Saudis Boost Gas Prices by 40%, Dismantle Welfare State To Wage War With U.S. Shale
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 14:02
In a bid to shore up its finances in the face of self-inflicted oil wounds, Saudi Arabia is shaking up the welfare state by raising prices on everything from domestic fuel to water. Apparently, persisting in the war of attrition against the US shale complex is paramount - even if it means making life harder for everyday Saudis so the monarchy can buy itself some budget breathing room.
"The Mood Is Tipping" - German Economic Pessimism Surges Following Refugee Influx
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 13:43
Sadly, for Germany, this is precisely what is not happening. According to Deutsche Welle, a new survey has revealed that most Germans believe the influx of refugees will not provide an economic boost, in fact quite the opposite: only 16 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement "the influx of refugees will result in more economic opportunities than problems for us." The worst news for Merkel is that a majority of Germans - 56 percent - believe the country is not up to the challenge of dealing with the influx. In small towns of less than 5,000 people, this figure rose to 66 percent.
Stocks Rip Higher On VIX ETF Slam
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 13:26
Crude is at the lows of the day. Credit markets are at the lows of the day. Treasury yields are near the lows of the day. So it makes perfect sense that as Europe closed, "someone" would take the monkey-hammer to VIX ETFs (in particular UVXY - the Ultra-VIX ETF) and that rips stocks higher. What is most odd is that VIX (the underlying index) is not falling (as the ETFs appear driven more by futures out-months shifts and position-squaring).
Schizophrenic 2 Year Auction Results In Huge Short Squeeze Despite Slumping Fundamentals
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 13:16
When the When Issued data hit minutes ahead of the auction pricing, we were expecting a number well through the 1.073% When Issued.This is precisely what happened as the Treasury confirmed moments ago when it announced it had sold $26 billion in 2 Year notes at a yield of 1.056%, a whopping 1.7 bps through the When Issued: just like that, the short squeeze worked again.
Techno-Narcissism - Hard Questions & Ignored Answers
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 12:55
We are lost in raptures of techno-narcissism. We’re convinced that all the unanticipated consequences of our brief techno-industrial orgy can be solved by… more and better technology! Notice that this narrative is being served up to a society now held hostage to the images on little screens, by skilled people who, more and more, act as though these screens have become the new dwelling place of reality.
More Mutual Funds Liquidating: Whitebox Calls It Quits
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 12:33
Even The Big Banks Now Admit It: "This Is How The Fed's 'Massive Manipulation' Broke The Market"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 12:16
"Essentially central banks, by unfairly inflating asset prices have compressed risk like a spring to unfairly tight levels. Unfortunately, the market is aware the price of risk is not correct, but they can’t fight it, and everyone is forced to crowd into the same trade. By manipulating markets they have also reduced investors’ inherent conviction by rendering fundamentals less relevant."
New Gun Control Bill Hits Congress: "To Ensure That The Right To Keep And Bear Arms Is NOT Unlimited"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 12:15
While Americans anxiously prepared for their Christmas festivities, anti gun proponents in Congress were hard at work drafting a new bill. If passed H.R. 4269 would literally redefine the Second Amendment as evidenced by the bill’s description, which in no uncertain terms clarifies its ultimate goal: “To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.”
Did China Just Clear The Way For A Mid-East Intervention With Passage Of New Anti-Terror Law?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 11:56
Apparently, China has finally gotten wise to what the West has known since at least 9/11: namely that you can always justify the state's nasty habits by claiming authorities require new powers to fight "terror." The NPC passed new legislation on Sunday that, in addition to granting Beijing new surveillance powers, also legalizes the PLA's deployment overseas to conduct anti-terror ops.
US Economy - A Year-End Overview
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 11:34
It becomes ever more tempting to conclude that the timing of the Fed’s rate hike was really quite odd, even from the perspective of the planners...
Treasury Curve Crashes To 9-Month Lows, S&P Slumps Into Red For 2015
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 10:56
Who could have seen that coming?
Dallas Fed Survey Crashes To June 2009 Lows, Warns "It Is Getting Ugly"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 10:43
After a Q1 collapse, the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Outlook managed a bounce for a few months (though never got back above zero). It appears, Dallas Fed's aptly-named 'Dick' Fischer was entirely wrong when he progonosticated that "on net, low oil prices are good for Texas." December's Dallas Fed print crashed to -20.1 (from -4.9) massively missing expectations of -7.0 and back at the lows not seen since June 2009.
Oil May Drop Under $20 In The Short-Term, But What Is Its Price Floor?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 10:31
The sustainable floor price for oil is a Brent price in the range of $30-35/bbl. Oil prices could temporarily fall below that level; however, companies would begin to shut-in production as variable production costs would exceed cash flow for some projects
Honey, I Shrunk The Middle Class: Less Than One Third Of Households Qualify
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 10:07
If it takes more than $126,000 to fund a qualitatively defined middle class lifestyle, what sense does it even make to call this "middle"?
More Bad News For Oil: Saudis Are Handling Crude Crash Better Than Expected
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/28/2015 - 09:41
Saudi Arabia has released its official budget numbers for 2015 as well as projections for next year. As it turns out, Riyadh is weathering the storm better than analysts expected, meaning the war of attrition with US producers is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, meaning "lower for longer" oil prices and even more shale defaults in the future.
