Wednesday, September 16, 2015

AWAKEN. YOU'RE LIVING THROUGH THE GREAT GLOBAL DEPRESSION. IT'S HERE, WORLDWIDE. I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT.

The U.S. economy has yet to leave depression. Current dollar GDP is meaningless.

"Real" GDP is meaningless as well since to calculate it, government statisticians use an average ("the chain") of successive inflated current dollar GDPs to deflate the latest GDP. How is it possible to deflate something inflated by something else already inflated?

There are 69.8% more dollars in circulation today, August, 2015, than in June, 2008! That is what quantitative easing does. QE has papered over the ongoing losses.

Quantitative Easing means increasing negotiable bank credit in circulation — cash and checkable deposits so as to trick the public into believing the economy is growing through rising sticker prices expressed in current dollars.

Quantitative Easing works. QE has papered over the massive credit deflation undergone at banks. QE has papered over the Greatest Depression.

That is its purpose. QE is not intended to spur on an economy.


Current Dollars in Circulation from the Federal Reserve

Look at the angle of the curve from June, 2008. It started to bend toward vertical, which means growth has been moving toward infinite.

This is what US GDP looks like in True Dollars™ terms rather than bogus current dollars or the equally bogus real dollars:






My chart is the only accurate chart on US GDP produced by anyone, the earth over, as are all my GDP charts and every other chart I produce. Unless someone has a standard yardstick that can't grow or shrink, that one can't get an accurate measure.

Look at my chart closely. My chart conforms to everyone's experiences through the years precisely. No other GDP chart on earth can do that.

Because I use an invariant standard that conforms to scientific knowledge about commercial banking, my measures are accurate and reflect commercial reality. No one else on earth can make this claim, unless he or she were to copy my method.

In true terms measured in True Dollars™ rather than measured in current dollars or the equally fake "real GDP" terms — as that uses already-inflated averaged current dollar terms over successive periods as the deflator — the economy has shrunk in almost every quarter since hitting a peak in 2007.

Americans don't see this precisely because QE has papered over reality. Current dollar prices including wages are up. So Americans believe they have been living through a recovery and an advance when they have not in reality.

Americans think in current dollars. They don't think in buying power terms.
When credit falls, the economy must shrink.

The US economy has yet to leave the Greatest Depression.

I track GDP for 40 countries in True Dollars™ terms. Those 40 countries comprise 86.6% of World GDP. The world is in serious economic depression.

The top 15 countries comprise 75% of world GDP. In True Dollars™, which is the only way you can get accurate true GDP, quarter-over-quarter

• Australia is down -11.4%
• Brazil is down -8.9%
• Canada is down -4.4%
• China is down -1.0%
• France is down -9.0%
• Germany is down -8.7%
• India is down -2.1%
• Italy is down -9.3%
• Japan is down -3.6% [Japan hasn't stopped falling since 30-June 1995! It's now down almost -74% since then ]
• Mexico is down -2.9%
• Russia is down an eye-popping -39.4% owing to sanctions.
• Spain is down -8.7%
• The UK is down -7.5%
• The USA is -1.5%

The notable bright spot is Korea, up 0.4%

I'll share a link to these charts as well as my True Dollars™ price guides for ETFs, which show which ETFs are rising fastest over designated periods as soon as my server comes up. My ETF price guides are indispensable for anyone who speculates with ETFs.

As my ETF price guides are merely that, the guides do not constitute advice of any kind as to what to buy or to sell. Such decisions are the both the legal and technical responsibilities of those speculating.

That said, having my True Dollars™ ETF Price Guides likely is the closest anyone can ever get to having a crystal ball. It's like insurance so cheap that you don't need to question the pittance to acquire one.

The charts above for the USA are what the charts look like for the 40 countries I track and for which I produce GDP in True Dollars™

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Monday, May 26, 2014

THE HOMELESS RATIO REVEALS THE RESIDENTIAL REALTY MESS IS OVER.


The other day, in EXISTING HOME SALES PROPAGANDA SPREADS AT A BIZARRO THEATER OUTLET NEAR YOU, I gave you the Flip ratio and the Glut ratio, which better explain residential realty. Now, I give you the Homeless ratio.



The Homeless ratio looks at net charge-offs in relation to delinquencies for all single-family residential mortgages secured by real estate and booked in domestic offices of all commercial banks.



As you can see, the Homeless ratio falls as house prices fall and experiences violent peaks after sustained run ups in prices.

Now, let's check out average house prices and average house prices to average income.




From a house price perspective, this has been the best time to buy since 1980 though not the best time to buy relative to income. That said, if you have the a solid income and have wanted to become a mortgage payer rather than a renter, the window is open for a once-in-a-34-year opportunity.


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Sunday, May 25, 2014

S&P 500 MINI-MANIA HITS. 24% CORRECTION OR 42% CRASH UPCOMING?

On Friday, reporters of news media everywhere reported on the S&P 500 closing at a supposed record high on Friday, May 23, 2014. Is it true though? Did the S&P 500 close at an all-time high?



Let's have a look at the True S&P 500 after removing the effects of cash accretion.




True S&P 500 hit a high way back at the end of Q1 2000 when the S&P 500 traded at almost twice the price as it does today.

Friday's close is nearer to the end of Q4 1996.

Here is what the True Dow Jones Industrial Average looks like compared with the True S&P 500.



Now, let's look at the True S&P 500 to True GDP.



In general, the chart shows the players in stocks that constitute the S&P 500 trade fundamentals, sometimes lagging the economy and sometimes leading the economy.

A true speculative mania set in sometime between the end of Q1 1997 and the end of Q2 1997. That mania held and went higher from Q3 1998 until the peak at the end of Q1 2000.

As I recall, during the years of 1999 and 2000, the bus boys and bartenders at the local NFL Sunday sports bar chattered about stocks and what they should buy next. 

After a violent crash, from the end of Q3 2002 until the end of Q1 2013, players of the S&P 500 resumed trading on beliefs close to fundamentals.

If the S&P were trading at the long-run average of true GDP to True S&P 500 ($15.65), the current price of the S&P 500 should be closer to $1,095.65. That would be a whopping crash of 42.35% from Friday's peak.

If the S&P were trading at the of true GDP to True S&P 500 from Q3 2002 low through Q3 2011 ($11.86), then the current price of the S&P 500 should be closer to $1,445.96. That means the S&P would need to fall 23.92%.

$1,445.96 sounds about right to me.



Read more ...

Saturday, May 24, 2014

SILVER AND GOLD




Historically, the true price of silver in True Dollars™ averages $1.65. The April 1, 2014, price sits at $1.161. 

The average of the true gold to true silver is $64.71. The April 1, 2014, true gold to silver price sits at $64.68.  


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PT 78. THAT IS PLATINUM TO THE REST OF US


Let's see what the by-product from nickel and copper mining looks like against bank credit.



It would appear that this rare industrial metal goes where bank credit and the U.S. economy goes. 

It appears that platinum might make for a good leading indicator of imminent crash after inflation of bank credit.

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Friday, May 23, 2014

S&P 500 MYSTERY NO MORE

Let's have a look at the S&P 500 in FRBUs.


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LOSING ITS LUSTER. THE SECRET FUTURE OF GOLD REVEALED.



The gold bugs likely will hate seeing this, but the future of gold hardly looks shiny. Once we price gold in gold-weighted dollars, we see reality. Let's have a look.



From when Nixon slammed shut the gold window, gold hit its all-time peak of $377.28 (in GWDs) in July 1980. From there, gold fell, first violently and  then slowly until hitting its all-time low of $51.94 by April 2001. Gold fell a whopping 86.2% from its peak to its trough!

Yet, when we look at gold in GWDs against the true prime rate deflated by the FRBU deflator, we see a strong relationship.


True gold prices closely follow the true prime rate. Where true gold crossed the true prime is when the banking crisis of 2008 hit. And while Fed Res bankers have kept true prime flat since 2009, gold has been falling.

Looking back to the first chart, we see that when Greenspan kicked in inflation of the credit bubble with a fury, gold traded higher in lockstep with higher true credit.

True gold rose 1.54 times between Jan 1, 1999, and March 31, 2008, from $59.24 to $150.36. True gold fell from that peak 17.1% hitting a short-term low at the end of Q4 2008 before shooting up 38.1% at the top at the end of Q3 2011. 

Between 1999 and 2000, gold rose 9% on a rise in true prime of 18.7% and then retreated 11.3% as Greenspan engaged in rate suppression. And then gold shot up thereafter following the final massive leg of inflation of the bank credit bubble.  

Between the end of Q1 2004 through the end of Q2 2006, true prime rose a whopping 108%. Gold went along for the ride fueled by cheap credit. 

The true gold price rose 28.5% from the start of the banking crisis Q3 2008 after true peak credit plateaued beginning Q4 2007.  

Since then, the true price of gold has fallen 39.4%. Where true prime goes, gold goes. Extended ZIRP of Fed Res bankers has pushed down gold from it's peak true price hit at end of Q3 2011.


The true price of gold tracks the true prime rate and its magnitude of tracking depends upon the state of bank credit.

Now let's look at gold versus black gold.



While the relationship isn't exactly a love fest, West Texas Intermediate, though volatile by comparison, seems to hint the way of gold.




So, unless Fed Res bankers lose their minds, again, its not likely that we shall see another Greenspan-Bernanke credit bubble for years, perhaps decades. 

In the short-term, when Fed Res bankers return setting the Fed Funds Rate in relation to the "normal" state of affairs, and thus when true prime rises, gold might hitch a ride and thus as a short term speculation play, there might be profits. 

However, it's likely the gold play of 2001 to 2011 was one of two-in-a-lifetime chances to profit substantially from gold.

Read more ...

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

S&P 500 VS GOLD

Federal Reserve Bank Units (FRBUs), or if you like better, Federal Reserve Buying Units are what circulate goods and services in the U.S.A. and elsewhere on earth.

In ELECTRICITY PRICES. SHOCKING, ISN'T IT? THANKS, NIXON, I explain that Richard Nixon, then president of the U.S., through Executive Order 11615, closed the gold window, which put Americans on fiduciary bank credits as money system and thus the world on a floating exchange rate scheme for international trade settlement. It is these fiduciary bank credits which constitute Federal Reserve Bank Units.

What counts is buying power, that is, how much real stuff you can buy with an ounce of gold or a share of the S&P 500. Since inflation is a banking phenomenon, using a FRBUs-based deflator, we can compare the true price of the S&P 500 against the true price of gold. 

Here is True S&P 500 vs True Gold in True Dollars™.

S&P 500 in GWDs vs Gold in GWDs


From Q4 1975, through Q1, 1989, an ounce of gold let you buy more than one share of the S&P 500. Between Q2 1989 and Q4 1990, speculators struggled between the two. 

The True S&P 500 won that struggle by Q1 1991. Stock speculators and investors did not look back to gold for a long time. 

The peak of gold bettering the S&P 500 came in Q2 of 1980 when the price ratio of one ounce of gold to one share of the S&P 500 stood at $5.56.

From April 1, 1991, through January 1, 2009, one share 
of the S&P 500  let you buy more than an ounce of gold. The peak of S&P 500 bettering the gold came in Q1 of 2000 when the price ratio of one share of the S&P 500 to  one ounce of gold stood at $0.18.

During the Greenspan-Bernanke Credit Bubble, the largest credit bubble in history, the average price ratio of one share of the S&P 500 to  one ounce of gold stood at $0.41.

Between Q3 2011 and Q3 2012, investors and speculators once again fought between gold and the S&P 500. Twice in that period, gold bested the S&P 500.

Since Q4 2012, the S&P 500 has been pulling away from gold. In the two years, True Gold has fallen -35.4% falling at a yearly rate of -19.6%. Meanwhile, True S&P 500 has risen 17.4% rising at a yearly rate of 8.3%.

Sooner, rather than later the U.S. economy shall stop its fall, steady and begin a long run climb. It might be another decade and another banker-fueled inflation (credit bubble) before gold becomes a good speculative play.

Since 1993, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) has let speculators bet long on the S&P 500 and since 2006, ProShares Short S&P 500 ETF (SH) has let speculators bet short the S&P 500. Likewise, since 2004, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) has let speculators bet long on gold and since 2008, Deutsche Bank AG DB Gold Short ETN (DGZ) has let speculators bet short gold.

Here are ways you can play the S&P 500 and gold with ETFs.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

WHAT ELSE BESIDES THE S&P 500 AND GOLD SINCE MARCH 9, 2009?

On March 9, 2009, the S&P 500 hit a bear market low of $676.53. When the S&P 500 rises, there are some sectors that comprise the S&P 500, which rise faster than the S&P 500 itself. 

Likely, it's too late to capture the big percentage run ups as seen in these speculative vehicles. Ah, but only if you looked at these ETF-like instruments rather than stocks trading on NYSE and NASDAQ, you might be smiling now.

The chart shows each vehicle along with the S&P 500.



XRT
SPDR's S&P Retail ETF tracks a broad-based, equal-weighted index of US retailers' stocks.
BJK
Market Vectors' Gaming ETF tracks a market-cap-weighted index of global companies that generate at least 50% of revenues from gaming and related activities.
UGA
United States Gasoline Fund holds near-month futures contracts for RBOB gasoline traded on NYMEX.
PBS
PowerShares' Dynamic Media ETF tracks an index of the U.S. media industry stocks.
GLD
SPDR's Gold Trust tracks the gold spot price, less expenses and liabilities, using gold bars held in London vaults.
Read more ...

GOLD. YAY OR NAY?

Since gold doesn't pay a dividend nor coupon, it is not investment. No one can buy gold low for yield. Thus, gold is a speculation play, a bet on a forthcoming price rise high enough to beat alternatives.




As a speculation play, you need to ask yourself which way could the price go, up or down?

If right now were a time of peak prosperity, the likelihood of a downturn would be greater than if you were living at a time of recession or depression. In times rising toward peak prosperity, likely, the price of gold would be low relative to other speculation vehicles.

As the advance toward prosperity gets driven by credit growth, many enticing opportunities would pull speculative buying power toward these opportunities and away from gold. Yet, in peak prosperity, all of the good, credit-worthy ventures have been acquired. All that remains are those ventures with the greatest likelihood of loss.

If right now were a time of doubt and mistrust, with many corporate and personal bankruptcies underway and the growth in such rising, likely, the  price of gold would be rising relative to other speculation vehicles.

So ask yourself, what are the times right now? Is the 2008-09 credit crisis over? Even with what seems slow growth in trade today, is growth going to pick up or slow further?

It's likely the price of gold reflects the pull away from gold of all the alternative speculation plays from the world over.

In highly speculative times with abundant credit, the ratio of X (which I shall not reveal what it is) to the price of gold runs over 4.




DateGoldRatio
7/20/1999
$252.8
4.31
10/27/2000
$263.8
4.11
2/20/2001
$256.25
4.22


When gold seems priced about right, the ratio of X to the price of gold runs a bit more than 2.


DateGoldRatio
12/31/1975$140.252.09
12/29/1990$392.752.13
10/24/2008$712.52.04
6/28/2013$1192 2.11

When gold seems priced beyond what can be sustained, the ratio of X to the price of gold runs around 1 or below.


DateGoldRatio
12/28/1979$5120.76
12/30/1980$589.750.70
9/6/2011$18951.11


Today, the ratio of X to Gold is 2.04. Gold seems to be priced about right given all of the alternatives, given that growth likely is ahead and given that a time of prosperity has not arrived since peak credit of 2007 and the credit crisis of 2008.

Read more ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

FROM THE DOTCOM ERA AND BEYOND, AMAZON TRUMPS ALL

According to GeekWire, a $1,000 investment in Amazon from the IPO would be worth $239,045. That is 239 times return on money staked.

eBay and Yahoo end up as great investment decisions. Google ends up as an OK investment decision. Comparatively speaking, LinkedIn ends up as a weak decision and Facebook ends up as a quite bad decision.





Now let's take those numbers above and truly put those numbers into perspective. Look at those surprises!


On a yearly basis since the respective IPOs, Google ends up being the second worst investment though yielding a bit more than 1.5 times Facebook. Yet, for years, the chatterheads on CNBC, Bloomberg and elsewhere on blogs have decried Yahoo! as a poorly run business while singing praises for Google.




What is the lesson here? Jeff Bezos and the succession of execs at eBay have proven the real money on the Internet comes from selling goods packaged in boxes along with brokering sales of goods packaged in boxes.



Social media fail to make good investments. The costs associated to run social media are high. Yet, in spite of growing revenues, revenues fail to exceed costs.


Look at Twitter. The kiddies who run Twitter never have been able to turn a profit in seven years! According to 

Bloomberg, in a recent filing, Twitter execs reported doubling revenue in its third quarter of accounting, yet those execs could only do so by quadrupling their losses.

All should be surprised even when professionals take over Twitter after the IPO, that Twitter ever turns a profit.


By wasting untold resources on G+, Google execs have drifted far from their model as a digital billboard by pushing ads on anyone's internet property through Doubleclick and AdMob. For the hundreds of millions Google execs squandered on G+ and G+ related acquisitions, these same execs could have added an alike functionality to Blogger for pennies per blog. Blogger already supports advertising welcomed by tens of millions of Blogger users.



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Friday, November 1, 2013

GOOGLE. SERGEY BRIN, LARRY PAGE. INNOVATORS OR ACQUIRERS?



Google? Innovators or acquirers




Almost every important Google product, execs at Google bought outright. For their own, homegrown products, Google execs have bought other firms to make their products work. 
  • YouTube came from YouTube for $1.65 billion
  • Blogger came from Pyra Labs
  • Android came from Android for $50 million
  • Motorola Mobility (cell phones) came from a spin-off of Motorola for $12.5 billion
  • Picasa came from Picasa 
  • Picnik came from Picnik
  • Maps came from Where 2 Technologies
  • Earth came from Keyhole
  • Latitude came from Dodgeball
  • Panaramio came from Panaramio
  • Docs came from Upstartle's Writely
  • Spreadsheet came from 2Web Technologies' XL2Web
  • Sites came from JotSpot
  • Feedburner came from Feedburner for $100 million
  • Google Analytics came from Urchin Software
  • Offers came from DailyDeal for $114 million
  • Voice came from Grandcentral for $45 million
  • Groups came from Deja News
Primarily, Google is an electronic billboard advertising business. Everything that goes into Google's key business would not exist and could not work without acquisitions. 

AdSense, a key product offering, came from a mash-up of Applied Semantics, Sprinks, dMarc Broadcasting, Adscape, Teracent, Invite Media, Admeld.  Google's billboard model came from Doubleclick on the desktop and Admob for mobile.

YouTube couldn't run without key acquisitions of YouTube itself along with On2, Omnisio, fflick.


Almost everything that goes into G+ to make it cool has been acquired by Google execs. 

  • GTalk voice came from Gizmo5 for $30 million
  • Hangout came from Marratech
  • Hangout also came from Meebo for $100 million
And now Google has swallowed well-liked and easy functioning Bu.mp. 

Google is more like Berkshire Hathaway rather than an inventor and seller of products. It is hard to make the case that a couple of grad school nerds who hit life's lottery and became billionaires are innovators.




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Wednesday, January 2, 2013