Archive - Jun 11, 2015 - Story

"Greece was warned by a group of European Union officials in Brussels it had less than 24 hours to come up with a serious counter-proposal," Bloomberg says. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Germany is "holding 'concrete consultations' on what to do in the case of a bankruptcy of the Greek state."

While we are now well aware of the unpatriotic-ness of tax inversions, Goldman Sachs raises the red flag on another corporate action that is about to become highly politicized - share buybacks. The last (and only) pillar of buying left in the US equity markets is set to draw political attention and likely to gain prominence, particularly ahead of the 2016 election.

If you still think that the establishment Republicans in Congress represent real opposition to President Obama’s policies, you’re either extremely brainwashed or extremely stupid. Honestly, we wonder what it will take for some people to wake up. How many times do you need to be used, abused and conned by slimy politicians before you can shake off your political Stockholm Syndrome? Today's example is from chief ObamaTrade proponent Paul Ryan who gaffed Pelosi-like when he admitted (with regard to the super-secret TPP) "It’s declassified and made public once it’s agreed to," in other words - “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

Because centrally-planning the market and the double seasonally-adjusted economy was not enough, the Obama administration is now set to create a wealth-adjusted community utopia. According to The Hill, the administration is moving forward with regulations designed to help diversify America’s wealthier neighborhoods, such as building affordable housing in more affluent areas. The name of Obama's latest proposal to have the government centrally-plan your community? The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. A name that only the person who penned the US Freedom Act could have come up with.

Homeownership rates for young adults in America are projected to decline steadily through at least 2030, a study shows. Contributing factors are low wage growth, shifting demographics, and of course, student debt. 

Forget Caitlyn Jenner, distracted Americans have moved on and are now gladly signing a petition to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against Russia "to show them who is the real super-power."

When in a hole, stop digging. But when in a bubble, keep blowing.  Our ruling and wealthy elite are worried that they are stuck in their own ponzi scheme or bubble and are suffering from the general problem of all ponzis and bubbles – how to get out.

"As Chen projected Homily Stone’s software on a screen and began by reviewing the basics of “buy low, sell high,” the students alternated between scribbling notes and stealing bites of steamed buns and swigs from milk cartons and thermoses of tea... when he guaranteed a 300 percent return for people who buy the program and follow his methods with recommended “dragon head” — or hot — stocks, the room erupted in applause."

If there were a robust jobs expansion starting early last year, then it must be considered more than somewhat suspect this year so far. Nonconformity in hires, quits and now layoffs call further into question both openings and the overall employment narrative, not the least of which traces back to the fact that they all share the same benchmark and subjective biases.

A state's economy is nothing without the businesses that call it home. However, these companies are not created equally - bigger businesses naturally have outsized influence, generating more revenue, employing more people and (at least theoretically) paying more taxes. So given that corporations are now 'people', who really runs your state in this crony-capitalist land of the free?

For those concerned if their city is among the top most frequented by this particular, and very unpleasant, breed of "zombies", here are the top 50 cities in the US in which zombie foreclosures represent the highest percentage of all properties in foreclosure. For those readers certainly located among the Top 10, now may be a great time to hit a bid, any bid and get out while the getting is good.

Gold bugs weren’t wrong - just super early. If central banks ever got religion and pulled a Volcker and hiked rates to the moon, it would be a remarkably bad time to hold gold. However, throughout history, there have been times where people were very sad that they didn’t own gold. We talk about one of them here. It’s very real, and the history of fiat currencies is also quite sad.

It's all relative...

What’s a company with no revenue, seven employees, and a $5 million throwaway drug worth in Janet Yellen’s “substantially stretched” biotech market? Billions, apparently.