Category: General

U.S. economy accelerates at 2.5 percent rate in Q1

Posted on by The INO.com Team

U.S. economic growth accelerated to an annual rate of 2.5 percent from January through March, buoyed by the strongest consumer spending in more than two years. Government spending fell, though, and tax increases and federal budget cuts could slow growth later this year.

The Commerce Department said Friday that the economy rebounded from an anemic 0.4 percent annual growth rate in the October-December quarter. Much of the gain reflected a jump in consumer spending, which rose at an annual rate of 3.2 percent. That was the biggest such jump since the end of 2010.

Growth was also helped by businesses, which responded to the greater demand by rebuilding their stockpiles. And home construction rose further.

But government spending fell at a 4.1 percent annual rate, led by another deep cut in defense spending. The decline kept last quarter's increase in economic growth below expectations of a 3 percent rate or more. Continue reading "U.S. economy accelerates at 2.5 percent rate in Q1" →

Portfolio Manager Greg Orrell: 'My Belief in Gold Has Not Wavered'

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The Gold Report: How has your bullish view on the gold sector evolved as a series of crises has jolted both the international stock market and the price of gold?

Greg Orrell: First off, my belief in gold as a monetary asset has not wavered. Japan basically admitted that it is bankrupt with its intention to aggressively debase its currency. Normally such actions would invoke, and may still, a race to the bottom as each country engages in economic warfare to deal with its debt issues. At this juncture the fear of global deflation among the G7 crowd remains its worst nightmare, especially as additional stimulus by the Federal Reserve is showing diminishing returns. With high debt levels in both the private and public sectors around the world, stimulating economic growth is proving elusive. These alarming events are setting the stage for the next leg up in the dollar gold price, in my opinion. The fiscal and monetary crisis is ongoing and underscores the necessity of owning gold assets.

Though agonizing, the past 18 months have been nothing more than a consolidation for gold from the September 2011 highs of $1,900/ounce ($1,900/oz). The recent decline in gold prices below $1,500/oz is not the end of the bull market in gold, despite the barrage of negative commentary by those wanting to dance on gold's grave. The destruction of currencies is in full bloom, but it is not a straight line. The problem for many gold investors is that they can see the endgame. Gold prices rise in a straight line at the end of a monetary system, but we are not there yet. It takes some patience to hold the course while the establishment fights tooth and nail to keep the dollar system from failing. Continue reading "Portfolio Manager Greg Orrell: 'My Belief in Gold Has Not Wavered'" →

Reversion To The …. Blown Account

Posted on by The INO.com Team

The markets have been trending nicely of late and one could argue it has been since the beginning of the year. For those who aspire to use the most over-hyped phrase in trading, ‘the trend is your friend’, the markets have provided some interesting trading opportunities, even if you couldn’t catch them all.

On the other hand, different trading styles are having a tough time of late. Strategies using a ‘reversion to the mean’ concept can at times be like trying to catch a falling knife.  Day traders using tools such as Bollinger bands, keltner channels and even some market profile concepts are finding winning trades to be a tough go. These methodologies that some diehards claim to be an ATM machine during summer doldrums or December holidays are finding it frustrating of late and landing continuous stop-losses due to a failure of price to reverse.

The challenge I see when mentoring traders is their inability to identify the type of market as well as  adjust their trading style when they do recognize them. Traders tend to be loyal to their strategies; just like a dog to their master. Why not? These methodologies have proven beneficial to them over time. Continue reading "Reversion To The …. Blown Account" →

How a phony tweet and computer trades sank stocks

Posted on by The INO.com Team

For a few surreal minutes, a mere 12 words on Twitter caused the world's mightiest stock market to tremble.

No sooner did hackers send a false Associated Press tweet reporting explosions at the White House on Tuesday than investors started dumping stocks eventually unloading $134 billion worth. Turns out, some investors are not only gullible, they're impossibly fast stock traders.

Except most of the investors weren't human. They were computers, selling on autopilot beyond the control of humans, like a scene from a sci-fi horror film.

"Before you could blink, it was over," said Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading and an outspoken critic of high-speed computerized trading. "With people, you wouldn't have this type of reaction." Continue reading "How a phony tweet and computer trades sank stocks" →