3% interest rate 'to be the norm'

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/3-interest-rate-norm-130318920.html#gqzudv7

That's assuming the market shares the same sentiment when the time comes, sir.
Market > central bank.

Roubini vs Schiff

Schiff vs mainstream economist Roubini.
This must go into the next "Peter Schiff was right" compilation.

Laughable

Roubini vs. Schiff: Who's "Doomier" on US Economy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32YoHO2pduY

Russia dumps US bonds

Russia dumps a record amount of US treasuries and buys more gold.

http://www.zerohedge.com/print/488737

Sneaky tactics or inflation?

No worries bond traders. There's no inflation.

Analysts see it as 'sneaky tactics', I see it as inflation.

Supermarket Shrinkage? It's Not Your Imagination, Experts Say

http://goldsilver.com/video/supermarket-shrinkage-it-s-not-your-imagination-experts-say/

Soros bought gold

Soros Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Barrick Gold Corp, the largest producer, in the first quarter and also bought more shares in the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETP.

Hasn't the "ultimate bubble" burst already?

US Interest Debt

The national debt tripled in the past 20 years, to almost $18 trillion now. Yet, interest payments stayed roughly the same. As alluded to before, this is the real reason why the Fed prints tons of money: to keep the government afloat. Government bonds has had its 30-odd-year bull run. What happens when interest rates double or triple?

Russian Stocks

Finally got myself some Russian stocks today, through an ETF.


EDIT 20 Mar 2015:
Wow, some guy from youtube actually looked through my blog and told me that I bought RSX on May 8th,2014. So I presume he saw this particular post. I argued against him in the past. I thought I was done with him. But today he emerged again to insult me. It seems like he has been trying to find faults with me. I do have many faults, but he is pointing out this particular "fault" in this particular post. Should I be honoured that he is putting in the effort to discredit me? He said that I bought RSX on May 8, 2014 and that it was "down 32% in less than a year".

Ok, I should have put in more effort to write my blog. But since I did not expect people to read it, nor am I promoting it like other bloggers, I did not put in the effort. He assumed that I lost big. But in reality, I bought only 2 lots, because I was testing my new broker. And I told him that my main purchase was updated here: http://silvernjin.blogspot.sg/2015/02/portfolio-update-2.html

And oh, about those 2 lots, Check it out. It is a good thing I took a screenshot of it back then, because right now I cannot access my transactions online which are more than a month old:

It sure hurts to lose those couple of bucks! :)

Iranian stocks.

Iranian stocks have rallied 150% since last year, about the same time I started looking at it (posted in FB but forgot to post it here). Situation is still uncertain. Only a very tiny amount of Iranian stocks are currently owned by foreigners. Continue to monitor!

What inflation?

According to the CPI, inflation is just around 1% a year. 

Here're some figures that support the claim:

2010-2014:

College costs up 40%
Gold up 37%
Silver up 44%
Pork chops up 25%
Chicken up 10%
Hot dogs up 18%
Ground beef up 43%
Gas up 70%
Milk up 130%
Coffee up 43%
Cotton up 54%

Spin it positively!

I get amused by market commentators sometimes.

Journalist on bloomberg:
"US unemployment rate falls to 6.3%, the lowest SINCE september 2008."
"288k, the best number we've see SINCE jan 2012."
"But the participation rate drop to 62.8%, the civilian labour force dropping by almost 800k"

Participation rate is the lowest SINCE when? Since 1978. Of course it isn't mentioned. Gotta keep a positive spin to it. (Absent the convenient kicking of people out of the labour force statistic, the unemployment rate is well above 10%)

US VS RUSSIA

There has been so much news against Russia in the mainstream media. Here I would like to add some other perspectives:

The US wanted regime change in the democratically-elected government of Ukraine (among other countries) since 2004. 

Known US funding of foreign political parties in:
italy, phillipines, lebanon, indonesia, vietnam, guyana, japan, nepal, laos, brazil, dominican republic, guatemala, bolivia, chile, portugal, australia, jamaica, nicaragua, haiti, bulgaria, mongolia, russia, bosnia, yugoslavia, bolivia, slovakia, georgia, el salvador, afghanistan, iraq, ukraine

Known US covert regime change in:
hawaii, russia, italy, cuba, syria, guatemala, tibet, iran, indonesia, lebanon, nepal, congo, bolivia, jamaica, iraq, dominican republic, south vietnam, brazil, ghana, greece, cambodia, chile, argentina, afghanistan, turkey, nicaragua, poland, bulgaria, mongolia, venezuela, georgia, libya, ukraine.

~source: Rogue State

And yet,
US Code Amended, Article 2, Section 441 E(A):
"It shall be unlawful for a foreign national to make any contribution of money in connection with political office"

Don't worry folks, the economy is improving

The market loves to feel optimistic and ignore all bad data.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-30/fed-says-economy-has-picked-up-as-it-trims-bond-buying-further.html

Record corporate cash... record-er corporate debt.

We hear so much about record corporate cash. How about corporate debt?

http://www.zerohedge.com/print/487894

Am looking to make some shorts on stocks/corporate bonds soon.

Japan trade deficit quadruples

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27099942?SThisFB

Isn't cheapening the currency supposed to help exports?

Print faster, Kuroda!

http://dollarcollapse.com/japan/amazing-story-from-japan/

"For a day and a half this week, the Japanese government’s benchmark 10-year bonds attracted not a single successful private sector bid...The rest of the world now refuses to lend money for ten years at 0.6% to a government whose debt is 200% of GDP and rising" 

Come on Kuroda. Print faster!!