Kerry Lutz's--Financial Survival Network

Jordan Goodman joined us today. He's worrying about the G7 meeting and the fact that they all hate what Trump is doing regarding trade? Des every one hate us or are they just upset that the exploitative party is almost over? Then there's the prospect of another interest rate hike. The stock market has been shaking them off for months. And congratulations to all the newly minted college grads. It's time to start paying down your student loans. At least in the Trumpian economy you have a chance of finding a job. 

Danielle believes that there's a technological revolution coming in transportation. Tesla is leading it. But that doesn't mean you should run out and buy the stock. There's a point where a good company's stock becomes extremely risky and clearly Tesla is there. But technological revolution always comes at a price. 

Lew Weiss joined us for a discussion of taxes, the economy and the latest on manufacturing and employment. Right now everything is headed up. The market seems to have gotten over its protectionist jitters. The outlook for manufacturing employment is quite bullish and there's a shortage of qualified employees. Starting salaries for welders is $70,000 and in certain specialties can top $150k. There's too many jobs and not enough applicants. 

These days, in those rare moments when I find myself feeling down, I go to YouTube and watch the election night coverage of Trump’s shocking surprisevictory. To me there’s nothing more uplifting than watching the mainstream media completely blow it and then go into a pronounced sense of morning, uncontrollable rage and total meltdown. Seeing the likes of pseudo-intellectual whining talking head Rachel Maddow on the brink of tears and a psychotic breakdown is good as nectar from the gods. It’s not that I’m a raving Trump fan (I’m not) or the fact that I called Trump the likely winner in July 2015 (I did) that brings such joy to my heart, but rather that Trump epitomizes the ability of the human spirit to prevail over all obstacles and to achieve to what the naysayers is an impossiblevictory. It’s kind of like being in on an inside joke that none of your friends or relatives get.

Big news coming out from Spygate. And more...

Here's some entertaining links. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mYVi7WHyiU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjf1KG9-IY0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ASAfmtjxc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy66YNCQ7Yo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYjCQUcUkyU

According to Ned gold will stay dormant, but the one to watch is silver. It's been holding very steady for quite some time, just getting ready to pop. Ned is also extremely bullish on the Ag commodities. China is switching to ethanol blended gasoline to help with its air quality disaster. That means corn has nowhere to go but up. The other Ags are soaring as well. Ned believes the rumors of a China-US trade war are greatly exaggerated.

David's new book has just been released. As he explains it there are two conflicting ideas in the world. The American Ideal which says you judge people by their merit and the quality of their character. It's all about the individual. And there's the Marxist Ideal which is all about identity politics and judging people by race, etc. The battle is being waged and the outcome is still in doubt. Look at Al Franken and so many others. It's totalitarianism at its worst. A very timely book that looks at America's second civil war. 

John adeptly answers FSN Member Jessy's question wondering if this time really is different. As Mark Twain said, "History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme." Back in the Great Depression we were still on a gold standard, even though private holdings were outlawed. This put a lid on potential spending, although it wasn't perfect. Now, with the dollar being backed by nothing but a promise from the government, the world's governments can't print us into oblivion, which they are hell bent on doing now.

The recent dramatic market volatility  continued throughout April, as the yield on the 10-year treasury rate topped 3 percent for the first time since 2014. Fears of rising interest rates and inflation helped drive the volatility, along with uncertainty about how aggressive the Federal Reserve might be in its efforts to “normalize” monetary policy under new chairman, Jerome Powell. The Fed plays such a key role in determining how all this uncertainty and instability will play out in the months ahead.

Wall Street knows very well that Powell’s job is a tricky one. In a sense, he’s charged with landing an experimental airplane that was launched nine years ago in response to the Financial Crisis. That’s when the Fed, under then-chairman Ben Bernanke, embarked on a historically unprecedented effort to jumpstart the economy with artificial stimulus, a.k.a. quantitative easing.

Robots and AI is taking over. Captain Capitalism a/k/a Aaron Clarey believes that the employment shift taking place is quite profound. Cubicle jobs will prevail for now, until the robots really take over. Will robots ever have true artistic ability or discretion. We're not there yet. Aaron thinks that AI is way overblown. There will still be a need for burger flippers and fast food workers. Will YouTube and podcasting become a viable profession for hungry Millennials? Only the proud few will be able to handle it. The rest need a plan for success and fulfillment. 

Major US stock markets bounced back with the DJIA up 1%. The NASDAQ up 5.3% and Russell 2000 up 5.9% to record levels. Emerging markets were down 3.7%. TSX up 2.9% and TSX-V -2.7%. Bitcoin the always volatile digital currency was down 18.5% for the month. Gold was down 1.3% breaking its 200 moving average and falling below 1300 and Silver was off .6% for the month. Pt down .2% and Pd was up 2.3%. Copper was up another .9%. Energy was mixed this month, with WTI down 2.1% and Brent up 3.1%. Natgas was up 4.3%. Uranium was up 7% after major cutbacks by leading producers. Currencies saw the Greenback up another 2.3% and the Euro losing another 3.2%. Rate on the 10 year T Bond fell back to 2.83% after rising above 3% last month. The WTI to Brent ratio hit 1.15, an increase so notable that even the Wall Street Journal took notice of our humble indicator. Mickey believes it's very bullish for American crude oil.  Tilll next month!