Archive - Nov 2013 - Story

Yet another case of rodents departing a sinking ship as the pent up discrepancy between reality and future expectations means imminent scapegoating of executives for poor performance:

• WAL-MART STORES NAMES DOUG MCMILLON CEO, SUCCEEDING MIKE DUKE
  
• BLACKBERRY SAYS ROGER MARTIN RESIGNS FROM BOARD
• BLACKBERRY SAYS COO, MARKETING CHIEF TO LEAVE; REPLACES CFO

You decide... The press releases are mind-blowingly full of fluff.

Shortly after 1amET this morning, someone with no apparent fiduciary duty to their client's for best execution or any apparent trade allocation expertise decided it was time to dump 1500 contracts into an entirely illiquid gold futures market. The 150,000 ounce notional sell order ($184.5 million), captured graphically by Nanex, sent the price down $10 instaneously, tripped the exchange's circuit breakers and halted the market's trading for 20 seconds (once again). This is now the 4th market halt in the past 3 months (and this time on no news whatsoever), as the manipulative monkey-hammerings from who knows whom (BIS?) is becoming increasingly obvious.

Blockback against US companies took a turn for the worse moments ago, when Qualcomm said China's price regulator, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has started an investigation of the mobile chipmaker under the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law. According to Reuters, NDRC has advised that the substance of the investigation was confidential, the company said in a statement. Qualcomm said it was not aware of any violation. Well, maybe not any violation of its own, but it certainly is aware of the NSA exposed violations, which are now impacting US corporations across the globe.

Looking ahead at the week ahead, data watchers will be kept fairly occupied before Thanksgiving. Starting with today, we will see US pending home sales with the Treasury also conducting the first of 3 bond auctions this week starting with a $32 billion 2yr note sale later. We will get more housing data tomorrow with the release of housing starts, home prices as well as US consumer confidence. Durable goods, Chicago PMI, initial jobless claims and the final UofM Consumer Sentiment print for November are Wednesday’s highlights although we will also get the UK GDP report for Q3. US Equity and fixed income markets are closed on Thursday but US aside we will get the BoE financial stability report, German inflation, Spanish GDP and Chinese industrial profit stats. Expect market activity to remain subdued into Friday as it will be a half-day for US stocks and bond markets. As ever Black Friday sales will be carefully monitored for consumer spending trends. So a reasonably busy, holiday-shortened week for markets ahead of what will be another crucial payrolls number the following week.

• Washington turns bond market upside (FT)
• China Air-Zone Move Expands Field of Islands Spat With Japan (BBG); Japan rejects China claim on airspace over disputed islands (FT)
• 'Great Satan' meets 'Axis of Evil' and strikes a deal (Reuters)
• Iran Pact Faces Stiff Opposition (WSJ)
• Allies Fear a US Pullback in Mideast (WSJ)
• India to resume paying Iran in Euros (Economic Times)
• At 'Business Insider,' it's time to sell (USA Today)
• More ECB currency war jawboning: ECB’s Hansson Says Rate Cut Options Not Fully Exhausted (BBG)
• Spy World Links Plus Obama Ties Stoke Concern About NSA Review (BBG)
• A disunited Europe will struggle even to disintegrate (FT)

BREAKING: Thai protesters burst into Foreign Ministry compound after taking over Finance Ministry.

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 25, 2013

The only thing that prevents us from going all in short the S&P following the revelation that Goldman's first revealed top trade of 2014 is to go long the S&P Dec 2014 futures with a target of 2250 and a close below 1855, is that the reco is not from Tom Stolper but his colleague Noah Weisberger whose muppet wipe out record is not quite as prominent. Still, for Goldman clients to buy S&P futs, Goldman has to sell it to them, and as always - do what Goldman does, not what it says.

Another day, another carry currency-driven futures melt-up to daily record highs (the all important EURJPY soared overnight on the return of the now standard overnight Japanese jawboning of the JPY which sent the EURJPY just shy of a new 4 year high of 138 overnight), and another attempt by the ECB to have its record high market cake, and eat a lower Euro too (recall DB's said the "pain threshold" for the EUR/USD exchange rate - the level at which further appreciation impairs competitiveness and economic recovery - is $1.79 for Germany, $1.24 for France, and $1.17 for Italy) this time with ECB's Hansson repeating the generic talking point that the ECB is technically ready for negative deposit rates. However, with the halflife on such "threats" now measured in the minutes, and soon seconds, the European central bank will have to come up with something more original and creative soon, especially since the EURJPY can't really rise much more without really crushing European trade further.

In 'An Open Letter To The FOMC' John Hussman lays out in detail the true state of the world that asset-gatherers and Fed members alike seem blinded to. The intent of his letter is not to criticize, but hopefully to increase the mindfulness of the FOMC as to historical evidence, the strength of various financial and economic relationships, and the potentially grave consequences of further extreme and experimental monetary policy. Crucially, as we have heard numerous times in the last few weeks, the Fed sees no bubble, and so, a courtesy to both the investing public and the gamblers at the Fed, Hussman explains the reason that the Fed does not see an “obvious” stock market bubble (to use a word regularly used by Governor Bullard, as if to imply that misvaluations cannot exist unless they smack their observers with a two-by-four).

We know the ten "people" that run the world, that 25 cities represent over half the world's GDP, and that the world's billionaires control a stunning $33 trillion in net worth... but who controls what the average joe-sixpack on Main Street buys? As PolicyMic notes, these ten mega corporations control the output of almost everything we buy - from household products to pet food and from jeans to jello. The so-called "Illusion of Choice," that these corporations (and their nepotistic inter-relationships) create is remarkable...

And they're back:

2,277 sq.ft. - Median new-home size in 2007
2,306 sq. ft. - Median new-home size in 2012

Just as that crowning achievement of the last housing bubble, the McMansions, have once again returned with the second and final return of the Fed-blown housing bubble, the Bluths picked a perfect time to also come bac on the scene. But instead of analyzing the reasons for just why the US economy now desperately needs to jump from bubble to bubble, we will simply constrain ourselves to discussing... interior decoration. The infographic below from BusinessWeek shows how times, and tastes, how to decorate one's McMansion have changed in the past few years.

Two years ago we looked at the distribution of wealth in America. Today we are looking at income. As we have discussed before, in self-organizing systems, we expect the observations, when plotted on logarithmic axes, to lie on a straight line... analysis of the 'system' would suggest the ultra-wealthy are earning roughly double what they should be based on the earnings at the lower end. The total income of the ultra-rich is about $400 billion. If half of this has been skimmed from the aforementioned 130 million, they would each have to contribute about $1500. But isn't $1500 per year a small price to pay to create a really wealthy super-class?

An Iran deal that is kinda sorta a deal but really is not a deal is all we need in the new normal to justify adding another few fractions onto the equity multiple valuation tree of hope. The S&P is up 9 points, Dow up 70 points, and WTI Crude is down around 1% on the news. Interestingly, stocks have no support from the almost ubiquitous carry traders as this appears more like a rip through the stop order stack more than another greater fool adding to their position.

"Fixed...?"

Until recently, Alan Greenspan’s main argument to exonerate himself of responsibility for the 2007-2009 financial crisis has consisted in the claim that strong Asian demand for US treasury bonds kept interest rates on mortgages unusually low. Though he has not given up on this defense, he is now emphasizing a different tack... His new tack is no better than the old tack.