WELCOME TO LEIBOVIT VR NEWSLETTERS – WEDNESDAY – DECEMBER 13, 2023 – SHOWTIME AT THE FED

 

GENERAL NEWS:

U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher, Extending Upward Trend

After moving mostly higher over the past few sessions, stocks saw some further upside during trading on Tuesday. The major averages recovered from an early pullback and climbed firmly into positive territory as the day progressed.

The major averages once again finished the session at their best closing levels in well over a year. The Dow climbed 173.01 points or 0.5 percent to 36,577.94, the Nasdaq advanced 100.91 points or 0.7 percent to 14,533.40 and the S&P 500 rose 21.26 points or 0.5 percent to 4,643.70.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing U.S. consumer prices inched up in line with economist estimates in the month of November.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index crept up by 0.1 percent in November after coming in unchanged in October. The uptick matched expectations.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose by 0.3 percent in November after edging up by 0.2 percent in October. The increase in core prices also came in line with estimates.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slipped to 3.1 percent in November from 3.2 percent in October, while the annual rate of core consumer price growth was unchanged at 4.0 percent.

The data has added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will be looking to the accompanying statement and projections for signs the central bank could begin cutting rates next year.

“The market remains steadfast in its belief that the Fed will cut rates as early as this spring, although the Fed may want to keep its options open if its campaign to quell inflation hasn’t completed the more difficult ‘last mile,'” said Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial.

She added, “The Fed statement in concert with the ‘dot plot,’ coupled with Powell’s comments, should offer markets more clarity and hopefully less confusion over the Fed’s path towards price stability.”

Sector News

Despite the advance by the broader markets, gold stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.2 percent.

The continued weakness among gold stocks came amid a slight decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery edging down $0.50 to $1,993.20 an ounce.

Energy stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, as the price of crude oil for January delivery plunged $2.71 to $68.61 a barrel.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slid by 0.4 percent, while the NYSE Arca Oil Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index both fell by 1.3 percent.

On the other hand, biotechnology stocks showed a notable move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.0 percent to a two-month closing high.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks moved slightly lower over the course of the session. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both closed just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after an early jump but finished the day in positive territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 3.3 basis points to 4.206 percent.

Looking Ahead

Ahead of the Fed announcement, early trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to the Labor Department’s report on producer price inflation in November.

 

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THE FED ISN’T AS POWERFUL AS MANY THINK IT IS

https://www.howestreet.com/2023/12/the-fed-isnt-as-powerful-as-many-think-it-is-mark-leibovit/

NEXT PODCAST THURSDAY

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Investing.com — U.S. crude inventories declined more than expected last week, the API reported Tuesday, at a time when many are concerns about burgeoning non-OPEC production, pushing global crude supplies into surplus.

Crude Oil WTI Futures, the U.S. benchmark, traded at $68.83 a barrel following the report after settling down 3.8% at $68.61 a barrel to remain on track for its longest weekly losing streak since 2018.

U.S. crude inventories fell 2.3M barrels for the week ended Dec. 8, compared with a build of 549,000 barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting an decline of about 1.5M barrels.

The larger-than-expected draw comes as concerns about growing non-OPEC supply offsetting recent output-cut pledges by OPEC and its allies, OPEC+ amid doubts about whether the cuts will be extended.

The API data also showed that gasoline inventories increased by 5.8M barrels last week, while distillate stocks decreased by 300,000 barrels.

The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies decreased by about 1.5M barrels last week.

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Silver Shortage: A Closer Look at Market Dynamics Heading Into 2024 -Investing Haven

The price of silver may not be reflecting the intensifying silver shortage, but it’s a matter of time until the silver supply squeeze pushes the price of silver much higher.

Recent reports from the Silver Institute have sent ripples through the market. Let’s simplify the complexities, focus on key takeaways and what it might mean for the silver market and silver price price going forward.

The topic of silver shortage has been center stage in recent weeks, particularly after the Silver Institute released its later physical silver market data. It evoked a lot of reactions as evidenced by data driven posts on social media.

Let’s review the facts, and add commentary about the market dynamics that go a step further than the data points served by The Silver Institute.

The Silver Institute’s update reveals a decrease in total silver supply due to production losses at major mines, notably the Penasquito mine. On the flip side, non-investment demand has surged, primarily driven by industrial use, reaching an all-time high. Despite slight dips in jewelry and silverware demand, the crux lies in the booming industrial demand, particularly for photovoltaic solar cells.

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Janet Yellen Fiddles While America’s Economy Burns – heritage.org

by EJ Antoni

YellenAmerica’s ruling class lives in a fantasy world. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said the United States economy is not only “doing very well,” but that the nation can “certainly afford” to pay for two wars at the same time: Ukraine and Israel. It’s distressing to realize that the woman ostensibly in charge of the nation’s finances knows nothing about them—and the Treasury’s data prove it.

First, the idea that the economy is doing well is laughable. Inflation has become embedded and is running about twice the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, as well as two and a half times the rate it was when President Joe Biden took office. Last year, inflation reached 40-year highs as prices throughout the economy set record after record.

Under the leadership of Mr. Biden and Ms. Yellen, prices have risen more than 17%, and they continue rising. Inflation has outpaced earnings growth so rapidly that the average worker has lost the equivalent of about 5% of his annual income from the dollar’s reduced purchasing power.

The persistent inflation has now led to higher interest rates, which have raised borrowing costs on everything from mortgages to credit cards—and those cards currently have record-high interest rates. An American family trying to buy a median price home today will pay about $13,800 more per year—for the same house—compared to January 2021 because of inflated home prices and higher interest rates.

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CENTRAL BANK ‘HANKY PANKY’

In a 35-minute video, Peak Prosperity’s Chris Martenson explains how central banks can manipulate the prices of all futures contracts in the United States — commodity, financial, and agricultural — through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s “Central Bank Incentive Program,” which provides central banks and related institutions with volume trading discounts for trading futures secretly. The CME operates all major futures markets in the United States.

Martenson notes that while the program nominally excludes the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, this exclusion is essentially meaningless, insofar as the Federal Reserve commonly has currency swap lines with other central banks, which presumably can use the “Cent ral Bank Incentive Program” to execute trades for the Fed with the Fed’s money.

As a result, Martenson notes, world markets are hardly markets at all.

This is another issue ripe for investigation by financial journalism should it ever reappear on Earth.

Martenson’s analysis is headlined “Central Bank Hanky Panky” and can be viewed at Peak Prosperity here:

https://tinyurl.com/4ff3pd4m

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Is the banking crisis in America really that bad? Bad enough that four of the major banks have paid billions in fines since the year 2000. In the wake of this, banks are actively pursuing the transition into the world of digital currency which Jamie Dimon warns is a currency for criminals.

$181,034,960,000 in Fines Paid by Big Four US Banks As JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Says Crypto’s for ‘Criminals’ -Daily Hodl
by Mehron Rokhy

bankHundreds of billions of dollars worth of fines have been paid by the four biggest banks in the US as JPMorgan’s chief executive sounds off against digital assets, saying they are for criminals.

According to corporate misconduct data aggregator Violation Tracker, the big four banks of the US – Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JPMorgan – have paid a staggering $181 billion worth of fines since the year 2000.

The data unveils that Bank of America has paid a total of 324 fines worth $87.2 billion since the start of the millennium while Wells Fargo has been fined 261 times for a total of $27.5 billion.

Violation Tracker also reveals that Citigroup was found to be in violation 181 times, paying $26.9 billion worth of fines while JPMorgan has been hit with a total of 272 fines worth $39.3 billion.

The Violation Tracker covers a range of civil and criminal banking offenses including foreign bribery, money laundering, corporate tax evasion, securities violations, accounting fraud, price-fixing, employment discrimination and more.

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16th AMENDMENT QUESTION BEFORE SUPREME COURT

Imagine receiving a tax bill for the appreciation on your investments, including the equity in your home, before you’ve even sold them. It could happen if the government has its way at the Supreme Court… the justices focused on the question of whether the 16th Amendment’s authorization of “income” taxes allows for the taxing of unrealized gains. It has long been understood that income taxes apply only to realized gains. Ilya Shapiro, “The Wealth Tax You May Already Owe,” Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2023.

 

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U.S. DOLLAR

CANADIAN DOLLAR

URANIUM  – REPORTS ONLY ISSUED WEEKLY

METALS

COMMODITIES

CRYPTO UPDATE AS OF DECEMBER 12. 2023

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https://tinyurl.com/2rd9wv52

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FROM 2007 – REP RON PAUL:

IT IS TIME TO REPEAL THE 16TH AMENDMENT – THE ONE THAT CREATES INCOME TAX

THE CASE FOR ABOLISHING THE FEDERAL RESERVE

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When Is Chanukah?
Chanukah begins on the eve of Kislev 25 and continues for eight days. On the civil calendar, it generally coincides with the month of December. Chanukah 2023 runs from Dec. 7-Dec. 15.

Editor: Jews have joined the ranks of the Maccabees.

Hanukkah (Chanukah) is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.

The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple (as you’ll read below). Also spelled Hanukkah (or variations of that spelling), the Hebrew word is actually pronounced with a guttural, “kh” sound, kha-nu-kah, not tcha-new-kah.

In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and belief in G‑d. Against all odds, a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G‑d.

When they sought to light the Temple’s Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.

To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.

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COME ON, DAD. IT’S TIME TO EAT

DISCLAIMER:

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