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Mike’s Comment – June 26th

Posted by Michael Campbell

on Saturday, 26 June 2021 10:59

Why are governments so reluctant to investigate China’s role in COVID? The latest example – how did Chinese scientists, including one from the People’s Liberation Army get security clearance to Canada top biotechnology lab?

Gold summer doldrums return after two-year hiatus

Posted by Davis Erfle, kitco.com

on Friday, 25 June 2021 7:51

Two weeks ago in this space, I mentioned the $1850 level in gold had cleared the upside on a monthly closing basis and successfully back tested its breakout. The $1850 level at that time coincided with the upper boundary of the downtrend channel from its all-time high at $2089. Once the downtrend line at $1850 was cleared last month, the gold price appeared to break out of a symmetrical triangle to the upside.

At the time, this signified the likelihood that the rally from a daily double bottom in late March had moved into a higher gear. Bullion had also broken through $1900 on a monthly closing basis and the next level in its crosshairs was the January 2021 high at $1960. But the gold price quickly fell back into the triangle during a sharp decline last week, and now appears to be headed towards its uptrend line near $1700 that has been in force since late 2018.Last Wednesday provided the catalyst for an over 6% reversal, when the Federal Reserve jawboned a stop-loss run of a $150 waterfall decline to strong support at $1760 in Gold Futures. A subsequent oversold bounce on Monday was quickly reversed before reaching the all-important $1800 level, which has become strong resistance once again.

All it took to run the stops below $1800 in gold was for the world’s largest central bank to go from “not even thinking about thinking about raising rates” to “thinking about thinking about raising rates” at the June FOMC meeting. Click here for full article.

Oil And Gas Companies Set For Record Free Cash Flow This Summer

Posted by Rystad Energy

on Thursday, 24 June 2021 10:19

With oil trading above $70 per barrel while investment activity remains low, the world’s publicly traded exploration and production (E&P) companies are set to generate record-breaking free cash flows (FCF) in 2021, a Rystad Energy report projects. Their combined FCF is expected to surge to $348 billion this year, with the previous high being $311 billion back in 2008.

Rystad Energy estimates that total gross revenue for all public upstream companies is expected to increase by almost $500 billion in 2021, or 55% compared to last year (excluding hedging effects). At the same time, the investment level of these companies is only expected to grow by around 2% in 2021, resulting in significantly higher profits.

A key reason for the all-time-high FCF is the turnaround in the US tight oil industry. Historically, this industry has struggled to generate positive returns, but this could change in 2021. We estimate that all public tight oil companies will to make close to $60 billion in FCF this year, before hedging effects.

The conventional onshore supply segment is in line to earn the highest level of FCF this year at close to $160 billion – but is still behind the record touched in 2011. Both deepwater and offshore shelf are recovering this year, each ending up with close to $60 billion in FCF. However, tight oil is expected to surpass both these offshore segments in 2021. Click here for full article.

Oil Rally Continues On Bright U.S. Economic Data

Posted by Tsvetana Paraskova, oilprice.com

on Wednesday, 23 June 2021 7:16

Oil prices rose early on Wednesday, driven by brighter economic prospects for the United States and continued recovery in oil demand in America and elsewhere in the world.

As of 9:04 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, ahead of the weekly inventory report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), WTI Crude was up 1.04 percent at…Click for full article.

How to retire a millionaire

Posted by Jazmin Goodwin, CNN Business

on Tuesday, 22 June 2021 7:32

 

Retiring a millionaire isn’t as farfetched as it may seem. With a bit of saving, investing, and a proper plan, you can be well on your way to hitting $1 million — or more — by the time you reach retirement age.

In fact, the number of retirement millionaires have reached record levels, according to data from Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) savings plans. Retirement savers with a 401(k) balance of $1 million or more increased to 365,000 during the first quarter of 2021, while the number of those with an IRA with a balance of $1 million or more jumped up to 307,600.

Here’s how you can retire a millionaire:

Saving is the key to reaching almost any financial goal, especially if you want to retire with a million-dollar portfolio. But the trick isn’t necessarily how much you save, but when you start.
“One of the huge keys to success here is to take advantage of your biggest asset: time,” said Tony Molina, CPA and senior product specialist at Wealthfront.
Most experts recommend contributing at least 10% to 15% of your income to your retirement fund. But if you’re not able to contribute that much, don’t let that discourage you. Saving any amount can put you significantly ahead in reaching your retirement goals, thanks to compound interest.