Archive - Jan 14, 2015 - Story

US Crude oil production shows absolutely no sign of slowing - despite tumbling rig counts - as this morning's data shows the US produced 9.19mm barrels/day last week - the most since records began in 1983. Since the OPEC meeting in November, US crude production has only accelerated... the global 'game of chicken' continues...

While earlier today the MBA came out with some absolutely ridiculous numbers namely that there was a 49.1% surge in mortgage applications in the week ended January 9, this was, as Stone McCarthy reported, due largely to seasonals. To wit: "The MBA's broad mortgage application index soared 49.1% last week. While we think much of the increase is a response to lower mortgage rates, we also think the application data are still subject to some holiday-related noise." So what is really going on with that all important metric for the US housing market: mortgage originations? For the answer we go to the biggest mortgage originating bank in the US itself, Wells Fargo. Here is the answer:

BTFD? The S&P 500 remains 50-60 points 'rich' to the Federal Reserve Balance Sheet.

Earlier today, during the JPM conference call, when Jamie Dimon wasn't busy explaining why the Q4 earnings presentation was sorely missing the page showing JPM's latest Net Interest Margin, a staple placeholder page in the presentation appendix, he found time to lament something totally different. As Bloomberg reports, Dimon lashed out at U.S. regulators for putting his bank "under assault." We don't know how American, or how fair, or how complex, but we know why. The reason: JPMorgan and the rest of the world's banks have now become the world's biggest organized crime syndicate. The evidence? $178 billion in government kickbacks to keep their criminal scheme going for the past 5 years: something which none other than the BCG called a "cost of doing business" - criminal business that is. 

An adviser to the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ) has delivered a tentative thumbs-up to an ECB bond plan unveiled in September 2012 that was aimed at countering euro break-up fears. Dow Jones explains the key five takeaways from the court's findings...

WTI crude oil prices staged a recovery this morning - fueling optimism once again that stability was here... Then the EIA inventories data hit. With crude (Crude inventory rose 5.39mm barrels against expectations of a 1.75mm barrels and a 3.062mm barrel draw last month) and distillate inventories (+2925K, Exp. 2100K, Last 11205K) surging considerably more than expected (some expecting a draw), futures prices are fading back rapidly...

Yesterday was a bad day for the HFT lobby, after not one but two incidents which exposed the high frequency parasites doing what they do best, and perhaps only: rigging markets.  And since it would be laughable if its wan't tragic, we decided to make it even more laughable, by noting that none other than intellectual titan in the House of Representatives, Maxine Waters, had a few choice words to say about the latest HFT rigging busts. That's right: Maxine Waters now opines on market microstructure issues.

...Credit!!

The economy generated 866k jobs last quarter so investors should not overly fret disappointing retail sales.

— Joseph A. LaVorgna (@Lavorgnanomics) January 14, 2015

When the citizenry cease to believe the lies, the nation suffers a nervous breakdown.

US equity prices and US Treasury yields are tumbling after the disappointingly narrative-destroying retail sales data for 'gas tax cut'-based December. The Dow is now down almost 600 points from yesterday's highs  At 2.39%, 30Y Yields have never been lower...ever! US stock indices are down 3% year-to-date, testing the lows of the year. Crude is rolling back over, gold is surging, and the USDollar is fading...

But but but... US retail advanced sales dropped a stunning 0.9% MoM (massively missing expectations of a 0.1% drop). The last time we saw a bigger monthly drop was June 2012. Want to blame lower gas prices - think again... Retail Sales ex Autos and Gas also fell 0.3% (missing an exuberantly hopeful expectation of +0.5% MoM) and the all-important 'Control Group' saw sales fall 0.4% (missing expectations of a 0.4% surge). Boom goes the narrative.

"I am concerned that a sizable equity market correction looms. In order to justify general equity market over-weights, either risk premiums needs to fall further, or the economy and financial markets need to have reached a level of ‘escape velocity’ powerful enough to push them forward, even in the face of Fed rate hikes. I find such a ‘soft landing’ scenario improbable at best."

• U.S. Index Futures Decline on Commodities Slump, Growth Concerns (BBG)
• Al Qaeda claims French attack, derides Paris rally (Reuters)
• Charlie Hebdo With Muhammad Cover on Sale With Heavy Security Precautions (BBG)
• How an Obscure Tax Loophole Brought Down Obama's Treasury Nominee  (BBG)
• ECB’s bond plan is legal ‘in principle’ (FT)
• Charlie Hebdo fallout: Specter of fascist past haunts European nationalism (Reuters)
• DRW to acquire smaller rival Chopper Trading (FT)
• Oil fall could lead to capex collapse: DoubleLine's Gundlach (Reuters)

Looks like the Jefferies earnings harbinger were right, because with another quarter down, and here is another painful report by JPM, which just launched the Q4 earnings season for financials with a miss on both the top and bottom line, reporting $1.19 in EPS, well below the $1.32 consensus, and just barely above the lower estimate of $1.16. This was a decline from both the previous quarter (by 17 cents) and from a year ago (by 11 cents). Revenues missed as well, with JPM reporting $23.552 billion in top line, a decline of $560 million from a year ago ($1.6 billion lower than Q3), and below the $24.0 billion consensus. And while JPM's latest recurring, non-one time "one-time, non-recurring" charge came as a surprise to most (although how over $30 billion in legal charges can be considered one-time is beyond us), at the same time JPM once again resorted to the oldest trick in the book, taking the benefit of some $704 million in loan loss reserve releases, nearly offsetting the entire negative impact of the legal charge.