TOTALINVESTOR: Nov 7, 2009

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Global Stocks May Fall as U.S. Yields Rise: Technical Analysis

Global stocks may be headed for a “correction” as an increase in U.S. 10-year yields prompts a reduction of carry trades, according to Citigroup Inc.

The yield on 10-year government bonds climbed 37 basis points from a July 31 low to Aug. 8. Using that range, the resistance level stands at 3.55 percent from a low of 3.18 percent on Oct. 1, said Yutaka Yoshino, chief technical analyst at Citigroup in Tokyo, who uses the Japanese technical analysis method of “ichimoku kinko,” which looks at wave patterns and repeating trends. Yields move inversely to bond prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01 percentage point.

“If we pass that 3.55 level on the yield, we stop being in a rebound phase and enter into a rising trend,” said Yoshino. “Inflation concerns are starting to creep in and the Federal Reserve has no control over long-term interest rates.” (more)

Americans’ income and spending drop, despite stimulus

American households cut spending and saw income stagnate in September, despite a massive government stimulus program propping up their bank accounts.

Personal disposable income decreased 0.1 percent, after adjusting for inflation, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Personal spending fell 0.5 percent, after four months of gains.

The hit to household bank accounts would have been worse without the massive federal stimulus program designed to prop up economic activity. The nation’s inflation-adjusted personal income has been sloping downward during 2009, when government transfer payments are subtracted out. But including the transfer payments – which have risen because of the stimulus efforts since February – total personal income is about where it stood early in the year. (more)

Gold taps record as U.S. joblessness hits 10%

Gold futures finished at a record Friday, after earlier tapping $1,100 an ounce, as news that the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10.2% in October lifted expectations the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero well into next year, pressuring the dollar.

Gold for November delivery rose $6.40, or 0.6%, to end at $1,095.10 an ounce, the highest closing level for a front-month contract.

The more-actively traded December contract gained $6.40, or 0.6%, to $1,095.70. December gold earlier hit a record intraday high of $1,101.90 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Industrial metals, such as copper, however, moved lower. Copper fell fractionally with the December contract ending at $2.94 a pound. (more)

Dutch Barter System Challenges Bankers

My name is Anthony Migchels and I am the initiator of the "Gelre," the first Regional Currency in the Netherlands.
My organization is a foundation, not for profit, not a company, because I believe credit should be a public facility, serving the people that actually OWN the credit, instead of milking them dry with what is rightfully theirs. The Gelre foundation is run by a board of three.

We now have almost a hundred companies participating and the break even point should come at about 300, after that we can get an income out of it. But the real goal is, to hook up 66% of all companies in Gelderland, a province in the Netherlands with 1.2 million inhabitants and 60k companies. A GDP of about 40 billion Euro. (more)

Forget the Audit: Just Go Ahead & Abolish the Federal Reserve

ON MARCH 17, 1993, I addressed the House of Representatives in one of the many “budget” debates. Over the past 16 years, many publications and books have reprinted my speech.

They viewed my speech as being on target. Researchers have written to me regarding the speech, confused because it was printed in two areas of the Congressional Record. My floor remarks were brief, but I inserted the entire speech into the “extension of remarks” section of the record.

Nevertheless, the speech stands today as prophetic. America is bankrupt, and it’s growing worse by the day. The U.S. government was technically dissolved by the “Emergency Banking Act” of March 9, 1933. THAT’S A FACT. (more)

Stiglitz: We Should Have Nationalized Banks

The U.S. economy is suffering because the government did not fully nationalize distressed banks, says Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

Nationalization would have give the government more control over financial institutions and basically forced them to lend and kick-start the economy quick into recovery, Stiglitz says.

“If we had done the right thing, we would be able to have more influence over the banks,” Stiglitz told Bloomberg News.

“They would be lending and the economy would be stronger.” (more)

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