Thousands Flood The Streets In Germany As Fury Over Refugee Sex Assaults Reaches Boiling Point

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/09/2016 - 09:28

One Map That Explains The Dangerous Saudi-Iranian Conflict

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/09/2016 - 13:17 To the degree that the current crisis has anything to do with religion, it’s much less about whether Abu Bakr or Ali was Muhammad’s rightful successor and much more about who’s going to control something more concrete right now: oil.

North, South Korea "At The Brink Of War" As Loudspeaker Dispute Spirals Out Of Control (Again)

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/09/2016 - 12:15 South Korea - which Kim Jong-Un says is "jealous" of the North's "H-bomb" test - has resumed blaring anti-Pyongyang propaganda over loudspeakers installed on the two countries' border, a move the North says has once again brought the Korean Peninsula "to the brink of war."

Americans' Positive Perception Of NRA Soars As Obama Escalates Gun-Control Agenda

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/09/2016 - 11:30 Love guns or hate guns, one thing is becoming perfectly clear. The American public’s perception of guns and the NRA is moving in the exact opposite direction of Barack Obama’s message and agenda.

46 Months Of Accelerating Deflation Mean Beijing Is Now Trapped

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/09/2016 - 10:47 At this point, the longer China does nothing, the greater its problems will become. As such Beijing needs to choose: either collapse the economy in a deflationary wave, leading to a debt crisis and widespread social unrest, or devalue massively overnight in hopes of stimulating inflation, leading to collapsing profit margins, and even more widespread social unrest.In short, our condolences China: having decided to adopt Western neo-Keynesian economics, with the typical monetarist bent, you too are now trapped with no way out. But don't worry: so is everyone else. Good luck.

Americans Can't Wait To Get Out Of These Five States

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/08/2016 - 23:30 A low cost of living, no sales tax, and beautiful scenery (oh, naked bike rides, more strip clubs per capita than any other US city, and legalized weed) means Oregon is the "top moving destination" for Americans for the third year running, according to United Van Lines, with 69% of moves inbound. But, which states are Americans leaving in droves?

This Is The $3.5 Trillion "Neutron Bomb" That Keeps Kyle Bass Up At Night

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/08/2016 - 22:57 "... what we are going to see next is a credit cycle, and in a credit cycle you see some losses, but if China's banking system loses 10%, you are going to see them lose $3.5 trillion."

Gold And Silver – Why More Important Than When. Going Lower Before Moving Higher.

by Michael Noonan, Edge Trader Plus:

When the globalist’s central bankers are in control, primarily the US/UK, they are proving their ability to supersede the natural forces of supply and demand with impunity.  When they have the ability to “print” unlimited amounts of fake fiat, no other country can stand in the way, not even China.
On the other hand, neither China nor Russia wants to oppose the globalist forces of evil, for both of those nations see what is unfolding on the world’s stage is the kabuki theater death dance of the US and the inexorable fading away of the fiat Federal Reserve Note.
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Silver and S&P Similarities – Tops and Bottoms

by Gary Christenson, Deviant Investor:

Tops occurred about every seven years. Tops were usually rounded, followed by intense drops.

Tops were approximately Aug. 1987, Jan. 1994, March 2000, Oct. 2007, and May 2015.

Once the S&P broke below the red up-trending support lines in 2000, 2007, and (probably) in 2015, the rally was over and large corrections occurred.

The next large move in the S&P looks like it should be, based on history, a substantial correction to the 600 – 1,400 range.

Other Considerations:
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"The Bernank" avoids exchange about the dollar’s decisive advantage

by Chris Powell, GATA:
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Yesterday the Brookings Institution in Washington, where former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is a “distinguished fellow in residence,” posted his essay about what sustains the U.S. dollar as the primary world reserve currency. Bernanke’s commentary was headlined “The Dollar’s International Role: An ‘Exorbitant Privilege’?” and it is posted here:
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/ben-bernanke/posts/2016/01/07-dollar-inte…
Bernanke’s commentary offered four explanations for the dollar’s primacy as the world reserve currency: the dollar’s stable value, the liquidity of U.S. financial markets and the market for U.S. Treasury securities, the safety of dollar assets and particularly the safety of U.S. Treasury securities, and the Federal Reserve’s functioning as the lender of last resort.
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Fed’s Market Distortions Unwind

by Adam Hamilton, GoldSeek:

The world’s financial markets changed dramatically entering this young new year, led by sharp stock selloffs and a mounting gold rally. These are major reversals from recent years’ action. The immediate catalysts were China’s plummeting stocks and ongoing yuan devaluation. But the far larger underlying driver is the Fed’s first tightening cycle in a decade, which is just starting to unwind years of gross distortions.
Just a few weeks ago on December 16th, the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee chose to hike the benchmark federal-funds rate for the first time since June 2006. This was widely hailed as bullish for stocks, since it implied the US economy had improved enough to weather a new tightening cycle. The flagship S&P 500 stock index (SPX) surged 1.5% that day, as traders rejoiced at the Fed’s gradualist approach.
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Oil Plunges to $32-Handle, Chinese Stocks Crash and are Halted, Whiff of Mayhem Breaks out

from Wolf Street:

Why Oil Keeps Falling off the Chart
After having been through the greatest two-year loss on record, the price of oil plunged 9.6% on Wednesday and in evening trading. As I’m writing this, WTI hit $32.62 a barrel, a new low since the desperate depth of the Financial Crisis, when it very briefly kissed $30.28 a barrel on December 23, 2008, before bouncing off sharply.
This time, it’s serious. Brent, the global benchmark, has crashed to $32.75, an 11-year low. This isn’t a quick scare that happens during a Financial Crisis. It’s the result of a persistently growing glut.
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