Gartman: "In Our Retirement Funds We Shifted To Modestly Net Short, We Have Had No Choice"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/11/2016 - 08:22
" In a bear market, one can have only one of three positions also: aggressively short; modestly short or neutral. In our retirement funds here at TGL we began last week and indeed we began the year modestly long but by the weeks’ end we had shifted to modestly net short. We have had no choice. The market’s voice was loud and very clear." - Dennis Gartman
Man Who Stormed Paris Police Station With Meat Cleaver Tied To German Sex Attacks
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/11/2016 - 08:02
The man who ran into a police station in northern Paris wearing a fake explosive vest, waving a meat cleaver, and shouting "Allahu Akbar" on the Charlie Hebdo anniversary once lived in a German refugee center and may have been involved in the New Year's Eve "sex mob" attacks. Walid Salihi used at least seven aliases while roaming around Europe committing what police say was a string of petty crimes including, but probably not limited to: "touching women's behinds at the disco," strangling a roommate, attacking a "passerby," and beating up a homeless man.
Goldman Closes "Top Trade For 2016" With 5.4% Loss Just 11 Days Into 2016, As US Banks Tumble
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/11/2016 - 07:47
Just 11 days into 2016, Goldman has been stopped out of one of its 6 "top trades for 2016" following a 5.4% loss on its "long large-cap US banks" trade as these "relatively well-priced, trading just above book value" assets turned out to be relatively unwell priced...
Frontrunning: January 11
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/11/2016 - 07:30- David Bowie, musical legend behind Ziggy Stardust, dies at 69 from cancer (Reuters)
- With No Powerball Winners, Jackpot Grows to Estimated $1.3 Billion (ABC)
- Stock Gains Short-Lived as Chinese Volatility Hurts Oil, Metals (BBG)
- China's yuan spikes higher, but stocks tumble (Reuters)
- Arch Coal Files for Bankruptcy (WSJ)
- Yuan Loan Rates Soar in Hong Kong as PBOC Halts Currency's Slide (BBG)
- China stocks close down at lowest level since September (Reuters)
- Fed Eyes Margin Rules to Bolster Oversight (WSJ)
Chinese Stocks Plunge, Asia At 4 Year Lows But PBOC Currency Intervention Pushes US Futures Higher
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/11/2016 - 06:57
Initially both European stocks and US equity futures were grateful that China has picked at least one asset class to prop up overnight, and rose in an extremely illiquid market with European shares gaining for first time in 4 days, as S&P futures rise even as the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index just fell to the lowest level in more than 4 years. However, as of moments ago the Stoxx 600 had faded all its earlier gains and was trading near the flatline, as an algo takes out all stops on the top and bottom once more, and looks set to move on to US futures shortly.
China Contagion Spills Over To Hong Kong Banks As HIBOR Explodes To Record High, Stocks Tumble
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 23:38
Chinese stocks are trading at the lows of the day after Overnight HIBOR rates (Hong Kong's interbank borrowing rate) exploded a stunning 939bps to a record high 13.4%. It is clear that banks are utterly desperate for liquidity and/or are extremely concerned about one another's counterparty risk. This has dragged HSCEI down 5% (to its lowest since Oct 2011).
"Neoconned"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 22:00
Unique among the countries on earth, the US government insists that its laws and dictates take precedence over the sovereignty of nations. Neoconned Washington claims that as History chose America to exercise its hegemony over the world, no other law is relevant. Only Washington’s will counts.
Here Comes The Yuantervention
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 21:24
Somebody had to do something...
Noble Group's "Margin Call" Part II: The Enron Moment
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 21:17
Our balance sheet - the strongest in recent history - represents a significant advantage as we continue to identify high value growth opportunities across the products and geographies we operate in. Maintaining out investment grade rating with the international rating agencies is a vital part of this strategy.
- Noble Group 2014 Annual Report, p. 27
Germany Erupts Into Chaos As Protesters Declare "Rapefugees Not Welcome"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 20:59
Germany is rapidly descending into chaos on the heels of a wave of attacks allegedly perpetrated by refugees in Cologne on New Year's Eve. A PEGIDA protest had to be broken up by water cannon-wielding riot police on Saturday and in an eerie twist of fate, the seven decade ban on publication of "Mein Kampf" expired this month.
Oregon Standoff: Isolated Event Or Sign Of Things To Come?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 20:50
One thing my years in Washington taught me is that most politicians are followers, not leaders. Therefore we should not waste time and resources trying to educate politicians. Politicians will not support individual liberty and limited government unless and until they are forced to do so by the people.
Fed's Williams: "We Got It Wrong"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 19:57
"The Fed got it wrong when it predicted a drop in oil prices would be a big boon for the economy. It turned out the world had changed; the US has a lot of jobs connected to the oil industry."
- SF Fed President John Williams
The EU Bail-In Directive: Dark Clouds Are Gathering
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 19:30
In principle, the BRRD, or “bail-in directive” as it is also known, is quite a good idea. The fact that lending money to fractionally reserved banks or even merely depositing it with them, involves risks needed to be firmly reestablished. One simply cannot expect that banks and their creditors will be bailed out by taxpayers at every opportunity. Besides, the admission that there are risks in banking that have hitherto been glossed over or have even been lied about was long overdue. However, Europe’s governments are now likely to find out that the current monetary system with its fractionally reserved banks is actually incompatible with this admission, so to speak.
Shared Sacrifice? 1 In 3 Americans Slash Staples Spending To 'Afford' Obamacare
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 18:55
Health insurers are in panic mode as the Obama administration, ever eager maximize coverage optics for Obamacare, has, as The NY Times reports, allowed large numbers of people to sign up for insurance after the deadlines in the last two years, destabilizing insurance markets and driving up premiums. This surge in costs, from unintended consequences, has left 1 in 5 Americans with health insurance is having problems paying medical bills; and, as a new poll finds, more than one in three Americans, or 35 percent, said they were unable to pay for basic necessities such as food, heat, and housing because of medical bill problems...
MacroStrategy Explains Why Most Stocks Have Already "Crossed The Rubicon"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/10/2016 - 18:38
"As more companies cross the Rubicon out of the buyback zone, the bid for their equity shrivels. For the 2013 financial year, 60% of stocks in my sample were in good shape to gear-up for buybacks. By the end of 2015, just 35% of the sample were in good shape to do buybacks."
