Is Exxon Mobil Gearing up to Become the #1 Energy Stock?

The American shale industry is a testament to the inventive spirit of grassroots capitalist enterprise. This sector was revolutionized by innovative frackers, who introduced groundbreaking methods of horizontal drilling and oil extraction from rock formations.

However, not all major oil companies rushed to capitalize on the shale boom with the same zeal. Global oil giant Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) cautiously approached the rich shale territory, such as the Permian basin, due to the reckless expansionism of the wildcatters, consequently burning billions of investors' funds....Continue Reading Here.

How Should Investors Prepare For A Market Correction Or Bear Market?

Chris and Tom, of Palisades Gold Radio, cover a range of topics through the lens of technical analysis. They delve into the following questions:

• Where is capital flowing to in the current market environment? What are the stages of the market and where are we right now? Why is the 150-day moving average important for gauging what stage the markets are in?

• Comparing the S&P 500 to precious metals or miners, when will money flow toward the latter? How are the stock market and miners correlated? What do the topping candles on the monthly Gold chart indicate?

• Can the US dollar and Gold go up together or will they work against each other? Is Gold the ultimate safe play for global investors?

• What is the outlook for oil and how does its current position compare to 2007? What is the importance of established support levels and price action?

• AI stocks seem to be holding the market up right now. What happens when these begin to falter?

• How important is it for investors to be prepared for when the markets begin to roll over? What are the dangers of ignoring this eventuality? And what does a drawdown actually mean for an investor? What are the dangers of the Buy-and-Hold, diversification, and dividend-paying strategies?

• How do you pull money out of the stock market with your strategies? Is frequent trading better than having fewer trades? What is an Asset Revestor? What indicators, trend analysis, risk, and position management tools are used to protect capital and grow your accounts?

        Watch Chris' Interview Here

Crude Oil Breaks Downward – Rejecting The $120 Price Level

The recent downward Crude Oil trend may have caught many traders by surprise. Just before the US Fed raised interest rates on June 15, 2022, Crude oil was trading above $120ppb. Less than 5 days later, it collapsed -12% and has continued to trend lower. Currently, Crude Oil is near -17% lower than recent highs.

It appears Crude Oil has confirmed resistance near $120 and is devaluing as consumers pull away from traditional driving/spending habits while the Fed aggressively attempts to burst the inflation bubble. This type of contraction in Crude Oil is very similar to what happened in 2008-09 when the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) hit – Crude Oil collapsed more than -70% after IYC started trending lower in 2007....Continue Reading Here

Utilities Rising & Transporters Sinking - Sector Rotation Is Providing Clues

Historically, investors gravitate toward more defensive and commodity focused sectors, such as precious metals, energy, commodities, and utilities, in late cycle bull markets. Recently, the stock market is beginning to show us signs that the bull market may be coming to an end. 

Commodities such as energy, grains, and precious metals have all experienced nice rallies. Price action also confirms money flow coming out of transports and into utilities....Continue Reading Here.

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Utilities Continues To Rally – Is It Sending A Warning Signal Yet?

We have experienced an incredible rally in many sectors over the past 5+ months. My research team has been pouring over the charts trying to identify how the next few weeks and months may play out in terms of continued trending or risks of some price volatility setting up. We believe the Utilities Sector may hold the key to understanding how and when the US markets will reach some level of stronger resistance as many sector ETFs are trading in new all time high price ranges.

Utilities Sector Resistance at $71.10 Should Not Be Ignored

The Utilities Sector has continued to rally since setting up a unique bottom in late February 2021. A recent double top setup, near $68, suggests resistance exists just above current trading levels. Any continuation of this uptrend over the next few weeks, targeting the $70 Fibonacci 100% Measured Move, would place the XLU price just below the previous pre COVID19 highs near $71.10 (the MAGENTA Line).

My research suggests the momentum up this recent uptrend may continue to push prices higher into early May, quite possibly setting up the Utilities ETF for a rally above $70. Yet, we believe the resistance near $71.10 will likely act as a strong barrier for price and may prompt a downward price correction after the completion of the Fibonacci 100% Measured Price Move. In other words, the recent rally across many sectors will likely continue for a bit longer before key resistance levels begin to push many sectors into some sideways trading ranges....Continue Reading Here.

VIX and Defensive Sectors React To Perceived Trend Weakness

Since early November 2020, the VIX has continued to decline and consolidate near the 22 level. Late in December 2020 and beyond, the VIX started setting up series high price spikes – which indicates a flagging downside pattern is setting up. You can see this setup across the recent VIX highs.

Additionally, the VIX has “stepped” higher, moving from lows near 19.50 to higher lows near 21.00. This upward stepping base is indicative of a shift in volatility. My research team and I interpret this data as a sign that trend weakness is starting to build after the strong rally that initiated in early November 2020.

Although we have not seen any clear sign that the markets are about to reverse or decline, this move in the VIX is suggesting that volatility is increasing. The high price “breakout”, yesterday, in the VIX suggests a flag setup is nearing an Apex/breakout point....Read More Here.

Technology & Energy Sectors Are Hot – Are You Missing Out?

One of the biggest movers over the past few months has been the recovery of the Oil/Gas/Energy sector after quite a bit of sideways/lower price trending. You can see from this XOP chart, below, a 44% upside price rally has taken place since early November, and XOP has recently rotated moderately downward – setting up another potential trade setup if this rally continues. Traders know, the trend if your friend. Another upside price swing in the XOP, above $72, would suggest this rally mode is continuing.

Recently, we published a research article suggesting a lower U.S. Dollar would prompt major sector rotations in the US and global markets where we highlighted the fact that the Materials, Industrials, Technology, and Discretionary sectors had been the hottest sectors of the past 180 days, but the Energy, Financials, Materials, and Industrials had shown the best strength over the past 90 days....Read More Here.

Learn Why Energy Stocks are Underperforming

Financial Survival Network Interview Highlights....

• After a 30 year rally in the bond market, interest rates can’t go much higher given the lack of trust resulting in marginal returns. 

• The lack of demand coupled with too much supply in the oil market has oil companies losing money   at these prices. Energy stocks have been underperforming which will likely continue until demand picks up or supply is significantly curtailed. 

• Any stock market weakness or strength in the US dollar will likely lead to $1,810 Gold and $21 Silver.

Listen To The Podcast Here 

Crude Oil Breaks Lower - Sparking Fears of Another Sub $30 Price Collapse

Research Highlights....

* Breakdown in Crude Oil sparks talk of sub $30 price 

   targets. 

* Initial support likely near $32 to $33. 

* Predictive Modeling suggests deeper price lows may be 

   reached before November 2020.

Have you been paying attention to Crude Oil recently? Prices have collapsed over -15% from the recent highs near $43.78. You may remember a research article I posted originally in July 2019 suggesting a big breakdown in Crude Oil was going to take place in early 2020 and extreme volatility was likely between February 2020 and April 2020. Our researchers predicted the following within that research article:

“If our ADL predictive modeling is correct, we will see rotation between $47 and $64 over the next 3+ months before a breakdown in price hits in November 2019. This will be followed by two fairly narrow price range months (December 2019 and January 2020) where oil prices will tighten near $45 to $50. After that tightening, we believe an extremely volatile price move will happen in February through April 2020 that could see oil prices trade as low as $22 and as high as $51 over a two to three-month span.”

Then, in early March 2020, we published this follow up article on our Crude Oil predictions. Within that article, we updated our analysis to include the following statement:

“If our research is correct, Crude oil may find a bottom somewhere near $17 to $24, the potential rally back up to somewhere above $37 - 41 ppb before staging another massive selloff. The massive volatility suggested by the ADL system also suggests a broad price range over the next 60+ days.”....Continue Reading Here.

Energy Sets Up Near Major Resistance - Breakdown Pending

Our research team believes Crude Oil and Energy, in general, has stalled near major resistance and maybe setting up a big downside move as the COVID-19 virus continues to roil regional and global economies.

The recent news that the COVID-19 virus cases have skyrocketed suggests further economic shutdowns may push oil prices below $35 ppb over the next few weeks and months. Our researchers believe Oil has already set up a resistance level near $42 and will begin to move lower as concerns about the economic recovery transition through expectations related to oil demand going forward. We believe the renewed global economic demand for oil will present a very real possibility that oil could collapse below $35 ppb over the next 30 days.

We believe this pending downside move in Crude Oil will set up a great trade opportunity in ERY, the Direxion Bear Energy 2x ETF. At this point in time, we are just waiting for the technical confirmation of this trade trigger. Once we receive confirmation from our price modeling systems, we believe ERY may rally 20% to 30% or more from current levels....Continue Reading Here.

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Energy Sets Up Two New Trades - Here They Are

Before we discuss these incredible trade setups in the Energy sector, we have to discuss the continued shifting global economy and how that relates to these setups. Nearly three weeks ago, we posted a research article suggesting Crude Oil would call to levels near $50 over the next 30+ days, then stall for about 45 days before falling further and potentially attempting new lows near $40 ppb. It is important to understand certain aspects of the global economy, economic demand and how it relates to seasonal patterns for Energy.

We believe the move lower is Crude Oil is related to a supply glut that continues to plague the global markets while global economic trade, shipping, and activity continue to weaken. Too much oil supply with weakening global economic activity means Crude Oil will likely waffle lower until this dynamic changes.

Please read our recent research post to know where Crude Oil is likely to head next. Also this crude oil, prediction uses our oil price DNA algorithm to show us the future price range of oil.

Other energy related symbols, like Natural Gas and ERY, are set up for a different type of price move.

The reality of the situation is that once Crude Oil reaches to levels near $50 ppb, it is very likely that a support level will push Crude back higher (as we suggest in our research) which will align with a seasonal pattern for Natural Gas and early Winter demand for heating oil. September, October, and November are typically a ramp up period for winter demand and end of year holiday travel. People tend to take advantage of the last bit of Summer to seek out vacation spots, prepare for winter and push the cold back as long as possible.

Future contracts may move higher, in preparation of this seasonal trend, many months before the season actually starts. This is the reason we believe the energy sector is setting up some incredible opportunities for skilled technical traders.

The Weekly Chart of Natural Gas 

This first Weekly chart of Natural Gas highlights a basing pattern that we’ve been following for months. We believe any move below $2.30 is a strong bottoming/basing setup for skilled traders and our predictive modeling systems suggest we are just weeks (3 to 5+) away from a big upside move in NG.

We believe natural gas will continue to fall and base. Once a bottom has been made the upside potential for NG over the next 60+ days is quite substantial. We believe an in initial upside move after it bottoms will be to levels above $3.15 will take place before October 10 and that potential for an extreme breakout upside move above $4.00 is quite likely before the end of November 2019.

Please read this article to learn more about our research into NG and the opportunities that are setting up now. Also, this post we shared Natural Gas Moves Into Basing Zone.

ERY – Bear Energy Sector Chart

Keeping in mind that the setup within the energy sector is two fold. First, Oil and NG will continue to fall and base/bottom (moving slightly lower over the next few weeks). This is why ERY is such a great setup right now. Any breakdown in energy commodity prices over the next 3-5 weeks will push ERY 15% to 25% higher from current levels – which is exactly what we are expecting to happen.

Then, as Crude Oil and Natural Gas base in their support zones, ERY will peak which is when we want to pull profits from ERY and watch other bullish energy ETFs for long side setups.

From current levels, we believe ERY will target $50 to $52.50 fairly quickly as Crude Oil and NG continue to move lower and setup a momentum base within the basing zone/support range. Remember Crude Oil should move to levels near $50 (a full 10% lower than current price levels) before basing.

Concluding Thoughts

As we’ve been suggesting for months, 2019 and 2020 are setting up to be incredible years for skilled technical traders. These moves in commodities, energy, and metals are providing us with trade after trade of 10%, 20% or more. Almost every month, the markets are setting up 10 to 15+ incredible trading opportunities and all we have to do is time our entries and run these trades as we do any other trade. Not all trade setups are the kind we like and we only enter the ones that we think have the highest opportunity and lowest risk.

Get ready because these incredible setups in Metals and Energy should keep you busy pulling the trigger to create profits over the next 5+ months or longer with my Wealth Building & Global Financial Reset Newsletter.

Join me with a 1 or 2 year subscription to lock in the lowest rate possible and ride my coattails as I navigate these financial market and build wealth while others lose nearly everything they own during the next financial crisis.

Join Now and Get a 1oz Silver Round or Gold Bar Shipped To You Free. Follow our research and visit The Technical Traders to learn how we can help you find and execute better trades.

Chris Vermeulen
The Technical Traders


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Will Crude Oil Follow These Historical Patterns?

Our research team and partners at Technical Traders Ltd., has been very interested in crude oil recently as the current rally appears to have rotated lower near a top. Our predictive modeling systems, predictive cycle analysis and other tools suggest Oil/Energy may be setting up for a downward price trend. This may be an excellent opportunity for skilled traders to identify profitable trades as this trend matures.

This Daily Crude Oil Chart shows our Predictive Cycle Modeling system and shows the projected price cycles out into the future. One can see the downside projected price levels very clearly. This cycle analysis tool does not predict price levels, it just predicts price trends. We can’t look at this indicator and think that $72 ppb is a price target (near the right side). We can only assume that a downward price cycle is about to hit and use historical price as a guide to where price may attempt to fall to.

Using our adaptive Fibonacci price modeling tool, we can see from the chart below that downside price targets are currently near $72 ppb, $67 ppb and $65 ppb. Therefore, we believe the $72 price level will become the first level of support, where our price cycle tool suggests a small rotation may occur, and the $67 price level may become the ultimate downside target level.

We believe the current price rotation in Oil/Energy may be setting up for a decent downside price move with a lower price target at or below $67 ppb. Historical data shows that this type of price action, downward, at this time is historically accurate and predictable. If you want to know how you can profit from this move and learn how our research team continues to find and execute superior trades for our members, visit The Technical Traders to learn more.

Chris Vermeulen

Natural Gas Flashes Buy Signals With Confirming Cycles….Here’s the Entry Levels and Patterns

Our research team has been following the energy sector quite intensely with Oil and Natural Gas making an impressive move. A little known seasonal pattern in Natural Gas has set up recently and we have alerted our members to this play which is already up over 16%. Our advanced price modeling systems and Adaptive Dynamic Learning Cycles have recently triggered another buy entry point which we share in this article but first look at the seasonal chart showing the month which Natural Gas is generally strong.

This seasonality table refers to particular time frames when commodities are subjected to and influenced by recurring tendencies that produce patterns each year.

It is our belief that Natural Gas will continue to climb higher moving well above the $3.00 level before the end of this month as well as potentially pushing well above the $3.20 level on continued price advances in energy.

Quite a bit of concern globally is driving energy supply fear that is pushing energy prices higher. This unique seasonal pattern indicates the potential for some strong upside price moves. We believe smart traders were already positioned for this move weeks ago, yet there is still quite a bit of opportunity from the recent entry point. See the left side of chart; below with oversold pullbacks.

A price move from current levels to above $3.00 would reflect an additional 4~6% price gain and a advance above $3.20 would reflect a 11% price advance. Again, our predictive price modeling systems and cycle modeling systems are showing us this has the potential for quite a bit more, but we can only estimate the $3.00 to $3.20 level is a sufficient upside target for this initial move.

If you would like help finding trade triggers like this and help knowing what to expect each day in the markets visit us at www.TheTechnicalTraders.com. We’ll help you to understand the market dynamics as the markets move, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive daily market video to show you what to expect and we’ll continue to provide you with this simple yet highly effective market research and analysis to help you stay ahead of the market moves. Our current trade in UGAZ is up 16% and likely going much higher. It just takes one or two of these types of trades to pay for your membership for years.

Our 53 years experience in researching and trading makes analyzing the complex and ever changing financial markets a natural process. We have a simple and highly effective way to provide our customers with the most convenient, accurate, and timely market forecasts available today.

Our stock and ETF trading alerts are readily available through our exclusive membership service via email and SMS text. Our newsletter, Technical Trading Mastery book, and 3 Hour Trading Video Course are designed for both traders and investors. Also, some of our strategies have been fully automated for the ultimate trading experience.

Get Our Newsletter Here

How Congestion Basing Can Present Incredible Opportunities

Our research team here at the Technical Traders wanted to alert our followers to the incredible opportunities that continue to present themselves in the current market. While many people have been overly concerned about a market top and price rotation in the US majors, the Energy sector and many others have seen incredible price moves.

Take a look at this XLE chart as an example. Yes, we know that Oil has rallied from about $60 to closer to $70 recently, yet we want you to focus on the price pattern that setup this move in XLE. Specifically, we want you to focus on the Multi-Month Base pattern in price between early February and early April of 2018 as well as the upside breakout that followed.

In true technical analysis theory, price tells us everything and indicators assist us in relating current price movement/action to historical price movement/action. This simple chart illustrates how price setup a top/resistance zone near $78 in early January 2018, broke lower in early February, then setup a multi-month price support base for nearly 60+ days. This price support base because an extended bottom formation and a “price support zone” by testing and retesting the critical $65~66 price level while establishing a series downward sloping high price peaks. When it finally broke free of this support zone, near mid-April, price skyrocketed higher (+17% or more).

With the stock market showing all the signs that it is in the late stage of a bull market this is when traders need to start identifying the hot sectors or high probability continuation patterns. Why? because we have entered a stock pickers market. It’s simple really, it means all the stocks are not going to be rising together and if you put your money into the wrong sector you could lose money while the markets rise.

So where is the next hot sector? We believe a very similar pattern is setting up in the IYT (Transportation Index) just like we saw on the first chart of the XLE. We feel an upside breakout move is likely to happen within the next two weeks.

The setup of this price pattern is a bit broader and more volatile than the XLE Multi-Month Basing pattern – which means the IYT upside breakout could be more volatile and dramatic in form (possibly driving price +10% to 20% over an extended period).

Additionally, the high price peaks are setting up in a similar format with lower high price peaks over the span of the base. Support near $182.50 to $185 is critical and we believe the eventual upside breakout will be an incredible opportunity for traders.

This breakout will coincide with much of our other analysis of the US major markets which we have been sharing recently.

Our other recent trade alerts, that are up well over 10% each are UGAZ, FAS, and TECL. These have been rocketing higher – as we predicted. On Friday we closed our TECL position which hit our resistance level and we locked in the 18.3% gains with our members. The single point of success for all of us is to manage our assets well in an attempt to achieve greater long-term success.

If you have not seen or read much of our recent analysis, please visit The Technical Traders to learn more and review our work. Our exclusive members are already positioned for many moves like this in the markets and more continue to form each week.

We urge you to consider joining our Wealth Building Trading Newsletter as a member to receive our incredible insight, proprietary research, and trade alerts to assist your own trading success. We have delivered insights and research to our members that have clearly informed them of where we believe the markets are headed for many months in advance. Imagine how powerful that kind of research could be for you?

53 years experience in researching and trading makes analyzing the complex and ever-changing financial markets a natural process. We have a simple and highly effective way to provide our customers with the most convenient, accurate, and timely market forecasts available today. Our stock and ETF trading alerts are readily available through our exclusive membership service via email and SMS text. Our newsletter, Technical Trading Mastery book, and 3 Hour Trading Video Course are designed for both traders and investors. Also, some of our strategies have been fully automated for the ultimate trading experience.

Chris Vermeulen

The Last Time We Saw This, Investors Doubled Their Money in Six Months

By Justin Spittler

Gold couldn’t catch a bid in December 2015. It was down more than 30%, and trading at the lowest price in nearly six years. Gold stocks, which are leveraged to the price of gold, were doing even worse. The average gold stock was 80% off its highs. Most investors wanted nothing to do with gold. But not Doug Casey. Doug knew gold would rebound. It was only a matter of time. He even told Kitco, one of the world’s biggest gold and silver retailers, on December 18, 2015, that he was buying gold hand over fist:

My opinion is if it’s not the bottom, it’s close enough to the bottom. So, I have to be an aggressive buyer of both gold and silver at this point.

Doug’s timing was nearly perfect.…
The day before, gold bottomed. It went on to gain 30% over the next six months. The average gold stock more than doubled in value over the same period.

I’m telling this story because an opportunity just like this is shaping up before our eyes. Only this time, it’s in the energy market.

Energy stocks have been beaten to a pulp.…
You can see what I mean below. It shows how the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) has done since the start of the year. This fund invests in 36 major U.S. energy companies, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron. You can see that XLE is down 13% this year. That makes energy stocks the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500.

Energy stocks are now off to “one of the worst beginnings to the year ever,” according to Morgan Stanley. As if that weren’t enough to scare away most investors, look at the ugly chart below. It compares the performance of XLE with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500. When the line is rising, energy stocks are doing better than the broad market. When it’s falling, energy stocks are underperforming the S&P 500.

Energy stocks have been lagging the broad market for nearly a decade.…
As a result, energy stocks now make up just 5.9% of the S&P 500. That’s half of what the sector’s weighting was in 2011. Not only that, the 36 energy stocks that make up XLE are now worth less than the combined value of Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

Situations like this don’t last forever.…
Eventually, the pendulum swings the other way. The trick is knowing when that will happen. That’s obviously easier said than done. Plus, you have to understand that markets rarely change direction on a dime. Instead, they usually go through a bottoming process that can take weeks or longer. And it looks like energy stocks may have begun that process.

Energy stocks took off last week.…
XLE jumped 2.5% on Friday. That was the biggest one-day jump in energy stocks since last November. This week, XLE is up another 1.4%. Now, it would be easy to dismiss this as “noise.” But if energy stocks keep rallying, XLE could “break out.” The chart below shows the performance of XLE over the last 12 months. You can see that it’s been in a downtrend since late 2016.

You can see that XLE hasn’t broken out of its downtrend yet. But it could do that sooner than most investors think.

Energy companies are starting to make money again.…
Revenues for energy companies in the S&P 500 surged 34% during the first quarter of 2017. That was more than quadruple the S&P 500’s 7.6% jump in revenues. Wall Street now expects U.S energy companies to post an 18% rise in revenues when the second quarter is all said and done. Not only that, analysts expect the sector to report a more than 400% spike in second-quarter profits. For perspective, second quarter profits for the rest of the S&P 500 are expected to rise just 3.7%.

Once “the market” figures this out, watch out.…
Energy stocks are going to skyrocket just like gold stocks did in early 2016. Keep in mind, the bottoming process could take weeks or even months. So, wait for energy stocks to “carve a bottom” before diving in. That’s when stocks stop falling, trade in a tight range for a period of time, and then start heading higher. Stocks that carve a bottom often keep soaring. Just look at what GDX did after it carved a bottom early last year.

By waiting for energy stocks to carve a bottom, you’ll greatly limit your downside…without giving up a chance at big returns. I'll let you know when the time is right to invest in the energy sector. In the meantime, keep an eye on XLE and other energy funds like the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP). Once they carve out bottoms, it will be a good time to buy.

The article The Last Time We Saw This, Investors Doubled Their Money in Six Months was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

Crude Oil Seasonality, Inventory Rebalancing and Production Cuts

The historical stock build from December 2014 through July 2016, and subsequent decline from August through December has led some to conclude that global stocks had started to rebalance. Instead, the normal seasonality in stocks had been masked by the high overproduction of OPEC, but then normal seasonality kicked in.

Global OECD inventories from past years demonstrate the normal seasonal patterns, with some variability. As shown in this graph, stocks normal build early in the year and peak around August. Stocks normally drop from September through December. But in 2015, the oversupply was so excessive that stock just kept building through the year. They finally peaked in July 2016, then dropped off due to normal seasonal demand. This normal pattern led to a false conclusion that the rebalancing of stocks had begun.

But according to Energy Department data, OECD stocks in March 2017 are 13 million barrels higher than December. And it projects that stocks are likely to peak in May this year, earlier than normal, but to end 2017 with stocks just 14 million lower than a year ago. This is based on the Energy Information Administration ((EIA)) assumption that OPEC does not hold production to its March level. Furthermore, the EIA projects global stocks to set new record highs in 2018, after the OPEC non OPEC cuts presumably end.

Effect of Production Cuts

Some argue that the 285 million barrel excess above the 5 year average as of the end of December should disappear in five to six months by dividing 285 million by 1.8 million barrels per day, the agreed upon size of the daily cut. But that math first assumes that supply was in balance with demand, makes no allowance for rising supplies, such as in the U.S., and it does not take into account the seasonality.

According to OPEC’s figures, global OECD stocks are likely to build both in the first and second quarters, and then decline in the second half of the year, assuming OPEC production remains at the March level.

There was one development last week, if true, did shift the inventory trend lower. The EIA revised its December estimate of OECD stocks down 105 million barrels, a major revision. That reduced the size of the glut to 201 million above its five year average.

Conclusions

The market dropped sharply in early March as a result of the continued rise in stocks. The market has falsely expected to see inventories to soon decline as a result of the production cuts. But seasonal factors need to be taken into account. We should see global stocks decline in the second half of 2017, assuming OPEC extends its cuts. And the decline may start earlier than normal because U.S. refinery utilization is ramping up faster and earlier than usual, thereby requiring more crude oil.

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Best,
Robert Boslego
INO.com Contributor - Energies

Forget Dow 20,000… This Indicator Tells the Real Story

By Justin Spittler

It finally happened. For the last six weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been bumping against a ceiling. Yesterday, it broke through. The Dow topped 20,000 for the first time ever. Most investors are excited about this. After all, 20,000 is a big, round number. It feels like a psychological win for the bulls.

But it’s not an invitation to dive into stocks…not yet, at least. We need to see if the Dow can hold this level.
If it closes the week above 20,000, stocks could keep rallying. If it doesn’t, nothing has really changed. It could even be a warning sign. Until then, sit tight. Don’t chase stocks higher…stick to your stop losses…and hold on to your gold.

Don’t lose sight of the big picture, either.…

Remember, U.S. stocks are still very risky:

➢ They’re expensive. The S&P 500 is trading at a cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE) of 28.4. That means large U.S. stocks are 70% more expensive than their historical average.

➢ We’re still in a profits recession. Profits for companies in the S&P 500 stopped growing in 2014.

➢ And Donald Trump is president of the United States. Trump could do wonders for the economy and stock market. But he could also unleash a major financial crisis. It's still too early to tell.

As you can see, "Dow 2,000" isn't necessarily a reason to celebrate. In fact, as we told you two weeks ago, there's something much more important you should be watching right now.

The bond market is flashing danger.…
The bond market is where companies borrow money. It’s the cornerstone of the global financial system.
It’s also bigger and more liquid than the stock market. This is why the bond market often signals danger long before it shows up in stocks.

The bond market started to unravel last summer.…
Just look at U.S. Treasury bonds. In July, the 10-year U.S. Treasury hit a record low of 1.37%. Since then, it’s nearly doubled to 2.55%. This is a serious red flag. You see, a bond’s yield rises when its price falls. In this case, yields skyrocketed because bond prices tanked. The same thing has happened in long term Treasury, municipal, and corporate bonds.

Bill Gross thinks bonds are entering a long-term bear market.…
Gross is one of the world’s top bond experts. He founded PIMCO, one of the world’s largest asset managers. He now runs a giant bond fund at Janus Capital. Two weeks ago, Gross said the bull market in bonds would come to an end when the 10-year yield tops 2.6%. Keep in mind, bonds have technically been in a bull market since the 1980s.

According to Gross, this number is far more important than Dow 20,000. And we’re only 50 basis points (0.5%) from hitting it. In other words, the nearly four-decade bull market in bonds could end any day now.
When it does, Gross says bonds will enter a secular bear market... meaning bonds could fall for years, even decades. This is why Casey Research founder Doug Casey has urged you to “sell all your bonds.”

If you haven’t already taken Doug’s advice, we encourage you to do so now.…
You should also take a good look at your other holdings. After all, problems in the bond market could soon spill over into the stock market. If this happens, utility stocks could be in big trouble. Utility companies provide electricity, gas, and water to our homes and businesses. They sell things we can’t live without. Because of this, most utility companies generate steady revenues. This helps them pay dependable dividends.

Many investors own utility stocks just for their dividends.…
That’s why a lot of people call them “bond proxies.” Utility stocks don’t just pay generous income like bonds, either. They also trade with bonds. You can see this in the chart below. It compares the performance of the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). XLU holds 28 utility stocks. TLT holds long-term Treasury bonds. XLU has traded with TLT for the better part of the last year. Both funds crashed after the election, too. But XLU has since rebounded.

You might find this odd. After all, the two funds basically moved in lockstep until a couple months ago.
But there’s a perfectly good explanation for this.…

Utility stocks pay more than Treasury bonds.…
Right now, XLU yields 3.4%. TLT yields 2.6%. That might not sound like big deal. But those extra 80 basis points (0.8%) provide a margin of safety. You see, the annual inflation rate is currently running at about 2.1%. That means the U.S. dollar is losing 2.1% of its value every year.

That’s bad news for everyday Americans. It’s also bad for bondholders. It means investors who own TLT are earning a “real” return (its dividend yield minus inflation) of 0.5%. Meanwhile, you’d be earning a real return of 1.3% if you owned XLU. Of course, utility stocks should pay more than government bonds. They’re riskier, after all. Unlike the government, utility companies can’t print money whenever they want. If they run into financial problems, they could go out of business.

Today, investors don’t seem to mind taking on extra risk for more income. But that could soon change…

Inflation could skyrocket under Donald Trump.…
If you’ve been reading the Dispatch, you know why. For one, Trump wants to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure projects. While this could help the economy in the short run, the U.S. government will have to borrow money to fix the country’s decrepit roads, bridges, and power lines. This would likely produce a lot more inflation. If that happens, real returns could shrink even more. And that could trigger a selloff in utility stocks and other "bond proxies," like telecom and real estate stocks. In short, if you own these types of stocks just for their dividends, you might want to consider selling them now.

We recommend sticking to dividend-paying stocks that meet the following criteria.…
The company should be growing. If it isn’t, you probably own the stock just for its dividend. That’s a bad strategy right now. It should have a low payout ratio. A payout ratio can tell us if a company’s dividend is sustainable or not. A payout ratio above 100% means a company is paying out more in dividends than it earns in income. Avoid these companies whenever possible.

It shouldn’t depend on cheap credit. After the 2008 financial crisis, a lot of companies borrowed money at rock-bottom rates to pay out dividends. If rates keep rising, these companies could have a tough time paying those dividends. If you own stocks that check these boxes, your income stream should be in good shape for now.

Chart of the Day

“Trump Years” stocks are on a tear. We all know U.S. stocks took off after the election. But some stocks did better than others. Bank stocks spiked on hopes that Trump would deregulate the financial sector. Oil and gas stocks rallied because Trump is pro-energy. Industrial stocks have also surged since Election Day.

Industrial companies manufacture and distribute goods. They include construction companies and equipment makers. E.B. Tucker, editor of The Casey Report, thinks these companies will stay very busy while Trump rebuilds America’s hollowed out economy.

He’s so sure of it that he recommended four “Trump Years” stocks last month. One of those stocks is up 11% in just six weeks. Yesterday, it spiked 8% after the company crushed its fourth quarter earnings report.
The company announced higher sales, fatter profits, and lower taxes. It raised its guidance for the year. In other words, it expects to make a lot more money this year…now that Trump’s in charge.

You can learn about this company and E.B.’s other “Trump Years” stocks by signing up for The Casey Report. Click here to begin your free trial.

The article Forget Dow 20,000… This Indicator Tells the Real Story was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

Do You Own the Next Enron?

By Justin Spittler

Companies are hiding more from you than you realize. Back in the late 90s, energy company Enron was a Wall Street darling. From 1998 to 2000, its stock surged 342%. It became America’s seventh biggest corporation…but the company was a farce. Management used shady accounting to inflate its sales and profits. When the fraud came to light, Enron’s stock plummeted. In 2001, it filed for bankruptcy.

In April, former Enron CEO Andy Fastow issued a serious warning…..
Fastow was one of the main actors in the Enron scandal. He spent six years in jail for his crimes. According to Fastow, many corporate executives are now doing what he did at Enron. He even accused tech giant Apple (AAPL) of misleading investors. Business Insider reported:

His point – an entirely correct one – is that the world’s largest company today is engaged in tax dodging behavior that, while perhaps technically legal, is clearly designed to increase profits and inflate the stock by misleading and confusing regulators (and perhaps investors) via a massively complex web of entities – exactly what he did at Enron! And this is 100% routine, common behavior among most large US companies.

Some people might find Fastow’s claim ridiculous. He is a convicted felon, after all. But Casey readers know better than to trust Corporate America.

Regulators have accused Valeant (VRX) and SunEdison (SUNE) of similar crimes..…
You’ve probably heard about the drug maker Valeant and the renewable energy company SunEdison. Their downfalls have been two of the year’s biggest investing stories. Like Enron, both companies were hot investments. From January 2013 to July 2015, Valeant gained 332%. SunEdison’s stock surged 892% over the same period.

Like Enron, both companies used “creative accounting.” According to The Wall Street Journal, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating whether “SunEdison misrepresented its cash position to investors as its stock collapsed.” Valeant is under investigation for its pricing and accounting practices. And like Enron, both stocks have crashed. SunEdison plunged 99% before it announced plans to file bankruptcy. Valeant’s stock has plummeted 89%.

The mainstream media paints Valeant and SunEdison as a couple “bad apples”…
According to most reports, it’s rare for public companies to pull tricks on investors. But if you’ve been reading the Dispatch, you know that’s not true. For the past few months, we’ve been telling you about the huge surge in share buybacks. A share buyback is when a company buys its own stock from shareholders.

Buybacks reduce the number of shares that trade on the market. This boosts a company’s earnings per share, which can lead to a higher stock price. But buybacks do not actually improve the business. They just make it look better “on paper.” According to research firm FactSet, 76% of the companies in the S&P 500 bought back their own shares between November and January. Most companies used debt to pay for these buybacks. The Wall Street Journal reported last week:

The biggest 1,500 nonfinancial companies in the U.S. increased their net debt by $409 billion in the year to the end of March, according to Société Générale, using almost all—$388 billion—to buy their own shares, net of newly issued stock. Companies have become far and away the biggest customer for their own shares.

Companies are also using “financial engineering” to make their businesses appear healthier…
Financial engineering is when companies use accounting tricks to goose their sales, profits, or cash on the balance sheet. It’s how Enron, Valeant, and SunEdison hid problems from investors. Many other companies are doing similar things.

As you may know, U.S. corporations are required to report “GAAP” earnings per share. GAAP based earnings comply with accepted accounting guidelines. A growing number of companies are also reporting “adjusted” earnings that do not comply with GAAP. Many companies use adjusted earnings to strip out “temporary” factors like the strong dollar or a warm winter. Management decides what to leave out and include when measuring adjusted earnings.

Two-thirds of the companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average report adjusted earnings…
In 2014, adjusted earnings were 12% better than GAAP earnings. Last year, they were 31% better. Companies say adjusted earnings give a more complete picture of their business. But it’s becoming obvious that companies are using non-GAAP earnings to hide weaknesses.

As Dispatch readers know, the U.S. is in its weakest “recovery” since World War II. Europe, Japan, and China are all growing at their slowest pace in decades too. With the economy so weak, many companies have had to “get creative” to grow earnings.

Sales for companies in the S&P 500 have fallen four straight quarters..…
Earnings are on track to decline a fourth straight quarter. That hasn’t happened since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. These results would be even uglier if companies didn’t report adjusted earnings.

You see, it’s much easier for companies to mask weak sales or profits when the economy is growing. When the economy slows, those problems become too big to hide. Right now, the global economy is clearly slowing. So expect to hear about more “Enrons” in the coming months.

The stock market is a dangerous place to put your money right now..…
If you're going to invest in stocks, keep three important things in mind. You should avoid investing in businesses you don’t understand. Many hedge funds wish they had followed this advice with Valeant and SunEdison. Despite these companies’ complex and unclear business models, some of the largest hedge funds in the world invested in them. This earned Valeant and SunEdison the nickname “hedge fund hotels.” We also encourage you to avoid companies with a lot of debt. These firms will struggle to pay the bills as the economy worsens.

Finally, we recommend you steer clear of companies that need buybacks to increase earnings. Buybacks can give stocks a temporary boost, but they’re no way to grow a business. In short, money spent on buybacks is money not spent on new machinery, equipment, or anything else that can help a company grow. It’s especially a poor use of cash when stocks are expensive…like they are today.

We encourage you to set aside cash and own physical gold..…
A cash reserve will help you avoid big losses during the next big selloff. It will also put you in a position to buy world-class businesses for cheap after the “rotten apples” are exposed. Physical gold is another proven way to defend your wealth. Gold has served as real money for centuries because it has a rare set of qualities: It’s durable, transportable, easily divisible, has intrinsic value, and is consistent across the world.

It’s also protected wealth through the worst financial crises in history. Investors buy it when they’re nervous about stocks or the economy. This year, gold is up 22%. It’s at its highest level since January 2015. For other proven strategies to protect your money from a stock market crash, watch this short video. In it, you’ll learn how to fully “crisis proof” your wealth. Click here to view this free presentation.

Chart of the Day

The U.S. stock market is wobbling on one leg. Dispatch readers know buybacks have been a major driver of U.S. stocks. Since 2009, S&P 500 companies have shelled out more than $2 trillion on buybacks. As noted, buybacks can make earnings look better “on paper.” They can also prop up share prices. With the economy slowing and earnings in decline, buybacks have been one of the things keeping stocks afloat…but even that’s starting to give way.

Today’s chart compares the performance of PowerShares Buyback Achievers Fund (PKW) this year versus the S&P 500. PKW tracks companies that bought back more than 5% of their shares over the past year. Holdings include McDonald's (MCD), Lowes (LOWE), and Macy’s (M).

From March 2009 to May 2015, PKW gained 314%. The S&P 500 rose 215% over the same period. Since then, PKW has fallen 10%. The S&P 500 is down 3%. Investors appear to be losing confidence in companies that buy a lot of their own stock. That’s a big problem for the stock market, which is showing major signs of weakness.

The article Do You Own the Next Enron? was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

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