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Bitcoin Is At A Crossroads

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Aibek Burabayev

Back in December I called for an unbelievable $20k target for the Bitcoin when it traded around $15.6k, and ten days later that target was hit (click on the play button to see how price emerged). It was one hell of the roller coaster ride that month as Bitcoin then lost almost half of its worth in a matter of days right ahead of Christmas falling to $11k.

Rinse and repeat! The crypto king started to grow again, and then I posted another map at the end of 2017, which implied a pullback to the $16k-$20k area before another huge drop to the $7500 area. Amazingly, both the upside and downside forecasted areas were hit accurately (click on the play button to see how price emerged).

The Bitcoin buzz is coming down with the price staying below $10k. It is like a superstar who has seen his best times already and is on the tour to the countries where he is still warmly welcomed as we are not in the $20k euphoria area now (we can call it a “cocaine” time) although you can still buy some pleasant things selling just one coin for more than $7k these days.

In this post, I would like to share with you a familiar pattern I spotted recently on the Bitcoin chart. Continue reading "Bitcoin Is At A Crossroads" →

U.S. March Crude Production Shows Large Gain

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Robert Boslego

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that February crude oil production averaged 10.474 million barrels per day (mmbd), up 215,000 b/d from February, setting a new all-time record for the U.S. The large increase was on top of a 264,000 b/d gain in February.

The largest increases were recorded in Texas (159,000 b/d), New Mexico (38,000 b/d) and Oklahoma (15,000 b/d).

The EIA-914 Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) figure was 54,000 b/d higher than the weekly data reported by EIA in the Weekly Petroleum Supply Report (WPSR), averaged over the month, of 10.420 mmbd. EIA’s most recent weekly estimate for the week ending May 25th was 10.769 mmbd. Continue reading "U.S. March Crude Production Shows Large Gain" →

Goldman Sachs - A Compelling Long-Term Buy

Posted on June 2, 2018June 1, 2018 by Noah Kiedrowski

Favorable Backdrop and Financials

The latest Federal Reserve meeting indicated that interest rate increases might need to be accelerated while boosting its domestic GDP estimates for 2018 and 2019 alluding to a domestic and global economic expansion. Augmenting this economic backdrop is a record number of IPOs, a record number of global merger and acquisitions, rising interest rates, market volatility, deregulation and tax reform. All of these elements provide an ideal confluence that bodes well for the financial sector. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) in particular looks to benefit in unique ways due to the consulting fees regarding mergers and acquisitions, trading around market volatility, launching of its cryptocurrency futures contracts as well as rising interest rates as Goldman Sachs has entered into the commercial banking segment when the bank acquired GE Capital’s savings business in 2016 assuming approximately $16 billion of deposits at the time. JP Morgan (JPM), Citi (C) and Bank of America (BAC) are all poised to benefit from the favorable economic backdrop as well however I feel Goldman is in a unique position to benefit across the board in all business segments. Goldman Sachs is relatively inexpensive based on historical standards after a string of quarterly results that have beat Wall Street’s estimates. Goldman Sachs offers a 1.3% dividend yield that was recently increased and a share buyback program to augment the overall favorable backdrop providing a compelling long-term buy. Continue reading "Goldman Sachs - A Compelling Long-Term Buy" →

One ETF Betting On High Customer Satisfaction

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Matt Thalman

The American Customer Satisfaction ETF (ACSI) is an Exchange Traded Fund that is built around the idea that companies who have high customer satisfaction, will perform well in the long run, and here is a hint, but there is a lot of evidence to prove this thinking right.

Let's review some of this evidence before we go any further.

According to a 2011 American Express Survey, 78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of poor service experience.
According to a White House Office of Consumer Affairs report, on average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase.
Marketing Metrics reports tells us that you have a 5-20% probability of selling to a new prospect but a 60-70% probability of selling to an existing customer.
“Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner says it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.
According to a White House Office of Consumer Affairs report, It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one.
According to a 2011 American Express Survey, 3 in 5 Americans (59%) would try a new brand or company for the better service experience.
According to a White House Office of Consumer Affairs report, News of lousy customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for the good customer service experience.
According to a 2011 American Express Survey, in 2011, 7 in 10 Americans said they were willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service.
According to Lee Resources, 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with you again.
A report from the Customer Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive/RightNow, 2010, found almost 9 out of 10 U.S. consumers say they would pay more to ensure a superior customer experience.

The list could go on and on, but I think you are getting the point. Now think about the list above and think about this list of companies; Amazon.com Inc (AMZN), Apple Inc (AAPL), Vonage Holdings Corp (VG), Alphabet Inc (GOOG), Humana Inc (HUM), FedEx Corp (FDX), JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU), The Hershey Co (HSY), Coca-Cola Co (KO). Continue reading "One ETF Betting On High Customer Satisfaction" →

Trump, Putin Pressure Saudis To Raise Oil Production

Posted on May 30, 2018May 29, 2018 by Robert Boslego

About a month ago, President Trump tweeted:

"Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea. Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!"

When asked to comment on Trump's tweet, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told CNBC, "Markets should determine price."

Perhaps Trump later made the kind of call he talked about a decade ago. In 2008, President Trump was interviewed by Jim Cramer about OPEC. In this video (starting 5:38), Trump stated:

"The biggest problem I never hear anybody talk about. I told you about it once. Every time they lower interest rates, the cartel, because I call it a cartel-- the illegal monopoly-- raises oil prices. So the monopoly, because that's what it is, a total illegal monopoly. If businesses ever formed OPEC, everybody would be put in jail. Every time a country hits oil, they are invited into the cartel. It's a disgrace. Now you have oil prices that are going to be over $100, and nobody in this country calls and says. 'Get that goddamn oil price down. You get it down. And you get it down fast.'"

"And you can do it….In the old days, our presidents used to call. We don't call anymore….If spoken to properly, those prices would come down like you wouldn't believe."
Continue reading "Trump, Putin Pressure Saudis To Raise Oil Production" →

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