Archive - Mar 2015 - Story

It’s one thing to predict one person’s shopping or investment decisions. But can brain scans be used to forecast the entire market? Neuroeconomist Paul Glimcher says, “If we had access to that data, when people pick stocks, can these models predict macro-level changes in stock prices from individual-level models of angels picking stocks? There’s reason to believe it might work.” Already, neuromarketing consultancies advise large companies like Google and PepsiCo on which products will do well, and how to position them in the marketplace. Maybe one day there will be boutique equity research consultancies that scan the brains of focus group participants as they answer questions about individual securities, and investors could incorporate these neural inputs as they mull whether to buy or sell a security. 

No lesser trustworthy character than Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland explained this morning that the US can "confirm" new Russian weapons delivery to Ukraine and that they "can tell" when Russia sends in new weapons (though offering no explanation of this statement). This comment to the Senate Committee comes a day after the US delivered 'lethal aid' to Latvia - 120 armored units (including tanks) - with US Army General John O’Conner who witnessed the tanks arriving on Latvian soil said, "Freedom must be fought for, freedom must be defended." And finally, one more shot in the eye of the germans, deputy under-secretary of Defense Brian McKeon said the US is "actively considering more weapons for Ukraine," seemingly implying they alreadt sent some?

ISIS launches its own version of FaceBook just as a new report profiles the typical terrorist tweeter. 

The oil glut we are experiencing now reflects a worldwide affordability crisis. Because of a lack of affordability, demand is depressed. This lack of demand keeps prices low–below the cost of production for many producers. If the affordability issue cannot be fixed, it threatens to bring down the system by discouraging investment in oil production.

Berkshire Hathaway is getting into the car-retailing business with the purchase of the country's biggest privately-held dealership chain. With auto sales set to stall thanks to subprime jitters, is the Oracle stepping into the wrong business at just the wrong time?

"...we have now graded two years worth of Cramer’s picks: those made from January 2011 through December 2012. That amounts to 552 calls overall, of which 254 outperformed the index (46% hit rate). On average, Cramer’s picks returned -0.08% versus the 1.35% S&P 500 return over the corresponding period. That amounts to 142 basis points of quarterly underperformance, or 568 basis points on an annualized basis, which amounts to an F grade in our grading system."

Against expectations of a 4.75 million barrel build, API reported an estimated inventory draw of 404,000 barrels - potentially ending the 8 week build streak if DOE confirms (following last week's huge DOE-reported 10,303 million barrel build). The initial reaction of the machines was a jerk higher, perfectly tagging $49.00, before tumbling back into the red.

It's that time in the quarter when DoubleLine's Jeff Gundlach holds one of his trademark open webcasts with anyone who cares to check in, this one titled Blockhead. In it "Mr. Gundlach will be discussing the economy, the markets and his outlook for what he believes may be the best investment strategies and sector allocations for the DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund."

The captured corporate MSM is celebrating the six year anniversary of when the stock market bottomed in March 2009. They will spin a false narrative of Bernanke, Obama and Geithner saving the world with TARP, QE, and the $800 billion Porkulus bill. In fact, Bernanke and Geithner stopped the market from falling in March 2009 by threatening the accounting geeks at the FASB and forcing them to allow fraudulent reporting by the insolvent Wall Street banks. The crisis ended – precisely – on March 16, 2009, when the Financial Accounting Standards Board abandoned FAS 157 "mark-to-market" accounting, and Mark to fantasy was born.

The only important line from the 15 or so minutes that Hillary Clinton devoted to the biggest political scandal rocking the nation was not that she "only used the personal email for convenience"; it was this:

• "I did not email any classified materials."

Aside from all allusions to an almost verbatim line used by her husband when he too was in a sticky, so to say, situation during his presidency, this statement by Hillary is a problem, and could potentially be the dealbreaker fir her presidential application. Why? Because of this.

... gradually, from one scare to another, many – and especially those who have nothing left to lose – have given up looking for defenses, whether individual or collective, and have given in to the sin of sloth. They are not lazy or indifferent but experiencing emotional apathy. It has become a certainty that our destruction is much worse than a self-fulfilling prophecy: It has been orchestrated from outside. Either to punish the “lazy Greeks” or to warn others being tempted into believing that the European Union – as it is today, as a herald of a policy of austerity that can’t even be backed by the numbers – is repulsive rather than attractive.

The former Secretary of State with the now infamous clintonemail.com server and democratic presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, will speak live at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York shortly. She is expected to discuss the email, although not extensively. Watch it live here.