For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

 

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June Solstice 2017: When Is the First Day of Summer? - Summer Solsctice 101DID I CATCH YOUR ATTENTION?  GOOD!It happens when the sun is over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. The June Solstice 2017 is here and marks the beginning of summer and is the longest day of the year.
The date is determined by astronomical phenomena–solstices happen when the sun’s zenith is at its farthest point from the equator. In the summer solstice, it happens during the
northernmost point and the North Pole facing directly towards the sun at roughly 23.4 degrees. It occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern
Hemisphere. There are two solstices every year: in December and in June. The June one happens first (naturally), marking the beginning of summer, while the winter solstice takes
place when the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, marking the beginning of winter. There’s a number of ways in which the summer solstice is celebrated throughout the
world. Perhaps the most popular one is the Stonehenge structure, consisting of massive stones that bring about the beginning of summer with their positioning within the planet.
Because of the way the two hemispheres are affected by the movement of the Earth in relation to the sun, the June solstice marks the beginning of winter for those in the Southern
hemisphere, while the winter solstice for us marks the beginning of summer for those below the equator.
The Dow Industrial Average hit another record high today. The S&P 500 is up 9% so far this year, hitting another record high close today. Just 10 companies have accounted for almost
half of the benchmark’s return this year. While stock bears have been stressing caution, some have gone as far as to compare the current environment to the dotcom bubble. The
reality is that this concentration is not unusual; it happens in rallies. On June 9, tech stocks in the S&P 500 dropped 2.7%. But that money mostly stayed in the stock market,
flowing into energy and financial shares. Nasdaq’s biotechnology index rose 2.5 percent in its biggest one-day gain since February while the S&P’s healthcare index had a record-high
close.
The S&P’s financial sector was also one of the benchmark’s strongest gainers with a 1% rise after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said U.S. inflation was a bit low
but should rise alongside wages as the labor market continues to improve, allowing the Fed to continue gradually tightening monetary policy. Dudley said: “I’m actually very
confident that even though the expansion is relatively long in the tooth, we still have quite a long way to go. This is actually a pretty good place to be.” Apparently, the Fed sees
underlying strength in the economy that the data doesn’t show right now. The Fed’s base case is that this is just kind of a soft patch and we will continue to cycle higher. And Wall
Street always seems to be optimistic when we have big merger and acquisition news – which we saw on Friday with the Amazon/Whole Foods deal. Not everybody loved the deal, Kroger
lost 19% on Thursday when they announced a bad earnings report, then came news of Amazon, and Kroger dropped another 9%, losing $7 billion in market cap in just 2 days. Today, the
bottom fishers came in and Kroger bounced 1.5%.
The major averages ended the session just off their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 144.71 points or 0.7 percent to 21,528.99, the Nasdaq surged up 87.25 points or 1.4
percent to 6,239.01 and the S&P 500 advanced 20.31 points or 0.8 percent to 2,453.46.
Today, is 'Turnaround Tuesday'.
The buying interest on Wall Street was partly in reaction to strength in the overseas markets, which benefited from political news out of Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron's
party won a clear parliamentary majority in Sunday's election, giving him a strong mandate in parliament to pursue his pro-European Union, business-friendly reform plans.
Additionally, Brexit negotiations with the EU have begun after Britain bowed to pressure for a formal opening to their long-awaited negotiations rather than first holding technical
talks between civil servants.
Meanwhile, Fed jaw-boning continued as New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley predicted that inflation will gradually rise as a tight labor market leads to higher wages.
"Inflation is a little lower than what we would like, but we think that if the labor market continues to tighten, wages will gradually pick up and with that, inflation will
gradually get back to 2 percent," Dudley said. The comments from Dudley came after the Fed's widely expected to decision to raise interest rates by a quarter point last week.
Biotechnology stocks saw substantial strength on the day, resulting in a 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the spike, the index reached its best closing
level in well over a year. Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent advance by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Micron
MU) and Integrated Device Technology (IDTI) posted standout gains. Airline stocks also showed a notable move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.8 percent.
Internet, software, and banking stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while natural gas stocks bucked the uptrend.
In the bond market, treasuries came under pressure in early trading and saw further downside as the day progressed. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which
moves opposite of its price, rose by 3.3 basis points to 2.190 percent.
The Supreme Court just ruled that social media is a constitutional right. Today, the justices unanimously held that states can’t broadly limit access to social media because
cyberspace “is one of the most important places to exchange views.” In Packingham v. North Carolina, the justices were asked to review a North Carolina statute that bars sex
offenders from accessing social media altogether and makes it a felony if they post on any platform. The case has implications for all members of American society, however, not just
sex offenders, and the court appears to be extremely conscious of the broader effect. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, “A fundamental First Amendment principle is that all persons
have access to places where they can speak and listen, and then, after reflection, speak and listen once more.” Given the fact that social-media platforms in particular allow for
this kind of free communication, and that the constitution protects the right to exchange, the justices recognized this case was widely societally important. North Carolina
convicted over 1,000 sex offenders based on its statute barring access to all social platforms. That, according to the high court, simply isn’t acceptable in light of the role
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and others play in current public communication.
The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether there are constitutional limits to how far lawmakers can go in drawing electoral districts to maximize partisan political advantage, a
case that could have profound implications for US elections. The justices in a brief written order said they would review a redistricting case from Wisconsin, where a three-judge
lower court last year invalidated a redistricting plan enacted by the Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature in 2011. That court said Wisconsin lawmakers redrew the state’s
legislative districts after the 2010 census to unlawfully maximize the number of Republicans elected and dilute the power of Democratic voters. Democrats won a popular majority of
assembly votes in 2012 and 2014, but Republicans managed to take 60 of the 99 assembly seats. The practice of redrawing electoral maps along partisan lines is known as
“gerrymandering.” The Supreme Court has previously struck down gerrymandered maps that disadvantage minority voters, but has yet to prohibit a map on the ground that it unfairly
advantages one political party over another.
Also, the Supreme Court struck down part of a law that bans offensive trademarks, ruling in favor of an Asian-American rock band called the Slants and giving a major boost to the
Washington Redskins in their separate legal fight over the team name. The justices were unanimous in saying that the 71-year-old trademark law barring disparaging terms infringes
free speech rights guaranteed in the Constitution’s First Amendment. Justice Samuel Alito said in his opinion for the court, “It offends a bedrock First Amendment principle: Speech
may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend.”
Looking Ahead
U.S. equity markets have a history of moving lower from mid-June to mid-October in Presidential cycle years after a two term President has been replaced (as indicated this year).
See red line in the chart below.  BUT, we cannot bet on a large correction.

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MARKET STATS FOR MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017:
The DJ Industrials closed up 144.71 at 21528.99 posting a new bull market high at 21528.99. A new bull market high at 21391.97 was posted on June 14.
The SPX closed up 20.31 at 2453.46, posting a new bull market high of 2453.82.
The Dow Transports closed up 62.56 at 9476.63. On March 2 it touched 9639.33, a new bull market high.
The Nasdaq Comp closed up 87.25 at 6239.01. A new bull market high at 6341.70 was posted on June 9.
The Russell 2000 closed up 11.35 at 1418.08. It traded at a new bull market high at 1433.79 on June 9.
S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 73.50 at 15266.04 while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index closed up .69 at 776.60. The Canadian Dollar via the FXC Exchange Traded Fund closed up .04 at 74.66.Gold closed down 9.80 at 1244.60. The July 6, 2016 high at 1373.70 is the next big upside target. The XAU Index closed down .04 at 79.67.Silver was down .21 at 16.58. I am still targeting silver into the low to mid 20s possible by this time next year.Platinum closed down 5.00 at 929.00. Above 1048, I would be looking for at least another $100 to the upside.Palladium closed down 8.00 at 866.00. I have been projecting 935 and we touched 917 on June 12.Copper closed up .0270 at 2.5895.Crude Oil closed down .54 at 44.20. The recent high is 54.44 from March 1 and retested that high at 53.76 on April 12. Crude will likely be lower before higher with greater cyclical strength coming a year-end but overall is a buy on weakness.Natural Gas closed down .143 at 2.894.Uranium as posted on https://www.uxc.com/Default.aspx in its last posting:`
Bitcoin closed at 2634.83. On June 15 it traded down to 2185.96. A record high was formed on June 6 at 2967.48. Price data comes from Coindesk.com. I was am looking for a pullback into the 1999.93 to 2289 range and we touched 2185.96 on June 15. GBTC - the Bitcoin Investment Trust - GBTC - closed up 24.00 at 424.00. GBTC traded down to 297.50 intraday on June 15. I was hoping to see 270.00, but apparently that was enough! On May 25 GBTC hit its bull market high at 565.00.
CryptoCurrency Market Capitalizations. CHECK THIS OUT. YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW MANY ARE OUT THERE!
http://coinmarketcap.com/?utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=cmcwidget&utm_source=cryptocurrencygroup.com&utm_content=bitcoinU.S. Treasury Bonds closed down 7/32 at 156 21/32.The U.S. Dollar Index closed up .391 at 97.563. The recent low is 96.323. The recent bull market high is 103.63 from December 28.The VIX (Volatility Index) closed down .02 at 10.37.

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May Existing Homes Sales to be released at 10:00 AM EDT on Wednesday are expected to dip to 5.51 million units from 5.57 million units in April.
Weekly Jobless Claims are to be released at 8:30 AM EDT on Thursday.
April Cdn. Retail Sales to be released at 8:30 AM EDT on Thursday are expected to increase 0.3% versus a gain of 0.7% in May.
May Leading Economic Indicators are to be released at 10:00 AM EDT on Thursday.
May Cdn. Consumer Prices to be released at 8:30 AM EDT on Friday are expected to increase 0.2% versus a gain of 0.4% in April.
May New Home Sales to be released at10:00 AM EDT on Friday are expected to increase to 599,000 from 569,000 in April

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Two Huge Diamonds Unearthed in Lesotho Mine 
Both of the latest discoveries are larger than 100 carats - Company has struggled to unearth large gems at Letseng mine
Gem Diamonds Ltd. discovered two diamonds bigger than 100 carats at its Lesotho mine in southern Africa, bringing the struggling miner a step closer to ending a drought of large
stones.
Gem unearthed a 104.73 carat D color Type IIa diamond and a 151.52 carat Type I yellow diamond at its Letseng mine, the company said in a statement Monday. Type IIa diamonds contain
very little or no nitrogen atoms and are the most expensive stones.
Until now Gem had reported just one large discovery this year, after unearthing a 114-carat diamond in April. Letseng is renowned for the size and quality of its stones, with an
average sales price of almost $2,000 a carat, the highest in the industry. Yet the company has suffered recently from a lack of big finds and discovered just five stones bigger than
100 carats last year, fewer than half as many as it found in 2015.
Gem, which fell to a record low in April, has also been hurt by weakening prices for lower-quality stones produced at its Ghaghoo mine in Botswana. In February, the company said it
was shutting the newly built operation because prices had fallen by one-third since 2015.
While the latest finds will offer some reassurance to investors, they’re not even close to the biggest found at Letseng. In 2015, Gem sold a 357-carat stone for $19.3 million and in
2006 found the 603-carat Lesotho Promise.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-12/diamond-miner-finds-two-more-big-stones-as-shortage-eases
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Israeli ministers approve bill to outlaw entire binary options industryDraft law — prompted by Times of Israel reporting on decade-old, multi-billion dollar fraud — welcomed by
Israel’s securities regulator and attorney-general
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a bill to ban the entire binary options industry, a multi-billion dollar, widely fraudulent, Israel-based enterprise, whose activities have
been exposed in a series of articles by The Times of Israel since March 2016.
The bill was immediately also approved by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, and will now go to the Knesset plenary for a first reading. It will then be debated by the
Knesset Finance Committee, ahead of a second and third reading in the plenary.
Israel Securities Authority Chairman Shmuel Hauser, who drafted the law together with the attorney general and Justice Ministry, welcomed the ministerial approval of the law.
“Beyond the terrible economic harm to citizens around the world, sellers of binary options are causing increasing, accelerating ruinous damage to Israel and are inflaming anti-
Semitism and anti-Israel feeling,” Hauser said in a statement after the bill was advanced.
Once passed, and following a three-month interim period, the law will allow the ISA to prosecute and jail anyone still peddling binary options from within Israeli territory to
anybody, anywhere.
Fraudulent Israeli binary options companies, which employ thousands of Israelis, ostensibly offer customers worldwide a potentially profitable short-term investment, but in reality
— through rigged trading platforms, refusal to pay out, and other ruses — these companies fleece the vast majority of customers of most or all of their money. The fraudulent
salespeople routinely use false identities, conceal where they are located, and misrepresent what they are selling.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-ministers-approve-bill-to-outlaw-entire-binary-options-industry/?utm_source=The+Times+of+Israel+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=44dd6d2fae-
EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_06_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adb46cec92-44dd6d2fae-54874677
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Fed Chair Sweepstakes Shows Yellen In Neck-and-Neck RaceBy Rich Miller, Catarina Saraiva, Chloe Whiteaker and Jeremy Scott Diamond
The person most likely to be Federal Reserve chair when Janet Yellen's term expires in February is… Janet Yellen, according to a Bloomberg poll of Fed watchers. Her nomination comes
with two big caveats, however: It's seen as possible, not probable, and the competition is close behind.
The June 5 to June 8 survey asked economists to rank the three most likely candidates for the central-bank post. Yellen came in first in the poll, though her score was less than a
third of the maximum possible. Four other candidates—Kevin Warsh, John Taylor, Glenn Hubbard and Gary Cohn—were bunched together after her.
 
Janet Yellen: The Veteran
Janet Yellen looked like a goner as Fed chair after Donald Trump's surprise election victory last November. The billionaire bashed the central bank during the campaign, and there
were even rumors he might try to force her out before her term expires in February 2018. But as president, Trump has taken a different tack, saying he respects Yellen—and what's
more—likes low interest rates. She has declined to say whether she wants another term.
A Democrat—the Brooklyn native served as chief economist to President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 1999—Yellen has spent much of her professional career working at the central bank,
including a six-year stint as head of the San Francisco Fed. The 70-year-old former academic is married to George Akerlof, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics for his work on
market imperfections.
Kevin Warsh: The Reform Candidate
As a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, Kevin Warsh drew on his Wall Street experience at Morgan Stanley to play a key behind-the-scenes role in efforts to quell the financial crisis.
He's been a vocal critic of the central bank since then, advocating widespread changes in how it carries out monetary policy and communicates with the public.
A close associate of hedge-fund billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, he argues that Fed policy makers are too complacent about mounting risks in financial markets. The 47-year-old
Hoover Institution fellow was a member of the business-advisory council that met with Trump in February, along with the heads of General Motors Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, daughter of Trump friend Ronald Lauder and a global brand president at the cosmetic company her grandmother, Estee Lauder,
founded.
John Taylor: The Rule Maker
Stanford University Professor John Taylor is best known for the monetary-policy rule he developed in 1993 that links changes in interest rates by the Fed to the state of the economy
and inflation. A former Treasury undersecretary for President George W. Bush, Taylor faults the Fed for straying from that guideline in the early 2000s, which he says helped fuel
the housing bubble that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
The 70-year-old economist also has criticized the central bank's current stance, arguing it's been too lax and too subject to the discretion of policy makers. He has supporters in
the House of Representatives, where Republican lawmakers have pushed legislation requiring the Fed to follow the Taylor rule or something like it.
Glenn Hubbard: The Tax Man
As President George W. Bush's chief economist from 2001 to 2003, Glenn Hubbard played a key role in fashioning tax-cut packages that reduced rates on wages, dividends and capital
gains. A fiscal-policy expert, he also served as economic adviser to Mitt Romney in his failed 2012 presidential campaign.
The dean of Columbia University's business school has few ties to Trump, though he did co-write a 2010 book on economic policy with the president's trade adviser, Peter Navarro.
This isn't the first time Hubbard, 58, has been touted as a potential Fed chair, losing out in 2006 to Ben Bernanke in the race to succeed Alan Greenspan. Hubbard favors a rule-
based policy for the Fed: a clear framework with the flexibility to deviate when necessary. He's also uncomfortable with the Fed's big balance sheet.
Gary Cohn: The Insider
As a Trump senior economic adviser, Gary Cohn is expected to have a big say in deciding who will head up the Fed starting next year. So if he gets the job, the director of Trump's
National Economic Council is sure to be accused of pulling a Dick Cheney. (Cheney ended up as President George W. Bush's running mate after being asked to identify candidates for
the post). For what it's worth, Cohn, 56, has said he's not interested in being Fed chair.
Before joining team Trump, he worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for more than 25 years, including a decade as president. While there, he criticized the Fed for pumping liquidity
into the financial system to stimulate the economy while simultaneously telling banks they needed to build up capital and be careful lending it out. He also complained that Fed
policy makers talked too much and just ended up confusing markets.
Methodology: Respondents were asked to rank the three most likely candidates for the Fed chair job when Yellen's term expires on Feb. 3, 2018, with three points awarded for a top
ranking, two points for second and one for third. Each individual result was then divided by the maximum vote possible and multiplied by 100 to come up with a final score. Forty-
three economists took part.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-who-will-be-the-next-fed-chair/
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What You Can Learn From Billionaires Who Invest in Gold - Newsmax"If you want to be successful in investing and accumulate enough money to live a comfortable retirement, sometimes it's a good idea to take advice from those who have experience in
the arena. Learning about sound investments from others can help prevent you from making mistakes that you might otherwise make if you try to rely on your own abilities.....Gold
always rises in price over the long term and it often rises in price in the short term, particularly during times of financial crisis. That makes it a win-win for people looking for
a sound investment. Gold also maintains its purchasing power over time. One ounce of gold a hundred years ago buys you roughly the same amount of goods it buys you today. You can't
say the same thing about paper currency. If you need a solid store of value, gold is what you want....If you're looking for a store of value that will help diversify your portfolio,
it's important to remember that gold isn't a get-rich-quick investment. Yes, its valu! e will continue increasing over time, but ultimately gold is used for wealth preservation.
That is what it excels in doing. And that is why the development of gold IRAs has been such a boon to investors looking to safeguard their retirement savings."
Unlike every other form of money on earth, Gold has a 4,000-year history of preserving wealth and offering instant liquidity worldwide; while offering you a way to maintain your
personal privacy. Our TIMELESS TRUTH ABOUT GOLD & SILVER Special Report will give you a BIG picture overview of the seven timeless truths about money and gold you need to know.
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Budget cuts threaten forests' roads, hunting, fishing - York Dispatch"The roads to the national forests could get bumpier. Trails could get messier. Maintenance on bridges, dams and recreation sites could become tougher under President Donald Trump's
proposed budget for fiscal 2018, which begins Oct. 1. The White House is seeking only about $100 million in funding for capital improvement and maintenance by the National Forest
Service, down from $363 million this year. That 73 percent cut could have a huge impact on recreation, according to Rebecca Turner, senior director of programs and policy for
American Forests, a nonprofit conservation organization. Turner said roads are used to access the trails leading to 'majestic overlooks,' and lakes and rivers in the forests. She
said the budget cuts would also lead to campsites and facilities not being maintained. Turner said that if the Forest Service is unable to maintain safe roads, boat launches and
campgrounds, they're likely to close. 'When you can't access the forests, then it's much harder ! to enjoy them,' she said."
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Here's how many Americans have nothing at all in savings - CNBC"Most people in the U.S. are living in financially precarious circumstances. Half of all Americans have nothing put away for retirement and the vast majority of them have under
$1,000 saved, total. According to a 2016 GOBankingRates survey, 35 percent of all adults in the U.S. have only several hundred dollars in their savings accounts and 34 percent have
zero. Only 15 percent have over $10,000 stashed away.... Experts also stress the importance of, at a minimum, having enough to cover three to six months of expenses in an emergency
fund, should you be hit by a medical crisis or a layoff....The discrepancy between what workers know they should do and what they manage to do may be why so many Americans' No. 1
financial regret involves not saving enough: A whopping 46 percent of adults surveyed by Bankrate about their biggest money mistakes wish they had put more away, whether for
retirement, emergency expenses or their children's educations."
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Power grid operators say cyber-attacks one of the top risks - Electric Light & Power"Each ISO/RTO acknowledges the risk of a cyber-attack as one of the top corporate risks, and collectively, the ISO/RTO Council (IRC) supports the resiliency efforts of each of its
members and the advancement of the cybersecurity posture of the power grid, the IRC said in a statement provided to TransmissionHub on June 15, in light of the CRASHOVERRIDE malware
framework that was disclosed in a recent report by the cybersecurity company, Dragos Inc....According to the report, CRASHOVERRIDE is the first ever malware framework designed and
deployed to attack electric grids; the fourth ever piece of ICS-tailored malware...used against targets; and the second ever to be designed and deployed for disrupting physical
industrial processes....While the malware could be leveraged at multiple sites simultaneously, the scenario is not cataclysmic and would result in hours, potentially a few days, of
outages."

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