Financial Sense Newshour

Jim welcomes back Dave Lauer, a Market Structure and Technology Architecture Consultant. His most recent work includes public policy with Better Markets and technology architecture with IEX, a new equity market. Previously, he worked as a senior quantitative analyst at Allston Trading and Citadel Investment Group. Dave believes the cops (regulators) are not on the beat, and this puts individual investors at a distinct disadvantage. He sees HFT traders as manipulators of the market without fear of punishment. Dave says the “uptick rule” must be reinstated to protect the individual investor, but the Wall Street lobbying machine convinces both regulators and legislators that it isn’t necessary. With money and influence on their side, the Robo Traders are becoming the Robber Barons of the 21^st century.

Jim welcomes back Kurt Wulff CFA, Independent Energy Analyst at McDep LLC. Kurt and Jim discuss energy equities today and Kurt sees Exxon as the Rodney Dangerfield of oil stocks, not getting the respect it deserves. He sees XOM as a must-own anchor of any energy portfolio. Kurt also discusses other energy equities, such as Encana and Suncor. He notes that Encana is a potential takeover target, perhaps by the Chinese. Energy stocks outside the US have been down lately, and Kurt sees many value opportunities in the energy sector.

Jim welcomes back Craig Johnson CMT CFA, a Principal and Senior Technical Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray. Craig sees the S&P reaching 1700 by years end, although he notes that investors are still skeptical and only reluctantly long. Craig sees the next great catalyst to launch the market higher will be the shift from bonds and bond funds into stocks, as interest rates begin to climb. Also this week, Ryan Puplava wraps up this week in the markets, and Chris Puplava joins the program to discuss the volatile gold market. Rob Bernard looks at interest rates and the fixed income market this week.

Jim’s Big Picture topic this segment focuses on the recent budget “negotiations” going on in Washington. Jim pulls back the curtain on Washington’s budget games and gives his perspective on the current budget process. Jim sees it as 21^st century feudalism, as budgetary policies favor big government and big business over small business, which has always been the engine for job creation. He also takes the main stream media to task for allowing Washington to use “Orwellian Newspeak” to describe the budgetary process. Jim will also answer your Q-Calls in this segment of the program.