Archive - Jul 14, 2013
Thomas Sowell Asks "Who Is Racist?"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 22:06 -0500
"I am so old that I can remember when most of the people promoting race hate were white;" Thomas Sowell begins in this poignant essay amid the protests across the nation this evening. Apparently other Americans also recognize that the sources of racism are different today from what they were in the past. According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 31 percent of blacks think that most blacks are racists, while 24 percent of blacks think that most whites are racist. The time is long overdue to stop looking for progress through racial or ethnic leaders. Such leaders have too many incentives to promote polarizing attitudes and actions that are counterproductive for minorities and disastrous for the country.
China's Goal(seek)dilocks: GDP "Just Right"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 21:18 -0500
Despite the Schrodinger PMIs that the nation continues to pump-out in less and less transparent nature, and the leadership's seeming desire to use the early years to 'soft-land' the bubble-economy created by their predecessors, it seems the most recent trade data (disappointment) was more an indication of reality (along with the recent jawboning) than the hopes of so many talking-heads in the West. GDP met lowered expectations of 7.5% YoY (but is down from last month's and lowest since Sep12), Industrial Production missed expectations for the 4th month in a row (8.9% vs 9.1% YoY expectations) at its lowest since April 2009, and Retail Sales beat expectations by the most in 9 months! Of course, the 'goldilocks' will be seen as instantly indicative of either 'all is well with global growth so don't sweat it' or of a need for an avalanche of stimulus to save the world, but as we noted here, China is way past the point of worrying about a few percentage points of GDP. AUD popped higher before the data and leaked back on the goldilocks reality; S&P futures testing spike highs from Friday; and gold pressing higher to $1295.
Why Tonight's China GDP Number Is Meaningless: "The Economy Is Already In A Financial Crisis"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 20:06 -0500
When it comes to economic data, in China whatever the Politburo's Goalseek.xls model says is what goes, and credibility - especially in the context of a historic CNY1 trillion deleveraging - is irrelevant. But one reason why today's GDP print is even more irrelevant than ever, is becuase as Xia Bin, an economist with the State Council's Development Research Center and government advisor, said "Arguments about whether China will grow at 7% or 7.5% are "pointless" because the economy is already in a financial crisis which may only worsen if the government doesn't address the country's crippling debt problem."
The Top-Down "Un-Reality"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 19:40 -0500
US equities closed the week at new all-time highs - and yay-verily the world of long-only asset-gethering talking heads celebrated this as in some way confirming their long-held 'belief' that the US is the cleanest dirty shirt and where-else are you going to invest (you dummy!!). Of course, reality is far different - as Seth Klarman noted, if it's all so great then why did Bernanke need to stick-save us again this week? The bottom-line from the top-down is that the US is in fact the 2nd worst performing macro-economy of the year of the majors (2nd only to China) compared to expectations. What the following charts indicate though, is an interesting divergence between macro-reality and market-perception that is evident among the nations of the world that print money to save themselves... and those that are not (yet)...
Bill Black: The Banks Have Blood On Their Hands
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 18:48 -0500
In the US, our regulators have publicly embraced a "too big to prosecute" doctrine. We are restraining, underfunding and dismantling regulatory oversight in the interests of short-term stability for the status quo. Which as a criminologist, Black knows with certainty creates an environment where bad actors will act in their self-interest with assumed (and likely real, at this point) impunity... And so there is no more destructive asset against trust than elite fraud.
When Is A Coup Not A Coup
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 17:46 -0500
Presented with no comment...
Presenting The All-Time Top 100 Political Donors
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 16:38 -0500
Who has thrown the most cash at the US political system - out of the goodness of their hearts of course?
Oil in Tankers to Manipulate Prices?
Submitted by EconMatters on 07/14/2013 16:25 -0500The last two weeks oil inventories fell by a record 20 million barrels, this event has never happened in 30 years of historical data. Something just doesn`t add up here...
Guest Post: The Wages Of Overconfidence Is Success
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 15:30 -0500
Many of us have worked with or for individuals who have confidence in wild disproportion to their actual talent. They bubble endlessly with exaggerated claims of their skills and achievements, and congratulate themselves publicly for even the most trivial of accomplishments. It’s as if by broadcasting the certainty of their own superiority, they can somehow possibly mask their own often lackluster record of performance and dearth of talent. Yet of course, it works quite well! The specter of watching mediocre self-promoters brashly stomping their unremarkable way to the top of some pecking order, org chart, or political office is overfamiliar to most all of us...
Obama Statement On Zimmerman Verdict: "Death Of Trayvon Martin Was A Tragedy"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 14:22 -0500"The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin."
Precious Metals Stocks: The Most Undervalued Asset Class
Submitted by ilene on 07/14/2013 14:11 -0500Russ's rebutal to Paul's article: Gold Mining Shares: Less than Glittering. Who's right?
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The Bottom-Up "Miracle"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/14/2013 13:51 -0500
As we head into the heart of earnings season, amid the drastic slashes in guidance that we have seen in the last few weeks (for example here and here), we thought the following six charts may shed some further light (in addition to this eye-opening chart) on what is going on under the covers of the multiple-expanding, fundamentals-don't-matter, unreality that is the US equity market...
Thoughts on the Week Ahead
Submitted by Marc To Market on 07/14/2013 13:49 -0500Dispassionate review of some of next weeks important developments.
Jim Rickards on a September Tapering; And His Reaction to Our Chinese Currency Bait and Switch Theory
Submitted by EB on 07/14/2013 13:13 -0500Tired of tapering talk? We couldn't resist. Then, on to more pressing matters. Seems an investment in China might just not be what it seems to be. Think Three Paddy Hat Monty.
Congress Is Less Popular than Cockroaches, Lice, Root Canals, Colonoscopies, Genghis Khan, Communism, King George
Submitted by George Washington on 07/14/2013 13:02 -0500Exactly HOW MUCH do Americans Hate Congress?







