Courtesy of John Rubino.
Manufacturing declines, trade collapses. Pensions are back in the news, and the numbers are as usual very bad. Oil starts to roll back over. Precious metals correcting (guess the COT report was right again). Doug Noland on why the Fed probably can’t raise rates in June — or ever. US angers China with huge steel tariff and China gets more bad press. Austria elects a fringe party candidate. Trump and Clinton are now neck-and-neck.
Best Of The Web
Gold: Intelligentsia – you’re fired! – 321Gold
The business of central banks is like pornography – Finanz und Wirtschaft
Stock share buybacks now bought out – The Great Recession
Rick Rule on gold’s bull market – King World News
We’re in the eye of a global financial hurricane – OfTwoMinds.com
The coming Fed-induced pension bust – Hussman Funds
“We are becoming convinced that the system won’t stabilize” – Zero Hedge
Trump victory odds soar as the Hillary Clinton ‘death cross’ strikes – Zero Hedge
What we have now isn’t capitalism – Wall St. For Main St.
Weekly commentary: unambiguous signals disregarded – Credit Bubble Bulletin
Doggie (life) style – AheadOfTheHerd.com
Observations from the heart of Silicon Valley – Peak Prosperity
Hikes data dependent says NY Fed – Mish
Central banks are powerless “they should go away” – Mish
The Economy
5/24 Wall Street rises more than one percent as bank, tech stocks jump – Yahoo!
5/24 Richmond Fed crashes into contraction from 6 year highs – Zero Hedge
5/24 More young adults now live with parents than partners – Bloomberg
5/24 ‘Massive bailout’ needed in China – Bloomberg
5/24 Austerity is far more than just cuts – Guardian
5/24 Same problem, different people – Economy And Markets
5/24 Stocks just staged a dreaded death cross – Gold Eagle
5/24 Zombie economy soon to have its zombie epocalypse – SafeHaven
5/24 Assuming big returns on pensions – what could go wrong? – Globe And Mail
5/24 Banks must defend Libor lawsuits after judges warn of impact – GATA
5/24 These investing legends are bearish on US stocks – Casey Research
5/24 Leaked letter shows Rajoy lied about budget cuts – Mish
5/23 Markit PMI shows U.S. manufacturers stagnant – MarketWatch
5/23 Japan May factory activity shrinks most in over three years – Reuters
5/23 Japan trade collapses – Mish
5/23 Eurozone business growth “unexpectedly” slows down to 16-month low – Zero Hedge
5/23 Iran has no plans to freeze oil exports – Reuters
Precious Metals
5/24 “Perfect time and place” for gold – GoldCore
5/24 Why the Fed might not be able to put a stop to gold’s run – CNBC
5/24 Sibanye targeting gold acquisition by end of 2016 – Bloomberg
5/24 Former IMF economist asserts gold is money as good as government bonds – GATA
5/24 Two overlooked streaming stocks with huge upside potential – 24hGold
5/24 Gold’s gentle price correction – 321Gold
5/24 Should I be worried about gold confiscation? – Schiff Gold
5/24 Gold is having an unusual rising correction, Turk tells KWN – GATA
5/23 Famous hedge fund manager reveals top gold pick – Future Money Trends
5/23 Gold’s slide begins a new week – MarketWatch
5/23 The next top performing gold asset to 2020 & beyond – GoldAndOilGuy
5/23 This could send gold tumbling below $1,000 again – MarketWatch
5/23 Does China want to be the most powerful player in the gold market? – Birch Gold
5/23 Buy gold as “extremely low-risk asset” – GoldCore
5/23 When’s it safe to buy gold? After the Fed hikes – CNBC
5/23 Gold fund inflows surge to highest of the year – Zero Hedge
5/23 Can you guess which gold miner has the lowest sustaining costs? – Motley Fool
Inflation, Deflation, Currency War, Cryptocurrencies
5/24 What would happen if we shut down the Federal Reserve? – MarketWatch
5/24 The beginning of a US dollar crash? – Daily Reckoning
5/24 The war on cash is a war on your freedom to opt out – Zero Hedge
5/24 Iron ore is imploding — now down 27% in just weeks – Business Insider
5/24 Why has the Fed failed to generate inflation? – Forbes
5/24 Negative rates prompt Japan banks to opt out via derivatives – Bloomberg
5/24 Fear the US dollar kill switch – Sovereign Investor
5/24 I’m ditching traditional banks in favor of bitcoin – Quartz
5/24 Pemex-peso-dollar crisis takes its toll in Mexico – Wolf Street
5/23 Leftist green candidate snatches Austria victory – Breitbart
5/23 Dollar will be the winner when the EU volcano erupts – CNBC
5/23 Support for EU falls sharply among FTSE 350 boards – Guardian
Real Estate Bubble
5/24 New home sales roar back, crushing forecasts – MarketWatch
5/24 Low supply plagues spring housing: Here’s where it is worst – CNBC
5/24 Real estate bubble part II – 24hGold
5/22 Existing home sales solid, not spectacular – Mish
DollarCollapse Podcasts
5/23 Hard times for obsolete entities
5/14 Chaos spreads to US retailers and Italian banks
5/04 Easy money has failed; what’s next?
4/27 Okay, I’ll say it: run for the hills
4/21 Corporate earnings (among other things) go from bad to horrendous
4/13 A potentially brutal earnings season kicks off
4/06 The end of privacy = risk off and soaring gold
3/30 The inevitable is now imminent
3/22 Huge government deficits coming
3/17 Same mistakes, bigger scale
Politics
5/23 Independent beats far-right candidate for Austrian presidency – BBC
5/23 How Trump captured Senate Republicans with supreme court list – HuffPo
5/23 NRA endorses Donald Trump for president – ABC News
5/23 Bernie Sanders’ campaign legacy – NY Times
5/23 Bernie Sanders steps up feud with Democratic establishment – Huffington Post
5/23 Welcome to the general election: Where did Hillary’s cakewalk go? – CNBC
5/23 Clinton’s lead over Trump shrinks to 3 points – CNBC
5/23 Europe veers to the right at its peril. The lessons of 1913 – Guardian
5/23 We must weed out ignorant Americans from the electorate –Washington Post
5/22 Uber has a powerful new opponent: Elizabeth Warren – Mother Jones
5/22 Meet the Donald Trumps of Europe – Stuff
5/22 Marine Le Pen: “EU is collapsing on to itself” – World Bulletin
5/22 Money is becoming a challenge for Bernie Sanders – LA Times
5/22 Why Bernie is our best chance to beat Trump – Huffington Post
Offshore Investing
5/20 EU to compile common blacklist of tax havens, sanctions against them – Reuters
5/17 Panama Papers: dozens of Americans tied in – Panama Papers
5/17 Panama Papers hub in Miami: Citigroup’s private bank – Wall St on Parade
5/12 Crooks, terrorists, tax evaders: Can new shell company rule stop them? – Reuters
Clean Tech
5/23 Top hedge fund sees solar power viability –Value Walk
5/23 Interest in solar power soaring while utility seeks rate cut – Independent Record
5/23 World’s biggest wealth fund faces wider ban on coal investments – Bloomberg
5/22 Solar power is already saving lives in the US. Here’s how. – Vox
5/22 Yieldco problems: systemic or a speed bump? – Utility Dive
5/22 Hanwha Q CELLS 54.4% Y-o-Y revenue increase in Q1 – Energy Trend
5/22 The end of SunEdison: developer now liquidating its assets – GTM
5/21 Tesla suppliers warn Musk expansion goals are “implausible” – Zero Hedge
5/21 Goldwind edges out Vestas as world’s leading wind turbine supplier – Clean Technica
5/21 Shipbuilders bail out as wind power loses steam –Korea Daily
5/21 Misaligned mirrors spark fire at world’s largest solar power plant – CBS Sacramento
5/21 A push toward solar power, a retreat from natural gas –Palo Alto
Art of the Collapse
5/08 ‘Dilbert’ creator’s 6 reasons why Trump will win – Zero Hedge
5/06 The book that will save banking from itself – Bloomberg
5/04 America’s best and brightest – 321 Gold
4/25 Hillary Clinton’s full speech to Goldman Sachs – Liberty Blitzkrieg
War, Civil Unrest, Privacy, Creeping Fascism, Police State
5/23 Afghan peace still far away after US kills Taliban leader –Bloomberg
5/23 ‘Niger Delta Avengers’: Who they are, and what they want – CNBC
5/23 These Americans are preparing for war with their own gov’t – Zero Hedge
5/21 China demands US “cease immediately” spy plane missions near its borders –ZH
5/21 Bayer eyes $42 billion Monsanto in quest for seeds dominance –Bloomberg
5/21 Demand for small arms ‘protection’ in Germany explodes as fear rises – Zero Hedge
5/21 Brazil’s interim government wastes no time erasing workers’ party influence – Guardian
5/20 China says it’s ready if US ‘stirs up any conflict’ in South China Sea – CNBC
Self-sufficiency, Food Security, Survival
5/23 Tiny is so very big– Market Watch
5/22 Monsanto weedkiller faces EU recall as deal fails –Guardian
5/18 Fluoride, the only drug intentionally added to your tap water – Mercola
5/17 UV light provides a multitude of health benefits – Mercola
5/17 Dealing with stress and depression with magnesium supplements – Dr Sircus
CyberWar, CyberTerrorism, CyberCrime
5/22 Cyberwar: The smart person’s guide – Tech Republic
5/21 Yet another major cyberheist in ‘secure’ global payments system – Zero Hedge
5/20 Cyber-war gets real – Baseline Mag
5/20 Cyber war vs. Islamic State ‘work in progress’ – VOA News
5/20 Cyberspace’s invisible armies – ECNS
Off-Topic But Brilliant/Challenging/Infuriating
5/23 Dirty driving: Ride-hailing services worst culprits for germs, study says – CNBC
5/23 Across Africa, the worst food crisis since 1985 looms for 50 million – Guardian
5/23 New evidence about the dangers of Monsanto’s roundup – Intercept
5/23 In case you forgot, Canada’s massive fire is still burning – Wired
5/22 10 magical places saved by endangered species – Tree Hugger
5/22 Want to buy a self-driving car? Big-rig trucks may come first – NY Times
5/21 Rock ‘n’ roll has got to GO! – Antonius Aquinas
5/20 Stuck on hot: Earth breaks 12th straight monthly heat record – AP
