Kerry Lutz's--Financial Survival Network

Fidelity has been granted a trust licence to offer trading and custody of bitcoin by the New York State Department of Financial Services, as the asset management group continues to woo cautious institutional investors into the “Wild West” of digital assets.

The move allows Fidelity’s new digital assets subsidiary to launch a digital currency custody and execution platform “on which institutional investors and individuals can securely store, purchase, sell, and transfer bitcoin” to New York residents, the DFS said.

Boston-based Fidelity, which has about $2.8tn of assets under management, made clear last year it intended to take the plunge to offer digital assets services to Wall Street, where other regulated groups have held back from the nascent marketplace.

“The custody and trade execution services that we provide are essential building blocks for institutional investors’ continued adoption of digital assets,” Michael O’Reilly, chief operating officer for Fidelity Digital Assets, said on Tuesday.

“The designation as a New York trust company under the supervision and examination of the DFS builds on the credibility and trust we’re establishing among institutions and other market participants,” he said, adding that the group wanted to continue to play a “leading role” in “supporting the maturation of the entire ecosystem”.

Last month, Abigail Johnson, the investment group’s chief executive, told the Financial Times that what had started as a “just for fun” experiment had become a serious drive to build up a viable crypto custody business for hedge funds, family offices and financial adviser clients.

Safekeeping of crypto assets has been a concern for institutional investors because exchanges have been plagued by outages and hacks. Prolific market manipulation and scams in the loosely regulated space have been a deterrent.

Nevertheless, yield-hungry speculators have continued to flock to volatile crypto markets, while some are optimistic that Facebook’s plan to spearhead the launch of its own digital currency, Libra, will further legitimise the space. The price of bitcoin has risen this year from less than $4,000 at the beginning of the year to more than $8,000 today.

To date, New York has issued 23 of the highly coveted licences to companies involved in virtual currency activities in the state. Earlier this year, the department granted a licence to the Intercontinental Exchange, the world’s second-largest exchange group by market value, to provide custody of bitcoin futures via Bakkt, its digital assets arm.

The move signals New York’s keenness to promote itself as a hub for crypto activity, alongside countries such as Switzerland and Malta.

“This approval is further evidence that innovation and consumer protection can coexist in New York’s evolving and expanding financial services industry,” said Linda Lacewell, the DFS’s superintendent of financial services.

Investigative reporter par excellent Tracy Beanz joined us for the first time. And yes Virginia, there is a deep a state and they're in big trouble. Over the past 50 years the US Government has become a giant Piñata, but you had to be part of an exclusive club to take a swing at it. Trump is kryptonite to this group and they've been trying to take him out since he was inaugurated. The unholy alliance of various bureaucrats, the intelligence community and the media has led to a global nightmare and they almost succeeded in their question for absolute power. Now the question is will AG William Barr, IG Horowitz and US Attorney Durham purge these parties and cut the heads off the hydra? Tracy is optimistic as are we. 

Dusty Rollins specializes in income planning and tax-saving strategies for business owners, as well as college planning, social security maximization, investments, and debt/interest cost reduction. As owner and founder of Oxford Wealth Strategies, his goal is to help his clients design an income plan to make their money last as long as they do, as well as leave a legacy. From his boarding school days in Penang, Malaysia to his graduate studies in Oxford, England, traveling around the world has given him a global perspective on finances and life. 

https://www.dustyrollins.com/fsn

Noted crime researched and gun law expert John R. Lott, Jr and I review the latest developments in gun law and state trends. There’s a big case coming up before the US Supreme Court dealing with New York City’s clearly unconstitutional gun law. John wants to see more cases coming before the Court dealing with the actual right to bear arms, not just to own them in the home. Let’s see what happens next. 

Brett Swarts is the Founder of Capital Gains Tax Solutions and host of the capital gains tax solutions podcast. Each year, he equips hundreds of business professionals with the Deferred Sales Trust tool to help their high net worth clients solve capital gains tax deferral limitations. 

His experience includes numerous Deferred Sales Trusts, Delaware Statutory Trusts, 1031 exchanges and $85,000,000 in closed commercial real estate brokerage transactions. He’s an active commercial real estate broker and investor with brokerage experience and ownership in multifamily, senior housing, retail, medical office, and mixed-use properties. He is a licensed California Real Estate Broker who holds Series 22 and 63 licenses.  

Mr. Swarts is passionate about educating people in Capital Gains Tax Deferral with a Deferred Sales Trust, how to divest from a business or real estate, and gain freedom from feeling hostage to a 1031 exchange, then invest back in to a new business venture or investment real estate at any time [all capital gains tax deferred] which he calls optimal timing.

Brett is considered one of the most well-rounded Capital Gains Tax Deferral Experts and informative speakers on the west coast. His audiences are challenged to lean into multiple capital gains tax deferral strategies, create and develop a tax-deferred passive cash flow optimal timing wealth plan of their own, and execute on this plan so they can create and preserve more wealth. 

Last piece of fake good news? China trade deal coming? Not so fast. Phase 1 is the easy part. Bloomberg enters the presidential fray. Is he for real? Deval who? They’ve lost faith in Biden and they’re completely panic-stricken. Neither of these candidates has a prayer. They’ve jumped in very late and really can’t be taken as serious candidates. The idea of a Bernie candidacy has smoked them out. 

New report out about divergences in the economy. Corporate share buybacks are down year over year. The CFO confidence survey is at the lowest level since 2009. Ratio of job openings to GDP, job offerings have plunged while GDP has not. Ratio of consumer confidence  to the unemployment rate. This ratio usually peaks at the peak of the cycle. It’s at it’s cyclical high now. Central bank assets are raising much faster than the global gold supply, which implies that gold has to go up. It’s more true now than in the recent past. These divergences are all in the wrong direction. 

Walmart jumped pre-market after the company reported Q3 EPS that beat expectations and boosted its year end earnings outlook. The largest US retailer reported Q3 adjusted EPS $1.16, stronger than the estimate of $1.09 and 8 cents higher than a year ago on revenue of $127.99 billion, slightly below the consensus est. of $128.67 billion which was a $3.1 billion or 2.5% increase from a year earlier.

Q3 adjusted EPS excluded a non-cash impairment charge of $0.06, net of tax, and an unrealized gain of $0.05, net of tax, on the company’s equity investment in JD.com.

While profit margins dipped modestly, down 36bps to 24.5%, the bottom line beat was largely due to the 5.4% drop in the effective tax rate, which declined to 24.1% in Q3.

Comp sales ex gas in the U.S. rose 3.2%, beating the 3.1% consensus growth estimate and marking the 21st straight gain.

Both the number of customers and the size of their average orders were up, fueling the growth.

There was more good news for Walmart’s online penetration as web sales in the U.S. rose 41%, beating its expected growth rate for the full year. As Bloomberg notes, "it has rapidly expanded its online grocery service and in recent weeks debuted a new offering in three cities where employees put the food right into customers’ fridges. Profitability has been a concern on the dot-com side, though, and Biggs said in prepared remarks that the company needs to sell more general merchandise, which delivers better margins than bread and bananas."

Sam’s Club, Walmart's warehouse division that accounts for 11% of its revenue, was the one weak spot as comparable sales there rose only 0.6%, just one-third the pace analysts had been expecting. A drop in tobacco sales negatively hit sales by 350 basis points, it said. The chain is still without a leader a month after Sam’s CEO John Furner was tapped to replace Greg Foran as head of Walmart’s U.S. stores division. Biggs provided no update on the search Thursday.

Commenting on the results, Walmart CEO said "Walmart U.S. business saw strong comp sales and expense leverage, and operating income grew for the sixth consecutive quarter."

Echoing the CEO, Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs told Bloomberg that "It was a really good third quarter," adding that he’s “pleased” with how shoppers are responding so far to the rollout of early holiday deals.

Most importantly, Walmart now sees full-year adjusted earnings per share increasing "slightly" compared to last year, after saying in August either a slight decrease or slight increase was possible.

• FY20 Adjusted EPS is now expected to increase slightly compared to FY19 adjusted EPS , including Flipkart, and is expected to increase by a high single-digit percentage range, excluding Flipkart.
• Expectations for the dilution from Flipkart remain unchanged, excluding a non-cash impairment charge.
• The effective tax rate is now expected to range between 25% and 25.5%.

As Bloomberg notes, "this is the second time this year Walmart has upgraded its outlook. The rosier view contrasts with more downbeat expectations from retailers like Macy’s Inc., which slashed its profit guidance in August. Earlier this month, Moody’s cut its expectations for the entire U.S. retail sector, citing “intense competition in the fight for market share.” Walmart, buoyed by its market-leading grocery business and big investments to improve e-commerce, has largely avoided the turmoil that’s afflicted many mainstream merchants over the past two years."

"Walmart continues to position itself near the very top of global retail by any measure, and will continue to get stronger as time goes on, increasing the pressure on the rest of global retail," Charlie O’Shea, an analyst at Moody’s, said in a note.

Walmart shares surged as much as 3.9% in pre-market trading, putting the shares on course to open above the all-time highest closing price recorded on Wednesday. Rival Target Corp. also gained in pre-market trading.

Mike was a professional athlete and experienced who traveled the world widely, often using other country’s currencies. That got him thinking about the US Dollar and about money. As Mike said people just take money for granted, especially the millennial generation. Mike originally targeted his show and site towards these millennials, but lately has realized that Boomers are at risk and need the information he conveys, now more than ever. The reboot of the monetary system is currently underway and has been an ongoing trend since the dot com bust of the early 2000’s. 

The digital economy went bust in 2001. Companies started seeking better more cost-effective ways of doing business. Now you can outsource everything, services and manufacturing, etc. It’s more efficient and improves the bottom line. When the next recession hits, it will be the next transformation of the global economy. Naresh is seeing it with his own business, his services have displaced employees and has increased client capabilities. The need to attend trade shows is diminshing. Their cost is making companies seek other web-based solutions. Online events and summits are becoming dominant. You’re no longer limited by space and geography. 

Will Thomson runs Massif Capital, a value fund. Massif's investments are limited to just 3 sectors: mining, energy and infrastructure. While value investing is now out of favor, Will isn't worried. These sectors are vital to the economy and they're greatly under-invested. Things have a way of turning around and when they do, it's the contrarians that make the big returns. With a 3-5 year time horizon, Will can afford to wait for that moment. Right now, he's bullish on gold mining, largely due to the out of control government sector and the inability of countries to rationalize their spending priorities. It may take some time, but eventually Will will be proven correct. 

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, consistent with strong labor market conditions and continued job growth. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 for the week ended Nov. 2, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would fall to 215,000 in the latest week. 

The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 250 to 215,250 last week.The level of claims suggests solid labor market conditions. Employment grew faster than expected in October, with firms adding 128,000 jobs, even though a strike by workers at General Motors idled 46,000 employees at the automaker’s plants in Michigan and Kentucky.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week for the third time this year to support continued economic growth. Officials also signaled a pause in the easing cycle, which started in July when the central bank reduced borrowing costs for the first time since 2008. Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged some moderation in the pace of job growth this year, but said: “the job market remains strong.”

Thursday’s claims report also showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of benefits dipped 3,000 to 1.69 million for the week ended Oct. 26. The four-week moving average of the so-called continuing claims was unchanged at 1.69 million.

Some of the upcoming testimony in the impeachment proceedings will come from career intelligence and military officers. At least one of whom says he was on the phone call to the Ukranian president. So how does this all work? And who is really on a call the president makes?

"That is a very good question," says Intelligence, Counter Terrorism Specialist, former Green Beret and long time government insider Brian Boyd (see short bio below)."I have my doubts when I hear people recounting what transpired on a phone call who have heard what happened - sometimes from others." 

Boyd, who spent more than 30-years in government positions including work for the Departments of Defense Justice & Treasury, is uniquely qualified to give an inside look into what may or may not have happened - as well as adding perspective to the impeachment testimony we will hear this week. 

As long as there’s light volume in the market, it can continue to go higher and make new highs. However, when we get a huge volume day, 85 million shares or higher volume on the SPDR and the market heads south, then it’s look out below. Intra-day sell-offs on light volume are bullish. Pull up a daily chart of the SPDR and you’ll see every major turning point. They all happened with high volume on the sell side. Nick believes that the Fed knows something that isn’t being told to the public. Who will loan to central banks at negative rates. Just a trading vehicle, no reasonable investor is going to risk it. Gold futures peaked in early September. When you look at a monthly chart, it’s the most bullish chart we’ve seen in years. This thing is going to scream on the upside. Thrust, pause, thrust. The pattern goes back thousands of years. Nick is always super-bullish on the US Dollar. Should it decline to .96 it’s a screaming buy. 

Scott Bossman is a physical therapist, husband, and father of four who got his start in the world of land investing about 4 years ago. When he realized his physical therapy career just didn’t allow him the financial freedom he really wanted, he started doing some research to find a passive income option that would help him design a life on his terms. He became a student of Mark “The Land Geek” Podolsky in 2015, and has kept his nose to the grindstone with Mark’s tried-and-true system for generating passive income through raw land flipping. Today, Scott is a member of the Land Geek team and is passionate about sharing his journey into the world of raw land flipping, in hopes of inspiring others to step into their side hustle and achieve financial freedom.

Click the link below for more info

 https://www.thelandgeek.com/fsn/

Everywhere you look civil unrest is breaking out. Iran, Mexico, Hong Kong, France, Chile and a host of other country. John attributes it all to excessive debt which is leading to a decline in the standard of living and shrinkage of the middle class. Also, the erosion of the rule of law is helping to cause a dissolution of Western Civilization. The unrest isn’t the problem, it’s merely a sympton. Government then makes concessions and the demonstrations continue. Witness Hong Kong. They’re shooting arrows at the police who are firing tear gas and live ammo in return. Can it happen here in the good old USofA? Maybe it’s happening already. After the next election, whoever loses is going to feel cheated and this could lead to the inevitable unwinding. 

Doubtful that a China deal will happen. Brexit is delayed but not forgotten. The stock is just not valid from a fundamental perspective. Risks are to the downside. Tax-loss selling ahead. The Fed will have no choice but to cut in 2020. After the spectacular run up in metals it make sense that there would be a pullback. Trillion dollar deficits, China in a slow down, how can it be bearish for gold? Anyone sourcing product out of China is seeing their costs go up and it will eventually be passed down to the consumer. Can it not have an affect on the stock market? Hong Kong is buying metals aggressively and selling off HK$ for US$. Iran is melting down. Demonstrations and riots are heading close to a tipping point. There are so many countries approaching political metldown. Just pick one and watch what happens next. 

While CBD may not be a cure all, it seems to help anxiety and back pain. The body actually has a system for producing and using CBD. CBD appears to effectively treat Epilepsy and helps control convulsions. The problem is that big pharma wants to take it over. Jay says he’s got a lot of repeat customers. It’s very does specific to the individual. There really isn’t anybody who can accurately prescribe exact amounts. Too much isn’t a good thing. And too little won’t help either. Method of ingestion is important too. Oil suspensions and tinctures appear to be the best means of taking it. Where is it grown and harvested? Beware of Chinese and Asian CBD. European is strictly regulated and pure. How is it extracted and bottled? Beware of CBD extracted through a chemical process. We need more research and studies to establish CBD’s benefits. Look for US Hemp Authority seal of approval, which will assure the purity of the CBD you're purchasing. 

Elan Musk's Boring Company could be his greatest innovation to date. One day while sitting in his car, making the commute and getting stuck in the famous LA traffic, it occurred to Elan, as it so often does, that we're going about this transportation thing all wrong. Why not dig tunnels and put all the traffic underground? Thus the Boring Company was born. Using high-speed low-cost tunneling equipment derived from his Tesla EV technology, he's managed to bring the price of tunneling down from $500 million per mile to just $10-15 million per mile, which makes tunnels the way to go. Add that to the Tesla EV vehicle and you've really got something. 

Watch out for digital payment services. It’s all in your phone and the fraudsters are out there taking your data. Through the miracle of the NFC (Near field communication) protocol, thieves can steal your financial info in a flash. Beware of fuel thieves, especially in Florida. They steal credit card data and then go to gas stations and load up their hidden tanks with a few hundred gallons. Then you get charged and the gas station is left to pick up the tab. While you’re busy with your life and its distractions, the data thieves are vacuuming up card numbers and charging up a storm. Small business is really getting hit. Vigilance is your only defense. 

A hero of the Left has passed away. One of the most famous undead people in the world, the Islamic State (ISIS) caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been reported dead yet again, and this time it actually appears to be true. The Washington Post headlined its story about the killing as if Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was one of their favored anti-Trump intellectuals, dead at a tragically young age: “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State, dies at 48.” Bloomberg wrote that “Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi transformed himself from a little-known teacher of Koranic recitation into the self-proclaimed ruler of an entity that covered swaths of Syria and Iraq.” The respect! The deference! The admiration! Isn't it touching? 

Joel has always been in favor of Trump but believes that he’s ill-equipped for the battle. Every law enforcement organization in the nation is connected to the deep state. It’s a case a whack-a-mole. Every time he fires a deep stater, he winds up hiring another. He has to rely upon the advice of main stream republicans who cannot be trusted. The key is whether the deep staters in the Senate will openly vote in favor of the removal. Joel believes that Trump has done nothing illegal. Biden isn’t immune from investigation and Trump had every right to request it. Not to mention that there’s a treaty with Ukraine that requires investigation of wrong doing. What do we do with Donald Trump? He has good instincts but bad morals and not much else. The deep state keeps getting its way. Joel is worried that after Trump the US will never have another republican president. Just look at the state of Virginia which is now solid blue thanks to illegal immigration. 

Austin has its hearts and sidewalks to the homeless. Following the example of San Francisco the city council passed an ordinance allowing homeless to sleep in virtually any place except the mayor’s home. Finally the Governor stepped in and cleaned the place up. The city has fought back by warning the homeless of impending sweeps. What standard should we use to commit these individuals to mental health facility? The current standard of imminent harm to themselves or to others is not working. It’s time to protect society and individuals from this societal degredation. Forcible medication needs to be looked at and perhaps implemented. 

US Gold Corp (symbol USAU) reported major news today. CEO Ed Karr is very pleased with the recent drill results that yielded .4 grams per ton of gold. Ed believes that this is the edge or halo of a major gold system. The company's Keystone 20 square mile project is huge and discovering gold here akin to finding a needle in a haystack. But these results further affirm the potential for large gold systems here, with similar potential to the neighboring Cortez Hills district. And while the needle has been elusive, they now have a much clearer idea where it's lurking. US Gold's technical staff plans to spend the winter going over the results and figuring out where to drill next. Exciting times ahead!

Martin Armstrong is back explaining what’s really happening in the Repo market. It’s all about Europe. It’s a function of the Euro’s failure and the march into the safe-haven US Dollar. The Repo crisis is about Deutch Bank going down and the European politicians refuse to bail it out, what happens next? No one wants to merge with it, it’s the red-headed step child of international banking. The US Dollar has no choice but to keep going up. Dow is headed much, much higher. Gold will take off as confidence in the system ebbs. US Government debt is still the standard and will remain so for a while to come. 

Hey Bernie, It's 'Medicare For All' That Would Be 'Cruel' And 'Dysfunctional'

During last week's Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders called the current U.S. healthcare system "dysfunctional" and "cruel." Words like that are more appropriate descriptors of the government-run healthcare systems abroad that Sanders would like to import to the United States. NOTE: President Trump shared this article on Facebook. It was also shared by his official campaign Twitter and Facebook page, as well as by Kayleigh McEnany, the National Press Secretary for his 2020 reelection campaign.