Thursday, May 9, 2013

The Mathematical Reality Is We’re Losing Over 600,000 Jobs a Month That Have Been Hidden From View

The Dow Jones is soaring. The unemployment rate is stable. People are shopping. America is in recovery.
Or is it?
Despite all of the positive spin being put on the global and domestic economic recovery, the truth is that nothing of the sort is actually happening.
Any observant analyst can deduce that 15,000+ stock market values are a result of easy money being pumped into investment banks, who then slam that money straight into markets. The Fed itself is reportedly providing direct liquidity to the system. They can do this forever, so long as our creditors let them. And, until they’re stopped, they’ll continue to convince most Americans that financial markets and the economy have been stabilized.
Underneath all the hoop-la, however, is the reality of the situation.
The latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics is a prime example of the shenanigans being played by government statisticians and their media cohorts behind the scenes.
(more)

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Investment Education 101: Housing: Home equity and personal balance sheets





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Axiall Corp (NYSE: AXLL)

Axiall Corporation operates as an integrated chemicals and building products company in North America and Asia. The company manufactures chlor-alkali and derivatives, chlorovinyls, and aromatics products, including chlorine, caustic soda, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl resins, vinyl compounds, compound additives and plasticizers, chlorinated solvents, calcium hypochlorite, muriatic acid, phosgene derivatives, acetone, cumene, phenol, and alpha-methylstyrene. These products are used in various applications, including plastics, pulp and paper production, packaging, chemical intermediates, pharmaceuticals, medical and agricultural applications and paints, acrylics, and varnishes. It also produces vinyl-based building and home improvement products, such as window and door profiles, siding products, pipe and pipe fittings, moldings, and trim and decking products, which are marketed under the Royal Building Products, Celect, Zuri, Korflo, Overture, S4S, and Exterior Portfolio brand names for the electrical, municipal, irrigation, plumbing, and residential and industrial applications.
To review a current H&S pattern, please take a look at the 1-year chart of AXLL (Axiall Corporation) below with my added notations:
1-year chart of AXLL (Axiall Corporation) AXLL had been on a 10-month rally since its bottom in June. Over the last (4) months the stock has created a very important level at $51 (navy), which was also the “neckline” support for the H&S pattern. Above the neckline you will notice the H&S pattern itself (blue). Confirmation of the H&S occurred when AXLL broke its $51 “neckline” support. So, the stock should be moving lower overall from here.
Keep in mind that simple is usually better. Had I never pointed out this H&S pattern, one would still think this stock is moving lower simply if it broke below the $51 support level. In short, whether you noticed the pattern or not, the trade would still be the same: On the break below the key $51 level.

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McAlvany Weekly Commentary

The Great Divorce: Paper Gold vs Real Gold

About this week’s show: 
-COMEX gold depository inventories plummet
-Rush to American Eagle Gold Coins break all records
-History shows that hyperinflation targets a “Scapegoat”
Read | Subscribe@iTunes
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Start Over As An Entrepreneur

from Financial Survival Network
Jamie Wolf had a problem. Her corporate career ended and she had a daughter with chronic health problems. This led her to start a business helping similarly situated parents deal with their children’s special needs. Now Jamie helps people start their lives over as entrepreneurs. She believes that starting your own business doesn’t need to be risky, but you’ve got to get the necessary skills to make it all work. First and foremost, you need to make sure that there’s a market for your product or service. This especially applies to returning GI’s that the administration would like to turn into small businessmen.
Click Here to Listen to the Audio
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Bank Rate Vs. Bond Yield

Interest rates and yields can be confusing. A rate, whether it comes from a bank on a certificate of deposit or from a bond, is simply the rate of interest paid annually on a security. The yield is generally something that you run into when investing in bonds, because it accounts for the purchase price you paid for the bond and the maturity of that bond. For most purposes, the current yields on a bond and a bank certificate of deposit are comparable. Yield to maturity, however, is a way of comparing the total returns on bonds held to maturity, and it doesn't apply to CDs.

Rates

A rate on an investment, whether it is a CD or a bond, is the amount of interest that will be paid each year. If your interest rate is 2 percent, you will receive $20 each year on every $1,000 invested. In a bond, the interest rate is the coupon -- the percentage listed in the bond description, such as U.S. Treasury 2 3/4 percent bonds due Nov. 15, 2042, which pay $27.50 each year per $1,000 face value bond. It doesn't matter whether you pay more or less than $1,000 for that bond -- you will still receive $27.50 each year per bond, because that is the rate of interest assigned when that bond was issued.

Yields

Yields are a bit more complex. The two most common types of yields are current yield and yield to maturity. Current yield is the amount of interest you receive each year divided by the amount you paid for the CD or bond. For example, if you paid $1,000 for a security with an interest rate of 2 3/4 percent, and you are receiving $27.50 in interest payments, your current yield is 2 3/4 percent. However, if you only paid $900 for your bond, you are still receiving $27.50, but your current yield is $27.50 divided by $900 or 3.05 percent.

Yield to Maturity

Yield to maturity is a complex formula that takes into account the length of time until maturity and an assumed reinvestment rate on the interest received. The best way to find yield to maturity is using an online bond calculator. For example, if you had bought the above Treasury bond on Dec. 17, 2012, at a price of $966.80, your yield to maturity would be 2.917 percent, according to the figures from the U.S. Treasury auction for that date.

Prices

If you pay a higher price than par -- which is the face value, or $1,000 -- your current yield and your yield to maturity will be lower than your interest rate. If you pay a lower price, your yields will be higher than the interest rate.

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