Gold Chart of the Week

Each week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

Weekly Gold Report (December 17th through December 22nd)

 As far as I am concerned, “Holiday Markets” took control last week and it is the best way to describe what we witnessed in Gold. In Europe, a deal in Greece was reached which underpinned the Euro and dropped the US Dollar. Later in the week, the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates at close to zero until unemployment falls below 6.5%, which is new to their monetary policy. It is the first time ever that Interest Rates were pegged to one area of the U.S. Economy. Initially after the news broke, Gold Futures rallied and closed in the upper end of the range for the week. But it was not long before early profit taking began and suddenly the market found itself over $30 lower and back at the lower end of the range on lighter volume. And who could forget all of the “Fiscal Cliff” nonsense? Every day (sometimes multiple times a day), through television or social media, the President and the Speaker of the House report to the world that while they are negotiating, nothing is really being accomplished. I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but personally I can not wait for the final decision, not because it will provide a direction for major markets, but because I am tired of reading about both of them and their sophomoric behavior. It seems like suddenly the highest political offices in the U.S. have confused their roles with the highest offices at US (Weekly). Continue reading "Gold Chart of the Week"

New Video: Is the Cult of Apple Over?

Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Monday, the 17th of December.

This will be my last broadcast for 2012, as I'm taking time off from trading during Silly Season. Jeremy Lutz, who you know from MarketClub TV, will be doing the updates until I return back to the markets in early January.

IS THE CULT OF APPLE OVER?

Apple just sold 2 million iPhone 5s in 3 days in China, yet its stock falls below $500 in pre-market trading. What is going on in the smart phone world?

This past weekend, my daughter and son-in-law came over for an early Christmas celebration. My son-in-law, who is a very smart guy and a computer engineer, showed me his new phone which to my surprise was not an iPhone5, but a Samsung Galaxy III. Much to my chagrin I picked it up and started playing with it and I have to admit some of technology, especially the Google voice technology, appeared superior to Siri, which is what Apple uses in its iPhone5 and IOS6 operating system. Continue reading "New Video: Is the Cult of Apple Over?"

New Video: What are you doing for "Silly Season"

Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Friday, the 14th of December.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THE SILLY SEASON?
Well silly season officially starts tomorrow and goes through to the first week of January. This is when the markets become unpredictable and very thinly traded as most professional traders have left to go on vacation or to enjoy the season with their families. As for myself I'm off on a cruise over silly season and what I consider a well-deserved break from the markets. Every year it's good to have a solid break from the markets and come back refreshed.

What do you have planned for silly season? If you haven't voted already please vote on our poll. It's so was interesting to see what everyone is doing. As for the markets I expect them to get quieter and thinner until the second week in January when market action and volume begins to pick up. If you're following any one of our three portfolios you'll simply stick with the game plan as it has been proven time and time again that this strategy works.

VOTE IN OUR "SILLY SEASON" POLL HEREContinue reading "New Video: What are you doing for "Silly Season""

Gold falls on uncertainty over U.S. budget talks

Investors are selling gold as the end of the year draws closer without a compromise in hand for the U.S. budget.

Gold for February delivery dropped $21.10 to finish Thursday at $1,696.80 per ounce.

Investors are uncertain about what's ahead for the economy if Republicans and President Barack Obama fail to agree on a new budget. Without an agreement in place, tax increases and spending cuts will occur Jan. 1 that many economists believe could send the U.S. into a recession.

The Federal Reserve has announced measures to support the economy, which typically benefit gold and other commodities. But the Fed also predicted growth will be no more than 3 percent in 2013. It also expects the unemployment rate to remain at higher levels until late 2015. The unemployment rate was 7.7 percent in November. Continue reading "Gold falls on uncertainty over U.S. budget talks"

New Video: Don't you wish you had a printing press?

Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Thursday, the 13th of December.

DON'T YOU WISH YOU HAD A PRINTING PRESS?

Once again Chairman Bernanke comes to the rescue by stating that he wants to keep interest rates low forever. Not a problem Ben, just keep printing money until it's worthless. As a private citizen of the U.S. you're not allowed to have a printing press to print money, there's a reason for that, it's against the law. It seems to me that Bernanke and the Fed are pretty much doing what they want, and who cares if the money just keeps going down and down and down. The government has been pushing the dollar lower for years. One major concern I have is that you cannot remain a superpower for long with a fiat currency.

Fiat money originated in 11th century China, and its use became widespread during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.The Nixon Shock of 1971 ended the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. Since then all reserve currencies have been fiat currencies, including the U.S. dollar and the Euro.

Next challenge … Continue reading "New Video: Don't you wish you had a printing press?"