Diamond News Archives
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Should the US government have let all the chips fall where they might have in 2009, as Wall St. interests twisted the arms of Congress, forcing them into a bailout[1]? Maybe. But perhaps the systemic risks truly were so great that some manner of extraordinary market interference was required to prevent outright collapse.
You can make an argument for either side. What is the argument for leaving emergency conditions in place for a full decade, then pouring cheap and dirty fuel on that flickering tire fire in the form a massive tax cut while unemployment is supposedly at all-time lows and the stock market is at all-time highs?
Never before has the government been operated so blatantly for so long for the benefit of so few. Administrations come and go, talking points change. But one thing remains the same, as it has for over 100 years now. Whoever owns the Fed dictates monetary policy, and with it, a stranglehold perpetually extracting wealth and quality of life from everyone who isn’t in the wealthiest 1%.
U.S. economic growth could face a challenging slowdown as the Trump Administration’s powerful fiscal stimulus fades after two years, according to former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Bernanke said the $1.5 trillion in personal and corporate tax cuts and a $300 billion increase in federal spending signed by President Donald Trump “makes the Fed’s job more difficult all around” because it’s coming at a time of very low U.S. unemployment.
“What you are getting is a stimulus at the very wrong moment,” Bernanke said Thursday during a policy discussion at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. “The economy is already at full employment.”
The stimulus “is going...
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Gold moved slightly higher overnight, trading in a tight range of $1295.55 - $1299.75. It was aided by a modest decline in the dollar (DX from 93.60 – 93.21), which was pressured by some strength in the yen (110.20 – 109.84, firmer Japanese Leading Index) and the euro ($1.1775 - $1.1839, 3-week high - yesterday’s comments by ECB’s Praet on the bank looking to signal next week a winding down of its bond buying program by year end still resonating).
A further rise in global bond yields (US 10-year from 2.97% - 2.992%, German Bund from 0.469% - 0.517%, UK Gilt from 1.38% - 1.419%) was a headwind for gold, as were firmer global equities. The NIKKEI advanced 0.9%, the SCI shed 0.2%, European markets ranged from -0.1% to +0.3%, and S&P futures were +0.2%.
Some comments from Berkshire’s Buffet ("Right now, there's no question: It's feeling strong. I mean, if we're in the sixth inning, we have our sluggers coming to bat right now,"), and JPMorgan’s Dimon ("The way I look at it, there is nothing that is a real pothole,"), along with news that the US reached a deal with China over ZTE to end crippling sanctions were supportive of stocks.
Strong buying on the NY open took gold past its overnight high and the triple top at $1301-02 to reach $1303. However, the advance was short lived as the 8:30 AM Jobless Claims Report was a little better than expected (223k vs. exp. 225k).
US stocks rallied into and through their open (S&P +8 to 2780), and the US 10-year yield hovered around 2.99%. The DX popped to 93.49, and drove gold lower.
The yellow metal sank through $1300 to reach $1295, where support at yesterday’s low held. However, bargain...
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This update is in response to a standing request for real (inflation-adjusted) charts of the S&P 500, Dow 30, and Nasdaq Composite. It includes the latest monthly close data.
Here are two overlays — one with the nominal price, excluding dividends, and the other with the price adjusted for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (which is usually just referred to as the CPI).
The charts require little explanation. So far the 21st Century has not been especially kind to equity investors. Yes, markets do bounce back, but often in time frames that defy optimistic expectations.
Performance of the SPY ETF
The charts above are based on price only. But what about dividends? Would the inclusion of dividends make a significant difference? Let's take a look at the return on $1,000 invested in the SPY ETF at its March 2000 peak.
The total return certainly looks better 18 years later, but the real (inflation-adjusted) purchasing power of that $1,000 is currently only 692 dollars above break-even, a real compounded annual return of 2.93%.
References
- ^ Read more updates by Jill Mislinksi (www.advisorperspectives.com)
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If you believe you will be able to buy a house for significantly less than you would have to pay for it today, you will probably wait to buy that house. Likewise, if you believe it will be worth significantly more in the near future, you will hasten to buy it today.
In a larger sense, who hasn’t been lulled into a false sense of security, across all markets, at this point? Fed manipulation has given rise to the false perception of underlying economic health and the longest running bull market in stock market history. Sentiment is moving beyond “This time it’s different” to “This time, it’s permanent!”
We’re closing in on a full decade of laughing-gas economics, a gargantuan binge that can be summed up in a single word: More. Whatever it takes, in whatever amount, so long as we never have to come down. There will be no soft landing when we do.
Turning points in a financial system usually occur in discrete phases. At first, new information that contradicts existing preconceptions is dismissed as unimportant. But as more such data accumulates, a growing number of people come to expect the new trend to continue.
In economist-speak, “expectations” change, and these become self-fulfilling prophecies, leading people to behave in ways that anticipate — and thus cause — more of the same.
Inflation is a classic example. When the cost of most things has been flat for a long time, a few scattered price increases don’t change any minds.
But when lots of things start costing more, everyone eventually decides that prices are rising generally and begin buying in anticipation, whatever the current price, which in turn causes prices to rise even faster....
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GABORONE, June 7 (Reuters) – Botswana Diamonds (BoD) wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine's shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said on Thursday.
BCL mine group, which has been under liquidation since 2016, is selling its 51 percent stake in Maibwe Diamonds for an undisclosed amount.
"We have put in an offer to the liquidator of BCL and we hope to get a response in the next few months," BoD managing director James Campbell told a mining conference.
The Maibwe JV consists of a block of ten licences, which are located in the central Kalahari region of the country.
The other partners in Maibwe are local consortium Future Minerals that holds a 20 percent stake and private South African venture Siseko, which has a 29 percent stake.
Campbell said Botswana Diamonds was looking at expanding its footprint in Southern Africa.
The firm has made significant progress in its JV projects in South Africa, where the use of new technology in exploration has increased the potential of profitably exploiting reserves previously discovered by global diamond giant De Beers.
Campbell also said BoD has teamed up with mining and resource development firm Vast Resources to explore for diamonds in Zimbabwe, saying both firms have extensive experience in Zimbabwe, which "is opening for business and both companies are keen to make the most of this opportunity."
(Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by James Macharia)
The post Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project appeared first on MINING.com....