Business

Several weeks after Goldman's chief technician started covering bitcoin, overnight Bank of America has released what some may call an "initiating coverage" report on bitcoin which notes that while the cryptocurrency remains very volatile and risky, bitcoin has experienced a spectacular surge in liquidity in the last six months. However, BofA remains stumped when it comes to making any official forecasts BofA's commodity strategist Francisco Blanch writes that bitcoin is uncorrelated to any financial asset, "so there is no way to explain let alone predict returns."

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Cook County Illinois has the largest population loss of any county in the nation. Chicago represents just over half of the population of Cook County.

Here is a graph I put together of the “Great Escape” from Illinois.

Highlights

Thanks to 'beats' by MCD, CAT, and UTX, The Dow is soaring in the pre-market - up over 110 points, back near record highs.

Despite GOOGL hovering near post-earnings lows (-2.8%), Nasdaq Futs are levitating along with S&P Futs...

as VIX is clubbed like a baby seal to 9.12...

As is customary for the heavy-industrial equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar yesterday reported its retail sales, one day ahead of earnings, and as we discussed, the number was solid with Caterpillar reporting the longest positive streak in retail sales going back 51 months.

Gold Seasonal Sweet Spot – August and September – Coming

 - Gold seasonal sweet spot - August and September - is coming- Gold's performance by month from 1979 to 2016 - must see table- August sees average return of 1.4% and September of 2.5%- September is best month to own gold, followed by January, November & August