Archive - Nov 2014 - Story

Unsure of your political leanings? Then take this brief quiz and all will become clear...

Today, with little fanfare, Russia's president Putin - whose economy is said to be reeling as a result of a plunging currency, paradoxically something Japan would love to be able to achieve on such short notice - told the media ahead of his visit to the Asia Pacific Economic Conference on November 9-11, that Moscow and Beijing have agreed many of the aspects of a second gas pipeline to China, the so-called western route, or as some already are calling it, the "second holy grail." “We have reached an understanding in principle concerning the opening of the western route,” Putin said. "We have already agreed on many technical and commercial aspects of this project laying a good basis for reaching final arrangements,” the Russian President added.

"I have zero doubt that Japan is about to get smacked in the mouth. And when that happens the monetary policy calculus in Japan... and the UK... and even the EU will take on a very different shape. The domestic political dictates may still overwhelm the international economic consequences of extraordinary monetary policy easing."

Stay young, my friend...

"The enemy isn't conservatism. The enemy isn't liberalism. The enemy is bulls**t." - Lars-Erik Nelson

Following a heavy volume flush and reversal around midnight ET, gold prices surged today. The 3.3% rally is the best day since September 2013.

Stocks end the week on a weaker note roundtripping off premature exuberance into the European close after jobs data that missed expectations (or did they). Of course the kneejerk response took the S&P and Dow to record highs before the weakness set in. Thanks to a late day panic-buying rip though, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 close the week unch - no need to call Mr. Bullard. Treasury yields collapsed today, ending the week down around 3-4bps. The USD sold off today to close the week up 0.6% with JPY and AUD the weakest against the greenback on the week. Gold (and silver) rallied to close the week almost unchanged. Interestingly, despite VIX's best efforts (almost breaking under 13), stocks rolled over this afternoon (then ripped). Oil prices pushed modestly higher early on and ended the day around $78.50. The ubiquitous Friday late-day buying panic ripped everything higher - on absolutely no news - "proving" that the jobs data was great (expect, why were safe haven bond and bullion so heavily bid?)

When we think of electric cars, probably the first thing that comes to mind is the Chevrolet Volt. But if you think electric cars still deserve consideration, take a look at the “Grimsel,” which can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 1.785 seconds, using less than 30 meters of track. That’s nearly twice as fast as Tesla’s fleet Model S P85D. And it’s record-breaking.

But... but... that weak jobs report was so very strong. Who could have possibly seen that coming?

Another month, another $14.5 billion increase in student and car loans, offset by a measly $1.4 billion in credit card debt, following last month's upward revised $200 million drop in revolving debt. Total consumer debt in September increase by $15.9 billion, just below the $16.0 billion estimate, and the problem is that with the Fed's credit injection fading, someone has to step on the borrowing pedal. Alas, if one takes away student and car loans, the credit creation is not nearly enough to push US consumption higher. In any event, the most amusing chart is the following. It simply screams sustainable.

If you like your boots-on-the-ground, you can keep them... and have some more. Whether a strawman or not, Reuters reports that according to US officials, the U.S. military has drawn up plans to significantly increase the number of American forces in Iraq, which now total around 1,400, as Washington seeks to bolster Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State. The White House and Pentagon were expected to announce further details later Friday.

"Surprises like this are poison to the stock market, and this is one of the big surprises," exclaims the head of listing for Nasdaq's Copenhagen exchange as OW Bunker A/S - a marine fuel bunker company - went from $1 billion-plus IPO in April to bankruptcy today.

Back in September, there was a summit meeting in a city that involved an organization that most Americans have never heard of. Mainstream media coverage was all but nonexistent. The place was Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, a country few Westerners could correctly place on a map. But you can bet your last ruble that Vladimir Putin knows exactly where Tajikistan is. Because the group that met there is the Russian president’s baby. It’s the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), consisting of six member states: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. We should care what’s going on inside the SCO. Once India and Pakistan get in (and they will) and Iran follows shortly thereafter, it’ll be a geopolitical game changer.