Archive - Oct 5, 2010 - Story

• We hope SocGen accepts checks: Kerviel gets three years, told to repay $6.8 billion (Bloomberg)... does that mean Bernanke, one day, will be told to repay $23 trillion?
• Another predicition by Zero Hedge coming true - wifebeating Judge Peck will soon be forced to undo Lehman bankruptcy sale (Bloomberg)
• Soros Op Ed: America needs stimulus not virtue (FT)
• It's October. Is it time for a stock market crash? (Fortune)
• Art Laffer: The Bill Gates Income Tax  (WSJ)
• Bernanke Says Fiscal Limits Can Improve Federal Budget Path (Bloomberg)
• The Federal Reserve is selling paper gold and buying physical gold (Financial Sense)
• See what happens when you don't kill your currency fast enough - Europe Services, Manufacturing Cool as Retail Sales Decline (Bloomberg)
• Is 'Stupid' Replacing 'Silly' Good for Stocks? (RCM)

As Zero Hedge speculated yesterday, as a conclusion to its two-day meeting the BOJ has decided to aggressively engage in competitive devaluation of the Yen (for the n^th time in a row). Specifically, Shirakawa's impotent henchmen cut interest rates and pledged to keep rates at zero until prices are seen stable in what Reuters cited was "a surprise move showing its concern that a strong yen and slowing growth are undermining a fragile economic recovery." Luckily this move was not at all surprising to ZH readers. And, as we further expected, "the central bank also decided to set up, as a temporary measure, a 35 trillion yen ($419 billion) pool of funds to buy or accept as collateral assets such as government bonds, commercial paper and asset-backed securities." And to those who think Bernanke will allow Japan to engage in QE1002 without the US doing a little dollar debauchery of its own, we have some California real estate with just modestly fake title deeds to sell. Of course, none of this matter on a relative basis, as it will be followed merely by more devaluations elsewhere, but on an absolute basis it merely sent gold to a fresh all time high over $1,327. We hope that even gold's staunchest critics start seeing the pattern at this point...

A light day, with only the ISM nonmanufacturing index this morning and the weekly confidence survey later in the afternoon….

• Europe, Japan economies slowing, lower inflation likely: Pimco.
• Yen weakens on speculation Japan will intervene to curb currency's gains.
• AIG is said to seek up to $14.9B in Asia unit's IPO.
• AK Steel hikes electrical steel products prices by $350 per ton.
• Amazon likely to announce a deal to buy Spanish Internet retailer BuyVip for $96.5M.

RANsquawk European Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc. – 05/10/10