If the ownership of bitcoin is as concentrated as some estimate, then the liquidity issue distills down to the actions of the top tier of owners. Whenever I raise the topic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, I feel like an agnostic in the 30 Years War between Catholics and Protestants. There is precious little neutral ground in the crypto-is-a-bubble battle; one side is absolutely confident... read more

Billionaire entrepreneur and financier Ray Dalio says there are two very different economic realities in the United States right now. That divide is threatening the nation's stability, the Bridgewater Associates founder says, and it's only going to get worse as technology replaces workers. "[T]here are two economies. We talk of 'the economy.' Recognize that you can't talk about the economy .... read more

Gold futures settled sharply higher on Monday, along with broader gains in the commodity complex, as a surge in prices of crude oil offered some signs of a potential increase in inflation, bullish for precious metals’ prices. December gold GCZ7, -0.17% finished up $12.40, or 1%, to $1,281.60 an ounce, marking the highest single-day gain for bullion since Sept. 25, according to FactSet dat... read more

Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab said it has detected a new malware able to steal cryptocurrencies from users’ web wallets by replacing their address with that of its creator. Cybercriminals are targeting digital currencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, zcash, dash, monero and others, according to the company. However, the maximum losses were borne by owners of bitcoin-wallets wit... read more

Propaganda And The Ugly Truth :  “The facts just don’t add up. The US Government has managed to publish a number of contradicting employment figures that make no sense whatsoever. For example, US Consumer Sentiment is the highest in 13 years… Egon von Greyerz continues:  “At the same time US October Household Employment Survey dropped 484,000 and the Labor Force shrank by 76... read more

The Federal has stated that it would begin winding down its holdings of US Treasury debt and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in October. The process is somewhat convoluted, with the Fed planning to allow up to $6-B of Treasury debt and $4-B in MBS to mature every month. Those amounts will gradually rise to $30-B per month of Treasury debt and $20-B per month of MBS in Y 2018. What we... read more

Sears Holdings is shuttering another round of stores, the retailer's employees learned on Thursday. But those doors won't be closed until after the holidays. The latest list of store closures includes 45 Kmart locations and 18 Sears boxes. Closings are expected to begin in late January of next year. Meantime, liquidation sales will begin as early as Nov. 9. "Sears Holdings continues its s... read more

The U.S. trade deficit widened in September and remained on track in President Donald Trump's first year to exceed the 2016 level, a Commerce Department report Friday showed. The trade gap, which measures the difference between imports and exports, increased 1.7 percent in September to $43.5 billion. The deficit for the first 9 months of the year totaled $405.2 billion, compared to $370.7 b... read more

– This is yet another example of why Jason Goepfert is the best in the world at what he does — providing crucial, actionable market data.  From Jason Goepfert at SentimenTrader:  Professional money managers keep reducing their exposure to stocks, down drastically in recent weeks. They were holding 90% exposure in September, and have taken that down to 60%. At the same time, individual in... read more

Total Breakdown – Multi-billionaire Hugo Salinas Price:  “Money, in its highest manifestation, is gold. However, silver can also be money, though not as aptly as gold. Money is, has always been, and always will be a commodity. Bitcoins, as well as Dollars and all other currencies today, are not and cannot be money, because they are not commodities… In trade, all commodities exh... read more