Archive - Jan 2010

January 27th

Tyler Durden's picture

Flight To Safety Is Back - 1 Month Bill Is Now Negative





The one month T-Bill is now trading negative (-0.01%). Year end window dressing is either woefully early or late. Flight to safety is woefully right on time. Lehman redux.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

The Housing Double Dip Is Here: December New Home Sales Down 7.6% From November, Miss Expectations





December new homes sales come in at 342,000, down 7.6% from in November, and a resounding miss of expectations of 366,000. The double dip is here.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Bernanke Responds To Issa, Claims Had Little To No Involvement In Actual AIG Bailout...So Who Did?





With Bernanke at the FOMC meeting, one wonders where the Chairman finds all the time to deal with these assorted "distractions." In other news, Bernanke claims he was not directly involved in counterparty talks... So Geither was not, Paulson was not, Bernanke was not...Uh, did anyone at all authorize the biggest bailout in American history? Or was Goldman Sachs given a proxy exclusion on this one "very rare" occasion? To wit:

"I was not directly involved in the negotiations with the counterparties."

"I was not directly involved in the discussions with AIG related to this decision."

"I was not involved in discussions with the SEC about any disclosure issues involving AIG."

 

RANSquawk Video's picture

RANsquawk 27th January US Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc.





RANsquawk 27th January US Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

So Much For That Greek Containment: CDS, Bund Spread Back At Record Wides





Remember how that "massively" oversubscribed Greek bond deal (at HY spreads) was supposed to bring peace and prosperity to the gyro makers? Well, oops... Today, the spread between Greek 10 Years and Bunds just hit a record wide of 406 bps, as CDS also hit another all time wide at 370 bps. The chart below shows how Bund spread has moved over time: basically the funding problem in Greece just got worse despite of the bond sale, and now the Greek finance ministry has entered desperation mode. Just how desperate? The latest development which is precipitating this move (which of course involved Goldman Sachs), is the rumor that Greece has hired GS to sell €25 billion of Greek bonds to... Beijing. Welcome to the new lender of last resort: China has just become the world's Federal Reserve.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Live Webcast Of AIG Hearing, And Complete Witness Testimonies





Readers seeking a live webcast (interrupted by an occasional Goldman Sachs commercial) of the Committee on Oversight and Government Default can find it at the Committee's website here.

The link also includes the full schedule and opening statements from all participants.

As a reminder, here is the lineup for today's grilling

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Hank Paulson's Prepared Testimony: More Alternative Universe Destruction





More death and destruction, this time from Hank Paulson: "The decision to rescue AIG was correct, and I strongly supported it. An AIG failure would have been devastating to the financial system and the economy. We could not have anticipated the magnitude of AIG’s problems; and we had no way of letting it fail without disastrous collateral consequences" but "I was not involved in any of the decisions made with respect to those payments, nor was I involved in any of the decisions about AIG’s public disclosure of those payments. Those matters were handled by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Reserve Board." And Tim wasn't in charge... So who the hell was it?

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Frontrunning: January 27





  • Main Street vs Wall Street battle lines getting clearer: Bankers unite against Barack Obama and Gordon Brown in call for world regulation (Evening Standard)
  • Geithner AIG recusal was "After the fact" Issa says (Bloomberg)
  • Throw Bernanke and Congress overboard (Portfolio)
  • Blocking Bernanke is smart economics, smart politics for democrats (The Nation)
  • Split in the UK: Mervyn King rubbishes Gordon Brown's Tobin plan, allies himself with Obama (Telegraph)
  • As long expected, sovereign CDS trading is the new black (and FX): Swap trading surges as national deficits rise (Bloomberg)
 

Reggie Middleton's picture

Right on Point Regarding Caterpillar





My suspicions regarding CAT were right on point last year. Unfortunately, the suspiciously engineered "feeling" bear market rally made it very difficult to profit from being right. I still have an OTM position on them. Let's see what comes of it.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Daily Highlights: 1.27.10





  • CBO pegged the 2010 US budget deficit at $1.35 trillion.
  • China’s stocks fell, sending Shanghai Composite Index briefly below 3,000 - first time since Oct. 30
  • Commodities stocks, metal prices drop as China curbs growth.
  • Japan exports rise for first time in 15 months, beating estimates on China.
  • Oil falls to near $74 a barrel in Asia amid concerns over weak recovery in oil demand.
  • Several Chinese banks have ordered some branches to suspend lending for this month.
 

madhedgefundtrader's picture

The Mutual Fund Rip Off is Finally Ending





ETF’s are bringing a long overdue shake up to the mutual fund world. Say goodbye to notoriously bloated expenses, spendthrift marketing costs, and bogus performance data. You’re the sucker who’s been paying for all those glitzy ads. (EEM), (EEG), (VWO), (GLD), (SLV), (QQQQ), (XLK), (PPLT), (PALL)

 

Chopshop's picture

Obama to Unveil New Plan to Fight Bioterrorism within SOTU





In a theme everyone ought expect hear replayed ad nauseam for the next week, the infallible genii at Harvard's Kennedy School tell us (yet, again) that the US will be the target of an Al-Qaida WMD attack by 2013. (1) What stinky BO will announce during tonight's SOTU, (2) the WMD Commission's Report Card & Full Report and (3) KSG's latest ~ "Al Qaeda WMD Threat - Hype or Reality"

 

RANSquawk Video's picture

RANsquawk 27th January US Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc.





RANsquawk 27th January US Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc.

 

Travis's picture

Want America's Best Selling Midsized Sedan? You're Out of Luck for Now.





Toyota just announced that it's suspending the sale of its most popular model, the Camry, along with seven other models.

 

Reggie Middleton's picture

Regulators, Politicians - Do You Want to Prevent Unnecessary Market Crashes?





Instead of trying to curb short selling, curb the uncertainty that comes from misleading and fraudulent reporting practices.

 
Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!