Archive - Dec 22, 2010

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the White House...

• IMF announces it has concluded its gold sales (IMF)
• Euro helped by report China will buy Portugal's debt (Reuters)
• Huge South Korea Drill Likely to Infuriate North (Reuters)
• And wristslaps for all: Deutsche Bank to Pay $554 Million in Tax Shelter Case (Bloomberg)
• Another proposal to use a firehose to kill those pesky CDS speculators: Derivative Blitz Needed to Tame Anarchic Bonds (Bloomberg)
• China Inflation Risk Leads to Asia's Worst Bond Returns (Bloomberg)
• Does a Low VIX Signal Danger? (Barrons)

Android is slated to soon surpass iOS for the amount of ad impressions served according to data found in the latest inMobi report, the 3rd largest mobile ad network behind Google’s Ad Mob and Apple’s iAd. According to inMobi, their report is based on one of the most extensive analysis performed in the industry, covering ?mobile consumers in over 115 countries around the world.

The key events overnight shaping this morning's futures picture revolve around the re-revised Q3 US GDP number (consensus of 2.8%), rumors of China buying Portuguese bonds (again), European spreads which are once again widening (here we go again again), and a surge in Japanese imports resulting in a cut to Japan's GDP forecasts.

Merry Christmas, from the US Financial Oligarchy Infrastructure, to the US Taxpayer

After this morning’s report of a sharp setback in mortgage loan applications (mortgage applications tumbled 18.6% last week as refinancing applications plummeted 24.6%. ) we have the third round on third-quarter GDP and sales and prices of existing homes… There is a modest $1.5-$2.5 billion POMO later.

RANsquawk European Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc. – 22/12/10

Retail traders are notoriously wrong at picking market direction/tops and bottoms. Most retail traders very naturally seem to adopt a counter-trend stance and this offers very accurate signals for individuals looking to trade against this group. This daily report is designed to help traders focus their efforts on higher probability pairs.

The quick answer to the headline of this article is yes.

Keynes' ghost bothered him. He didn’t know whether it was a dream or not. Then he remembered that a spirit should visit him at the opening NYSE bell...