Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, was recently asked if Bitcoin could be compared to the Tulip Mania of the 1600s.
During that time, people were willing to sell their houses for just 10 tulip bulbs.
Here's what the crypto expert had to say...
by Lee Adler
Sometimes, my charts make me feel like Jekyll and Hyde.
The forces of macro liquidity tell us that the stock market (and the bond market too) are likely to top out and head into a bear market beginning in Q1 2018 or shortly thereafter. But this week the S&P 500 broke out above 2,600. Technical cyclical analysis suggests that prices could be headed much higher.
So which is it? Are stocks the next Bitcoin? Or are we staring the bear in the teeth?
How can we reconcile these apparently conflicting views that are coming from the two prongs of my analytical work? Maybe… there really is no conflict. (Cue suspenseful music.)
by Lee Adler
The other day reader Mike M. asked in our comments section:
Hi Lee – What do you think of this Powell fellow as Fed Chair? It appears from an article I read that he is fond of the TBTF bailout.
Mike, you are not the only one to ask me this question. In fact, people right here at Money Map Press have been asking me. No doubt, the entire world wants to know. CNBC talking heads talk about it. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg and Reuters have probably written great tomes about it.
When asked a question to which everyone wants an answer, I always give it great thought. And I always think about the Fed chair, no matter who he or she is.
I usually end up not thinking much of them, Bernanke especially. He destroyed the lives of millions of senior citizens by taking away the interest income they depended on to supplement their Social Security. I despised Bernanke for that alone, not to mention the massive money printing that benefited only the bankers and speculators. Yellen I liked better. Other Fed critics, including some who are my friends, may still skewer her. I give her credit for stopping the madness.
Now here's what I know, and what is most important for you to know about Jerome Powell. They call him Jay. Other than that, nothing. That's right, nothing.
I'm going to tell you why and what you DO need to know...
by A.J. Bursick
On Nov. 1, Iran and Russia agreed to collaborate on six separate "strategic" energy deals worth some $30 billion.
They also discussed another idea – one that is dangerous for the U.S. economy in particular…
"Ditching the dollar" as the global oil trade standard.
by Tom Gentile
We all woke up last Monday to news that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate, Rick Gates, were indicted for money laundering, conspiracy, and lying to investigators.
At right around the same time, we got word that former Trump campaign policy advisor George Papadopoulos had been indicted nearly a month.
This, of course, is all part of the wide-ranging Mueller investigation into the 2016 election – an election that could still rock the highest levels of American politics before it's all said and done.
The markets… barely registered a blip at the news. The Dow slipped less than 1%, and the Nasdaq even went up to another record.
So, naturally, cable was full of questions like, "Are markets totally immune to news these days?"
The answer: well, a little. It depends.
Right now, on a big screen near you, Ryan Gosling's character in "Blade Runner 2049" is piloting a flying car known as a "Spinner" to hunt down renegade androids – replicants.
The flying car is an idea so old it's almost timeless.
But I trace its modern beginnings back to 1926, when Henry Ford himself showed off the "sky flivver" – a tiny, 350-pound, single-seat monoplane – to the press.
Call it a "sky flivver," a "plane car," a "personal aircraft," or a "flying car"… we've been waiting a long time.
Now mark my word. It will come.
You may smile, or even laugh. Feel free.
But the fact is, flying cars are coming – fast.
In fact, one company I've followed closely for decades just bought a startup focused on autonomous air taxis.
And I believe that company is the single best way to play this emerging tech trend...
by Tom Gentile
The mainstream media is focusing on the jobs report, which was released last Friday.
But while this report can give you a general idea of the state of the markets, the numbers are skewed (I'll tell you why in a moment).
The White House recently slapped new sanctions on Venezuelan officials, banning them from entering the United States.
That follows past, more general sanctions…
As well as rumors that, if true, could end up completely collapsing the South American country – sanctions on Venezuela's national oil company, PDVSA.
See, Venezuela is now on the brink of total collapse, and PDVSA looms large in this unfolding crisis.
The focus is the company's ability to pay its bond interest. Doing so is crucial, but prospects are grim.
Along with that goes the ability of the central government to administer an entire population and avoid the country descending into outright civil war.
And that's pushing the Venezuelan government right into Russian and Chinese hands.
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World stock markets were mixed in subdued trading overnight.
U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward narrowly mixed openings when the New York day session begins.
by Lee Adler
Over the last week, the major market indices are all up.
If you've watched the mainstream financial media, you'd think this uptick was cause for celebration. You'd think the eight-year-old bull market is about to shift into another gear.
Thanks to my proprietary LAMPP indicator, we know that shift isn't likely.
Over the past few weeks, we're talked about how the Fed drives the long-term trend of liquidity.
But what influences the short-term indicator, the one that has been sitting on yellow and inching closer and closer to red?
Today, I want to take a deep dive into the short-term components of the LAMPP so that you can understand exactly what's going to push us from yellow to red.
Here's what you need to know...
