Baidu

• This is why the locals are furious at the US: U.S-led raids hit grain silos in Syria, kill workers (Reuters) explaining this
• Billions Fly Out the Door at Pimco: About $10 Billion Is Withdrawn After Departure of Gross (WSJ)
• Pimco’s Ivascyn Takes on Gross With Unconstrained Fund (BBG)
• Revealed - the Troika threats to bankrupt Ireland (The Independent)
• Private Bad Debt Build-Up Casts Shadow on Greek Rebound (BBG)
• Fed Questions Bank Maneuver to Reduce Hedge Funds' Dividend Taxes (WSJ)
• Yuan-Euro Direct Trading Begins Tomorrow as China Promotes Usage (BBG)
• Geneva Report warns record debt and slow growth point to crisis (FT)
• Greenberg Team to Grill Bernanke, Geithner on AIG Bailout (BBG)... sadly only metaphorically

• Scotland split jitters send sterling to 10-month low (Reuters)
• S&P 500 Beating World Most Since 1969 Doesn’t Spark Flows (BBG)
• Happy ending guaranteed: Vietnam building deterrent against China in disputed seas with submarines (Reuters)
• China Posts Record Surplus as Exports-Imports Diverge (Bloomberg)
• Russia, U.S. to hold talks on 1987 arms accord (Reuters)
• Halcon’s Wilson Drills More Debt Than Oil in Shale Bet (BBG)
• Deadly Disappointment Awaits at Ebola Clinics Due to Lack of Space (WSJ)
• Latinos furious at Obama on immigration delay, vow more pressure (Reuters)
• Japan GDP Shrinks at Fastest Pace in More Than Five Years (WSJ)

• Global stocks bounce on sign ECB could launch ABS program (Reuters)
• Putin unveils Ukraine ceasefire plan, France halts warship (Reuters)
• Poroshenko Flummoxes Investors With About-Face on Truce (BBG)
• No Free Lunch for Companies as IRS Weighs Meal Tax Rules (BBG)
• Turkey Struggles to Halt Islamic State 'Jihadist Highway' (WSJ)
• Lego Becomes World's Largest Toy Maker on Movie Success (WSJ)
• U.N. says $600 million needed to tackle Ebola as deaths top 1,900 (Reuters)
• Goldman Sachs Named 'Stabilization Agent' for Alibaba Stock Offering (WSJ)

• Fed Decision-Day Guide: QE Tapering to Inflation Debate (BBG)
• Obama says strains over Ukraine not leading to new Cold War with Russia (Reuters)
• Siemens to BP Prepare for Downward Russia Business Spiral (BBG)
• Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror (NYT)
• Argentina Banks Preparing Bid to Help Argentina Avoid Default (WSJ)
• Obama Weighs Fewer Deportations of Illegal Immigrants Living in U.S. (WSJ)
• India Warships Off Japan Show Rising Lure as China Counterweight (BBG)
• Hong Kong Popping Housing Bubbles London Can’t Handle (BBG)
• Carnage at U.N. school as Israel pounds Gaza refugee camp (Reuters)

• EU finalises Russian sanctions as BP warns of impact on business (FT)
• Geopolitical Risk Rises for Global Investors (BBG)
• Jaded Argentines brace for looming debt default (Reuters)
• In Argentina, Mix of Money and Politics Stirs Intrigue Around Kirchner (WSJ)
• Mom ‘Trusting God’ for Ebola-Infected U.S. Doctor’s Life (BBG)
• Thanks NSA: Tech Companies Reel as NSA's Spying Tarnishes Reputations (BBG)
• Goldman unit eyes foray into China amid metals financing scandal (Reuters)
• Cash out time: London’s Gherkin Tower Offered for Sale by Its Lenders (BBG)
• Apenomics strikes again: McDonald’s Japan axes profit guidance amid food safety scandal (FT)
• Do you see what happens Larry when you are the only USDJPY bid? Nomura Profit Falls More Than Estimated on Broking Slump (BBG)

• Microsoft to announce biggest round of job cuts in 5 years (BBG)
• Palestinian rocket fire persists, Israel warns truce at risk (Reuters)
• China tells U.S. to stay out of South China Seas dispute (Reuters)
• Merkel Resists Sundering U.S. Ties Over Spying Affair (BBG)
• BES slide, tumbling German sentiment hit markets (Reuters)
• Top 1 Percent Is Even Richer Than Surveys Say, ECB Paper Finds (BBG)
• Puerto Rico Utility May Default on January Interest Payment (BBG)
• Can't Get a Job From an Algorithm, or So It Seems as Hot Resumes Go Nowhere Fast (BBG)
• Bank of China-CCTV drama may reveal power struggle in Beijing (SCMP)

A single entity successfully scooped up the entire ~30,000 haul of Bitcoins that the US government seized from Silk Road. The successful bidder at the government's auction was V.C. Tim Draper (in partnership with Vaurum) who is infamous as the ideator of viral marketing, a marketing method for spreading a software application from customer to customer (making one wonder if the $19 million bid was more publicity stunt that investment). However, Vaurum has launched trading platforms in emerging markets, and we will be partnering with Tim to leverage the pool of ~30,000+ bitcoins as a liquidity source. The price of Bitcoin continues to rise, now at $650 - up from around $570 when the auction began.

• U.S. sets new import duties on Chinese solar products (Reuters)
• U.S.-China Solar-Products Dispute Heats Up (WSJ)
• China Mulls Offshore Yuan Gold Trade in Free Trade Zone (BBG)
• Insider-Trading Probe Could Snarl a Deal for Icahn (WSJ)
• KCG Holdings Suspects Its Trading Code Was Stolen (WSJ)
• ‘Period. Full Stop’ Is the New ‘At the End of the Day’ (BBG)
• Draghi not so goof for bonds: Investors Flag Risk of ECB Disappointing After Europe Bond Rally (BBG)
• But great for stocks: Equity Traders See Draghi Turning Throttle Up on Rally (BBG)

It seems "market conditions" are right for the big one...

ALIBABA FILES IPO INITIAL REGISTRATION $1B;  ALIBABA HOLDER YAHOO BENEFICIALLY OWNS 22.6%
2013 EBITDA: $2.7 billion, 2013 Free Cash Flow: $3.2 billion; Pro Forma cash $7.9 billion

Here are some of the key details, formerly non-public, from its IPO filing...

• Russia raises interest rates to 7.5% (FT)
• Shanghai to Allow Raw Material Exchanges in Trade Zone (BBG)
• US, Japan Fail to Clinch Trade Deal (WSJ)
• 'We don't have a magic wand', says ECB's Constancio (Reuters)
• Tokyo Inflation Quickens to Fastest Since 1992 (BBG)
• Demand for Home Loans Plunges (WSJ)
• EU banks urged to grasp chance to raise capital (FT)

• Crimea Resolution Backed by U.S. Barely Gets UN Majority (BBG)
• Russian Buildup Stokes Worries (WSJ)
• As reported here first: China’s Developers Face Shakeout as Easy Money Ends (BBG)
• U.S. House Poised to Clear Sanctions Called Putin Warning (BBG)
• Bitcoin Prices Plunge on Report PBOC Orders Accounts Shut (BBG)
• Search for lost Malaysian jet shifts significantly after new lead (Reuters)
• Russian fund taps China and Middle East (FT)
• Long battle looms between U.S. college, athletes seeking to unionize (Reuters)
• Official warns EU-US trade deal at risk over investor cases (FT)
• New iPhone likely out in September, Nikkei daily says (AFP)

• European Bonds Surge on Slowing German Inflation, Ukraine Tumult  (BBG)
• Ukraine tensions hit shares (Reuters)
• Debating Geithner’s Appearances in 2008 Transcripts  (Hilsenrath)
• Tensions in Asia Stoke Rising Nationalism in Japan (WSJ)
• GM Investigated Over Ignition Recall Linked to 13 Deaths (BBG)
• Smartphone wars shift from gadgetry to price (Reuters)
• Some Companies Alter the Bonus Playbook (WSJ)
• London’s Subterranean Luxury Manors Lure New Breed of Lenders (BBG)
• Japan No Country for Old Farmers as 7-Eleven Takes Plow (BBG)
• Dream of U.S. Oil Independence Slams Against Shale Costs (BBG)

The NYT reports that if judging by the initial response to Apple's expansion into China, then this too latest Apple "rollout" is set to be a major flop. To wit:  " Apple has been counting on a long-awaited agreement with China Mobile, the world’s largest cellular operator, to reverse its fortunes in China. If the muted reception Friday, when customers were finally able to buy iPhones from China Mobile, is any indication, the companies may have to work harder to whip up enthusiasm. Instead of the round-the-block lines that have greeted Apple product introductions in China and other countries in the past, only about a dozen customers showed up to buy iPhones at the opening of a store in Beijing — despite the presence of a special guest, the Apple chief executive, Timothy D. Cook."

All the pundits who preach an economic recovery in the US always fall strangely silent when asked to share their thoughts on the following chart (taken from the St. Louis Fed), showing the annual change in real disposable income per capita in the US. What seems to stump them most is that aside from the 2012 year end aberration (due to accelerated distribution of dividends ahead of the 2013 tax hikes) is that in November the series finally posted its first Y/Y decline (-0.1%) since the Lehman collapse. But as the chart notes, the data is "per capita" and as everyone knows, under the New Normal, some "per capitas" are more equal than other "per capitas." Enter the billionaires. As Bloomberg summarizes, "The richest people on the planet got even richer in 2013, adding $524 billion to their collective net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 300 wealthiest individuals. The aggregate net worth of the world’s top billionaires stood at $3.7 trillion at the market close on Dec. 31, according to the ranking. "The rich will keep getting richer in 2014," John Catsimatidis, the billionaire founder of real estate and energy conglomerate Red Apple Group Inc., said in a telephone interview from his New York office.

• Millions of Tons of Metals Stashed in Shadow Warehouses (WSJ)
• Moguls Rent South Dakota Addresses to Dodge Taxes Forever  (BBG)
• Fastest Japan Inflation Since ’08 Stokes Wage Pressure (BBG)
• Thai crisis deepens as army chief hints at intervention (Reuters)
• Anti-Assad Lebanese ex-minister killed in Beirut bomb (Reuters)
• Foreigners Unload Turkey Bonds as Probe Tarnishes Erdogan Growth  (BBG)
• Small ISS Change Shakes Up Boards: Tweak to Influential Shareholder Adviser's Recommendations Has Directors Rethinking Proposals (WSJ)
• Japan’s Nishimura Calls for Quick Corporate Tax Cut to Under 30% (BBG)
• Japan's Abe bets U.S. alliance, ratings can weather shrine visit (Reuters)