Stocks Rise As Syria Fears Ease

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. Wall Street is off to a good start this week as fears of an escalating conflict in Syria have eased. The DOW has gained as much as 200 points, with Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) rising more than 2% on news that their immunotherapy drug Keytruda plus chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival in newly-diagnosed patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The S&P 500 has climbed 0.75%, and the Nasdaq gaining 0.65% in the morning session.

On Saturday, the U.S. military conducted precision missile strikes against the Syrian government as a response to a chemical attack carried out in the country. The attack was conducted in conjunction with France and the U.K. The Pentagon described the U.S.-led strikes as a "justified, legitimate and proportionate response" to the Syrian regime's continued use of chemical weapons.

Syria Fears Ease

Crude oil has dropped from the three-year high that it posted to end the week as concerns about conflicts in the Middle East eased. Oil had dropped as much as 1.9% on the day but has settled around the $66.50 level, down about .55%. Continue reading "Stocks Rise As Syria Fears Ease" →

Updated World Oil Forecast For April

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies - World Oil Forecast


According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), world oil production will exceed demand for much of the balance of 2018, and therefore global OECD oil inventories are projected to rise. Specifically, the EIA estimates that OECD inventories bottomed at the end of March at 2.784 million barrels (mmb) and will rise by 80 mmb through year-end, up 26 mmb from December 2017. And its projections through 2019 show another net stock gain of 34 mmb to end the year at 2.898 mmb.

World Oil Forecast

The DOE forecasts for 2018 and 2019 are based on dramatically different seasonal stock changes that occurred in 2017. OECD stocks fell by over 147 mmb from August through December, according to the latest estimates. But in 2018, it is predicting a net stock build over those same months.

World Oil Forecast

In 2019, it is forecasting a build similar to 2018, but without a first-quarter draw. Continue reading "Updated World Oil Forecast For April" →

Will China Nuke Its Own Treasury Portfolio?

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates - China U.S. government debt


If you’re an investor in U.S. Treasury bonds, should you be worried that China may go nuclear? (No, not that kind of nuclear, the kind in the headline of a recent Reuters article about China’s supposed “nuclear option” to stop buying, if not outright sell, its huge holdings of American government bonds).

According to that report – speculation, really – China may consider retaliating against President Trump’s tough tariff talk by pulling its indirect support of the U.S. government, namely its holdings of about $1.2 trillion of Treasury securities. That makes it the largest foreign holder of that debt. Japan is a close second with $1.1 trillion, while Ireland (Ireland?) is a distant third with $328 billion. Altogether, $6.2 trillion of the U.S. government’s total debt of $20 trillion is held by foreign entities or about 31%. That would put China’s share at about 18% of the total foreign-held amount and less than 6% of the grand total.

In case you were wondering, the Federal Reserve holds about $4.5 trillion of the national debt or about four times what China owns. The Social Security Administration owns about $2.8 trillion.

So, is this something we really need to be worried about, even under the remote possibility that China would actually, in financial terms, cut off its nose to spite its face? Continue reading "Will China Nuke Its Own Treasury Portfolio?" →

Two Cannabis Giants Trading 61% Below 52-Week High

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Analysis originally distributed on April 4, 2018 By: Michael Vodicka of Cannabis Stock Trades

Warren Buffet is the most successful investor of all-time. His net worth of $84 billion makes him the third richest person in the world.

Buffet’s fortune was built on a contrarian view on investing. He once said, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”

This is good advice for the cannabis sector right now.

After posting huge gains in 2017, the global cannabis sector fell into a bear market in the first quarter of 2018.

However, despite that short-term weakness, the long-term picture for the cannabis industry and cannabis stocks has never looked better.

Cannabis stocks got off to a blazing start in early 2018. Since climbing to an all-time high, the sector spent most of February and March trickling lower.

The Canadian Cannabis Index fell 15% in the first quarter.

Cannabis Stocks Continue reading "Two Cannabis Giants Trading 61% Below 52-Week High" →

Global Tensions Push Oil To Three Year High

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. Global tensions have Rocked the oil markets today sending crude oil to a three year on the back of a +3% gain in Tuesday's trade. WTI crude is trading above the $66, a +2% gain, breaking through the previous levels of resistance were sitting just shy of $65. The last time the price oil was this high was in 2014.

The reason for the sharp upward move stems from comments by Russia and the United States over the conflict in Syria. Russia's ambassador to Lebanon told local media that Russia would shoot down American missiles headed Syria's way. This follows an alleged chemical weapons attack by President Bashar Assad that killed dozens in a rebel-held area over the weekend.

Global tensions

President Trump responded via Twitter saying:

"Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!' You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"

To add to that, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on Wednesday showed swelling surpluses at the biggest domestic storage complex as well as nationwide last week. American crude production also climbed, while exports of American oil declined to 1.21 million barrels a day.

Key Levels To Watch This Week:

S&P 500 (CME:SP500): 2,741.38
Dow (INDEX:DJI): 24,977.65
NASDAQ (NASDAQ:COMP): 6,630.67
Gold (NYMEX:GC.M18.E): 1,330.10
Crude Oil (NYMEX:CL.K18.E): 61.93
U.S. Dollar (NYBOT:DX.M18.E): 88.53
Bitcoin (CME:BRTI): 6,194.46

Every Success,
Jeremy Lutz
INO.com and MarketClub.com