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  The U.S. government shutdown has highlighted two unavoidable and predictable events. The first is pretty obvious, the other maybe not so much.  For starters, the U.S. government shutdown means as many as 800,000 of the country’s 2.1 million federal workers could end up being furloughed (temporary, non-duty, non-pay status). Not surprisingly, members of Congress—those…

Risers:  Aviva, +2.58% Climbing the most amongst FTSE 100 shares, Aviva has surged after the insurer announced the sale of its US life and annuities business to Athene Holding. The sale reaped £1.6 billion in total, surpassing the December 2012 estimate of £1.1 billion. The additional £493M represents estimated earnings and other improvement in statutory…

President Obama met congress for the first time since the shutdown last night in an attempt bring an end to the US government shutdown.  This generated optimism in the markets with Asian stocks performing well overnight combined with a 6-month high for the Chinese Service Industry.  The meeting however proved futile with both sides unwilling…

It is fair to say that in what was our inaugural first quarter as a regulated entity, that we have been exceptionally pleased with the positions we have taken and how these have panned out. We veritably knocked our benchmark into a “cocked hat”. This is all the more satisfying in that we have achieved…

By Filipe R. Costa Marc Faber is an internationally recognised investor and fund manager. His Doom, Gloom and Boom Report, has fast achieved legendary status among investors, large and small. He has been an extremely vocal critic of the Fed’s monetary policy and is bearish on the long term prospects of the US Dollar. Faber…

By Investment Contrarians  A fiasco is brewing out there. Unable to reach a compromise on Obamacare, the House failed to reach a resolution. Now the government has begun to shut down some of its non-essential services due to the lack of funds and the approaching debt ceiling deadline on October 17.  I know the stock…

Risers:  Barclays, +1.13% Topping the risers within the FTSE 100, Barclays shares have been given a boost by analysts at Societe Generale who upgraded the stock rating to buy. The firm currently has a 320p target price on the stock, down from their previous price target of 325p. Societe Generale’s price objective would indicate a…

European markets refused to show much signs of optimism today as investors pondered the next outcome of the continuing battle between the US President and Congress. Despite the dispute, the markets are still expecting an agreement to be reached by the 17th of October deadline.  Thus, at the moment, it seems politicians are using this opportunity…

 By Zak Mir. Chart summaries and key points Northern Petroleum (NOP): False dawn recovery risk Support Above 50 day moving average Upside through 40p at best seen currently Condor Gold (CNR) Post July bull trap recovery August spike through 50 day moving average July price channel target as high as 160p plus Vatukoula Gold Mines…

By Investment Contrarians It’s that time again. As we move into the always interesting month of October and fourth quarter, I expect some surprises are in store for us in the stock market, as was the case in previous years. The big difference is that the stock market has already made some strong gains, so…