Gold Hits Record High

Posted on by Jeremy Lutz

Gold futures in the December contract hit a new all-time intraday high of $2,089.20 per ounce Friday morning as investors poured into the safe-haven asset ahead of the closely watched jobs report.

Gold is up about +1.8% this week, on pace for its ninth straight weekly gain for the first time since May of 2006. Gold futures, however, have since fallen about -2.2% to $2,031.10 per ounce. Spot gold dipped as well, falling about -2.1% to $2,028.70 per ounce on Friday. On a weekly level, it will still post a gain of +2.1%; it's the ninth straight week of gains.

The DOW just posted a "Golden Cross," joining the NASDAQ and S&P 500, when it's 50-day moving average broke above its 200-day moving average, which is traditionally a bullish signal for the first time since March. Continue reading "Gold Hits Record High" →

The North America Cannabis Industry Has A New Champion

Posted on by Michael Vodicka

The North America cannabis industry has a new champion. This well-known sector leader just completed an $875 million acquisition that puts it into a position to dominate the U.S. cannabis market.

Even though shares have been rallying for the last few weeks, I see plenty of upside ahead.

Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF) is an early leader in the high-growth U.S. cannabis industry with a market cap of $4.5 billion and operations in 18 states.

However, after one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the U.S. cannabis industry, Curaleaf has definitively taken the crown as the largest cannabis company in North America.

On July 23, Curaleaf completed its $875 million acquisition of Grass Roots, a fellow Chicago-based industry leader that operates in 12 states, owns 52 dispensaries, 14 cultivation sites, and 14 processing sites.

The new combined entity will become the largest cannabis company in the world by revenue. Here are some more details from the press release. Continue reading "The North America Cannabis Industry Has A New Champion" →

U.S. Crude Oil Production Collapsed In May

Posted on by Robert Boslego

The Energy Information Administration reported that May crude oil production collapsed by 1.989 million barrels per day (mmbd), averaging 10.001 mmbd. That compares to the EIA’s weekly estimates (interpolated) of 11.419 mmbd, a figure that was 1.418 mmbd higher.

Crude Oil Production

Reductions were largest in Texas (764,000), North Dakota (353,000) and the Gulf of Mexico (300,000) and New Mexico (168,000). Given the huge reduction in May, production dropped by 2.112 mmb/d over the past 12 months. This number only includes crude oil. Other supplies (liquids) that are part of the petroleum supply fell by an additional 680,000 b/d from a year ago.

Crude Oil Production
Continue reading "U.S. Crude Oil Production Collapsed In May" →

Three ETFs Set To Move Higher

Posted on by Matt Thalman

With over 2,300 ETFs to choose from, its not easy finding ones that excite you enough to put hard-earned money into with the goal that it grows substantially higher in the future. Luckily for you, I am continually searching high and low to find ETFs the average investor like yourself can not only buy but own over a period sometimes just months or other times years with the confidence that you will see a solid return. The current economic environment adds another challenge on top of finding quality ETFs to invest in, which is why I will also thoroughly explain why now is potentially a good time to buy.

The first ETF I would like to highlight is one that has already received a boost and will likely continue to move higher due to the Covid-19 Pandemic and how this global problem will likely have a lasting effect on the flow of business. The SoFi Gig Economy ETF (GIGE) has an inception date of May 2019 but now finds itself in a perfect storm situation where the fund was developed to benefit from the "gig economy," which due to the pandemic and social distancing requirements seem to be the sweet spot everyone wants to be. The fund's prospectus states its allocation based on these metrics;

30% to 60% Companies that directly facilitate and participate in revenue generation from gig economy businesses (e.g., app-based platforms, auction sites, web-based stores, and other commission-based platforms) 20% to 40% Companies that enable or support gig economy businesses in marketing and sales functions (e.g., social media platforms, messaging platforms) 5% to 20% Companies that facilitate financial transactions for gig economy businesses through apps or web-based platforms 5% to 15% Companies that support the ability of individuals to operate a gig economy business without participating in a commission or revenue-based model (e.g., companies providing health care, technology, or other back office services) 0% to 10% Other companies that are expected to benefit from the growth of gig economy businesses and associated lifestyle changes for individuals engaged in gig economy businesses

The funds top holdings include Twitter (TWTR), Alibaba (BABA), MercadoLibre (MELI), PayPal (PYPL), Square (SQ), and Lending Tree (TREE) to name a few. All companies that are primed to continue benefiting from the current pandemic and are set-up to be rock stars even once we have moved past the Covid-19 situation. And did I mention the fund is up 37% year-to-date? Continue reading "Three ETFs Set To Move Higher" →

Gold & Silver: The Volcano Awoke

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Before we get down to the charts, let's look around to see what pushed the precious metals higher as gold posted a new all-time high last Friday at $1985, just shy of the next thousand. The silver price more than doubled since its severe crash in March. Indeed, the precious metals "volcano" awoke erupting its power on fiat, which has been printed heavily. I warned about this trigger in my April post called "Gold Could Fly Over A Helicopter Throwing Money". More than three months have passed since then, why "volcano" erupted only now?

Among the reasons, an escalating trade war and the COVID-19 pandemics. It's all about the relationship between the two largest economies and the health of each of them. US gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 33% in the second quarter, said the Commerce Department last Thursday. It's the largest fall on record dating back to the 1940s. The hope for a quick rebound is escaping as economists don't see the recovery to the prior peak until 2022. This contrasts with a V-shaped rebound of the Chinese economy, which showed 3.2% growth in the second quarter after a -6.8% crash in the first one. But that is not enough to restart the global economy as each player matters.

I guess the main driver for the sharp rally of the top metals was the smell of a possible cold war or even a real military collision between the US and China, that appeared recently. I hope it won't happen, but investors are hesitant to bet when this turmoil will end, so they rush to the safe-haven metals to wait through this uncertainty. At the same time, the US dollar index has been sold off dropping from its multi-decade peak at 104 that was hit in March down to the current 93 level. The nearest support is located at 88, the valley that was established in February of 2018. This leaves the room for the top metals to grow even more.

Let's get down to the updated charts, and the daily gold chart will be the first. Continue reading "Gold & Silver: The Volcano Awoke" →