Archive - Dec 30, 2014 - Story

Let's ask Reuters shall we?

USDJPY has tumbled overnight back below 119.50, dragging stocks (equity futures now at session lows) and Treasury yields with it. But it appears the Gold/Yen trade that is reacting most significantly as a huge volume flushes through futures markets spiking Gold back above $1200...

First it was, with "absolute certainly", North Korea. Then, out of the blue, an even more ridiculous theory emerged about the origin of the Sony hackers: Russia. Now, we finally get the truth, and as it turns out it was neither of the abovementioned sovereign actors who had nothing better to do than to hack movie scripts and racist emails: it was Sony's own disgruntled worker who was the source of the hack. According to Politico, FBI agents investigating the Sony Pictures hack were briefed Monday by a security firm that says its research points to laid-off Sony staff, not North Korea, as the perpetrator."

• U.S. agency gives quiet nod to light oil exports (Reuters)
• China’s Stocks Fall to Pare Biggest Monthly Advance Since 2007 (BBG)
• The Cartel: How BP Used a Secret Chat Room for Insider Tips (BBG)
• BRICs Busted as Stocks Diverge Most on Record on Outlook (BBG)
• Petrobras deadline prompts some bondholders to push for default (Reuters)
• AirAsia Captain at His Happiest When Flying, Family Says (BBG)
• UK housing crisis: brick stocks hit record low (Telegraph)

Greece may be on the verge of a Grexit, crude may be taking out all key technical support levels, and US stocks will still close higher. But let the USDJPY slide and watch as the levitation ends with a bang. And tumble overnight is precisely what the USDJPY did, pushing not only the Nikkei lower by 1.6% but also leading to what is shaping up to be an unrecord, also known as red, open in the S&P - this surely calls for a "Markets in Turmoil" flashing siren on the 9th floor of the New York Fed.

The mystery of the disappearance of Malaysian flight MH-370 may remain forever, but at least the families of the 162 victims of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 will get some closure when a few hours ago, Indonesian rescuers pulled wreckage and bodies from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday.  While the plane has yet to be found, and the possibility of finding survivors is slim, the Indonesian navy said some 40 bodies had been recovered as dusk fell.