Wolf Richter

Stocks on Speed: Margin Debt Spikes, So Does Risk Of Crash

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The Fed must have seen the relentlessly spiking margin debt. Leverage is a sign of investor confidence. The great accelerator. On the way up. And on the way down. Margin debt has a nasty, very consistent habit of peaking just when the stock market begins to crash.

Chaos Breaks Out In Natural Gas, Price Tripled Since April 2012

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“Volatile,” a word that is often used to describe the price of natural gas with its random-appearing jumps and plunges, head fakes, and whiplash-inducing turnarounds, no longer describes the price of natural gas. “Chaotic” would be a better term.

Icahn’s “No-Brainer” Goes To Heck (Manipulation Works Only Most Of The Time)

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Carl Icahn must have tossed and turned Monday night, after the Apple debacle. Reeling from his losses, he was out there on Tuesday hyping the stock with all his might. They’re all doing it, from Warren Buffett on down, guys with billions of play-money and a loud voice.

Why Japan’s Trade Fiasco Worries Me So Much

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According to Japan’s state religion of Abenomics, devaluing the yen would boost exports and cut imports. The resulting trade surplus would jumpstart the economy and induce Japan Inc. to invest at home. It would save Japan. But the opposite is happening.

From “Glut” To Panic: Natural Gas Soars

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On Friday, when stocks were plunging, natural gas soared nearly 10%. The highest close since June 2010. Up 20% for the week. Up 170% from April 2012. And it’s just the beginning. Because after the glut comes the panic.

A Very Unfinished Recession, For Most Americans

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Statistically speaking, the Fed’s heroic actions conquered the Great Recession years ago.The economy has been growing at a measurable clip, statistically speaking, with the unemployment rate inching lower over the years, though again, that’s just statistically speaking. But most Americans, struggling to make ends meet in the real economy far from the hoopla, hype, and buzz of Wall Street or Silicon Valley, have a more accurate answer.

Housing Bubble 2.0 Hits Messy Resistance In California

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The salary you must earn to be able to buy the median home in San Francisco is $125,071. That home costs $705,000 – up 24% from a year ago. San Francisco tops the list of the most unaffordable cities. Households earning the median income of $51,000, well, forget it.

Spiffy Hotel Rooms For The 85 Richest Folks Who Own As Much As Poorest Half Of Humanity

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Now that we learned that the 85 richest folks own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion, we want to know where they’re staying when they come to town for dinner. We already know where the poorest 3.5 billion are staying: in shacks, hovels, and moldy apartment blocks.

How to Manipulate the Entire IPO Market With Just $250 Million

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Tech isn’t exactly booming, as we’ve seen from numerous revenue and earnings debacles, collapsing sales in China and Russia, massive layoffs…. But that hasn’t kept “valuations” of money-losing tech startups from being pushed into the stratosphere – for the benefit of a very elite club.