The Montauk Conference featured every possible subject regarding the Cryptocurrency market. One of the blogs published by Fortune published all of the findings. Virtually all of the speakers and papers delivered (and published).

The Term Sheet (published by Polina Marinova, wrote in part:

Before Facebook's Libra project made its public debut, it recruited high-profile backers that would act as its launch partners. They include Visa, Uber, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe.

A New York Times report says that some of those partners are approaching Libra warily and signing non-binding agreements to join the effort so that there's an easy out if they didn't like the direction of the project.

Companies are hesitant to associate themselves too closely with Libra because of "Facebook's issues with regulators around the world, the company's shaky track record on privacy and how it treats corporate partners, and the uncertain legality of cryptocurrencies," according to the report.

This one-foot-in-one-foot-out approach allows brands like Visa and Mastercard to get information about the creation of a payments service that could affect their business immensely while simultaneously having the option to easily dip out should something go wrong.

And there are quite a few things that could go awry given factors like regulatory gray zones, open questions on privacy, and public perception. According to the NYT, Facebook approached a number of big financial companies, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Fidelity, about participating in the project, but they declined, in part because of regulatory questions about cryptocurrencies as a whole.

I'm watching with great interest to see how Facebook will get this off the ground all while attempting to circumvent criticism from the people whose approval and support it needs most. The New York Times had a report of Federal Regulators having great skepticism about the future of cryptocurrencies (June 26th).

Esther Fung and Heather Haddon of the Wall Street Journal have a reputation for accurate reporting. Hard to believe that Amazon is considering moving into one of the most competitive and low margin businesses in North America. Unless they acquire the real estate properties they hope to occupy, hard to believe that this will be a good investment. On the other hand, in major markets, major players can dictate the lease rates they wish to pay. Owning real estate does not make sense. The master is Wal-Mart. Some of the leaked lease rates paid in Florida, California, Toronto (Canada) are so low, institutional landlords need to give away their space. No increases in rates for 15 years is common. At the moment, lots of real-estate with few triple-A tenants.

I have not agreed with Mr. Tyler Durden's on every occasion. This time he is right on the money and has provided the market with some very wise advice. His column, "Bezos' Divorce Could Boost Amazon's Share Price" provides good insight. It is reported that the Bezo's do not have any prenuptial agreements. An amazing transfer of wealth will take place. Some pundits today predicted that Amazon might even become a takeover target by a consortium of private equity funds. Who knows?

Index Managers will likely buy more Amazon stock and give them an opportunity to sell some other positions. Durden is correct in stating that Indexes typically use a company's available float - rather than the number of shares outstanding - to determine to weighting (this measure excludes shares owned by the company's officers). No doubt that as Index Managers load up on Amazon, they will likely sell some of their other less attractive holdings. If this happens, the S&P will likely drop. Stay tuned.

I have followed Mr. Barisheff for many years. I agree with his recommendations on gold. Own more gold and sleep better.

Susan, you are correct. These are truly scary times. Today is another day. As of high noon, the Dow is down again. If you want some confirmation, please order Mr. Synder's book and read it.

Based on today' s results as of 1:14 pm and President Trump's recommendation to buy on the dips, Mr. Buffett would do the same. Lots of believers in the markets that have seen this cycle before. Wait and see over the next few days if they were right. Likely, we will see lots of small profit taking and attempts to sell on Thursday or Friday.

Michael Snyder provides some convincing information that the drop of 5,000 points in the Dow Jones proves that we are clearly in Bear territory and that this represents a stock market crash. He is correct. Unfortunately, he does not say "how low can we go". His brilliant book "The Beginning Of The End" is one of the best reads I have read in past years. On the third read, I realized that this text was likely more reality than fiction. I purchased a second copy and sent it to President Trump. He would benefit from reading this treasure.

Vivian Lewis provides some good information on selected companies and stocks. She profiles a few winners and most of the notable loosers. A summary of some political events and more. The message that comes through in a non descript way is that the military goods market is good and healthy and that "peace on earth is not in view". Pity.

Many thanks to Mark Lundeen for his informative charts and commentaries. Bears can make money in volatile markets. Mr. Lundeen convinces us that we are in a down cycle. No doubt there will be some great buying opportunities, but on the whole we are heading downward for the short term, maybe longer. A question I learned in trying to sell companies to Walmart was, "how low can you go?" I would love to hear from others as to how low they think we can go before the Dow Jones and other indices stop bleeding?

Ms. Tverberg has presented well researched information and put forward some strong opinions. The whole Electricity issue is of concern for Americans, not most Canadians. The Canadian infrastructure and landscape for generating electricity is more favorable in the major Canadian provinces, Quebec and Ontario. Both provinces sell electricity into the grids of the Northern states, especially the State of New York. A concept that is not easily accepted by some Americans is the "nationalization" of electrical power resources. This concept, albeit has caused large government deficits, but cheaper electrical power for hungry industry and consumers. Canadians subsidized the development of solar and wind, a return that will likely not come back. Despite all of the theories, the future for North American electricity will likely be Natural Gas. Just saying.