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Soros Lost $1 Billion Following Trump Election
via by Tyler Durden on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:44:08 GMT
While Carl Icahn infamously made a killing following the "surprise" Trump election, another prominent hedge fund manager was not nearly as lucky. According to the WSJ, "George Soros lost nearly $1 billion as a result of the stock-market rally spurred by Donald Trump’s surprise presidential election."
As discussed in 2016, Soros returned to trading at Soros Fund Management LLC, which manages $30 billion for the Soros and his family. At the time, "Soros was cautious about the market going into November and became more bearish immediately after Mr. Trump’s election, according to people close to the matter." In retrospect, that clearly proved a mistake as the market rallied on expectations that Trump’s policies will boost corporate earnings and the overall economy, even if such expectations may end up being premature. To be sure, Soros wasn't alone as many other experts had predicted a tumble for stocks in the wake of the election, but instead the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.3%.
As a result, the WSJ reports that Soros incurred losses approaching $1 billion. Mr. Soros adjusted his positions and exited many of his bearish bets late last year, avoiding further losses, the people added.
The broader portfolio held by Mr. Soros’s firm performed better, posting profits before and after the election from long-held investments in sectors including financials and industrials, according to people familiar with the firm. Those gains helped Soros Fund Management gain about 5% on the year.
Meanwhile, Soros' former protege, Stanley Druckenmiller, who publicly changed his dour outlook on the economy following the Trump election which he said would prove positive for stocks and the economy, did far better, "and racked up sizable gains, according to people close to the matter."
Mr. Druckenmiller, who left Mr. Soros’s firm in 2000 and now invests his own money, took a very different stance on the presidential election.
Days before the election, Mr. Druckenmiller predicted to an investor that if Mrs. Clinton emerged victorious the stock market likely would rally initially but then would fall. Mr. Druckenmiller said if Mr. Trump won the election, the opposite result likely would occur—stocks first would tumble and then soar. Mr. Druckenmiller’s call was prescient.
Druckenmiller, who told CNBC a day after the election that he sold all his gold on the night of the election, and exited bearish positions, became bullish on certain sectors of the stock market, and said he was shorting bonds globally and expected the dollar to rally against the euro. These trades have paid off as Mr. Druckenmiller’s firm, Duquesne Family Office LLC, scored gains of more than 10% in 2016.
In October, Mr. Druckenmiller told Reuters that he backed Republican candidates for Congress in the hope of creating a “firewall” against Mrs. Clinton’s likely economic policies, including more government control of health care. He also said Mr. Trump had an “unstable personality,” and Mr. Druckenmiller added that he might not vote in the presidential election.
As Peter Thiel told the NYT last night, many of Trump's former hedge fund foes turned quite friendly as a result of the market rally that followed: "There were hedge fund people I spoke to about a week after the election. They hadn’t supported Trump. But all of a sudden, they sort of changed their minds. The stock market went up, and they were like, ‘Yes, actually, I don’t understand why I was against him all year long.’”
Of course, if and when the market turns lower, Trump's newly minted hedge fund friends, may rise again.
Import Prices Rise At Fastest Rate In Almost 4 Years As Energy Costs Soar
via by Tyler Durden on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:43:31 GMT
With survey after survey warning of stagflationary impulses - stagnant growth and higher input prices - today's US import prices will do nothing to assuage those fears as the year-over-year rise of 1.8% is the hottest since March 2012.
This confirmed the end of the 27 month deflationary cycle.
The main drive of the jump is the rise in energy costs as ex-fuel, input prices declined 0.1% YoY.
This is the 25th month in a row of ex-fuel import price declines.
Can Twitter, Inc. Keep Up Its User Growth?
via Motley Fool Headlines by on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:51:00 GMT
Why You Should (and Shouldn't) Buy Enterprise Products Partners L.P.
via Motley Fool Headlines by on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:49:00 GMT
3 Cheap Value Stocks to Buy Today
via Motley Fool Headlines by on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:40:00 GMT
Over 100,000 More Americans Are On Jobless Benefits Now Than Before Trump's Election
via by Tyler Durden on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:36:09 GMT
Continuing jobless claims are up over 100,000 since Donald Trump's election victory and stand at 4-month highs.
This is the biggest percentage rise in claims since May 2009, all happening as small business optimism, consumer confidence, and stocks soar to cyclical highs.
Why Did Sonic Corp. Shares Lose 16% in 2016?
via Motley Fool Headlines by on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:31:00 GMT
Gold Tops $1,200 As Dollar Dumps Below Key Technical Level
via by Tyler Durden on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:26:11 GMT
For the first time since before Thanksgiving, the price of gold has risen above $1,200 (now up 13 of the last 15 days) and outperforming all other asset classes year-to-date.
This latest jump comes as the USD Index tumbles further post-Trump's press conference, breaking below the key 50-day moving-average for the first time since September...
As Post-Trump fallout erases the post-Fed gains...
This is the biggest Udrop in the USD Index since July.
Trump : "Head Of US Intel Called Me To Denounce False, Fictitious, Illegally Circulated Report"
via by Tyler Durden on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:20:48 GMT
In his first tweet of the day, Donald Trump said at 7:23am on Thursday that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had called him to effectively apologize and "denounce" the "false and fictitious" report containing numerous unverified allegations about the president-elect and Russia.
"Made up, phony facts.Too bad!" Trump tweeted.
James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts.Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017
Trump's victory lap followed a statement issued late on Wednesday night from Clapper, in which the head of the DNI said he had spoken to Trump to express his "profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security." In other words, the US intel agencies, having been slammed by Trump for being "overly politicized", blinked.
This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss recent media reports about our briefing last Friday. I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security.
We also discussed the private security company document, which was widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC became aware of it. I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC. The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions. However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security.
President-elect Trump again affirmed his appreciation for all the men and women serving in the Intelligence Community, and I assured him that the IC stands ready to serve his Administration and the American people.
The detente followed the decision by BuzzFeed to post the controversial document, which was compiled by a former British intelligence officer. It alleges Russia’s government possesses compromising financial and personal information about Trump. It also claims people close to Trump kept in touch with Moscow during the 2016 presidential race. In response, Trump slammed BuzzFeed as a "failing pail of garbage" in his first press conference of the year.
American Troops "Roll Into Poland" In Largest Deployment Since The Cold War
via by Tyler Durden on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:08:50 GMT
"American soldiers rolled into Poland on Thursday, fulfilling a dream Poles have had since the fall of communism in 1989 to have U.S. troops on their soil as a deterrent against Russia."
That's how the AP begins its report on the first deployment of US soldiers into the central European country, previewed here earlier in the week as "One Of Largest Deployments Since The Cold War", even as Russia warned that the move represented a threat to its national security, and the Kremlin said "Russia regarded the move as an aggressive step along its borders."
Two convoys of have been photographed heading to Poland from Germany today
40 vehicles across two separate convoys are on their way to Poland
NATO, however, has ignored Russian concerns and threats of retaliation and as a result soldiers in camouflage with tanks and other vehicles crossed into southwestern Poland on Thursday morning from Germany and headed for Zagan, where they will be based.
The largest US military brigade since the end of the Cold War arrived in
Bremerhaven in northern Germany on Saturday
While in the past the US and other Western nations have carried out exercises on NATO's eastern flank, this deployment, which includes around 3,500 U.S. troops and 2,800 tanks, trucks and other military equipment, marks the first-ever continuous deployment to the region by a NATO ally. It also represents a commitment by outgoing President Obama to "protect" a region that became deeply nervous over Russia's response to the CIA-orchestrated presidential coup in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, and the resulting proxy war in east Ukraine.
Two convoys of 20 vehicles were pictured leaving Brueck near Lehnin in Germany today heading to Poland. They spent the night 80km from Berlin. Troops will also deployed to Romania, Bulgaria and across the Baltics.
The Pentagon now plans to keep the full deployment in Europe and immediately replace those returning after their 9-month stays. The US troops will carry out training exercises with NATO forces once there.
* * *
As AP adds, the arrival of the US troops will be feted on Saturday in official ceremonies attended by Poland's prime minister and defense minister.
Despite the Polish celebrations, clouds hung over the historic moment. As the AP puts it, "there are anxieties that the enhanced security could eventually be undermined by the pro-Kremlin views of President-elect Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Russia appears provoked by the deployment of American troops on its doorstep."
"We perceive it as a threat," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "These actions threaten our interests, our security. Especially as it concerns a third party building up its military presence near our borders," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. "It's not even a European state."
Worries about the permanence of the new U.S. security commitments are rooted in a tragic national history in which Poland has often lost out in deals made over its head by the great powers.
Better Buy: Royal Gold, Inc. vs. Goldcorp Inc.
via Motley Fool Headlines by on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:21:00 GMT
67% of Americans Are Missing Out on This Valuable Retirement Savings Opportunity
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OPEC’s Oil Production Cuts Ease in With the New Year
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Will 2017 Be TerraForm Global's Worst Year Yet?
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100 Words On: How Thinking Outside the Box Can Save You a Fortune
via Len Penzo dot Com by Len Penzo on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:15:32 GMT
Better Buy: Alcoa Inc. vs. Barrick Gold
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Duke Energy Continues Shift Towards Renewable Energy
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Gold Rises To $1,207 As Trump War With Intelligence Agencies Escalates
via by GoldCore on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 12:53:35 GMT
Gold Rises To $1,207 As Trump War With Intelligence Agencies Escalates
Gold has rallied to $1,207/oz today as stocks globally have weakened after the first press conference of incoming President Trump turned into a bit of a debacle.
Gold prices made further gains today amid reduced focus on the Fed and speculation regarding their potential rate hikes and more focus on the next four years of the Trump Presidency.
The dollar declined alongside US Treasury bond yields, although U.S. stock indices were supported yesterday and remained buoyant. Declines in Asian and European bourses today have seen U.S. futures decline this morning and the dollar has seen further losses pushing gold higher in all currencies.
Gold is likely to be supported and should rise due to the ongoing Trump versus the U.S. intelligence agencies saga which worsened yesterday amid vicious claim and counter claim. These included salacious allegations of lewd sexual acts by Trump while in Moscow and the allegation that the incoming President is being blackmailed and controlled by Russia.
There would appear to be a tussle for power and supremacy between more hawkish elements in the intelligence agencies and the incoming President. The extremely adversarial public disagreement between an incoming President with senior members of the FBI and the CIA is absolutely unprecedented.
As we told Dow Jones Marketwatch yesterday:
"Whether you like Trump or not, whether you are a Republican or a Democrat or neither, one has to acknowledge that the situation is a mess and is impacting America's standing on the world stage.
It highlights the continuing political uncertainty in the U.S. and does not bode well for the next four years as it will likely contribute to heightened geopolitical uncertainty."
There are also concerns about the increasing likelihood of trade wars, currency wars and even the potential for "hot" wars. Tensions with Russia and indeed China will not have been calmed by the Trump press conference yesterday.
Trump has angered Beijing since his election by reaching out to Taiwan, appointing China skeptics to his team, accusing China of stealing a drone and threatening punitive tariffs on the country’s exports.
The revelations and tensions between the incoming U.S. President and his intelligence agencies and indeed the media first began to affect markets yesterday and again today. If this continues we may see a more meaningful impact and risk assets such as stocks and bonds will be vulnerable.
The U.S. stock markets in particular look vulnerable, as they are near record highs and looking increasingly overvalued with the Dow near 20,000. As does the dollar which is near multi year highs against many fiat currencies.
A new safe haven bid in the gold market is being seen and looks like it will continue in the coming weeks and in 2017. Indeed, in terms of the gold market, there is a good possibility that the four years of the Trump Presidency may be the "gift that keeps on giving."
The Trump press conference yesterday and its impact on markets, highlights the importance of real diversification and having an allocation to physical gold in a diversified portfolio. This will be more important than ever in the coming years.
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Gold and Silver Bullion - News and Commentary
Gold Futures Edge Higher As Investors Digest Trump’s Speech (EconomicCalendar.com)
Gold hits 7-week highs on weaker dollar after Trump briefing (Reuters.com)
LME Metals Trading Fails to Start on System Issues, Brokers Say (Bloomberg.com)
Dollar, S&P 500 Futures Slip as Trump Bets Unwind (Bloomberg.com)
Euro may not exist in 10 years, France’s Macron says (CNBC.com)
Dollar Slumps, Bonds Rally as Trump Bets Unwind: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg.com)
All Roads Lead To Gold - Top Sovereign Wealth Fund Adviser (KingWorldNews.com)
Tom DeMark Says Put Your "Dow 20,000" Hats Away (ZeroHedge.com)
Fears of a 'massive' global property price fall (Telegraph.co.uk)
Gold Prices (LBMA AM)
12 Jan: USD 1,206.65, GBP 984.39 & EUR 1,135.82 per ounce
11 Jan: USD 1,187.55, GBP 979.25 & EUR 1,128.41 per ounce
10 Jan: USD 1,183.20, GBP 974.60 & EUR 1,118.12 per ounce
09 Jan: USD 1,176.10, GBP 968.75 & EUR 1,118.59 per ounce
06 Jan: USD 1,178.00, GBP 951.35 & EUR 1,112.27 per ounce
05 Jan: USD 1,173.05, GBP 953.55 & EUR 1,116.16 per ounce
04 Jan: USD 1,165.90, GBP 949.98 & EUR 1,117.40 per ounce
03 Jan: USD 1,148.65, GBP 935.12 & EUR 1,103.28 per ounce
30 Dec: USD 1,159.10, GBP 942.58 & EUR 1,098.36 per ounce
Silver Prices (LBMA)
12 Jan: USD 16.91, GBP 13.77 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
11 Jan: USD 16.79, GBP 13.84 & EUR 15.96 per ounce
10 Jan: USD 16.66, GBP 13.73 & EUR 15.76 per ounce
09 Jan: USD 16.52, GBP 13.57 & EUR 15.69 per ounce
06 Jan: USD 16.45, GBP 13.30 & EUR 15.54 per ounce
05 Jan: USD 16.59, GBP 13.47 & EUR 15.80 per ounce
04 Jan: USD 16.42, GBP 13.36 & EUR 15.74 per ounce
03 Jan: USD 15.95, GBP 12.97 & EUR 15.34 per ounce
30 Dec: USD 16.24, GBP 13.20 & EUR 15.38 per ounce
Recent Market Updates
- Prince Owned Land and Gold Bars Worth $800,000
- Gold Price In GBP Up 4% On Brexit and UK Risks
- 2016 Past is 2017 Prologue
- Gold Gains In All Currencies In 2016 – 9% In USD, 13% In EUR and Surges 31.5% In GBP
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- US: Five Must Gold See Charts – Gold Miners Are “Running Out” of Gold
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- China Gold and Precious Metals Summit 2016 – GoldCore Presentation
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- Bail-Ins Coming? World’s Oldest Bank “Survival Rests On Savers”
- Fed’s “Fool Me…”, Silver Suppression, Euro Contagion In 2017?
- Fed Raised Rates 0.25% – Rising Rates Positive For Gold
Blame The Press If Trump Didn't Discuss His Economic Agenda
via by Tyler Durden on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 12:51:00 GMT
From Richard Breslow, former FX trader and fund manager who writes for Bloomberg
Everyone Left Presser Saying the Other Guy Lost
There are many ways to look at most issues. What we like to call nuance. In today’s world, sadly, there’s only thumbs-up or thumbs-down. It’s like living in the Roman Colosseum. Yesterday’s press conference was a disaster of arrogance and misdirection, or it was a tour de force where he taught the press a right, good lesson. What we got was what we should have had as the base-case expectation. He actually ran an honest campaign. And that’s what scares a lot of people.
The take-aways from this should be, he is who he claims and it’s unwise to project any other persona on him. And that what Americans are hearing, and in many cases hoping for, is not what people outside of the country can believe is happening
The other lesson not learned is that at a press conference, you can’t hope to get the questions you want to have answered unless you ask them. If investors were left disappointed on details relevant to the economy and policies, it’s because no one raised the issues in any substantive way
Interestingly, whether you agree with anything said or not, it might be useful to note for future day trading that S&P 500 futures sagged on Russia and conflicts of interest and bounced every time he went back to the campaign’s speech points
I wonder what they might have done had someone asked him the same South China Sea question posed to Secretary of State- designate Tillerson at his confirmation hearing. One thing I can tell you is which question and which answer was being discussed in the Chinese press today
I’ve read any number of stories this morning saying Trump trades unwind on disappointment with press conference. Meanwhile, it won’t be lost on the President-elect’s team that after the event, the Dow rallied almost 100 points, the 10-year auction was strong even with big primary issuance and the dollar was off a bit, which they won’t mind at all
There may be many people rating it “dislike”, but all he’s hearing is “great job, boss”. And that’s the rub.
After Internal Investigation, Trump Says He Caught U.S. Intelligence Sources Leaking Info
via by ZeroPointNow on Thu, 12 Jan 2017 12:49:47 GMT
In Donald Trump's first press conference since winning the election, the President-elect suggested that by process of elimination, elements within US intelligence - and not a mole amongst his team, had been identified as the source of leaks surrounding his CIA intelligence briefings - implying they may have also leaked the now infamous 35-page #FakeNews dossier on Russian influence.
If you recall, the Washington Post - which was privy to the CIA assessment on Russian hacking for their Trump hit piece on December 9th (10 days before the electoral college vote), also broke the story that the President-elect was skipping his intelligence briefings, according to "U.S. Officials").
In an effort to try and find the source of the leaks, Trump conducted his own "sting" on intelligence officials by ruling out moles within his own staff - including his personal assistant Rhona Graff, by not telling anyone about an upcoming intelligence briefing. When reports of the meeting later emerged in the press, Trump concluded that the leaks couldn't have come from anywhere other than the intelligence community:
The meeting was held. They left, and immediately the word got out that I had a meeting. So, I don’t want that. It’s very unfair to the country. It’s very unfair to our country what’s happening...
...I think it's pretty sad when intelligence reports get leaked out to the press. These are classified meetings and reports.
Trump then finished his point by referring to the 35-page hoax dossier leaked to Buzzfeed:
That report should have never been printed, because it's not worth the paper it's written on. Let me tell you, that should never, ever happen.
Prior to this exchange towards the end of the press conference, Trump made clear the "vital" importance of US intelligence - highlighting his recent picks for key positions within intel agencies (Mike Pompeo as director of the CIA and Dan Coats as director of National Intelligence), leaving many to surmise that the President-elect is referring to a specific opposition element within the intelligence community - perhaps tied to the outgoing administration and it's vast spider web of power.
For those who caught what Dr. Steve Pieczenik said in November (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Kissinger and several others, expert in foreign policy, international crisis management and psychological warfare, terrorism expert, and guy who helped negotiate US-Soviet Arms deals under Reagan - AKA high level operator and the inspiration for Jack Ryan), perhaps we are witnessing the last act in the Assange-assisted counter-coup in the form of a desperate and reaching 35 page Hail Mary, which included lascivious and obscene tales woven by what may turn out to be the biggest troll the world has ever known.
Content originally generated at iBankCoin.com * Follow on Twitter @ZeroPointNow