University of Michigan's headline consumer confidence index slipped lower in Septemeber (prelim) from 96.8 to 95.3 driven by a tumble in 'expectations' that offset a burst in 'current conditions' to its highest since Nov 2000!
Authored by Axel Merk via MerkInvestments.com,
Okay, so I don’t have grandchildren yet, but I want to increase the odds you read beyond the title if you are old enough to have grandchildren.
Should the investment advice we give to someone young truly be different from that given to someone old? And given where asset prices are, is it responsible to tell anyone to pile into the markets?
Here are my thoughts on the topic, hopefully applicable not just for my children:
S&P futures are slightly lower (ES -0.1%) as traders paid little attention to the latest missile test by North Korea on Friday, with shares and other risk assets barely moving, gold lower and focus rapidly returning to when and where interest rates will go up. Most global market are mostly unfazed, and the Korean Kospi actually closed up 0.4%, by the latest geopolitical escalation after a North Korean ballistic missile flew far enough to put the U.S. territory of Guam in range. European stocks edged fractionally lower while Asian shares advanced.
The last week - since China unveiled its hypocritical plan to ban petrol cars - has seen record inflows into Lithium-related funds.
Trading volumes have exploded higher and prices for LIT (the Lithium and Battery Tech ETF) are back to near 6 year highs.
h/t @EricBalchunas
Never one to miss out on an opportunity, LME is reportedly looking to introduce a contract for lithium (via Mining-Journal.com)...
Just as the development of electronic trading led to mass downsizing on sales desks across Wall Street, advances in artificial intelligence could decimate the ranks of banks’ back-office staff, according to former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit. And given the rapid pace of technological advance, jobs in operations and retail banking could begin disappearing in as few as five years.