Financial Trends in Early 2018
Gold, Bitcoin, and oil have been up while the rest of the market was waiting for the Consumer Price Index reports to come out. But the stock market rose 200 points on the day after losing 300 points, likely on the expectation of central bank intervention and the Federal Reserve. The overall forecast on the economy has been rosy, but the retail numbers are telling a different story.
US retail sales unexpectedly dropped when they were predicted originally to rise in January of 2018. The retail sales in holiday spending of December 2017 were flat when compared to the previous year. Gold prices were up 2% because of the inflation that is set to pour in when interest rates go up. US household debt has risen to all-time highs at the same time.
Volatility in the emerging markets due to weak currencies and high debt
The recent massive drop in stocks could be the end to the Trump rally which lasted for an entire year in 2017. Cryptocurrency has picked up recently adding back $100 billion USD to its overall market capitalization in what appears to be a recovery for cryptos at large.
The US government budget proposal shows a real lack of fiscal conservatism while at the same time Trump is applauding a $.25/gallon raise in gas taxes. This is going to be a real burden on the average American consumer, the same consumer that is not benefiting from all-time stock market highs and the 95 million Americans not participating in the labor market, but still not officially counted as unemployed, according to Gerald Celente.
With the outrageous distortions in the economy, don’t count on mainstream media or the US government to protect your retirement account. Only the banks will be bailed out, you won’t. For this reason it’s a great idea to use this 2nd chance of a stock market stabilization after its 3,000 point drop to look into a IRA gold rollover.
Russia still being blamed for America’s election results
Even without proof, the insane political atmosphere in the US is relying on claims that Russia somehow tampered with the US Presidential election without any real proof. It’s a sad day when they think that a few posts on social media by Russians could somehow sway the average American of sound mind to vote any one way.
At the same time US airstrikes in Syria is being reported to have killed up to 100 Russian soldiers, who were legally invited in by the Syrian President. American forces are still illegally occupying Syrian ground with a troop presence of 2000 soldiers.
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