Archive - Jan 2016

Saudi Arabia - that Western-backed bastion of human rights - executed 47 people on Saturday, including a top Shiite cleric whose death sparked protests in Eastern Province and inflamed sectarian tensions across the region.

Happy New Year Californians - behold the power of monopoly and regulatory capture.

Some 'aches and pains' are constraining the global economy, with JPMorgan warning of more severe strains occurring in the emerging world. These aggravating but generally not life-threatening conditions are meant to convey a slow growth world, but, JPM is careful to note, not one on the immediate precipice of collapse or recession. The key issue for 2016 then is whether economic illnesses in emerging markets will result in contagion in the developed world as "dollar altitude sickness" and "earnings anemia" do little to support the domestic 'immune' system.

It is not Liquidity that banks are asking but for more Collateral from Noble starting this year because they also understand that this MTM gain on commodity contracts and derivatives of Noble will unlikely be realized at more than 10% and therefore is not valid collateral for the trader’s working capital borrowing base requirements.

To Protect Nuclear Weapons Program, Government Hired Top Propagandist to Create Myth that Fluoride Is "Safe and Effective"

The Global Over-Class have decided that Democracy is a threat to their wealth and power and have more than likely given some thought to how best to neuter it while appearing to do no such thing. Simply put, in their minds, we cannot any longer allow you to choose unwisely! The key problem for the Over Class is that no matter how much they might like to, they cannot just come out and say dissent – aka radically different opinion – is a bad thing. Being able to hold a dissenting opinion, even a radically dissenting opinion, is, after all, the core of democratic freedom.

Whose fault was it?

Iin an interview to be aired tomorrow on Wall Street Week, Hayman Capital's Kyle Bass says that "this has been one of the worst years in the last ten"as a result of his dogmatic views on energy prices. And yet, instead of backing out the Texan is doubling down: "If you are going to allocate capital for the next three to five years, you should do it now" into the energy space over the next 6 months. Will he be right this time? Find out in 12 months.

We believe the Credit Cycle has turned and with it will come some massive unexpected shocks. One of these will be the fall out in the Bond Market, centered around the dramatic growth explosion in Bond ETFs coupled with the post financial crisis regulatory changes that effectively removed banks from making markets in corporate bonds.  It is a ‘Witch’s Brew’ with a flattening yield curve bringing it to a boil.

"The strengthening of Russia happens against the background of new threats to the national security [while] conducting an independent policy has triggered a counteraction from the USA and its allies," Russia's new national security strategy document reads. While the Western media has been quick to say that the new appraisal is further evidence of deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington, an objective take may tell a different story.

Prepare to be taxed.

After the first deadly winter storm this season, now come the floods: the near record-water level across the U.S. Midwest has disrupted everything from oil to agriculture, forcing pipelines, terminals and grain elevators to close. Here is the stunning drone's-eye footage capturing the unprecedented water level across much of the US Midwest.

It would appear the people of Switzerland have been listening to their military leaders. Having recently been warned by the Swiss army chief of growing social unrest, SwissInfo reports applications for gun permits in Switzerland increased by 20% between 2014 and 2015, according to a survey conducted in 12 cantons. But while the army proposes "arm yourselves," Swiss crime prevention officials warn against the false sense of security that guns bring. And while the Swiss go about their legal business of arming themselves, President Obama is preparing to unleash another weapon - the executive order - to enact gun-control legislation.

We hope that the special group of the House of Representatives will identify not only the scale of the fraud reports about the results of the coalition activity against terrorism, but also those persons who are responsible for these misconducts, as well as their motives. The international community wants to know who exactly Pentagon supplies with weapons and what installations it bombs.