1. Marc Faber on Canada, Real Estate and Investing in Canada

Excess global liquidity pushing Canadian Real Estate and other topics. One point Marc makes is that when the US stock market comes under pressure money will begin to flow into resource stocks and a lot of money will flow into Canada. 

….read it all HERE

2. Bank of Canada, Interest Rates, the Economy & Misery Loves Company

Stephen Poloz, Governor of the Bank of Canada said they are keeping rates the same for the 15th time in face of uncertainty.  Also his views on the economy, challenges from the US including the selloff of their strategic oil reserve and more….

….read it all HERE

3. The Dollar’s Last Stand

The million dollar question remains, is the 2 year trading range a top or a consolidation pattern to the upside? Up to this point nothing is broken yet in regards to the big picture, but that could change in a heartbeat.

….read it all HERE

Recent news regarding Moody’s credit downgrades in China will likely continue to roil the global markets and present multiple unique opportunities for strategic investors. As debt concerns grow throughout some areas of Asia and new US policy efforts shake up some common perceptions, a shift in capital is likely to occur over the next few months.

Today, I read about massive layoffs in India’s technology sector as a reaction to decreasing engagement of foreign IT services/support is a result of President Trump’s policies. When we take this news in combination with Moody’s credit downgrades for China and the fact that almost all of South East Asia is interconnected in terms of economy and trade, we begin to see a picture that is fairly clear in terms of transitional economic shifts.

If India and a portion of South East Asia suffer a technology driven economic contraction as a result of US policy shifts, how can we evaluate the approximately $900+ billion economic shift that may be unfolding. As this unfolds, unemployment, consumer spending and growth rates will differ vastly from projected levels. A minor 2~3% decrease in business activity for the Asian technology sector may have massive results if it persists over a longer term period of time (say 3~7+ years). This is exactly why we, as investors, need to be aware of these economic shifts and be able to profit from these moves.

SIII (Indian Index)

The SIII has already rotated nearly 2% over the past two months from a near perfect Double-Top. The potential for a 10~20% market correction is rather strong knowing that massive layoffs in India will put further pressure on economic growth, consumer spending and economic outlook.

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HSI (HangSeng Index)

The HSI is not showing signs of any market corrections yet. This is likely due to the fact that China is currently experiencing a technology/stock market bubble effect as a result of recent wealth creation. I would expect that any extended contraction in the bulk of South East Asia will also be seen and felt in China.

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Custom BRICs Index

A custom BRICs Index shows a more defined price rotation and a clear series of lower high and lower low price trends. This would indicate that that the BRICs economies may have quite a large range of price volatility going forward with a potential for a 20~30% decline over the next few months. 

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US/EU Custom Index

As this potential economic shift plays out, I suspect the US and European market will see a dramatic influx of capital investment and renewed economic activity. This chart of a custom index of US and EU indexes clearly shows the strength of these markets in relation to the economic shift that has been transacting. It is clear to see that shortly after the US Presidential elections (Nov 8th, 2017), this index has shot up 15%+ and has begun to retest 2015 highs. Could this be a massive double top to form later this year? It’s very possible.

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Watch for this economic shift to continue to play out over the next 6~12+ months and watch for unique opportunities that will be presented by these moves..

Elon Musk is obsessed with speed. From rockets to hyperloops to electric cars, fast is kind of his thing.

Now he wants to apply the same aesthetic to manufacturing.

Critics argue it’s another pipe dream, born out of necessity. Tesla (TLSA), his controversial car business, is supposed to deliver 400,000 vehicles by 2018. Yet, his workers have never pushed annual production beyond 100,000.

Musk, however, is thinking beyond workers.

The future is total automation.

During the first Gilded Age, the assembly line transformed industrial production. This New Gilded Age is about information technology. Think intelligent software, sensors and incredibly precise, fast-moving robotics. These technologies promise exponential improvement in production.

Humans, at least those who fasten bolts or shift metal, become superfluous.

It’s not science fiction. Musk already has big plans for factories that are unencumbered by the physical limitations of humans.

In Tesla’s July 2016 mission statement he wrote about his epiphany: Turning the factory into a machine. He even gave it a cool name, the “alien dreadnought” the machine that makes the machines.

By his math, dreadnought version 3.0 could improve production by five- to ten-times. That’s still a few years away. Version 0.5 will debut in 2017, when the Tesla Model 3 begins production. Expect version 1.0 during 2018 when new equipment hits the factory floors.

In 2016, Musk secured a secret weapon to help him bring these futuristic factories closer to the present. Tesla bought Grohmann Engineering, a German automation specialist.

With 580 giant, robotic arms, current Tesla factories are already state-of-the-art. They push human limits. The Freemont, Calif., plant has seen a 400% increase in production since 2012. And workers — the human kind — have complained often about the frantic pace.

Dreadnought will supersede their frailties. In fact, robots will move so quickly and so efficiently that humans won’t be safe on the factory floors. So, just a skeleton staff of engineers will be on hand — and they will merely monitor production.

This would represent the first major advance in automobile manufacturing since Toyota introduced Just-in-Time in 1992. The premise is to produce cars on an as-needed basis, with minimum waste and maximum automation.

It’s the promise of the New Gilded Age. Most outcomes can be predetermined with access to computing power, data analytics and modeling software. Robotics-makers can build exactly what they need — and control it with incredibly sophisticated software.

A new industrial revolution is coming. And it will lead to unimagined profitability, and huge new opportunities for investors.

Dreadnought is the first step. Eliminating most humans, at least in theory, would improve production by orders of magnitude.

Engineering would be the sole arbiter of production. Raw materials would enter factories at one end. Finished cars would emerge from the other end.

It’s easy to want to bet against Musk. Automobile factory floors are already full of complex machines. The Robotics Industries Association estimates that 265,000 robots already work in U.S. factories. The consensus holds that all the potential efficiencies have been exploited.

However, Musk is ambitious, and talented. He is also in a hurry to get places.

He came up with a feasible plan for Hyperloop — a way to whisk passengers though a vacuum tube at 760 mph. His rocket company can deliver satellites to orbit, then return to Earth with pinpoint accuracy. His electric cars are safe, green and can blow away a Lamborghini.

He is used to doing what most people consider impossible. If he can pull off the alien dreadnought, the face of manufacturing will change forever. It’s a big deal.

I’m focused every day on finding the winners of the next industrial revolution. They’re lurking in all sorts of places you would not expect. Outside of Tesla, one of the best ways to bet on the growth of robots in factories is John Bean Technologies (JBT).

Here’s some more reading and listening on the subject:

• Tesla’s future is completely inhuman.
• Musk: Tesla’s factory will be an ‘alien dreadnought’ by 2018.
• Elon Musk just shared ‘the biggest epiphany’ he’s had this year.
• Tesla blog: Master Plan Part Deux.
• Video: How to Build the Future (Elon Musk interview).
• Industrial robots will replace manufacturing jobs — and that’s a good thing.

Best wishes,

Jon Markman

I predict it’s going to be a boring summer for stocks. Price will just churn sideways for the next 2-3 months and allow the long term averages time to “catch up”.

….also from Gary: A Tale of Two Markets

The next big trending move will occur in the energy markets. All the technical and cyclical signs are in place to suggest a major bottom is forming. In the precious metals market we have the exact opposite setup. Watch video HERE

https://blog.smartmoneytrackerpremium.com/

1. Crude Awakening: The Global Black Market for Oil

The value of the crude oil production alone is worth a staggering $1.7 trillion each year. Eventually, everybody wants a piece of the pie, includng politicians, military personnel, and police who are complicit in the outright theft of oil. Tapping pipelines….

…..read it all HERE

2. An Impending Economic And Financial Disaster

An extremely low VIX level, like the current one, is signaling an eventual sell-off that I believe will be quite extreme.This event always generates a lot of press, and this year’s event was no exception. Here are a few of what I think are the most-interesting takeaways from Berkshire meeting.

….read it all HERE

3. An Unexpected Change In Gold’s Seasonal Trading Pattern

One of the interesting things about the Great Recession was how Canada’s financial system sailed through it largely unscathed. Its banks were regulated wisely and behaved prudently, its citizens avoided the extreme stupidity of their credit-addicted neighbors to the south, and its government refrained from doubling its debt every eight years.

But instead of Americans learning from Canada, Canadians appear to have concluded that we had it right after all.

….read it all HERE