Happy New Year: Global Stocks Crash After China Is Halted Limit Down In Worst Start To Year In History
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/04/2016 - 06:46
It all started off relatively well: oil and US equity futures were buoyant on hopes Iran and Saudi Arabia would break out in a bloody conflict any minute boosting the net worth of shareholders of the military industrial complex, and then, out of nowhere, like a depressed China in a bull shop, the "mainland" crashed the party and it all well south very, very quickly...
China Halts Stock Trading For Day After Entire Market Crashes
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/04/2016 - 01:11
Following the initial halt in CSI-300 Futures at the 5% limit down level, the afternoon session opened to more carnage and amid the worst 'first day of the year' in at least 15 years, Chinese stocks collapsed further to a 7% crash. At 1334 local time, stock trading was halted for the rest of the day across all exchanges (at least two hours early). Dow futures are now down over 150 points from NYE close, Gold and Treasuries are bid, and offshore Yuan has plunged most since the August devaluation.
Dow Futures Dump 300 Points From New Year's Eve Highs As China Crashes
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 23:37
With China closing the morning session limit down (and Yuan collapsing), US equity futures are extending their losses (even though crude futures are holding some of their gains). The initial knee-jerk jump as crude rose on Saudi tensions has been entirely erased and Dow Futures are now down 300 points from New Year's Eve highs... Happy New Year.
It's On: Saudi Arabia Severs Diplomatic Ties With Iran, "Does Not Care" If It Has Angered White House
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 23:33
Earlier today, as Iranian police struggled to disperse protesters gathered outside the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, we said that Saudi Arabia and Iran may be on the verge of a historic diplomatic crisis after demonstrators burned the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday evening. Sure enough, just hours later, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Ahmad Al-Jubeir announced that Riyadh has cut diplomatic ties with Tehran
Puerto Rico Is Greece, & These 5 States Are Next To Go
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 22:10
As Wilbur Ross so eloquently noted, for Puerto Rico "it's the end of the beginning... and the beginning of the end," as he explained "Puerto Rico is the US version of Greece." However, as JPMorgan explains, for some states the pain is really just beginning as Municipal bond risk will only become more important over time, as assets of some severely underfunded plans are gradually depleted.
Oregon Standoff: A Terrible Plan That We Might Be Stuck With
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 22:00
The Oregon standoff potentially forces the hand of the Liberty Movement, not the hand of corrupt government - the exact reverse of what should be happening. Ammon Bundy and companions are not the tip of the spear. Not even close. What some fear is that they are cannon fodder beckoning a nationwide government crackdown to which others will then be forced to personally respond to with equal measure. And all of this on the worst possible terms and at a very inconvenient time (executive actions on gun control mere weeks from now).
2016 Off To A Miserable Start: Asian Stocks Drop; Futures Slide After China PMI Tumbles On Dire Commentary
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 21:31
Earlier in the session, after the surge in oil prices on fears of a spike in belligerence between Saudi Arabia and Iran, bulls were hopeful that after a poor close to 2015, at least the first trading day of 2016 would set a positive mood: after all, if there is one thing war is good for, it is to lift stock markets. And it did... for about 3 hours. Then moments ago, Caixin Media and Markit Economics released the latest December PMI, which was, in a word, a total disaster, one which promptly sent US equity futures sliding, and the Shanghai Composite tumbling some 4%... and CSI-300 Limit down.
Trump Vs Hillary: The ISIS Perspective
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 21:30
Presented with no comment...
Nassim "Black Swan" Taleb On The Real Financial Risks Of 2016
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 21:00
Though "another Lehman Brothers" isn't likely to happen with banks, it is very likely to happen with commodity firms and countries that depend directly or indirectly on commodity prices.
The Movies Are Becoming Just Like The Markets: A Handful Of Blockbusters And Tons Of Losers
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 20:41
As go the markets, so go the movies. According to the WSJ, Hollywood just had its biggest-ever year at the box office in 2015, collecting $11.1 billion in ticket sales, up 7% from the previous year and surpassing the record of $10.92 billion set in 2013. All of the growth, however, occurred at the top of the heap, or in other words, 2015 was a record year "thanks to a handful of blockbusters that left a whole lot of duds in the dust." In other words, just like in the stock market, a record high portion of Hollywood "gains", or rather box office ticket sales, came from just five movies.
Spot The Difference: Salafist Edition
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 20:30
"Black Daesh, white Daesh. The former slits throats, kills, stones, cuts off hands, destroys humanity’s common heritage and despises archaeology, women and non-Muslims. The latter is better dressed and neater but does the same things."
Unmanageable Money: Hedge Funds Keep Losing (And Closing) - Why It Matters
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 20:00
Main Street is vulnerable to leveraged trading algorithms and Brazilian bonds because it’s not just exotica that is overleveraged. Risk-off, in short, is no longer just a temporary swing of the pendulum, guaranteed to reverse in a year or two. As amazing as this sounds, we’ve borrowed so much money that as hedge funds go, so goes the world.
"Now Is The Time To Stand Up": Armed Activists, Militiamen Seize Federal Wildlife Refuge Office In Oregon
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 19:30
Why Silicon Valley May Be At "DEFCON 1" Status
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 19:00
The amount of wasteful over investment on companies and ideas that should have never seen the light of a ledger book, let alone day, has been astounding. Without the intervention of the Fed’s QE (quantitative easing) free money enabling risk taking to supersede business fundamentals to fund and fuel speculative investments in ways that mirror the dot-com days: there would be no "Valley" as it currently stands. Unicorns, Non-GAAP, IPO’s, and more were the terms bandied or used to encapsulate what it was to be a "disrupter." Now with iconic Silicon Valley impresarios such as Theil or others being reported that to be looking for ways to cash out without an IPO, a nuclear winter pertaining to the world of Unicorns may be as '1' is said to represent: imminent.
Meanwhile In Texas: Celebrating The New Open-Carry Gun Law
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2016 - 18:27
As reported previously, in addition to celebrating the new year, starting January 1, Texans also celebrated a new open-carry gun law which took effect in the new year. As a result, Texans should get accustomed to sights such as this one which over the coming weeks and months will become increasingly recurring.
