Archive - Dec 2015

Just as happened last week in Europe when stocks crashed on Draghi's disappointment, so amid today's carnage, there was only one thing left to stop the tumble... BREAK THE MARKET AGAIN!!

Less favourable financial market conditions, combined with a weaker macroeconomic outlook and increased sensitivity to US interest rates, heighten the risk of negative spillovers to EMEs once US rates do start to rise in the United States”

One month ago, Credit Suisse confirmed what we had reported in the previous several weeks, namely that according to channel checks, iPhone supply chain orders had weakened recently adding that "in our view, the continued weak supply chain news could weigh on Apple shares for the next few weeks/quarters." The market did not like the news and sold AAPL stock only to promptly BTFD as it always has in the past 7 years: after all any transitory weakness is merely an opportunity to buy, right? Only this time the weakness may not be transitory, because as of this morning we now have not one but three updated channel checks all pointing to a substantial slowdown in AAPL's flagship product and core revenue generator, the iPhone.

Pierens had been expecting, after more than two decades of service, to be promoted from Deputy Head of Unit to Head of Unit. Instead, Pierens was demoted to Desk Officer. His assistant began to understand that Pierens had opened the window and started to climb on the ledge and started to scream, “no, Gauthier, don’t do it...”. A few moments later, Pierens jumped, ending his life.

With Keurig Green Mountain trading around $51 late on Friday, one "hopeful" options trader decided it was an opportune time to buy 99 $60 call options (controlling 9,900 shares or around $594,000 worth at the strike) which unless something miraculous happened would expire entirely worthless within a week. Well... a miracle happened over the weekend, CMGR was bought at a 78% premium and that "lucky" options trader cashed in his lottery ticket with a 60,000% return.

Overnight Hillary Clinton, in her latest populist push to present herself as "one of the people" wrote a NYT op-ed explaining "How I'd Rein In Wall Street", we were wondering if it would include draining Wall Street balance sheets with mandatory and far greater donations to her campaign by Wall Street firms - a strategy that may actually work as it hits banks where it hurts the most: their money. To our disappointment, this was not included.

US equity markets opened and stunned onlookers by not going instantly vertical on a morning bid-fest. Instead, everything is falling. The Dow is back in the red for 2015 but it is Small Caps that are worst hit as they give up all of Friday's God- Draghi-given gains...

77% of CNBC viewers believed "the bottom was in" on June 4th 2015 (with crude having rallied in the few days up to the survey to over $63). It appears things did not work out as the 'smart money' expected. The current front-month (Jan 2016) WTI is now tradingh at $38.25... well below the August cycle lows and back to the lowest since 2009...

Just an innocent typo by CNN, or an advance look at president Obama's next job who after having "fixed" the U.S., now sets his sights on doing the same to this erstwile socialist paradise?

While countless overzealous obituaries have been written about OPEC’s vanishing influence, OPEC is indeed acknowledging that it cannot influence prices to the degree that it once could. However, the result at least shows that OPEC is going to see its current strategy through to its logical conclusion, to the chagrin of most of its members.

After a week full of macroeconomic and headline news (and blooper) fireworks, it’s a fairly quiet start to the week today, with the usual post-payrolls lull in the US.

“We have come with our honor to recognize these adverse results, to accept them and tell Venezuela that the constitution and democracy have triumphed, We accept the results just as they have been announced by the electoral body.”

To help Main Street, the Fed must stop incentivizing speculation over investment and end policies that have shifted wealth and income to the top of the wealth pyramid. Main Street's woes are largely structural: the high cost of regulations, the soaring cost of healthcare insurance, the artificial-scarcity costs imposed by cartels enforced by the federal government and the pressures generated by globalization and automation. The Fed can't solve those problems, but it can certainly stop enriching the already-super-wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.

As one hedge fund favorite long crashes (Chipotle is down 9% in the pre-market), so another hedge fund favorite short is about to spike (once it reopens for trading). JAB Group has decided that now is the time to offer a 78% premium to current prices to buy Keurig Green Mountain for $92 (note that is still down over 40% from its highs a year ago). The stock is currently halted at $51.51 leaving the 12% short interest biting their nails at the prospect of major losses and a good 'volkswagen-ing'.