The big news this week was Bitcoin, which exploded higher, rising 27.6% to close a hair above 18 grams. Bitcoin is now 173.8% higher than this time last year! The second largest gain was in coffee, up 1.6%. The weakest assets were palladium, off 5.3%, and Japanese stocks, which fell 4.8%.
The only rising asset classes this were coffee, up 4.8%, and silver, which gained 4.6%. All the others declined, led by copper, down 7.0%, and the Euro STOXX, which fell 6.5%. The next largest losses were in the Chinese Yuan, which dropped 4.8%.
This was an excellent week for all asset classes except the platinum group metals and gold mining stocks. Topping the charts was Bitcoin, which gained 10.2% to close at 12.1 grams. This was followed by cotton, up 7.5% and the Euro STOXX (FEZ ETF) which gained 6.9%. The HUI gold stock index had the greatest losses, down 5.3%, closing at 5.1 grams. Platinum, off 1.0%, and palladium, down 0.7%, were the only other declining assets for the week.
Most stocks were higher this week, while currencies, bonds, and commodities were mixed. As has been the case for the last few weeks, commodities were the most volatile assets, with crude oil showing the largest gains (up 5.7%) while coffee and palladium (off 3.3% each) had the largest losses.
This week's trading saw currencies and bonds lower, stocks mixed, and commodities mostly higher. The largest gains were in crude oil, up 6.9%, palladium, up 6.2%, and silver, which rose 4.9%. The weakest asset was the long treasury bond (TLT) which fell 3.9%.
This was a great week for investors, as every asset class I track ended the week higher! Silver, which rose 7.7%, and Japanese Stocks, which gained 7.0%, led the rise. Currencies generally, and the EUR and CNY in particular, were the weakest asset classes.
This was a good week for currencies, bonds, and most stocks, but mixed for commodities. The best performing asset was Bitcoin, which rose 4.3% – more than making up for last weeks decline. The next best was cotton, which gained 4.0%. The weakest asset classes were gold stocks, off 2.7%, and coffee, which dropped 2.2%.
This was a bad week for currencies and bonds, but a mixed week for stocks and commodities. The best performing asset class was palladium, which rose 7.3%, followed by crude oil, which gained 5.2%. The weakest asset was Bitcoin, down 6.6%, followed by long term bonds (TLT), off 5.3%.
Filed under Bitcoin, Commodities, Dow Jones Industrials, Euro, Platinum, Silver, Stocks by 
A good week for stocks; a mixed week for commodities and currencies. The best performing asset class, by far, was crude oil, which rose 11.0% – but with crude’s weak performance during the first 6 weeks of the year, it is still sitting near its all-time lows. The weakest asset was cotton, down 3.8%, followed by palladium, off 2.6%.
The huge winner last week was the Swiss Franc. The Swiss central bank did a sudden about-face last Thursday, dropping its peg to the Euro, and the CHF rose 13.4% for the week while all other major currencies fell 3%-6%.The only other asset category in the black was the HUI gold stock index, which is now hovering just below its 200 day moving average and resistance at about 5 grams. Watch closely to see if this is really a breakout to the upside or just a dead cat bounce.
Filed under Bitcoin, Bonds, Dow Jones Industrials, EUR, Euro, money gold, Platinum, Real Estate, S&P 500, Silver, Stocks, US Dollar by
