Archive - Oct 27, 2015

News That Matters

"... if you look at what is supporting equity prices - how much of that support is coming from real economic activity versus from using stock buybacks, using cash on balance sheet for stock buybacks, or mergers and acquisitions, to reduced competition in the marketplace. These are the sort of stories that if there were a small increase in interest rates, you would temper some of that frothiness. Eliminating the incentive to engage in that kind of activity seems to me to be a good idea... There would be a proportion of the population that would have less capital gains - but they’ve been enjoying very big capital gains, and it is a narrow segment of the population."

The weakness seen in world economic activity is partly the result of the lack of a real purge of the financial system in 2008. It has become unimaginable to let entire parts of the system collapse, and the titling of some financial institutions as “systemic” is part of this logic. Policymakers attempting to keep unhealthy economic and financial institutions alive are making a mistake. The very essence of capitalism lies in the process of creative destruction. What we see here is not a way out of the crisis. Instead, we are on the edge of a new financial disaster.

While lower than last week's levels, API reported a still considerable 4.1 million barrel crude inventory build last week. This is the 5th consecutive inventory build. However, despite the size of the overall build, crude prices are rising (extending gains off NYMEX Close ramp) which may be related to a 748k draw on crude stocks at Cushing.

1,426. That’s the number of Americans who renounced their US citizenship last quarter according to the US government’s report just released this morning. That’s a record high for a single quarter, easily beating the last record high set earlier this year, which beat the previous record high set in 2013.

While we await the full Twitter slidedeck presentation, here are the key results as they come in.

Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority wants banks to reconsider the notion that all sovereign debt is risk-free. That said, there's nothing to worry about if the sovereign debt in question is issued by Sweden. And that's a relief if you're the Swedish central bank, because you've been buying a whole lot of Swedish government bonds.

"You have not listed the [Capillary Tube Nanocontainer] as a Class II medical device, and you are currently identifying it as a Class I exempt medical device. You are currently shipping this uncleared medical device in interstate commerce, between California, Arizona, and Pennsylvania."

It will become clearer, fast, what an awful mess Brussels and Berlin have created here, because with winter approaching more refugees will fall victim to the conditions under which they’re forced to live once they’ve entered Europe. Which, in their own eyes, will still be preferable to the conditions in their homelands. And then what will we do, when dozens start dying from cold and diseases? Send in more police and military? This is a road to a very bleak nowhere.

In August 2015, IBM learned that the SEC is conducting an investigation relating to revenue recognition with respect to the accounting treatment of certain transactions in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland. The company is cooperating with the SEC in this matter.

Prepare for taxes of all kinds: wealth, stealth, and even carry taxes (on physical cash).

The Dow Transports is down almost 3% today - its biggest drop in two months... who could have seen that coming?

With the second half of 2015 "grim" for Chinese auto sales, US automakers - who have field-of-dreams-like built inventories to record levels - have turned domestic for growth by extending credit for decades to anyone who can fog a mirror. That was all well and good until we discover this morning that the government's consumer confidence survey shows Americans auto-buying attitude is the lowest since Jan 2013. Automakers have two options, offer buy-one-get-one-free to all new Syrian refugees or cut production dramatically in hopes of easing inventory excess. Good luck.