Investors Finally Believe in Tesla (TSLA)

The skeptics abounded: a new car company started by a dotcom billionaire? There's no way he could succeed. But, Elon Musk has proved them wrong. Not only has Tesla turned a profit, it has repaid its entire DOE loan nine years in advance!. As Shaeffer's puts it: Should more options traders turn bullish, an unwinding of bearish bets could translate into contrarian tailwinds for TSLA. In the same vein, short interest represents eight sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at the stock's average pace of trading. A continued short-squeeze would be a boon for the outperformer, which is also thriving off the charts. One thing Tesla's success has revealed: political cockroaches who are in bed with their corporate masters. While claiming that they are “protecting consumers,” the North Carolina legislature has proven it's bought and paid for, probably like cheap whores, by passing a law making it illegal for Tesla to sell directly to North Carolina consumers. As professional race car driver Leilani Münter says in Why We Need to Fight for Tesla: How can public officials, elected to serve the best interests of the American people, so blatantly go against the oath they swore when taking up the position in public office? The answer is simple and something that we are seeing more of every day: Public servants are no longer a voice for their constituents, but rather puppets for special interest groups and corporations, funders of the next election cycle. With the stronghold that these groups now hold over our officials, it becomes clear that the only way to get the voice back to the people is to diminish the power that these groups wield. And this is where companies like Tesla come in. By challenging the status quo and not just doing something because it is the way it has always been done, by being inventive and innovative and thinking outside the box, and by listening to the consumer and delivering what they actually want in a way that is convenient for them, companies such as Tesla and Apple are able to bypass the old vanguard and provide the real essence of a free market. And herein lies why the current institution is so afraid. What these companies are bringing is competition, and yes, it is unfair. It is unfair because for so long these folks in the automotive business, at car dealerships and the oil and gas industry, have been able to make up their own set of rules; rules that, when you look closely, are designed to make them richer at the expense of the consumer. And now along come companies like Tesla and they are re-writing the rulebook and guess what? Consumers are taking notice and like this new playing field. This is an American-built car that has surpassed all the competition. After all the naysayers touted that "there is no market for electric cars," those same people are calling it "unfair." The competition is very nervous, and they should be. The result is this bill, which, if anything is right in our state, should die in the House. Tesla has arrived, and North Carolinians should have the choice to buy one if they desire. I plan to place my own order with Tesla soon — before it's made illegal and I am forced to haggle with some car dealer over whether or not floor mats are included with the price of my car.

Thursday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Tesla Repays Department of Energy Loan Nine Years Early

Tesla Motors announced that it has paid off the entire loan awarded to the company by the Department of Energy in 2010. In addition to payments made in 2012 and Q1 2013, today’s wire of almost half a billion dollars ($451.8M) repays the full loan facility with interest. Following this payment, Tesla will be the only American car company to have fully repaid the government. For the first seven years since its founding in 2003, Tesla was funded entirely with private funds, led by Elon Musk. Tesla brought its Roadster sports car to market with a 30% gross margin, designed electric powertrains for Daimler (Mercedes) and had done preliminary design of the Model S all before receiving a government loan. In 2010, Tesla was awarded a milestone-based loan, requiring matching private capital obtained via public offering, by the DOE as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. This program was signed into law by President Bush in 2008 and then awarded under the Obama administration in the years that followed. This program is often confused with the financial bailouts provided to the then bankrupt GM and Chrysler, who were ineligible for the ATVM program, because a requirement of that program was good financial health. The loan payment was made today using a portion of the approximately $1 billion in funds raised in last week’s concurrent offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes. Elon Musk, Tesla’s Chief Executive Officer and cofounder, purchased $100 million of common equity, the least secure portion of the offering. “I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate,” said Elon Musk. “I hope we did you proud.” About Tesla Tesla Motors' (NASDAQ: TSLA) goal is to accelerate the world’s transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars. California-based Tesla designs and manufactures EVs, as well as EV powertrain components for partners such as Toyota and Daimler. Tesla has delivered more than 10,000 electric vehicles to customers in 31 countries.

Leon Black, Value Investor, Can't Find Any Values

Leon Black is a value investor. He can't find any value: We think it’s a fabulous environment to be selling into. We’re selling everything that’s not nailed down in our portfolio. It’s almost Biblical—you know, there’s a time to reap; there’s a time to sow—and right now we are harvesting. There’s even an opportunity for strategic sales. We’ve had 13 billion dollars’ [worth] of realizations over the last 15 months, which is more than we’ve ever done over any period like this. We are a value investor. We like to buy good companies at low prices. Our view right now is the market is pricey. The average transaction in the US is being done at a 9 multiple of EBITDA. Inexplicably, in Europe it’s even higher: 9½ to 10. When you pay that type of multiple, you’re pricing to perfection.

Wednesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Good News About Jobs: Robots

Jobs are hard to find. Profits go mostly to the 1%. The news is that robots are taking jobs from humans. Yes, eventually, all jobs will be done by robots. Here's why that's the good news:

Bernanke: "We Are The Best-Looking Horse In The Glue Factory"

While the Fed Head may have been joking, his statement that the USA is “the best looking horse in the glue factory” may be the most accurate assessment of the path ahead. And, it's also a sign that Bernanke's imminent retirement from the Fed is an exit strategy well thought out. While the QE policy has boosted the stock market to rarified levels of overvaluation (the Cyclically Adjusted Price Earnings Ratio (CAPE), also known as Shiller's PE Ratio, is above most previous stock market peaks which have been followed by market crashes), it has done little to stimulate the economy. Bernanke blames Congress and the Obama Administration for pushing through such austerity measures as tax hikes. And, he's right. Bernanke has been standing on the monetary accelerator while the DC bureaucrats have been lying on the brakes. It seems like a good time for Bernanke to retire before the ‘Shumer hits the fan.’ As for what's ahead, Chris Martenson warns that Stocks Likely to Crater from Here — which is probably a gross underestimate of what's coming in the years ahead as the financial system itself collapses.

How To Avoid Paying Any Income Tax

Hat tip to Apple for providing the very useful information on how to avoid paying any income tax at all — and keep the money in the USA at the same time. While many complain that US corporations are hiding cash overseas to avoid paying income tax, the truth is that Apple is not only not keeping that cash overseas, it's avoiding paying income tax even so. Here's how. Apple setup an Irish corporation to receive royalties from the sale of its products. Despite the fact that this front organization supposedly “resides” in Ireland, it holds its board meetings in California. Moreover, the money it receives is deposited in New York banks. Thus, this “overseas” entity, which pays no USA income taxes, is actually residing right here in the States. Thank you, Apple, for all you do. That's great information. Now, if the rest of the corporate world follows your lead, we will have eliminated the corporate income tax.

The Plunging Federal Deficit + Lower Medical Costs

Something is working. The Federal deficit is plunging. The federal deficit is projected to plunge from over a trillion dollars to about $642 billion this year. And, Medicare costs are dropping as well. The Congressional Budget Office projects combined Medicare and Medicaid spending to drop $900 Billion in the current decade (that's a 10% decline in their estimate).

Tuesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Monday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Friday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes and the #WeekendAnalysis PDF have been updated on the website. Good luck in the Ben Bernanke Bubble! Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

The End of Growth

Reminder: "Sell in May" is not "Sell on May Day"

In an obvious effort to keep bullish sentiment high, the financial networks have been harping on how “Sell in May” has not worked this year. What they are really saying is that selling on May Day (the first day of May) hasn't worked. But, the seasonal strategy of selling isn't limited to the first day of May at all. And, that's where these financial journalists just don't seem to get it. The seasonal topping period for equities spans from May and into June. Typically, the market does form a top in the early part of May and decline. But, the market tends to form a low in May and start to rally into June. Consequently, in most years, the market will retest its May high in June. So, perhaps “Sell in May” should be more accurately said as “Sell in May-June” instead.

This Stock Market Bubble Needs a Name

We have had many bubbles since 1980 and most of them have had names. The DotCom Bubble is most memorable. The Real Estate Bubble was not quite as catchy. But, for the current bubble, we have what should be a great name to nominate: The Ben Bernanke Bubble. Bernanke believes that inflation is the tool to defeat a deflationary depression. And, he's printing money to fight deflation to prove his point. So far, we have to admit he's winning the battle. The jury is out on whether he's winning the war. At some point we suspect that victory will turn suddenly to defeat as inflation triumphs over deflation and quickly turns to hyperinflation. But, for now, enjoy the Ben Bernanke Bubble while it lasts.

Thursday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

CNBC: Food Supply Under Assault as Climate Heats Up

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, as CNBC realizes we have a real food problem: American eaters, let's talk about the birds and the bees: The U.S. food supply—from chickens injected with arsenic to dying bee colonies—is under unprecedented siege from a blitz of man-made hazards, meaning some of your favorite treats someday may vanish from your plate, experts say. Warmer and moister air ringing much of the planet—punctuated by droughts in other locales—is threatening the prime ingredients in many daily meals, including the maple syrup on your morning pancakes and the salmon on your evening grill as well as the wine in your glass and the chocolate on your dessert tray, according to four recent studies.

Wednesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

High Fructose Corn Syrup: It's Killing Bees and Maybe Us Too

Researchers find high-fructose corn syrup may be tied to worldwide collapse of bee colonies: A team of entomologists from the University of Illinois has found a possible link between the practice of feeding commercial honeybees high-fructose corn syrup and the collapse of honeybee colonies around the world. The team outlines their research and findings in a paper they've had published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Since approximately 2006, groups that manage commercial honeybee colonies have been reporting what has become known as colony collapse disorder—whole colonies of bees simply died, of no apparent cause. As time has passed, the disorder has been reported at sites all across the world, even as scientists have been racing to find the cause, and a possible cure. To date, most evidence has implicated pesticides used to kill other insects such as mites. In this new effort, the researchers have found evidence to suggest the real culprit might be high-fructose corn syrup, which beekeepers have been feeding bees as their natural staple, honey, has been taken away from them. It wouldn't surprise us to see that high fructose corn syrup is the one main contributor in the current diabetes epidemic as well.

How To Approach the Speed of Light

Tuesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Monday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

USA's Intelligence Gap: Threat To the Country?

We've documented before the declining level of intelligence in the USA. The US Army has been giving recruits tests for well over a hundred years. Up until the Korean War of the Fifties, recruits scored well on the test. Then, something started going badly wrong with the USA. Recruits' test scores started trending down on a consistent basis. Was it the widespread advent of TV? Or, something else? Whatever the answer, today's recruit typically fails to meet the minimum requirements for the Army. Another sign of this problem is that the average USA resident seems to equate Climate Change only with rising temperature. They are not being told by the popular media what Climate Change really means. Perhaps the media itself doesn't understand. Slate magazine's After Cold Winter, Some Americans Decide Climate Change Is a Hoax After All probes the sad state of the USA today: March was pretty cold this year, and you know what that means: Global warming is a hoax! OK, that isn't actually what it means. But for a depressingly significant number of Americans, the nippy weather was apparently reason enough to decide that climate change isn't a real thing after all. Yale's latest survey of public opinion on climate change found that the percentage of Americans who believe global warming is happening has dropped to 63 percent from 70 percent just last fall. This is the unfortunate corollary to the post I wrote last July, when tornados and scorching temperatures were driving belief in climate change to the highest levels since 2008. If the public can be so misinformed about the greatest challenge facing the human race, maybe the idea of democracy was basically a bad idea from the beginning. Maybe we need to replace the Constitution with a computer? Who knows, it might do a better job than Congress! Wait, who are we kidding? Of course it could do a better job than Congress!

From the International Space Station: Chris Hadfield Performs `Space Oddity'

Friday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes and #WeekendAnalysis PDF have been updated on the website. Have a great trading week! Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Thursday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Tesla Number One Seller of Electric Cars

One of the avenues we can follow to avoid climate catastrophe is to eliminate the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). And, the best way to eliminate it is to make it uneconomic to choose an ICE over a clean alternative, such as an electric motor. While some prefer that the government tax or penalize ICEs, much the preferable way forward is to make an alternative choice much cheaper and therefore, let the great deal sell itself. In that way, anyone wishing to upgrade their current ICE-driven car, for example, will find the decision much easier based upon price alone. Saving money has never gone out of style. Tesla Motors is proving that building a better electric car can be profitable. According to their latest quarterly results, they are now the number one seller of electric cars: For the quarter, Tesla was the top seller of rechargeable cars in North America, surging past Nissan Motor Co.'s 3,695 deliveries of the Leaf and General Motors Co.'s 4,421 sales of the Volt plug-in hybrid. That's notable considering that Tesla vehicles command premium prices. The Model S starts at about $62,000 and can top $100,000, depending on trim level and options. The car is stylish and fast, boasting a zero-to-60 mph acceleration of less than six seconds. Wealthy, eco-conscious buyers are snapping up the company's sedans as fast as the company can build them. The company sold 2,650 vehicles in 2012. Tesla's earnings were enhanced by sales of environmental credits to other automakers; these credits are awarded to clean vehicle makers as part of California's efforts to reduce air pollution. Sales of the Zero Emission Vehicle credits generated $68 million in revenue for Tesla in the quarter. If the company does sell 21,000 cars this year, it's still a small volume for a car company. But Thilo Koslowski, an analyst at Gartner Inc., said Tesla looks like a company that has "gone through puberty and is now entering adulthood." "They seem to be executing their plans and making the right moves," he said. "They're maturing in terms of sales, but also in terms of a brand."" In a conference call, founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk talked about the car's global appeal. "In the U.S. you may save $200 to $300 a month in gasoline in relative to electricity costs if it's a daily driver," Musk said. "In Europe, obviously that number can be doubled. It could be — maybe $500 a month." Tesla Motors, founded in 2003, started selling its Roadster convertible sports car in 2008. Production for the Roadster ended in 2011, and North America sales ended last year, just as the company was rolling out the Model S. In March, Tesla announced that it had again pushed back the release of its next vehicle, the Model X crossover SUV, by a full year to late 2014. A company spokesperson said at the time that Tesla had decided to focus instead on the Model S. Tesla is now producing about 400 cars a week at its factory in Fremont, Calif. Tesla hasn't made the alternative cheaper yet. But, the first step on a long journey has been made—profitability. Now, with progress ahead likely to bring the price down radically, the days of ICE are numbered.

Fed in a Panic

In case you didn't notice, the Federal Reserve is in a panic. It's in a panic because despite pumping trillions of dollars into the financial system, the economy is barely able to keep its head above water and growing very slowly. And, the situation is far worse in Europe. There, the economy has not only been declining for over a year, that decline is accelerating. The unemployment rate is steadily rising and now stands at a seasonally adjusted figure of 12.1%. Purchasing Managers report that business continues to slow, with Manufacturing PMI at 46.7 (any number below 50 indicates recession and the further below 50, the greater the rate of recession). The Fed knows that Europe's failed austerity policy has cratered the economy and is now publically criticizing Congress for trying to implement that same failed policy of austerity right here in the USA. You know that the Fed, despite being a private bank, was created by Congress 100 years ago? Criticizing Congress is something the Fed has never done before. They know that if the USA follows Europe into recession, they will bear the brunt of the blame and could risk being destroyed by Congress if things get bad enough. The Fed has good reason to panic. Europe may drag the USA down despite the Fed's printing money to boost stock prices to levels of overvaluation not seen since the dotcom bubble burst in 2000.

Wednesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Investment Sense

Does investing in the stock market today make sense? Let's do the math. According to the best fundamental models for the S&P 500 Index, we should see that index gain about 3.2% over the next ten years. Not per annum—3.2% total for the next decade. Over that same ten-year period, the Federal Reserve hopes to generate inflation of 21% (2% per year, compounded for ten years). Thus, anyone buying the S&P 500 Index here expects to make 3.2% - 21% = -17.8%. That's right, buying stocks here means investors expect to lose almost 18% over the next decade after inflation. Moreover, after pocketing a nominal return of 3.2%, they will have to pay some of that out to the US Government in terms of capital gains taxes. Then, there's that little matter of a crash to contend with. Manic-depressive.

Tuesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Peak Oil Stocks

We've mentioned this idea that much of the fossil fuels now counted as reserves owned by oil companies may never be burned due to their effect on Earth's temperature. It seems the mainstream press is beginning to pick up on the theme, which suggests that oil company shares may be overpriced if they are based upon reserves. Unburnable fuel takes a look at the subject: Either governments are not serious about climate change or fossil-fuel firms are overvalued MARKETS can misprice risk, as investors in subprime mortgages discovered in 2008. Several recent reports suggest that markets are now overlooking the risk of "unburnable carbon". The share prices of oil, gas and coal companies depend in part on their reserves. The more fossil fuels a firm has underground, the more valuable its shares. But what if some of those reserves can never be dug up and burned? If governments were determined to implement their climate policies, a lot of that carbon would have to be left in the ground, says Carbon Tracker, a non-profit organisation, and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change, part of the London School of Economics. Their analysis starts by estimating the amount of carbon dioxide that could be put into the atmosphere if global temperatures are not to rise by more than 2°C, the most that climate scientists deem prudent. The maximum, says the report, is about 1,000 gigatons (GTCO2) between now and 2050. The report calls this the world's "carbon budget". Existing fossil-fuel reserves already contain far more carbon than that. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in its "World Energy Outlook", total proven international reserves contain 2,860GTCO2—almost three times the carbon budget. The report refers to the excess as "unburnable carbon". Most of the reserves are owned by governments or state energy firms; they could be left in the ground by public-policy choice (ie, if governments took the 2°C target seriously). But the reserves of listed oil companies are different. These are assets developed using money raised from investors who expect a return. Proven reserves of listed firms contain 762GTCO2—most of what can prudently be burned before 2050. Listed potential reserves have 1,541GTCO2 embedded in them. So companies and governments already have far more oil, gas and coal than they need (again, assuming temperatures are not to rise by more than 2°C). Logically, the response to this would be for governments to leave their reserves untouched and for companies to run theirs slowly down, returning more of what they earn to shareholders. Neither of these things is happening. State-owned companies are taking an increasing share of total energy output. And in 2012, says Carbon Tracker, the 200 largest listed oil, gas and coal companies spent five times as much—$674 billion—on developing new reserves as they did returning money to shareholders ($126 billion). ExxonMobil alone plans to spend $37 billion a year on exploration in each of the next three years. Such behaviour, on the face of it, makes no sense. One possible explanation is that companies are betting that government climate policies will fail; they will be able to burn all their reserves, including new ones, after all. This implies that global temperatures would either soar past the 2°C mark, or be restrained by a technological fix, such as carbon capture and storage, or geo-engineering.

Monday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Adaptation: Getting Rich on Global Warming

The forces of capitalism are aligned with our headlong dash toward the climate cliff. But, adaptation to Global Warming could create new billionaires—and you could be one of them if Getting rich off global warming has it right. An excerpt: Corporate America, meanwhile, is also moving forward on climate adaptation. They just call it something else. "A lot of companies don't use the term for fear of alienating conservative employees and investors," says Joyce Coffee, who advises Fortune 500 companies on environmental issues for Edelman, the world's largest public relations firm. "They label these investments under standard terms like risk avoidance' or continuity panning,' but everyone knows it's all climate related. Major companies used to fear climate change because they thought it meant new regulations. Now they see it is a direct fiscal threat. Any company with a supply chain is thinking about how to avoid climate disruption." And pull down maximum climate profits. Predictably, an investment boomlet has emerged seeking to profit from the coming crunches in potable water and arable land. As Bloomberg reports, the scene is crawling with creatures of finance seeking fortunes by creating and cornering regional water markets, trading weather-related derivatives, and landing humongous government contracts in what the UN estimates may soon be a $130 billion adaptation engineering and construction industry. "Not enough people are thinking long term of [water] as an asset that is worthy of ownership," said one investor. Another, bullish on the future value Australia's fast dwindling patches of fecund soil, told the magazine, "There is an overemphasis of [climate change's] negative impacts." For those dreaming of climate fortunes, there's no better first stop than the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index. Since being seeded by the Dallas-based oil and gas equity firm Natural Gas Partners Energy Capital Management, the Index has helped investors "measure the rate of return" in countries in need of adaptation-related loans and projects. Although recently moved to Notre Dame, the Index remains heavily funded by the Natural Gas Partners Foundation, an arm of NGP Capital Management and its $11 billion portfolio spanning every stage of oil and gas production.

Consistent Profits

Investors want consistent profits. Well, do we have a trade for you. And, as an extra bonus, Flash Crashes have no effect upon this strategy. We have found that a spread trade where the MidCap Index (S&P 400) is bought and the LargeCap Index (S&P 500) is sold short, one contract per side, has yielded a gross profit of $47,445.50 over the past nine years with just one minor loss during that entire stretch. It's all in spreading, a strategy that floor traders have used for many, many years to “bring home the bacon.” To find out the details for free, take out a subscription (yes, it's really free) and we'll tell you all about it Monday evening in our Subscriber's Notes. Oh, we should mention that the exchange margin requirement for this position is just $1,650.

Solar Versus Coal: Coal Is a Big Loser

You've probably seen the cost comparisons which still posit the cost of solar as greater than the cost of coal. They are wrong. And, any utility contemplating building a new coal-fired generator will be making a big mistake today. First of all, just comparing the costs of the plants themselves makes it look like coal is cheaper. But, it's not. That's because the social costs of building a coal plant are borne by the government and by the people. It's like the Bankster Bailout: the investors in the bank insisted that the taxpayer bear their losses and they didn't even get a haircut, while the public saw the loss of millions of jobs. Just building a coal plant has a huge hidden cost which is borne by the public. One cost is the CO₂ that's produced by the plant during its lifetime raises temperatures, which has many adverse effects such as reducing food crops, destabilizing the weather and increasing allergies. Emissions cause increased lung cancer and asthma, especially in children exposed to polluted air. Until recently, there has not been much public understanding of just how coal plants were hurting us as a people. And, utilities got off scot-free in terms of paying for these damages their coal plants were forcing on the public. But, with increased awareness, politicians are beginning to come under increasing pressure to make the utilities themselves pay. And, the possibility remains that enlightened government will go beyond forcing utilities to pay and will make it illegal to build new coal plants. Consequently, if we add in all these costs, the coal plant becomes a far less attractive alternative. Then, if we look at operational costs, we find that coal plants have three times the operating cost of a solar plant (3¢ versus 1¢ per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced). Once a solar plant is constructed, there's very low costs to maintain it. If we add up all of the costs of coal versus solar, solar wins hands-down—today! If your utility is bringing a coal-fired plant online today, it will never recover the costs of building that plant. Solar will obsolete it very quickly.

Sarah Brightman: Writing Music on the Space Station

Sarah Brightman will be visiting the International Space Station in 2015 with the goal of writing and performing music. Despite the rigours of training, this is a "very creative time", Brightman said. "The whole journey has inspired a lot in my artistic life which I didn't really expect You always think a journey like that is more technical, but it's exactly the opposite." The singer's new record, Dreamchaser, is out now, and it too "had a lot to do with space exploration" — "looking up to the outs of the universe, the stars, the planets, the night skies". Brightman claims her whole career has been inspired by childhood dreams of the cosmos. "It gave me a force in my life to be experimental in my music career," she said. "[To] go where no man has gone before."

Friday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes and out #WeekendUpdate PDF have been updated on the website. Have a great trading week! Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Three Years of Sun in Three Minutes

The Solar Dynamics Observatory has watched our star for three years. Here NASA presents those three years of observations in a three minute video:

Bloomberg: How Austerity Pushed American Colonists to Revolt

How Austerity Pushed American Colonists to Revolt connects the dots to an attempt by a European power to impose austerity on America and how it ended up backfiring and creating the USA: As the euro area tries to wrestle member states into fiscal submission through bailouts, austerity and capital controls, it would be well advised to consider a historical precedent: the American Revolution. In the early 18th century, North America held a role in the British Empire that was similar to the one occupied by Cyprus or Slovenia in the euro area today. Americans were slavers, smugglers, rumrunners and fanatics -- as “opulent, commercial, thriving” as they were irresponsible and fiscally profligate. But as the empire struggled to stay solvent after the Seven Years War, the government of Prime Minister George Grenville attempted to bring the colonists to heel in the name of fiscal austerity. “The Circumstances of the Times, the Necessities of the Country, and the Abilities of the Colonies, concur in requiring an American Revenue,” wrote Thomas Whately, a Grenville ally, in 1765. To be sure, the 18th century British Empire and the euro area are very different. But the similarities are still worth noting: A central unelected body (at least not by North Americans), attempted to solve a fiscal problem by inflicting misguided pain on the periphery.... How Austerity Pushed American Colonists to Revolt may be a peek into the Eurozone's future history.

Disappointing Employment Report Sends Stocks Soaring

Today's BLS Employment Report showed that the economy is decelerating from a winter boost. The most-watched figure — new jobs created — showed barely more new jobs were created than population growth. And, average hours worked actually declined, which is a sign the economy is slowing down. If the economy were expanding, hours worked would have risen as businesses tend to add hours for existing employees rather than taking on new hires. The stock market interpreted the disappointing report as a sign the Fed will be upping its QE∞ money firehosing operation. That program pumps money into the markets, sending stock and bond prices higher, but does little to stimulate the economy.

Lamar Smith on Commercial Crew Rides To/From Space Station

When NASA announced they would be spending $424,000,000 on Russian rides to the International Space Station in 2017, we contacted Lamar Smith, the Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee in the House of Representatives. Now, understand that we have a number of disagreements with Smith on other issues, but a staffer called today to confirm that Smith is in complete agreement with us on paying for these rides to American commercial companies and not to the Russians. He indicated the possibility that NASA itself could conduct the missions, but we pointed out that commercial companies could do the job cheaper and he agreed with that assessment. Briefly, here's what we discussed: Money we spend in Russia does not circulate within the US. If the government spent the same amount of money within the USA, it would be multiplied through the money multiplier effect. In effect, the $424 million is spent in Russia, while the same amount of money spent in the USA may have a total economic effect of several times, perhaps more than a billion dollars in total. Elon Musk of SpaceX is targetting late 2015 for human Commercial Crew flights. This is two years before NASA's 2017 target (which they are now penciling in as 2018 on their internal reports—which means they are budgeting even more half-billion-dollar paychecks for the Russians!). Although there's no guarantee SpaceX will reach their target date, there's enough slack in the schedule that suggests that paying Russia for 2017 is a bad bet on the part of NASA. When you consider that money spent in the USA is subject to income tax, some of that money the government spends in the USA will come back to the government in terms of tax revenue, further reducing the overall cost. Bottom line: Spending the same amount in the USA could end up greatly reducing the amount of government money spent for the same services we are paying the Russians for. Economically, it just makes sense. It's nice when a politician is actually working for the proper course forward.

Thursday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Wednesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Politicians Embracing Austerity Are Killing Jobs

Today, we got a report which confirms everything we've been telling you about how the economy is dipping into recession. ADP reported job creation for April was only 119,000. This compares to the approximate 150,000 jobs that needs to be created just to keep up with population increase. Clearly, this should be a wakeup call for everyone who has been claiming that the economy is doing just fine. Why are we seeing the economy falling into recession? While some will point to various factors, the underlying problem is that we have shunned innovation as a solution to our economic problem. Prospering through innovation economics gives us an answer: Perhaps the greatest 20th century economist was Joseph Schumpeter.  Unlike Keynes, Schumpeter put innovation first and in doing so articulated the idea that capitalist economies advance on the basis of “creative destruction.”  Yet, while Schumpeter may have been European (Austrian), too few European policymakers are Schumpeterians. In other words, when most European leaders refer to innovation, they mean tech-based industries, not the constant transformation of an economy and its institutions, including public institutions. Real innovation is disruptive, often painful, but almost always good. Unless Europe can accept that innovation and productivity entail plant closures and job losses and also embraces, rather than resists or regulates, new technologies and business models with uncertain social or environmental impacts, it is not likely that Europe will be able to keep up in the race for global innovation advantage.  One way to do this is to embrace the Nordic flexicurity (a combined term for “flexible security”). Flexicurity is based on the reality that employment security is decreasing. To help workers manage, they will need new kinds of security – not to help them stay at a particular job, but to help them effectively transition into new employment through viable skills. The same prescription will work in the USA, just after we vote out of office all the Austerians.

Texas: At the Front Line of Climate Change

Yesterday, the high in Amarillo was 97°F. Today, the high was 48°F. We are now seeing the strongest cold front ever recorded in the month of May. Anyone who claims the climate is not changing simply isn't paying attention.

Fed Open Market Committee Vows To Step On The Accelerator

Today, the Federal Open Market Committee (the "Fed") pointedly criticized Congressional mismanagement of the economy and vowed to step on the monetary accelerator to counteract the downward spiral in the economy caused by those bad decisions by our elected representatives. The Fed made a point to criticize Congress in that, “Labor market conditions have shown some improvement in recent months, on balance, but the unemployment rate remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment advanced, and the housing sector has strengthened further, but fiscal policy is restraining economic growth.” Further, they promised to step harder on the monetary accelerator: The Committee will continue its purchases of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate, until the outlook for the labor market has improved substantially in a context of price stability. The Committee is prepared to increase or reduce the pace of its purchases to maintain appropriate policy accommodation as the outlook for the labor market or inflation changes. Clearly, this is unprecedented criticism of the government from the national central bank. It seems that the Fed wants to put the blame on the Congress for the lack of recovery in the economy.

US Navy: Our Oil Addiction Is A National Security Issue

In the wake of the recent announcement that laser weapons will be put on U.S. Navy ships, the need for reliable, high-voltage shipboard power has become a matter of national security, officials said at this week’s Electric Ship Technologies Symposium outside Washington, D.C. The Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored event featured some of the world’s top scientists and engineers in power systems, who agree that a new era in electric power is within sight. “The work being done in this area is vital,” said Dr. Thomas Killion, who heads ONR’s Office of Transition. “As the upcoming deployment of a shipboard laser weapon reminds us, we need power generation and power management systems with greater-than-ever capabilities, but from devices that are smaller than ever.”  Earlier this month, Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert announced that for the first time a laser weapon system (LaWS) will be placed onboard a deployed ship, USS Ponce, for testing in the Persian Gulf in 2014. The announcement underscored the need for accessible high-power electric generation, capable of meeting the substantial demands that will be needed to power laser systems and other high-power weapon systems. As the technology advances, and faced with rising and unpredictable fossil fuel costs, the Navy’s next-generation surface combatant ship will leverage electric ship technologies in its design. While electric ships already exist, design characteristics of a combatant ship are more complex with regard to weight, speed, maneuverability—and now, directed energy weapons. ONR-supported scientists are focused on cutting-edge technologies that include silicon carbide (SiC)-based transistors, transformers and power converters. “SiC is important because it improves power quality and reduces size and weight of components by as much as 90 percent,” said Sharon Beermann-Curtin, ONR’s power and energy science and technology lead. “This is a critical technology enabler for future Navy combatant ships that require massive amounts of highly controlled electricity to power advanced sensors, propulsion and weapons such as lasers and the electromagnetic railgun.” Killion said that a lighter, smaller footprint on ships will contribute to the substantial increase in energy efficiency that is predicted from breakthroughs in electric power research. “The enhanced capabilities and potential cost savings of increased power at reduced size cannot be overemphasized,” he said. “This is the future.” Improved power systems could have enormous impact in both military and civilian sectors. Concerns by engineers over an aging power grid in the United States and elsewhere, for instance, have grown in recent years. The Navy’s power and engineering efforts that will further naval power hold similar promise for civilian benefit. ONR sponsors the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium (ESRDC), composed of eight leading universities. The ESRDC is focused on afloat power systems, and leads efforts to address a national shortage of electric power engineers, and ensure U.S. superiority in electric systems. Some of the critical technologies ONR is working on include power-dense electronics; new power conversion capabilities; energy storage; and sensors, weapons and protection. Killion said all of these areas deserve support because they are of naval and national importance. “A key challenge in designing an all-electric future naval combatant ship is enabling technologies that can provide power agility with minimal energy storage needs,” said Beermann-Curtin. “We are making truly noteworthy progress toward those goals.” At the symposium, Killion also announced the pending Fiscal Year 2013 Small Business Innovation Research solicitation opportunities in the power and energy area, including continued development of automated methods for design of cooling systems; alternative power supplies; ship energy use monitoring and analysis methods; compact connectors; and compact power for radio frequency sources.

Tuesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Consumers Draw Down Savings To Spend

Since taxes have been going up, consumer demand has been fairly stable. With less disposable income, how is this possible and is it sustainable? The answers are that consumers are drawing down on savings and no, it is not sustainable. In fact, consumer savings have reached a level usually seen right before recessions: As you can see, this can go on for a while, but it appears that the Fed is the provider of demand for buying stocks and will have to up their game to make up for slacking consumer demand in the future. The consumer is coming close to being tapped out. Time to run the printing presses faster, guys!

Monday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Why USO Hasn't Tracked Oil Prices

One of the problems with the USO Oil ETF is that it doesn't track the underlying price of oil very well. In fact, the USO ETF (“United States Oil”) closed today at 33.12 while the price of June West Texas Intermediate Crude closed at 94.50 — that's a whopping difference for an ETF which is supposed to track the commodity! The problem with USO, which we've pointed out on various occasions is that the fund has to buy oil one month and, after holding it for a month, roll it the next month, at a loss of premium if the next month is trading at a higher price. These losses mount up over time when the commodity is in a state known as “contango”—which simply means that more distant in time contracts trade at a premium to nearby contracts. The opposite situation—“backwardation”—occurs when more distant contracts trade at a discount to nearer-term contracts. During times of backwardation, the buy-and-hold investor collects a premium bonus every time they roll (sell the expiring contract and purchase the next one) to the next contract. That can amount to quite a bit of premium over time. One interesting thing about bull markets in commodities is that backwardation is often a sign of a bull trend. It isn't necessary that a commodity be in backwardation to be a bull market, but it is a confirming indicator that a bull market is underway. So, it's no wonder oil has not been in backwardation in many years—it has indeed been in a bear market. Interestingly, there is a market in oil which is in backwardation, but it's the European Brent Oil contract rather than the United States Oil contract. And there is an ETF which tracks the Brent contract. Its ticker is BNO and it has performed well since the Brent contract went into backwardation. Here's a chart comparing the two ETFs courtesy Yahoo! Finance:: The big difference in the performance of the two ETFs appears to be mainly due to the backwardation in the Brent contract and the contango in the US contract. This suggests that if the US contract were to go into backwardation, the USO would start to close the gap between it and BNO. Alternately, the Brent contract could go into contango, which would eliminate its advantage. If we do get a general commodity bull market going, this is an important point to consider in choosing an ETF route to play the bull market in oil. If one of the underlying contracts is in contango and the other is in backwardation, choose the one in backwardation for long term holding periods. Since the rollover occurs just once per month in each contract, unless you hold the ETF across the monthly rollover date, the performance of the ETF shouldn't be affected by this factor.

Jobs Surging in Solar

Need a job? Look up, young man, the sun is providing them a-plenty! Jeff Spross reports that Solar Jobs Beat Out Ranchers In Texas, Actors In California, And Coal Miners Nationally. California, the state that the Hollywood film industry calls home, can boast 43,700 paying jobs in the solar industry in 2012, versus only 32,300 paid actors. Texas clocked in with 3,200 solar jobs, in comparison to the state's 270 to 2,410 ranchers. And across the entire nation, 119,000 Americans were employed by the solar industry in 2012, versus only 87,500 by the coal mining industry. A new interactive Solar Job Map identifies jobs across the nation. It was produced by The Solar Foundation. In their press release, they say: The interactive map also presents information on the relative size of solar industry subsectors in each state and allows users to explore how their state measures up to others in terms of key solar policies, jobs per capita, and number of homes powered by solar energy. Thousands of data points from a combination of high-quality sources including TSF’s National Solar Jobs Census 2012 and the Solar Energy Industries Association’s National Solar Database were analyzed via a dual methodology to develop the jobs estimates that are the focus of this unprecedented effort.  “Our greatly-anticipated State Solar Jobs Map provides the most credible and comprehensive glimpse to date of solar employment at the state level,” said Andrea Luecke, TSF Executive Director. “These jobs figures demonstrate that the U.S. solar industry remains a powerful source of local job creation. In comparing our estimates with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we find that California now has more solar workers than actors and that there are more solar jobs in Texas than there are ranchers. Economies of scale are also making our industry more labor efficient, requiring only one-third the number of workers to install a megawatt of solar today as it did in 2010.”   The top ten states for solar jobs in 2012 were: California, Arizona, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York, Texas, Michigan, and Ohio. In comparing solar employment estimates from today’s release with previous state figures that examined solar jobs in only a few states, six states – California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, and New York – are in the top ten for the third year in a row. Many of the highest-ranked solar jobs states are also those with the greatest cumulative installed capacity in the nation.  “The Solar Foundation’s map illustrates that solar is an economic engine throughout the U.S., creating jobs from coast to coast,” notes Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “Solar is the fastest-growing clean energy technology available today and employment in our industry has doubled over the past three years. Strong state solar policies, including renewable portfolio standards, third-party financing availability, and net metering have driven this tremendous state growth. Ensuring policy certainty throughout the U.S. will help to accelerate this trend and lead to more job creation where it’s most needed.”  The map also demonstrates what has already been made apparent by global solar leaders such as Germany – that an abundant solar resource is not necessarily a prerequisite for a strong solar market. Only four states ranked in the top ten in terms of maximum solar resource are also top ten solar employment states. The remaining states (New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and Ohio) all rank in the bottom 30% in the nation in terms of available solar resource. What all of the top ten solar jobs states do have in common, however, is a collection of policy tools designed to support renewable energy in general and solar in particular.  The state solar jobs figures included in the map both reflect and underscore what is known about solar employment at the national level. According to TSF’s National Solar Jobs Census 2012, 31% of employers indicated that component price declines were the greatest driver of company growth. The latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, published by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association, shows that the top four solar jobs states (California, Arizona, New Jersey, and Massachusetts) all saw significant decreases in residential installed costs in 2012, with New Jersey and Massachusetts experiencing substantial declines in non-residential prices as well.  "When I left the brownfield redevelopment business, I had three key criteria for what I wanted to do next:  to be part of creating a new market sector, to use my long corporate experience to help lead an emerging company's success, and to go home at night knowing that what I was doing meant something. The solar industry and Sungevity met those criteria in a big way.  I get to be a part of a market that's really taking off, shape a leading company's hiring decisions and employee culture, and know that clean energy works in ways that improve our lives now and in the future," said Susan Hollingshead, Sungevity's Chief People and Corporate Services Officer.

Pay No Attention To That Bernanke Behind The Curtain

First, a review. Ben Bernanke has been emulating Atlas holding up the world on his shoulders. Thinking that printing money and flooding the system with it would have prevented the Great Depression, Bernanke has been doing exactly that. Critics decried the move, saying that all that fiat money would send the dollar plummeting into the depths, never to rise again. Yet, the dollar has not only held its value, it has risen against every major currency in the last five years. The doubters were either wrong or early. Indeed, deflation has been Bernanke's saving grace. But, history tells us that the Fed's medicine eventually ends up hurting the patient. With so much free money, banks don't need to lend to make profits. Consumers can't, for the most part, take out loans at low rates—their credit card companies are usurious thieves, borrowing from the Fed at 0% interest rates and lending at exorbitant rates. Food and energy prices continue to rise, cutting into consumer budgets and dragging retail sales (ex-food and energy, of course) down. What will it take to return the economy to “normal”—assuming such a thing is even possible? Well, as far as we can tell, inflation will signal a return to near-normal. And, we see inflation on the horizon, coming very soon to destroy Bernanke's dream of retiring a hero next year (he's announced he's getting out of government service). Before he goes, though, he wants you to know that you should expect stock prices to go to the Moon (even if we are incapable of doing so like we did fifty years ago—fifty years of Fed mismanagement, of course). But, look out, folks, inflation is coming soon to a retail establishment near you. Paul Craig Roberts explains that the recovery Bernanke has engineered has benefitted only the richest 7% of Americans in this post entitled Recovery for the 7 Percent: “From the end of the recession in 2009 through 2011 (the last year for which Census Bureau wealth data are available), the 8 million households in the U.S. with a net worth above $836,033 saw their aggregate wealth rise by an estimated $5.6 trillion, while the 111 million households with a net worth at or below that level saw their aggregate wealth decline by an estimated $600 billion.” Pew Research, “An Uneven Recovery, by Richard Fry and Paul Taylor. Since the recession was officially declared to be over in June 2009, I have assured readers that there has been no recovery. Gerald Celente, John Williams (shadowstats.com), and no doubt others have also made it clear that the alleged recovery is an artifact of an understated inflation rate that produces an image of real economic growth. Now comes the Pew Research Center with its conclusion that the recession ended only for the top 7 percent of households that have substantial holdings of stocks and bonds. The other 93% of the American population is still in recession. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/ The Pew report attributes the recovery for the affluent to the rise in the stock and bond markets, but does not say what caused these markets to rise. The stock market’s recovery does not reflect rising consumer purchasing power and retail sales. The labor force is shrinking, not growing. Job growth lags population growth, and the few jobs that are created are primarily dead-end jobs in lowly paid domestic services. Retail sales adjusted for inflation and real median household income have been bottom bouncing since 2009. To the extent that there is profit growth in US corporations, it comes from labor cost savings from offshoring US jobs and from bringing in foreign workers on work visas. By lowering labor costs, corporations boost profits and thereby capital gains for those 7 percent who have large holdings of financial assets. Those in the 93 percent who are displaced by foreign workers experience income reductions. This transfer of the incomes of the 93 percent to the 7 percent via jobs offshoring and work visas is the reason for the stark rise in US income inequality. Another source of the stock market’s rise is the Federal Reserve’s policy of quantitative easing, that is, the printing of $1,000 billion dollars annually with which to support the too-big-to-fail banks’ balance sheets and to finance the federal budget deficit. The cash that the Fed is pouring into the banks is not finding its way into business and consumer loans, but the money is available for the banks to speculate in derivatives and stock market futures. Thus, the Fed’s policy, which is directed at keeping afloat a few oversized banks, also benefits the 7 percent by driving up the value of their stock portfolios. The reason bond prices are so high that real interest rates are negative is that the Fed is purchasing $1,000 billion of mortgage-backed “securities” and US Treasury debt annually. The lower the Fed forces interest rates, the higher go bond prices. If you are among the 7 percent, the Fed has produced capital gains for your bond portfolio. But if you are a saver among the 93 percent, you are losing purchasing power because the interest you receive is less than the rate of inflation. The Pew report puts it this way: Since the “recovery” that began in June 2009, wealthy households experienced a 28 percent rise in their net worth, while everyone else lost 4 percent of their assets. Is this the profile of a democracy in which government serves the public interest, or is it the profile of a financial aristocracy that uses government to grind the population under foot? The answer to Roberts' question is blatantly obvious. The financial aristocracy is using government to grind the population under foot. And, the next big body blow for the public will be overheating inflation, further compressing spending by downsizing the dollar.

Friday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes and the #WeekendAnalysis PDF have been updated on the website. Have a great trading week! Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Sell In May---Or Buy?

While the stock market tends to top in May-June, there are other markets that are on track to bottom in May. Find out what they are with a three-month free trial above!

After Earth

Thinkers Including Google's Ray Kurzweil, SpaceX's Elon Musk and environmentalist Alexandra Cousteau join "After Earth" stars Will and Jaden Smith for an "After Earth Day" discussion on future innovations.

Securities and Exchange Commission: Their Job is To Kill JOBS

After the passage of the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act by an overwhelming majority of both Republicans and Democrats, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been on the warpath to kill JOBS. They have delayed implementation of the law for more than a year now. How many jobs have they blocked? No one knows for sure, but the economy has been moribund since the act was passed and the SEC bears blame for much of the slowdown we're now seeing. Not content with blocking new jobs, the SEC is now going after an entrepreneur in Spokane who is raising money from friends and family to start a business. It's time this country woke up to the fact that the SEC is a captured regulator. Their job is to stifle new business and new jobs and to steer new startups into the arms of Wall Street, where the banksters aim to capture most of the funds raised by Initial Public Offerings. The banksters still have their hands firmly gripping the necks of investors. It's time to sunset this agency and get on with the business of growing. You'll never hear about this on CNBC or Bloomberg. They are captured media themselves. Their only purpose is to regurgitate the propaganda put out by the SEC.

Bloomberg: 70% of Future Power Will Come From Renewables

According to Bloomberg: Improvements in cost-competitiveness means that renewables will account for between 69% and 74% of new power capacity added by 2030 worldwide, despite current difficult market conditions London and New York, 22 April 2013 — New research by analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance show that annual investment in new renewable power capacity is set to rise by anywhere from two and a half times to more than four and a half times between now and 2030. The likeliest scenario implies a jump of 230%, to $630bn per year by 2030, driven by further improvements in the cost-competitiveness of wind and solar technologies relative to fossil fuel alternatives, as well as an increase in the roll-out of non-intermittent clean energy sources like hydro, geothermal and biomass. This is the message of new research published today by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The findings will be unveiled to delegates this afternoon at the analysis company's sixth annual Summit, in New York. Further information on the Summit can be found at http://about.bnef.com/summit/. Bloomberg New Energy Finance's predictions for world energy markets to 2030 come from its Global Energy and Emissions Model, which integrates all of the main determinants of the energy future, including economic prosperity, global and regional demand growth, the evolution of technology costs, likely developments in policies to combat climate change, and trends in fossil fuel markets. Together these form three scenarios: "New Normal", "Barrier Busting" and "Traditional Territory". The New Normal scenario is considered the most likely. It shows the investment requirement for new clean energy assets in the year 2030 at $630bn (in nominal terms), more than three times the investment in the renewable energy capacity that was built in 2012. This 2030 investment figure is 35% higher than that produced in Bloomberg New Energy Finance's last global forecast a year ago, and the projection for total installed renewable energy capacity by that date is 25% higher than in that previous forecast, at 3,500GW. In the power sector, the research company's latest forecasts project that 70% of new power generation capacity added between 2012 and 2030 will be from renewable technologies (including large hydro). Only 25% will be in the form of coal, gas or oil, the remaining being nuclear. The scenarios are based on Bloomberg New Energy Finance's latest projections for coal and gas prices. For gas, these assume prices stabilise in real terms at $6, $9 and $11/MMBtu in the US, Europe and the Asia respectively. For comparison, the International Energy Agency's New Policies scenario forecasts that 57% of power capacity added during this period will be from renewable resources (including large hydro). Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that wind and solar will take up the largest shares of new power capacity added in terms of GW by 2030, accounting for 30% and 24% respectively. By 2030 renewable technologies will account for 50% of new power generation capacity installed around the world, up from 28% in 2012. In terms of power produced, the share of renewables will increase from 22% in 2012 to 37% in 2030. The New Normal scenario's outlook for global biofuel production in 2030 is that it will increase by around 200% from 120bn litres in 2012, to 370bn litres in 2030. The future under Bloomberg New Energy Finance's other two scenarios look somewhat different, although in both cases, there will be further growth in renewable energy demand. Capital requirements for renewable energy could reach $880bn by 2030, under the Barrier Busting assumptions ($9.3 trillion cumulative from 2013). This would require an additional $2 trillion (22% increase) invested in supporting infrastructure such as long distance transmission systems, smart grids, storage and demand response. Under a more pessimistic view of the world, in the Traditional Territory scenario, renewable energy investment requirements are projected to be $470bn by 2030 ($6.1 trillion cumulative). Guy Turner, head of economics and commodities for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, commented: "This is the first time we have produced such detailed analysis of the future world energy system under different scenarios. It highlights that, in spite of the recent news showing a downturn in clean energy investment since 2011, renewable technologies will form the anchor of new generating capacity additions, even under a less optimistic view of the world economy and policy choices." "The main driver for future growth of the renewable sector over this timeframe is a shift from policy support to falling costs and natural demand. Our work also highlights, however, the importance of planning for the integration of intermittent renewables into the grid and into power markets. This will require significant new investment in grid infrastructure, load management and storage technologies." Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance said: "The news right now is dominated by stories of pain caused by overcapacity on the supply side of clean energy, and the lure of cheap shale gas. But this is playing out against the falling costs of renewable energy and of all the technologies required to integrate it into our energy system, and falling costs win. What it suggests is that we are beyond the tipping point towards a cleaner energy future." More details on the three scenarios, and their implications for future energy markets, are available in the Global Renewable Energy Market Outlook fact pack. This will be available to the media on request.

Wising Up: How a Climate Change Skeptic Saw the Light

Stu Ostro is a Senior Meteorologist at The Weather Channel and was once a climate change skeptic. But, he saw the light when the scientific evidence became too strong to deny: I used to be very "skeptical" about global warming, unconvinced that humans had anything to do with it or that it was affecting the weather. But then that changed. In fact, a few years ago I was highlighted by The Week as being one of six "high profile defectors," climate change "doubters" having lost one of their "leading lights." What's up with that? Did I suddenly switch from conservative to liberal? No, in fact I consider myself politically independent. I have voted for Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. (I've either now assuaged everyone's concerns or irritated everyone, or both!) Did The Weather Channel pressure me to change my point of view on global warming or what I communicate about it? Nobody at The Weather Channel, its owners or its advertisers has ever done that. I come to my own objective conclusions, and that will never change. Skepticism is a fundamental part of the scientific process, and healthy when in that vein. I continue to look at data with a skeptical eye. However, skepticism is not constructive when it becomes overwhelming and results in being closed-minded and only seeing what you want to see. So, what convinced me? I Flew When my parents, may they rest in peace, took me on my first flights back in the 1960s and 1970s, I recall the atmosphere being very clear once getting above the low-level haze layer. Now, there's usually a milky gook visible, even within a fresh clean cold air mass in winter, not just a stagnant one in August. Greenhouse gases cannot be seen by the naked eye, but I thought, "If there's all this stuff in the atmosphere that I can see noticeably more than 30 years ago, maybe there's something to that carbon dioxide thing." Read the rest of Stu's story of how the scientific evidence of Global Warming finally convinced him at My Climate Change

The Sordid Truth About Austerity

Laughter is what Economists and Politicians Give Us

Thursday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Wednesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

The Race To Cook Ourselves

The Scripps Institute has a new way to follow the ongoing race to cook ourselves to death. For the first time in human history, concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) could rise above 400 parts per million (ppm) for sustained lengths of time throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere as soon as May 2013. To provide a resource for understanding the implications of rising CO₂ levels, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is providing daily updates of the "Keeling Curve," the record of atmospheric CO₂ measured at Hawaii's Mauna Loa. These iconic measurements, begun by Charles David (Dave) Keeling, a world-leading authority on atmospheric greenhouse gas accumulation and Scripps climate science pioneer, comprise the longest continuous record of CO₂ in the world, starting from 316 ppm in March 1958 and approaching 400 ppm today with a familiar saw-tooth pattern. For the past 800,000 years, CO₂ levels never exceeded 300 parts per million. "I wish it weren't true, but it looks like the world is going to blow through the 400-ppm level without losing a beat," said Scripps geophysicist Ralph Keeling, who has taken over the Keeling Curve measurement from his late father. "At this pace we'll hit 450 ppm within a few decades." The website keelingcurve.ucsd.edu offers background information about how CO₂ is measured, the history of the Keeling Curve, and resources from other organizations on the current state of climate. An accompanying Twitter feed, @keeling_curve, also provides followers with the most recent Keeling Curve CO₂ reading in a daily tweet. Dave Keeling began recording CO₂ data at Mauna Loa and other locations after developing an ultraprecise measurement device known as a manometer. Ralph Keeling took over the program in 2005 and also heads a program at Scripps to measure changes in atmospheric oxygen. The Scripps O2 and CO₂ programs make measurements of CO₂ and other gases at remote locations around the world, including Antarctica, Tasmania, and northern Alaska. The Scripps programs are complementary to many other programs now measuring CO₂ and other greenhouse gases worldwide. Scientists estimate that the last time CO₂ was as high as 400 ppm was probably the Pliocene epoch, between 3.2 million and 5 million years ago, when Earth's climate was much warmer than today. CO₂ was around 280 ppm before the Industrial Revolution, when humans first began releasing large amounts of CO₂ to the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels. By the time Dave Keeling began measurements in 1958, CO₂ had already risen from 280 to 316 ppm. The rate of rise of CO₂ over the past century is unprecedented; there is no known period in geologic history when such high rates have been found. The continuous rise is a direct consequence of society's heavy reliance on fossil fuels for energy. Each year, the concentration of CO₂ at Mauna Loa rises and falls in a sawtooth fashion, with the next year higher than the year before. The peak of the sawtooth typically comes in May. If CO₂ levels don't top 400 ppm in May 2013, they almost certainly will next year, Keeling said. "The 400-ppm threshold is a sobering milestone, and should serve as a wake up call for all of us to support clean energy technology and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, before it's too late for our children and grandchildren," said Tim Lueker, an oceanographer and carbon cycle researcher who is a longtime member of the Scripps CO₂ Group.

Tuesday's Results In The Wall Street Bucket Shops

#SubscriberNotes have been updated on the website. Note: a bucket shop is an unofficial and usually illegal betting operation in which the prices of stocks and commodities are posted and the customers bet on the rise and fall of prices without actually buying stock, commodities, or commodity futures. Today's stock trading has been divorced from its connection to true valuation of securities and is equivalent to a bucket shop operation. Stock Market Performance Table

Twitter Lie Shaves $136.5 Billion From LargeCaps

The casino on Wall Street dropped 140 Dow points today when a trader whose short position was underwater tweeted, "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured." This type of bogus rumor used to hit the market regularly, but was usually ineffective at moving prices. Today, all it took was a 140-character message supposedly issued by AP and traders cure their bad trade quickly. Computers monitor tweets and send orders flashing through the system in microseconds. Clearly, the machines have taken over this market. It's getting dangerously to use stop orders. And, just in case you were wondering, this is a sign of a market that's unsustainable. Flash Crashes are warning signs that the market is about to come unglued.

Watch the Poles Melt

A new video shows graphically how quickly the poles are melting: You don't have to be a weatherman to see that the ice is melting rapidly due to man-made climate change.

Sequestration That Makes Sense

We all know that sequestration on the government level is a cop-out. It's like using a baseball bat to swat a fly. But, a different kind of sequestration — sucking carbon right out of the air — may be a way to reverse Global Warming according to A way to curb global warming: Suck carbon emissions right out of the air?: Efforts to combat global warming, triggered and reinforced by rising levels of carbon dioxide as humans burn fossil fuels and convert forests to farmland, largely focus on preventing CO₂ from entering the atmosphere in the first place. But small groups of researchers are pursuing a complementary approach. They are looking for ways to remove CO₂ already in the air. On small scales, the approach has been used since the 1930s at dry-ice facilities, as well as to scrub CO₂ from the air on submarines and on the International Space Station. Proposals to use air capture to help reduce atmospheric CO₂ concentrations first appeared in 1999. However, "over the last two or three years, there's been a lot of new [research] publication in this field," says Alain Goeppert, a researcher with the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California (USC). The interest is driven in no small part by a handful of start-up firms that are developing prototype air-capture systems. But it's also driven by the recognition that CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere already exceed a level that some scientists say stands the best chance of holding global warming by the end of this century to about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. Air capture essentially involves passing ambient air across liquid or solid materials that absorb CO₂. Conceptually, it's similar to extracting CO₂ from coal-fired power-plant emissions. But air-capture advocates note that some 30 percent of the world's CO₂ emissions come from cars, aircraft, and other mobile "nonpoint" sources, where scrubbers at the tailpipe are impractical. Tackling emissions from these sources will be necessary in order to meet any goal for stabilizing CO₂ levels in the atmosphere, because the CO₂ that oceans or terrestrial vegetation don't take up remains in the air for centuries. Stabilizing concentrations essentially means stopping the emission of additional CO₂. "Without air capture, nonpoint sources of emission will need to be phased out over the next few decades if we want to stabilize the climate," argues Klaus Lackner, director of Columbia University's Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy and a founder and director of Kilimanjaro Energy, one of the start-ups working on air-capture technologies, in an article published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.