Archive - Sep 11, 2009

Interview with Zhu Min, Bank of China Vice President:

Q. Is overconfidence the biggest risk to the recovery?

A. It's not only overconfidence, it's overmyopic: Wall Street feels the crisis never happened. It seems to me the financial crisis is not over yet, but it has stabilized from a cliff drop. That's one thing. The real economic crisis is just starting.

Inventories sluggish as GDP bounce based on restocking delayed indefinitely. But at least consumer are confident they will keep hearing good news on TV.

Part of the "New GM," General Motors will be aggressively going after its Asian and European competition with a 60-Day, money-back guarantee. Eager to boost sales, and the consumer's confidence, this has to be one of the most aggressive (or desperate) moves yet in the history of the American automobile business.

We won't add much, save to say how excited analysts always are to goal seek facts in their reports for axed stocks when the simple explanation is beta lifting all semi-sunk boats in an irrationally exuberant market.

• Must read: Break up the banks to fix the system (FT)
• The five non-sell outs. One wonders if to honor or pity them (Bloomberg)
• Wall Street's mania for short-term results hurts economy (WaPo)
• Nomura says headhunter requested "absurd" fee for Lehman bankers (Bloomberg)
• Mack steps down as MS chief after seeking to curb risk (Bloomberg)
• Another thousandth cut for the dollar: just please die already and make Bernanke a happy man (FT)

• Chinese Premier says China 'cannot, will not' pull back from economic stimulus policy.
• Crude rises for fourth day on inventories report, IEA outlook.
• French President wants to tax carbon dioxide emissions by households, businesses.
• Govt on track to pay back car dealers for "cash for clunkers" program by Sept. 30.
• Hotel occupancy to gain strength in late 2009, 2010, profit to remain elusive: report.
• India might unwind its easy monetary policy sooner than other countries: Central Bank.
• Istithmar said to halt investment as Dubai weighs sale of sovereign fund.

QE = Reason For Equity Market Performance. QED

• Securities held outright: $1,501 billion
  (an increase of $128.7 billion MoM, resulting from $32.6 billion in new
  Treasury purchases, $82.4 billion increase in MBS and $13.7 billion in Agency Debt), or $10.7 billion increase sequentially
• Net borrowings: $320.3 billion, a decline of $5 billion compared to two weeks prior
• Float, liquidity swaps, Maiden Lane and other assets: $248.9 billion, an $2 billion decrease on ongoing $1 billion reduction in CPFF (an issue discussed repeatedly by Zero Hedge) while liquidity swaps, after bottoming out recently and gradually reversing, have again declined by $2 billion sequentially.