martes, 31 de enero de 2017

JAN 31 17 SIT EC y POL



JAN  31 17  SIT EC y POL


ECONOMICS in ZERO HEDGE



"U.S. equities look worryingly vulnerable... markets are exhibiting exceptional complacency. That attitude may shift rapidly."
----
----


With the S&P500 ending January on the back foot, more pain may be in store for markets in February. This is the observation of BofA's chief technician Stephen Suttmeyer, who provides several danger signals why bulls may want to be particularly cautious ahead of the coming months.
----
----

The last two days have seen the biggest drop in The Dow since September 26th.
The panic bid in Small Caps saved them from 4th January in a row of losses...
All of which is interesting given that the Presidential cycle signals Feb as a big loser..



The dollar index has erased the post-ECB and post-Fed gains.
The dollar demise appears to be following last year's analog rather well...


TO SEE MORE GRAPHICS on current economic situation  OPEN
----
----


The spread between the "smart" and "dumb" money confidence is about as wide as it has ever been, and perhaps just as notable, the "Smart Money" is at or near the lowest level of "confidence" in recent history despite, or perhaps due to, the S&P just several days ago hitting new all time highs.
----
----


"... for some idea of the precipice the market has reached, the median price/revenue ratio of individual S&P 500 component stocks now stands just over 2.45, easily the highest level in history. The longer-term norm for the S&P 500 price/revenue ratio is less than 1.0. Even a retreat to 1.3, which we’ve observed at many points even in recent cycles, would take the stock market to nearly half of present levels."
----
----

"By all appearances, President Trump is doing his damnedest to turn around the economy, revitalize jobs and bring back prosperity. But the larger trends are already in place; the cycle is turning, and the bust cannot be put off forever."
----
----


The “Wind and Solar Will Save Us” story is based on a long list of misunderstandings and apples to oranges comparisons. Somehow, people seem to believe that our economy of 7.5 billion people can get along with a very short list of energy supplies. Unfortunately, a transition to such a short list of fuels can’t really work.
----
----

POLITICS


The pricing has been astronomical,” Trump said to CEOs of some of the world’s biggest drugmakers during a meeting in Washington after his reent criticism of the industry sent drug and biotechnology stocks plunging. “You folks have done a very great job over the years but we have to get the prices down.”
----
----


The farce of symbolic politics fixes nothing. Solutions are not symbolic; solutions gut the rackets by breaking down the regulatory walls protecting the privileged elites who are strip-mining the bottom 95%, "snowflakes" and "deplorables" alike.
----
----

Confirming a choice that many had already pegged as a front-runner to fill Antonin Scalia's vacant seat, President Trump just officially announced Judge Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States.  With that, let the Senate confirmation theatrics commence!
----
----

America has a refugee problem. Not the Syrian refugees. No, not the Afghan ones. No, not even the Cuban refugees. We're talking about the born-and-raised American citizens who got fed up, gave up their U.S. citizenship, and escaped Obama’s America while they still could.
----
----

"From the beginning my concern has been that Trump has no experience in the economic and foreign policy debates. He doesn’t know the issues or the players. But he knows two big things: the middle and working class are hurting, and conflict with Russia could result in thermo-nuclear war. My view is support him on these two most important of all issues."
----
----

“Nationalism, protectionism and militarism increase global tensions and the risks of conflict. For these reasons, while we remain open-minded, we are increasingly concerned about the emerging policies of the Trump administration,”
----
----
WORLD ISSUES and ME



Trump has accused Germany of not doing enough to increase its imports while having such a sizable trade surplus, and in October, the U.S. Treasury Department listed Germany as a country to watch because of its current account surplus. So is a trade war with the U.S. next?
----
----


The Trump administration just fired the first shot in the US-European currency, and thus trade, wars when Trump's top trade advisor Peter Navarro accused Germany of using a “grossly undervalued” euro to "exploit the US and its EU partners", the FT reported noting the comments are "likely to trigger alarm in Europe’s largest economy."
----
----

Following Peter Navarro's accusations of German manipulation of the euro (and the surge in the EUR relative to the USD), Angela Merkel has responded by explaining implicitly 'it's not my fault. Noting that she "can't change the situation with respect monetary policy" (so blame Draghi), Merkel added she "doesn't want to influence the euro exchange rate." EURUSD is dropping a little on her headlines.
----
----

“My visit to Syria has made it abundantly clear: Our counterproductive regime change war does not serve America’s interest, and it certainly isn’t in the interest of the Syrian people... I was asked, ‘Why is the United States and its allies helping al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups try to take over Syria? Syria did not attack the United States. Al-Qaeda did.’ I had no answer.
----
----


As disaffected Hillary supporters around the U.S. continue to live in 'complete terror' that Trump's Presidency may mark the beginning of the end of American democracy, here is a map highlighting where coups may actually occur in 2017.
----
----

Germany began sending 200 vehicles, including 30 tanks, by train to Lithuania along with 450 troops, to Lithuania on Tuesday as part of a NATO mission to beef up the defense of eastern Europe and send a signal of resolve to Russia, which has denounced the build-up as an act of aggression.
----
----


DEMOCRACY NOW


----
----
----


GLOBAL RESEARCH


----
----
----
----
----
----
----


INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE


----
Move the Embassy: End the Charade  By Stanley L. Cohen   Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem - would constitute a point of no return… a veritable disaster in waiting..
----
The U.S. Justice System Is Criminal  By Paul Craig Roberts
----
----
President Trump: Nationalist Capitalism, An Alternative to Globalization  By James Petras  Anti-Trump journalist, editorialists, academics and experts, have repeatedly distorted and lied about the President’s program
----
----
Our nation of sheep has given rise to a government of wolves.
----
----


COUNTER PUNCH


----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----


SPUTNIK and RT SHOWS


More Money: US Missile Defense Agency Ups Lockheed THAAD Contract to $1.3Bln   https://sputniknews.com/us/201702011050221367-thaad-contract-price-raise/
----
US Army Orders Counter-Drone Systems for 'Urgent Operational Need'   https://sputniknews.com/us/201702011050221704-us-army-counter-drone-systems/
----
Iran Prepares to Ditch Dollar in International Trade   https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201702011050220348-iran-threatens-to-ditch-dollar/
----
UNSC Admits Importance of Astana Talks on Syria, Looks Forward to Geneva Round   https://sputniknews.com/politics/201702011050221764-unsc-importance-astana-talks/
----
----
Sputnik Obtains Full Text of Syrian Draft Constitution Proposed by Russia   https://sputniknews.com/politics/201702011050212454-syria-constitution-text-russia/
Related
Syrian Kurds are Welcome in Russia's Proposed Draft Constitution for Syria   https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701311050194618-syria-draft-constitution/
----
----
----
----
RT SHOWS
Chris Hedges examines the future of the American empire under the Trump Administration
----
----
----


WASHINGTON BLOG



Much of what passes for politics these days is symbolic. Anyone who studies the issue of illegal immigration concludes that the solution lies not in building $10 billion walls but in changing the incentive structure of citizenship, legal and illegal immigration. As long as successfully crossing the border enables access to free healthcare, education and sanctuary and the potential for cash work–the equivalent of winning the lottery for those with none of these benefits–walls will be tunneled under, overflown or bypassed by sea.

The Trump Administration’s proposed policies on tariffs, walls to stop illegal immigration, etc. are defended as symbolic gestures–in other words, their value is in communicating “things have changed”, not actually solving the problems facing the nation.

On the other side of the spectrum, protests in defense of a corrupt, failed status quo are also symbolic. No thinking person can claim that the status-quo policies on illegal immigration are fair, just or functional; how is letting illegal immigrants “jump the queue” ahead of the hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants who have labored patiently for years, paying all the outrageous costs of navigating the Kafkaesque complexities of legal immigration fair or just?

Protesting in defense of a racket-based status quo fixes nothing and solves nothing. Protests are also purely symbolic: the indignant express their indignation, gather to support a corrupt, venal system of rackets and then go home to stroke their egos on social media: I struck a blow today for… a corrupt system of rackets that enrich self-serving vested interests and privileged elites.
----
----


NOTICIAS IN SPANISH


----
----
Stgo Alba Rico  "Estamos viviendo un fin de civilización"  Clara Morales
----
----
La desigual construcción social del género  Seccion Igualdad.Vozpopuli
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
Los Terroristas ya vienen? .. Peor que escuchar “Russians are coming”
----
Debate   Feminismo y neoliberalismo en América Latina  Verónica Schild
----
----
----
----


PRESS TV


----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
===