Caterpillar Cuts Outlook on Weak End Demand | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM

Caterpillar outlook on the worldwide economy:

“MODEST GROWTH LIKELY, BUT RECESSION REMAINS POSSIBLE.

Much of Europe already mired in recession.”

via Caterpillar Cuts Outlook on Weak End Demand…. | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM.

Down with politics | WashingtonExaminer.com

By Gene Healy

Politics makes us worse because “politics is the mindkiller,” as intelligence theorist Eliezer Yudkowsky puts it……. we indulge our tribal hard-wiring by picking a political “team” and denouncing the “enemy.”

But our atavistic Red/Blue tribalism plays to the interests of “individual politicians in getting you to identify with them instead of judging them.”

……..We’ll get more of the same, Yudkowsky argues, until “Republifans and Demofans … stop enthusiastically cheering for rich lawyers because they wear certain colors, and begin judging them as employees severely derelict in their duties.”

via Down with politics | WashingtonExaminer.com.

Canada: TSX60 tests support

The TSX 60 is retracing to test support at 700. Respect would indicate an advance to the 2012 high of 725. Rising 63-day Twiggs Momentum suggests a primary up-trend; a trough above zero would strengthen the signal. Only breakout above 725 would confirm.

TSX 60 Index

* Target calculation: 725 + ( 725 – 640 ) = 810

US: Fedex warns of declining activity

Bellwether transport stock Fedex fell hard in the last week, testing support at $84. Breakout would confirm the primary down-trend signaled by 63-day Twiggs Momentum below zero. A down-trend on Fedex would warn of slowing activity in the broader economy.

Fedex

A daily chart of the S&P 500 index shows narrow consolidation above 1450. Bearish divergence on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow continues to warn of selling pressure. Reversal below 1450 would indicate a test of 1400.

S&P 500 Index

Weekly chart of the Nasdaq 100 shows the index hesitating below 2900. Expect retracement to test the new support level at 2800.

Nasdaq 100 Index

* Target calculation: 2800 + ( 2800 – 2450 ) = 3150

More than 67 million Americans dependent on government

Interesting charts from The Heritage Foundation: The 2012 Index of Dependence on Government
By William Beach and Patrick Tyrrell – February 8, 2012

The percentage of US citizens who do not pay federal income taxes, and who are not claimed as dependents by someone who does pay them, has climbed more than four-fold from a low of 12 percent in the late 1960s to 49.5 percent in 2009.

Index

More than 70 percent of federal spending goes to programs that encourage dependence.

Index

Index

Index

Index

The Index of Dependence on Government multiplies each program’s yearly expenditure by its weight. The total of the weighted values is the Index score for that year. The Index is calculated using the following weights:

  1. Housing: 30 percent
  2. Health Care and Welfare: 25 percent
  3. Retirement: 20 percent
  4. Higher Education: 15 percent
  5. Rural and Agricultural Services: 10 percent

Index

More than 67 million Americans receive assistance through the programs included in the Index.

Index

If we add government employees, the number dependent on government increases to more than 91 million.

Index

Reproduced with permission from The Heritage Foundation
Read the full report at The 2012 Index of Dependence on Government

Ray Dalio: Market Insights | CNBC

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, discusses his biggest worry — social disruption due to mismanagement of the de-leveraging by governments — and other market insights.

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Also PIMCO’s Mohammed El-Erian on the benefits and risks of ECB intervention in the eurozone debt crisis.

China, Japan and the world’s Agadir Crisis (1911) – Telegraph Blogs

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

The US has an impossible task maintaining “neutrality”, and Beijing knows it.

Washington guarantees Japan’s defence under its US nuclear umbrella. It uses military bases on Japanese soil as an unsinkable aircraft carrier. It works hand in glove with Tokyo in a tight military alliance.

The question is whether Washington is really willing to uphold the Japanese alliance as the going gets tougher. Will it let America to be led by the nose by Japanese nationalists into a clash that is not obviously – or immediately – in US national interest?

President Barack Obama faces the toughest diplomatic choice of any US leader since John Kennedy…….

via China, Japan and the world’s Agadir Crisis (1911) – Telegraph Blogs.

Forex Update

The Euro is testing resistance at $1.32 and its descending trendline. Upward breakout would warn the primary down-trend is ending. Recovery of 63-day Twiggs Momentum above zero indicates a primary up-trend. Breakout above the 2012 high of $1.35* would strengthen the signal, but only a higher trough of several weeks would confirm.

Euro/USD

* Target calculation: 1.275 + ( 1.275 – 1.20 ) = 1.35

Pound Sterling is correcting to support around €1.22 against the Euro. Breach of the rising trendline would warn the primary up-trend is ending, while retreat of 63-day Twiggs Momentum below zero would suggest a primary down-trend.

Pound Sterling/Euro

Canada’s Loonie is testing the new support level against the greenback at $1.02.  Respect of support would confirm the primary up-trend indicated by long-term bullish divergence on 63-day Twiggs Momentum. Target for the advance is $1.08* but expect resistance at the 2011 highs of $1.06.

Canadian Loonie/Aussie Dollar

* Target calculation: 1.02 +( 1.02 – 0.96 ) = 1.08

The Aussie Dollar respected resistance at $1.06 against the greenback, retreating to test support at $1.04 on the daily chart. Respect of support is likely and follow-through above $1.05 would indicate another test of $1.06. The 63-day Twiggs Momentum trough above zero signals a primary up-trend. Breakout above $1.06 would confirm.  Expect resistance at $1.075/$1.08, but target for an advance is $1.10*.

Aussie Dollar/USD

* Target calculation: 1.06 + ( 1.06 – 1.02 ) = 1.10

The Aussie Dollar is testing resistance at ¥83.50 against the Japanese Yen. Recovery of 63-Day Twiggs Momentum above zero indicates a primary up-trend. Breakout would signal an advance to ¥88*. Reversal below ¥79.50 is unlikely but would re-test primary support at ¥74.

Aussie Dollar/Japanese Yen

* Target calculation: 84 + ( 84 – 80 ) = 88

A few readers objected to my view that the RBA should intervene to prevent further appreciation of the Australian Dollar. One reason cited is that the RBA is not strong enough to stand up to global capital markets and would eventually be forced to capitulate. I disagree. If you are printing your own money you can take on all-comers. The SNB demonstrated this by preventing depreciation of the euro against the Swiss Franc, pegging the rate at 1.20 CHF for the last year.

Euro/Swiss Franc

The second argument was that “the market knows best” and any interference would cause more problems than it solves. My answer to that is that capital markets are subject to huge ebbs and flows, some determined by trade fluctuations but primarily caused by speculative flows and deliberate strategies by other central banks. If the RBA fails to act, local industry exposed to international competition may be irreparably damaged by loss of international markets and being under-cut in local markets by cheap imports. When the tide eventually turns, and the dollar weakens, it would be difficult to restore those industries if key capital equipment and skilled jobs have been lost.

The US is a perfect example: China and Japan hold more than $2 trillion in US treasury investments which helped to suppress appreciation of their currencies against the greenback, maintaining a trade advantage which cost the US millions of manufacturing jobs. It will be difficult to restore those industries lost even if the imbalance is corrected.

Canada’s Budget-Cut Veteran Has Warning for U.S. – Real Time Economics – WSJ

By Paul Vieira

Speaking at an event sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, [former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin] said whoever wins November’s election must address the U.S.’s burgeoning deficit the very next day because the economy is at risk of reaching a “tipping point.”

…….Mr. Martin does have pedigree on the subject. He was Canada’s finance minister in the mid-1990s when the-then Liberal government made deep spending cuts that tamed a spiraling deficit and restored market confidence in [the] country. By fiscal 1998, Canada had returned to a budget surplus — its first in nearly three decades.

via Canada’s Budget-Cut Veteran Has Warning for U.S. – Real Time Economics – WSJ.