which currency pairs you choose to trade each week, and not on the exact trading methods you might use to determine trade entries and exits. Each week I am going to analyze fundamentals, sentiment and technical positions in order to […]
Another Week, Another Improvement In Gold’s Prospects

Another Week, Another Improvement In Gold’s Prospects

The past few months have added some cred to the “sell in May and go away” rule of thumb for precious metals, as gold’s price action has been both boring and depressing. It’s now close to its 12-month low and a lot of mining stocks are providing material for the old joke: “Want to make […]
Money Supply Growth Inched Upward In June

Money Supply Growth Inched Upward In June

Money supply growth inched upward again in June this year, but remains well below the growth rates experienced from 2009 to 2016. Overall, June’s growth rate does not suggest a departure from the general downward slide in growth rates that’s been in place since late 2016. In June, year-over-year growth in the money supply was […]
Emerging Markets: Preview Of The Week Of August 6

Emerging Markets: Preview Of The Week Of August 6

EM FX has come under pressure again due to ongoing trade tensions and rising US rates but saw some modest relief Friday after the PBOC announcement on FX forwards. This helped EM FX stabilize, but we do not think the negative fundamental backdrop has changed. Best performers last week were MXN, PHP, and PEN while the worst […]