Archive - Oct 2014

We have recently witnessed many 'firsts' such as one of the largest storms in the Pacific, the most severe acute health risk in modern times, and a global financial system on the brink of collapse.

Despite Bank of England's Mark Carney confident overtones that policy-makers must focus on economic developments rather than worry about potential market volatility as they consider exiting stimulus, it appears the esteemed central bank is communicating 'forward guidance' on its money-printing expectations over the next decade... BANK OF ENGLAND SIGNS 10-YEAR BANKNOTE PRINTING CONTRACT WITH DE LA RUE... starting in April 2015 (when US rate hikes might start?)

According to Bloomberg, China’s vehicle sales grew at the slowest pace in 19 months in September as demand for trucks and buses slumped with the weaker economy. Total vehicle sales, which include passenger and commercial vehicles, rose 2.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.98 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said today. That was the slowest pace since February 2013.

Also:  West African Countries Should Give People a REAL Ebola Test Before Allowing Them to Fly to the West

With the auto loan subprime bubble large enough for both mainstream media, credit reporting agencies, and the Fed itself, having no choice but to notice, one question has emerged: what is the preferred car model of subprime lessors and lenders? The answer, courtesy of Experian's "State of the Automotive Finance Market Second Quarter 2014" report, is shown below.

Swiss cheese addiction. Now have you heard everything?

A great many will rue the day when they bought into: “Pigs can fly,” “The markets are at these levels based on sound fundamentals,” “The Fed’s got their back,” and “Ebola is contained.” It is astounding just how far behind the curve many are finding themselves. Suddenly, almost everyone we meet is either doe-eyed, or worse, portraying signs of a deer stuck in the headlights. Today, everything is changing because the great masses whom many relate to as “the herd mentality” is now showing signs of great nervousness. And once this group gets spooked, it's over.

With three out of four nurses say their hospital hasn't provided sufficient education for them on Ebola, according to a survey by the largest professional association of registered nurses in the United States, it seems the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has decided its time to tamp down some more public fears over the contagiousness of this deadly disease... The CDC will provide an update on the response to the second U.S. Ebola diagnosis - the Dallas nurse who was infected while caring for a Liberian national in her hospital (supposedly due to her 'protocol breach')...

While some are focused on the demise of the dollar, the fact is that it has been appreciating and this is causing some confusion.  See if this helps clarify what is happening. 

Regulators from the U.S. and the UK are in a “war room” today conducting financial war games to see if they can cope with fall-out when the next big bank collapses. "We are going to make sure that we can handle an institution that previously would have been regarded as too big to fail. We're confident that we now have choices that did not exist in the past," Osborne said at the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting.

During every major breakdown in the last five years, the Fed announced a new monetary program. This time around, the Fed is committed to ending QE... So who will save stocks now?

This could be the hidden message of Bill Gross’ departure...

But, but, but... it's a social media platform... but maybe this is why camera-on-a-stick is getting hit hard...

Do not panic. Ebola is not very contagious at all. That remains the mantra from health and political officials in America.. and as far as the nurse who was treating now-dead Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, it was user error, according to CDC Director Frieden. As Reuters reports, some healthcare experts are bristling at the assertion by a top U.S. health official that a “protocol breach” caused the Dallas nurse to be infected with Ebola while caring for a dying patient, saying the case instead shows how far the nation’s hospitals are from adequately training staff to deal with the deadly virus, "you don't scapegoat and blame when you have a disease outbreak... We have a system failure. That is what we have to correct."