China, Taiwan and the Boycott

Eleven Chinese missiles landed in Taiwan’s waters this past week.

Including 1 directly over Taipei, all while Chinese military exercises were conducted in six zones surrounding Taiwan.

The recent Chinese power demonstration is the largest cross-strait exercise in decades.

It is the most recent act of Chinese aggression in an ever-escalating tinder box of conflict.

  • Domestically, there are power struggles going on within China which are only ratcheting up the tension for the CCP even further.

It’s no secret that for the past few decades, China enjoyed world-leading economic growth.

However, double-digit economic growth can only go on for so long. A natural cooling of the economy is not unexpected or considered unhealthy.

Services Inflation Worst since 1982, Food Inflation Worst since 1979, Housing CPI Heats Up. But Energy Prices Plunge, Some Durable Goods Drop: Inflation Whack A Mole

Inflation in services is now where the action is, not commodities or durable goods.

By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.

Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index backed off a tad in July to a still ugly 8.5%, from the super-ugly 9.1% in June, as food prices continued to spike, but gasoline and natural gas prices fell sharply, and prices of durable goods backed off their crazy spike.

But inflation in services rose to 6.25%, the highest since 1982. The CPI for services is still below overall CPI and is still pulling down overall CPI. But it has been getting worse every month for 11 months, and as other price spikes back off, the services CPI pushes to the forefront. That’s how inflation works after it’s entrenched: it cycles from category to category and pops up in different places, while backing off for a while in other places.

The Clean Energy Industry Could Get a Massive Boost

By Andrey Dashkov, analyst, Casey Research

A new bill is making its way through Congress…

It’s called the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” and it could provide a massive boost to several industries.

The bill’s goal is to increase spending on domestic energy and healthcare while raising billions in tax income from corporations and other sources.

It’s designed in such a way that overall tax revenue will be higher than the amount of money the government plans to spend on energy and healthcare. It would decrease the country’s deficit, which tends to be an anti-inflationary event.

Like most government bills, it’s a little more complex than that.

But, there are several sectors set to benefit from it immensely.

And I want to draw your attention to these winners.

Bitcoin may behave more like US Treasury bonds: Bloomberg Intelligence

My Martin Young

Bitcoin markets will behave more like that of Treasury bonds and gold during market recovery, said the analysts.

Bitcoin may behave more like US Treasury bonds: Bloomberg IntelligenceNEWS

The latest crypto market research from Bloomberg Intelligence suggests that Bitcoin (BTC) may start to behave more like United States Treasury bonds and gold, rather than stocks.

In its August “Crypto Outlook” report, penned by senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone and senior market structure analyst Jamie Coutts, the research unit compared Bitcoin markets to those of gold, bonds and oil.

The authors suggested that macroeconomic influences such as the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies have resulted in similarities in Treasury bond markets and Bitcoin:

Financial System – Lawless Criminal Control Syndicate – Catherine Austin Fitts

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (Saturday Night Post)

Catherine Austin Fitts (CAF), Publisher of The Solari Report and former Assistant Secretary of Housing (Bush 41 Admin.), says we are at war with the Deep State globalists that want nothing short of total control over all of mankind. Central bankers want a financial system that is a lawless criminal control syndicate where it’s legal for them to do whatever they want. It is simply a choice between tyranny and sovereignty, freedom or slavery. We start with the foundational building block of tyranny, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) that global bankers want to install in the financial system.

How to invest for retirement during the 2022 storm

Time is the best friend and biggest asset for any investor. Through bull and bear markets alike, the longer you’re in the market, the better the outcome.

But what if your time horizon is relatively short? 

What if you’re about to retire (or already in retirement) and can’t wait out all of the market fluctuations? 

The traditional answer if you’re looking for near-term security is to stick with the stock market but also own bonds… 

But right now, bonds are a losing proposition as inflation soars.

For one, even if the principal is returned to you at maturity, it will be worth less in real terms because inflation will have taken a big bite out of its purchasing power. 

Second, in today’s market, bonds aren’t delivering much income: The 10-year Treasury yields around 2.7% currently. 

Federal Data Show JPMorgan Chase Is, By Far, the Riskiest Bank in the U.S.

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: July 26, 2022 ~

The long-tenured Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, likes to use the phrase “fortress balance sheet,” when talking about his bank to Congress or shareholders. But the data stored at its federal regulators show that the bank is, by far, the most systemically dangerous bank in the United States. And, despite its high risk profile, neither Congress nor federal regulators have restricted its growth. Its assets have soared by 65 percent since the end of 2016 and stood at $3.95 trillion as of March 31, making it the largest bank in the United States.

Making this situation even more dangerous, the bank has admitted to five criminal felony counts over the past eight years and a multitude of civil crimes and multi-billion dollar fines — all during the tenure of Dimon. Neither Congress nor federal regulators nor the Justice Department that brought those felony counts has demanded that Dimon be replaced. The Board of Directors of the bank has been equally obsequious toward Dimon, awarding him a $50 million bonus after the bank admitted to its fourth and fifth felony counts for “tens of thousands” of trades that rigged the precious metals and U.S. Treasury markets

Silvergate CEO Sees More Near-Term Pain for Crypto but Still Bullish on Bitcoin Lending

By Michael Bellusci

The bear market that’s hitting all corners of the digital assets industry isn't over yet and could see some more pain over the next few quarters, according to crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital (SI).

The crypto sector may still experience a few areas of pain for some exchanges and crypto funds over the next few quarters, “but at some point, all of that will be done, and then we'll just be waiting for what's the next catalyst,” the CEO and former TradFi banker Alan Lane told CoinDesk in an interview.

However, investors shouldn’t compare the current crypto price slide to previous ones given the broader global economic reset as digital assets have fallen with macro trends including rising rates and inflationary pressures, Lane said.

The Fed Is Missing the Mark, But You Don’t Have To

By Teeka Tiwari

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve warned you to buckle up for a rollercoaster ride in the markets…

I’ve told you that record-high inflation… interest rate hikes… and geopolitical uncertainty would lead to a “cyclical” bear market.

And that’s come to pass. We’ve seen the broad market drop 24% and the crypto market drop 72% at its trough.

If you’re unfamiliar with market cycles, there are two types: Secular and cyclical.

Secular markets are long-term “one-way” directional moves that generally last between 12 and 20 years.

Within these secular markets, we also have shorter “cyclical” markets. They can last from three to 18 months.

Right now, I believe we’re in a cyclical (short-term) bear market… within an overall larger secular (long-term) bull market.

The Euphoric Tech Winners 'Ain't Comin' Back'

By Dr. David Eifrig

There's one sentence that I hear from investors that drives me crazy...

"If the stock can just get back to where it was trading, I'll make a lot of money."

Most investors are guilty of this kind of wishful thinking. We all look at a stock's price chart and take note of its 52-week high price. Then we calculate the gain if it could get back to that price.

Most of the time, the potential gain sounds attractive. And unfortunately, a lot of investors buy for this reason alone.

Over the past few months, I've heard a lot of folks say this about tech stocks: "If they rebound back to where they were trading in 2021, I'll more than double my money."

This kind of talk drives me crazy.

I'll put it plainly, as I've told many investors these past few months...

They ain't comin' back, folks.