Baltic Dry Index. 974
+22 Brent Crude
70.76
John Kenneth Galbraith.
The trade war and
Facebook relief rally over, or almost over, will President Trump use his coming
attack on Syria as cover to fire Special Prosecutor Mueller? He has the power,
says the White House press machine.
Meanwhile the
European air traffic control agency is warning airlines to be extra cautious if
planning to keep flying in the eastern Mediterranean in the next 72 hours. Would you board a plane with your family to
fly over the eastern Med for any reason in the next 72 hours or longer?
Adding to reasons to
exit global stocks ASAP, the highly respected US Dow Theory just finally gave a
sell signal. The hurricane is just about to come ashore.
Will regime change in
Damascus turn out any better than Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and the Ukraine? How
many refugees is America willing to take in, or are they all headed to Germany yet
again? Now new Trump National Security Advisor Bolton, wants Trump to take on
China militarily! End China’s “one nation, two systems” policy over
Taiwan! Not a trade war policy but a
real war!
Below, time to reduce
leveraged risk and seek some safety in fully paid up physical gold and silver
held outside of London and America. Brent crude oil prices suggest the return
of oil price inflation, showing up as early as next month in the figures.
“If
you're not gonna pull the trigger, don't point the gun.”
James
Baker. United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan,
and U.S. Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff under President
George H. W. Bush
Airlines warned of possible airstrikes in Syria over next 72 hours
Published: Apr 11, 2018 12:06 a.m. ET
A
European air-traffic-control agency issued a statement late Tuesday warning
airlines to use caution due to possible airstrikes in the eastern Mediterranean
area in the next 72 hours. "Due to the possible launch of airstrikes into
Syria with air-to-ground and/or cruise missiles within the next 72 hours, and
the possibility of intermittent disruption of radio navigation equipment, due
consideration needs to be taken when planning flight operations in the Eastern
Mediterranean/Nicosia FIR area," Belgium-based Eurocontrol said on its website. While it did not mention
specifics, the U.S. and its allies are expected to strike at targets in Syria
in retaliation for an alleged chemical-weapons attack on civilians over the
weekend. On Tuesday, the Trump administration was reportedly rallying
support from allies for a military strike, which may me more expansive than
last year's U.S. missile attack on a Syrian air base.
White House Says Trump Can Fire Mueller. Republicans Warn It’d Be a Mistake
By Shannon Pettypiece and Billy House
Updated on 10 April 2018, 20:55 GMT+1
President Donald Trump has been advised he has authority to fire
special counsel Robert Mueller, a White House spokeswoman said, as top
Republicans in Congress warned that doing so may put his presidency at risk.White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday shifted the administration’s message on Trump’s attitude toward Mueller after the president’s angry response to a raid on the office of his longtime lawyer.
“We’ve been advised that the president certainly has the power to make that decision,” she said, in a response to a question that suggests the White House has explored the matter. Three weeks ago, when asked about Republicans warning against interfering with the investigation, Sanders repeated a statement by Trump attorney Ty Cobb that Trump “is not considering or discussing” firing Mueller.
As Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference accelerates and drew closer to the president’s inner circle with the raid Monday his lawyer’s office and hotel room, the president lashed out, calling the probe “a disgrace” and “an attack on our country.” Asked whether he would fire Mueller, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens.”
That prompted new warnings from senior Republicans in
Congress who said that it would be a major mistake or even political suicide to
fire Mueller.
“I don’t think the president’s going to fire him. That would be a big mistake,” John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said Tuesday.
More
Asian markets mixed, as trade-war worries don’t appear over yet
Published: Apr 10, 2018 10:54 p.m. ET
The global stock rally continued in Asia on Wednesday, with many markets
starting with modest gains after strength overnight in the U.S. and Europe.Still, there were signs of doubt. Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -0.20% was down 0.3% in morning trading, and S&P 500 futures ESM8, -0.44% were recently down 0.5% following the index’s 1.7% jump Tuesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s comments Tuesday eased concerns about a trade war and calmed the market, but James Cheo, senior investment strategist at Bank of Singapore, said Wednesday that volatility should persist at least through the end of May ahead of the planned implementation of U.S. trade tariffs.
“Now the ball is in [President Donald] Trump’s court,” he said, adding that the U.S. leader needed to decide whether he will go for a quick win and accept China’s trade concessions or seek a longer fight.
Many Asia-Pacific stock markets were up about 0.5%, with Taiwan’s Taiex Y9999, +0.32% leading at 0.7%. However, benchmarks in Australia XJO, -0.27% and New Zealand NZ50GR, -0.28% were down slightly.
Australia’s big banks, which jumped more than 1% on Tuesday, fell nearly that much Wednesday morning. Offsetting some of that was a gain of almost 1% for Australian energy stocks after oil prices Tuesday logged their biggest rise in 16 months, up more than 3%. Futures were little changed in morning Asian trading.
On the economic front, China released lower-than-expected inflation data for March after consumer prices jumped by the most in four years in February. Some had attributed that increase to holiday impacts. Inflation in China is “not something that investors should be too worried about,” Cheo said.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-gain-though-trade-war-worries-dont-appear-over-yet-2018-04-10
April 11, 2018 / 1:38 AM
Global stocks pare gains with next phase of U.S.-China trade saga in focus, euro buoyant
TOKYO
(Reuters) - Asian stocks rose modestly on Wednesday, paring earlier gains as
optimism that trade ties between Washington and Beijing were on the mend gave
way to questions about the next phase of the diplomatic tit-for-tat between the
two countries.
-----The index’s surge lost some steam, however, with some Asian equity markets staggering, as the world’s two biggest economies are still seen needing to clear more hurdles before reaching any sort of settlement over trade issues.
“The United States and China are still at a phase in which they are
attempting to probe the intentions of the other,” said Masahiro Ichikawa,
senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo.
“While China showed how far it can go, the markets won’t settle down
until the two powers reach an actual agreement. The next focal point is how the
United States responds.”
More
US security head Bolton would risk military conflict with China to achieve goals, former US officials say
John Bolton would use military force to coerce compliance from China, which US President Donald Trump has painted as an adversary, the Post was told
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 11 April, 2018, 9:12am UPDATED : Wednesday, 11 April, 2018, 12:07pm
The new US national security adviser is willing to risk a
military conflict with China to achieve President Donald Trump’s goals for
America, two former senior US officials have told the South China
Morning Post.
John Bolton, who is fond of quoting the ancient Roman battle philosophy,
“If you want peace, prepare for war”, would use military force to coerce
compliance from China – which an increasingly hawkish White House has painted
as a competitor, if not an adversary, the former officials who worked with
Bolton said.
Bolton, who began his new job on Monday, also seeks to challenge Beijing
over its “one China” policy on Taiwan, a move that would certainly inflame
tensions amid a looming US-China trade war.
Speculation grew over the weekend that Bolton could visit Taiwan in June
when the new American Institute on the self-governed island is slated to
open, The Economist reported. The institute represents US interests
in the absence of formal ties.
But while Bolton is seen as a military hawk who shares the “Make America
Great Again” world view that underpinned Trump’s 2016 election campaign, the
chief executive is believed to oppose the idea of hostilities with another
nation.
More
Trump's homeland security adviser departs as Bolton reshapes national security team |
Source: Xinhua
2018-04-11 01:37:57
|
"The president is grateful for Tom's commitment to the safety and security of our great country," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Bossert, 43, led the administration's efforts to protect the homeland from terrorist threats, strengthen cyber defenses, and respond to a series of natural disasters that have occurred across the country over the past year or so.
Sanders said that Trump "thanks him for his patriotic service and wishes him well," but she did not give a reason for Bossert's departure.
More
Dow surges 430 points, defying a bearish ‘sell signal’—here’s a theory as to why
Published: Apr 10, 2018 6:12 p.m. ET
Dow Theory signal has been triggered after transports on Monday closed below a February low
The Dow Jones Transportation Average on Monday closed below its Feb. 9 closing low, propelled by a slump in the final hour of trading, and crystallizing what market technicians refer to as a bearish Dow Theory sell signal.The Dow Theory is a market-timing tool that has been relevant on Wall Street for a century and one that MarketWatch columnist Mark Hulbert has been directing readers to watch out for since early March.
A sell signal was set in motion when the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.79% and the Dow transports DJT, +1.08% put in a low beneath a recent nadir. That occurred on Monday when the Dow transports finished at 10,119.36, below the early February low at 10,136.61.
The industrials closed below its trigger level on March 23.
However, markets closed sharply higher on Tuesday, with the Dow finishing about 430 points higher, seemingly shaking off the ominous technical formation. So, what does it all mean?
Hulbert explains that the Dow Theory was created by William Peter Hamilton, then the editor of the Wall Street Journal, who introduced his theory in stages over several decades in editorials in his newspaper. The general principle is that poor performance in the industrials and transports at the same time bodes ill for the broader market.
According to Hulbert, one academic study from the 1990s calculated the Dow Theory’s record over the prior seven decades, back to when it was created in the early part of the last century; the study found that the theory beat the broader market by an average of 4.4 percentage points a year.
More
If all
else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
John Kenneth
Galbraith
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally doubled over.
Today, perfidious Albion again. Imagine fighting a
war with China to force the Chinese people to consume British India’s opium! To
protect their population from the evils of opium addiction, China had tried to
ban opium importation. Imagine destroying the priceless Imperial Summer Palace
as collateral damage! I think China has
right on its side and that HMG should buy the item in question and return it to
China. If possible, try to make a replica for the British Museum.
April 10, 2018 / 11:24 AM
China urges boycott of UK auction of artifact seized by British soldier in 1860
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Tuesday condemned the British auction of a
rare bronze water vessel seized by a British soldier from Beijing’s ransacked
Imperial Gardens in the 19th Century, calling for a boycott.
The auction is due to take place on Wednesday, organized by Kent-based
Canterbury Auction Galleries.
The elaborately adorned water vessel and cover, referred to as a Tiger
Ying because of the tiger decorations, was made between 1100 and 771 B.C.
during the Western Zhou Dynasty with an estimated value of up to 160,000 pounds
($226,000), the auction house said on its website.
It said the vessel was taken by a British soldier during the “capture”
of what is now called the Old Summer Palace in 1860, towards the end of the
Second Opium War.
The Imperial Gardens were an architectural wonder of Western-style palaces
and gardens that were destroyed and looted by British and French troops in
1860.
The ruins of the palace lie where they fell today, a popular tourist
site covering an area of 3.5 square km (865 acres) and a reminder of historical
Western hegemony and British colonial rule.
China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage denounced the auction.
It “strongly opposes and condemns Canterbury Auction Galleries’
insistence on auctioning the suspected illegally discharged cultural artifact
despite solemn protest from China and conducting commercial hype in the name of
cultural relics of wartime looting,” it said on Tuesday.
It said it did not support Chinese individuals or institutions taking
part in the auction and called for other possible buyers to boycott the sale.
Technology Update.
With events happening fast in the
development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as
they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC energy
mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards?
Virginia’s solar power capacity could triple in 5 years
By The
Associated Press April 10, 2018 3:06 am
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s capacity to generate solar
electricity is expected to triple over the next five years.
That’s according to a recent report from the Solar Energy Industries
Association. The Virginian-Pilot reported Monday that enough solar energy may
be generated in the near future to power upward of 200,000 homes in the state.
The solar industry has been growing nationwide. But it still only
accounts for about 2 percent of the nation’s capacity to generate electricity.
In Virginia, that figure is half a percent.
Several reasons account for the growth. The cost of installation has
been falling, and the demand for green energy has been soaring.
Owners of farmland are also finding that leasing their land for power
generation is more profitable than growing traditional crops.
Wind and solar power could meet four-fifths of US electricity demand, study finds
Investment in greater storage, transmission capabilities needed
Date:
February 27, 2018
Source:
University of California - Irvine
Summary:
The United States could reliably meet about 80 percent of its electricity
demand with solar and wind power generation, according to scientists.
The United States could reliably meet about 80 percent of its
electricity demand with solar and wind power generation, according to
scientists at the University of California, Irvine; the California Institute of
Technology; and the Carnegie Institution for Science.
However, meeting 100 percent of electricity demand with only solar and
wind energy would require storing several weeks' worth of electricity to
compensate for the natural variability of these two resources, the researchers
said.
"The sun sets, and the wind doesn't always blow," noted Steven
Davis, UCI associate professor of Earth system science and co-author of a
renewable energy study published today in the journal Energy & Environmental
Science. "If we want a reliable power system based on these resources,
how do we deal with their daily and seasonal changes?"
The team analyzed 36 years of hourly U.S. weather data (1980 to 2015) to
understand the fundamental geophysical barriers to supplying electricity with
only solar and wind energy.
"We looked at the variability of solar and wind energy over both
time and space and compared that to U.S. electricity demand," Davis said.
"What we found is that we could reliably get around 80 percent of our
electricity from these sources by building either a continental-scale
transmission network or facilities that could store 12 hours' worth of the
nation's electricity demand."
More
You will find that the State is the kind of
organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly,
too.
J. K. Galbraith.
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished March.
DJIA: 24,103 +272 Down
10. NASDAQ: 7,063 +300 Down 13. SP500: 2,641 +202 Down 10.
All
three slow indicators moved down in March. For some a new bear signal, for
others a take profits and get back to cash signal.
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