Author Archive: Jeremy Parkinson
Are State-Sponsored Cryptocurrencies On The Way?
The theme of a recent report from Casey Research was that the Russian government is planning to issue its own cryptocurrency (the “CryptoRuble”) that would be created, tracked and held on a state-controlled digital ledger. This was portrayed as being a huge plus for the Russian economy. I don’t see how giving the government greater […]
People Spent $1M On Totally Useless Ethereum “CryptoKitties”
Launched just a few days ago, people have spent over $1 million on totally useless Ethereum-based “CryptoKitties”. Techcrunch reports People have spent over $1M buying virtual cats on the Ethereum blockchain. Launched a few days ago, CryptoKitties is essentially like an digital version of Pokemon cards but based on the Ethereum blockchain. And like most viral sensations that […]
USD Likes Tax Reform, Ignores Flynn – Updates On 5 Pairs
The US dollar enjoys a strong start to the week, rallying on the passage of the tax cuts and forgetting about Trump’s troubles. Will this continue? On the night between Friday and Saturday, the US Senate approved the tax cuts with a small majority of 51 to 49. Eventually, only Republican Bob Corker voted against […]
The Cost Of Fake News For The S&P 500
The fifth and final week of November 2017 was a positive one for the S&P 500 (Index: INX), where the U.S. Congress’ progress toward passing a corporate income tax reduction package helped buoy stock prices throughout the week. That is, until Friday, 1 December 2017, at 11:06 AM Eastern Standard Time, when the ABC News division of Disney (NYSE: DIS) figuratively threw a […]
Indian Indices Trade Marginally Higher; IT Stocks Witness Buying
Stock markets in India are presently trading marginally higher. Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note with stocks in the IT sector and metal sector witnessing maximum buying interest. Consumer durables stocks are trading in the red. The BSE Sensex is trading up 139 points (up 0.4%) and the NSE Nifty is trading up 37 points (up 0.4%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by […]
Indices Stage Intraday Recoveries In Wide Range Day
Volatility took a tick higher with profit taking sweeping across the broad before buyers zipped it all back up. Trump’s Russian investigation will add a level of uncertainty to the Tax Cut rally and markets may take another trip into Friday’s intraday low; should markets deliver a lower close Monday then it could turn into […]
Long Crude Becomes Even More Crowded: CFTC
Looking at this week’s COT report, short crude oil and short Swiss franc remain in extreme territory. This is shown below: CFTC COT (futures & options combined) – November 28, 2017 Source: CFTC, MarketsNow Notable extremes are bolded, and are highlighted when speculator positioning is more than two standard deviations above historical trailing 1-year and […]
E The Complex Source Of Germany’s Huge Current Account Surplus
“In the case of Germany, as in any surplus country, savings may be too high, but investment also may be too low. And while both factors reflect the behavior of individual households, firms, or the government, large surpluses, more often than not, are a result of high saving rates among households in aging societies. That […]
Market Forecast For 2018: More Volatility & Political Uncertainty
In last year’s market outlook for 2017, I anticipated a rise of around 11% in U.S. equities, in general, to place the S&P 500 Index at just above the 2400 level by the end of the year (my post was written on December 1, 2016, so my calculations and forecast hadn’t incorporated a further 80-point […]
TV’s Cry For Help
Welcome to the TV industry’s latest bit of magic … prestidigitalization. It’s a new twist on the old sleight-of-measurement trick. Here’s how it works. You buy TV the old-fashioned way because, well, that’s how you buy TV. The ratings suck. You want to pay less because you’re getting less. TV says, “You’re not getting less. […]
