🇺🇸 The S&P Metals & Mining ETF has cleared the first major historical resistance from the 2011 high.

All that remains is the 2008 all-time high. $XME is up 75.5% since Liberation Day.

📈 CHART WATCH 📈

🇺🇸 On the other hand, the SPDR Technology Sector ETF is putting in what looks like an almost completed head & shoulders formation.

Simultaneously, the RSI has been in decline since the start of July. I would guess $XLK sees $242 sooner than later…

📉 CHART WATCH 📉

🌍 This is the global frequency for major hurricanes (lower line) and all hurricanes (upper line) going back to 1980.

Remember this next time they tell you “hurricanes are definitely increasing in strength & frequency,” because they aren’t.

Adapted from Maue (2011) GRL.

🌀 CHART WATCH 🌀

🇨🇳🇺🇸🇦🇺 The Top 10 Rare Earth Miners & Refiners by Market Capitalization

China has a competitive advantage in economy of scale: their mining & refining is often integrated with state subsidy undergirding the success of the operations.

There will likely be mergers in Western countries to enhance production, and failing that, look for Western governments to get involved…

📊 CHART WATCH 📊

🇪🇺 European Perception of Leaders' Respect for Democracy

Europeans were asked: to what extent do you consider these leaders to respect democratic principles?

Note: Two of these men were re-elected last year. The other has not faced election since 2019, in direct contravention of his nation’s constitution, and rules by fiat to this day (including recently ordering the neutering of their national anti-corruption institutions).

🇷🇺 CHART WATCH 🦅

🇺🇸 Goldman Sachs puts the AI adoption rate at 9.2% of economy wide. However, Stephen Byrd of Morgan Stanley reports that it may take significantly longer to see the dividends of the new technology:

"AI impacts may take longer to appear in economic data," with the first real signs not expected until "later this decade and into the next."

🎨 CHART WATCH 🎨

🇲🇽 🇺🇸🇨🇴🇨🇳 China is Mexico’s fastest growing immigration group. Americans still lead overall, followed by Colombians. Cuba lands 4th.

📈 CHART WATCH 📈

🇺🇳 NATO Defense Spending As A Percent of GDP

Poland and the Baltic states lead the way. Together with Norway, America, and Denmark, they make up the top seven above 3% of GDP (Poland is up to 4.5%).

Half of the countries are only meeting the original 2%, and eight of those just reached compliance with the old standard this year.

📊 CHART WATCH 📊

🇷🇺 🇪🇺🇺🇸 This would be the same Europe with the wild, bellicose rhetoric and the obstinate insistence on Ukrainians continuing to fight (even though the Ukrainians want out).

Note the 2022 halving of European trade with Russia coincides with the doubling of European trade with Central Asia. Recall they’re buying Russian oil through India & Turkey (and a bit straight from Russia). Recall they’re still buying about 20% of their natural gas directly from Russia; in fact, they’re the top buyer of Russian LNG & pipeline gas (which aren’t even sanctioned, by the way) by a mile…

I don’t have a problem with any of this, but they should cut the crap.

⚡️ CHART WATCH ⚡️

🇨🇭 🇯🇵 The Swiss Franc is up 66% against the Japanese Yen since the start of 2020…

💸 CHART WATCH 💸

🇷🇺🇩🇪🇫🇷🇬🇧🇮🇹 European GDPs, adjusted for purchasing power parity in “international dollars.”

A PPP-adjusted “international dollar” buys in each country what $1 buys in America.

The European economy totals $44 trillion in such dollars, and while Western Europe is a large nominal proportion, accounting for purchasing power results in Eastern Europe significantly excelling both Western & Northern Europe.

📊 CHART WATCH 📊

🇺🇸 Checking in on the Jobs-Workers Gap.

We are officially under zero, meaning there are fewer jobs than unemployed people…

👨‍💻 CHART WATCH 👨‍💻

🇺🇸 This is the annual median salary of American wage & salary workers over 25 by education level.

At the top end, professional degree holders in the U.S. have a median annual salary of $122.9K, closely followed by doctoral degree holders at $118.5K. Earnings drop off significantly from there, with master's degree holders making nearly $23K less than those with doctoral degrees at $95.7K.

A similarly big difference is between those with a bachelor's degree and those without. Having a bachelor's degree sees a median salary of $80.2K, while just an associate degree has a median salary of $57.2K.

📊 CHART WATCH 📊

🇪🇸 🇮🇹🇫🇷🇩🇪 In the the Eurozone, Spain is way out in front of the other large economies. In fact, it has been outperforming for most of the last year & a half.

Here’s Spain beating the back in manufacturing PMI.

📈 CHART WATCH 📉

🇮🇱🇵🇸 This is the number of hostages held by the Israeli government and Gaza “government” respectively.

📊 CHART WATCH 📊