US indexes with new records after the growth of energy companies

The US indexes continued their record-breaking series last week. This time, energy companies were at the center of the growth. They were backed by the Brent price rise to more than $70 a barrel.
US crude oil also saw significant growth, adding 1.6% to its value, to $64.58 a barrel or its highest level since December 2014.
A surprise drop in US oil production and a reduction in raw material stocks in the world's largest economy have helped to raise the price of "black gold."
Shares of leading US energy companies have seen significant growth, contributing to the rise in indices. Chevron shares added 3.2% to its value, and Exxon - 1.5%.
S&P energy index rose 2.2%, which was the biggest increase for more than seven months.
Otherwise, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 119.54 points to its value, or near 0.5% to a new record value of 25,488.67, while the broad S&P 500 rose 15 points to 2,763.29 points.
Technological Nasdaq Composite index also rose to a new record, adding more than 30 points to its value, or 0.4% to 7 182.20 points.
The US indices broke off on Wednesday a winning series of six consecutive sessions as a result of rumors that China will delay buying US government bonds.
Investors, however, have turned their attention again to the expected good results of US companies, which will come into full force very soon.

The crash of the ripple continues, the crypto currency is already at 1.60 (2)

Among the biggest advantages and disadvantages of the crypto currencies is the fact that they are not dependent on governments, on the one hand, but on the other hand, they can be affected by their regulation.
Crypto currencies are believed to be widely used by criminals for money laundering. Prevention of this activity is one of the main reasons for attempts to regulate the market.
Last month, the South Korean government said it would increase the control and monitoring of crypto currencies, and even stopping stock exchanges if necessary.
On Monday, South Korean officials inspected six leading banks, reviewing their money laundering measures. This largely frightened the crypto currencies markets and investors.
The bitcoin can also be blamed for the fall of the crypto currencies. It has a market capitalization of 35% of the total, and in this respect its losses are negatively affecting the whole market.
Investors still see the bitcoin as an investment rather than as a current currency these days.

The crash of the ripple continues, the crypto currency is already at 1.60 (1)

The collapse of the ripple - the most dinamically rising crypto currency in the past year, which added more than 200 times to its value - continues with full force.
The digital currency lost more than 15% of its value and is already traded at 1.55 dollars. For comparison, just a week ago, the ripple was traded at levels of more than 3 dollars per coin.
Serious correction is also observed for other crypto currencies, with the exception of this trend being ethereum and bitcoin cash.
The cost of the bitcoin lost 14% of its value on Monday, with more than 10% losing today.
A drop in the last day marked all 16 crypto currencies. Ethereum recorded a 12% drop before recovering some of its losses.
One of the reasons for the massive sales of crypto currencies is the planned regulation of digital currencies in South Korea.

2017th sent the financial crisis in history? (2)

We can not help but note the long-awaited tax reform by the Trump administration. It is expected to further stimulate the growth of the profits of US companies and the US economy as a whole.
The US and the world's leading stock indices are close to their historically highest values, which is another sign of calm among investors.
To sum up, it could be said that the year 2017 was the last in which the shadow of the past financial crisis had its impact on the markets. The fears of the fatalists related to the years ending at 7 when some of the biggest crises in history did not materialize.
Of course, investors should not become too self-confident and it is good to keep track of the development of US and the world economy so there will be no unpleasant surprises from any of the main directions.

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2017th sent the financial crisis in history? (1)

The past year 2017 finally sent the shadow of the financial crisis, towering over the markets for nearly a decade. Investors finally stopped worrying that we could see a secondary crisis and started to invest boldly.
The Fed raised the interest rate three times, which is undoubtedly one of the clearest evidence that there are no signs of a storm on the horizon. At the same time, Fed is expected to do so three more times this year.
At this stage, however, fears of normalizing interest rates are still in the background. Investors would rather be worried that the reserve would become less aggressive in its action on interest rate rather than raising it. Because that would be the first symptom of a potential slowdown in the state of world economy.
Unemployment in the US is at a 17-year minimum of 4.1%. The only worrying factor that may bother the Fed and other central banks around the world is still the low level of global inflation.
It is very likely, however, that in an environment of record low unemployment, inflation will begin to rise in the new year and justify the US reserve policy in the direction of interest rates.

3 bitcoin concepts that everybody need to know (2)

2) The limitation of the bitcoin is the basis of the extreme volatility of the cryptocurrencies.
It is true that new bitcoins are being issued. But first, this is very slow and second, the total number of all the bitcoins is limited to 21 million. That is, the bitcoin is a currency that is limited and can not be increased by printing new coins, unlike traditional currencies.

3) Is the bitcoin a balloon?
According to some bankers, like Jamie Dimon, the bitcoin is a balloon. Given its limited supply, however, it is still not clear. The balloon would burst if, at some point in time, if the bitcoin looses its primary function of storing and increasing the value of investors. That is, if it is regulated, forbidden, or something else bad happens to it.

3 bitcoin concepts that everybody need to know (1)

Just a few years ago, almost nobody knew anything about cryptocurrencies, like a bitcoin. Now, everyone is aware of them and they are ready to hold fierce arguments about the future of digital currencies.
We will not provide an opinion on this one, but rather, we will introduce you to three basic concepts of cryptocurrencies that everybody should know.
1) Comparison with shares is not appropriate
With new records coming in at the bitcoin in mid-December, many experts began to make an analogy between the bitcoin and the stock markets, which, incidentally, also enjoyed an exceptionally strong year.
Comparisons have even begun between the bitcoin and the shares of individual companies.
However, you should know that such a comparison is not particularly relevant. The total cost of the bitcoin is about $230 billion. If the bitcoin was a company, it would be among the top 20 in the S&P 500 index.
But how can we compare the cryptocurrencies with the company's shares? The bitcoin is a currency and should be compared to other currencies.
According to the Fed, money supply M3 is at a level of 13.7 trillion dollars. This gives the US dollar a market capitalization of 13.7 trillion dollars, which is much higher than that of the bitcoin.

The prospects for precious metals in 2018

For next year the price of gold is expected to be far more volatile then in 2017, according to Georgette Boyle, an analyst at ABN Amro. The reason for this will be the ambiguity about the Fed's interest rate policy as well as the reduction in balance.
Otherwise, the prospects for gold are positive from a technical point of view after the metal has shed its 100-day moving average during the past week, at a level of $1,295 per ounce. While the metal is traded above this level, it is completely possible to see its further rise to $1,350 per ounce, market observers say.
For other metals, palladium is the best-performing metal, reaching its highest level since February of 2001. Palladium deals with an unusually high premium over other metals such as platinum.
Platinum rose 3% this year and silver only 6%. It is quite possible that this will give them a good catch-up potential for next year, according to analysts.

The gold with the highest growth in three years in 2017

Gold continued its rise to a three-month high on Friday, which helped it mark its biggest annual increase in three years. To a large extent, the weakness of the US dollar and the recent political tensions contributed to the rise in the price of precious metal.
The dollar recorded its worst year against the rest of the major currencies since 2003, following North Korea's tensions and continued record low inflation.
The dollar index reached a three-month minimum on Friday. Traditionally, the price of gold is rising when the dollar becomes cheaper.
After all, gold ended the year at levels above $1,300, marking a momentum of $1,307.60 per ounce at the end of last week.
Or the rise for the yellow metal was 12% for the year. And, although exceptional, this result is close to half of the performance of some of the leading US indices.
Returning to the last Fed meeting, despite the rise in interest rates by the reserve, there was a less aggressive tone in terms of the future policy of raising interest rates, according to analysts. This further contributes to the appreciation of precious metals.