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It was such a promising morning for Spain which sold some €2.5 billion in 2015 and 2016 bonds earlier in yet another meaningless and symbolic LTRO-covered exercise, when things went from bad (bank run, pardon, withdrawal meme) to worse, as local Expansion newspaper says Spanish bank ratings will be downgraded in a few hours.

Here are some hard facts that support what I made clear about Facebook last year - underwriters' dream, fundamental investor's nightmare. Happy Hyperinflated IPOing!

• Facebook's selling shareholders can't wait to get out of company, increase offering by 25% (Bloomberg)
• Boehner Draws Line in Sand on Debt (WSJ)
• Romney Attacks Obama Over Recovery Citing U.S. Debt Load (Bloomberg)
• BHP chairman says commodity markets to cool further (Reuters)
• Merkel’s First Hollande Meeting Yields Growth Signal for Greece (Bloomberg)
• Greek President Told Banks Anxious as Deposits Pulled (Bloomberg)
• EU to push for binding investor pay votes (FT)
• Martin Wolf: Era of a diminished superpower (FT)
• China’s Hong Kong Home-Buying Influx Wanes, Midland Says (Bloomberg)
• U.N. and Iran agree to keep talking on nuclear  (Reuters)
• US nears deal to reopen Afghan supply route (FT)

Out of money and in the red, but with revenue projections out the wazoo

Sometime around March 31 the market was soaring, and there were still those naive, clueless ones, who thought that 2012 would not be a carbon copy of 2011. Rumors of more QE were becoming quieter and quieter as the S&P was on a rampage, the economy was humming along (courtesy of the reacord warm winter as ZH predicted in January, but this would not be widely accepted for at least 2-3 more weeks), Europe was "fixed" and the world was a lovely place. It is right there that everyone's favorite "baller to the waller" David Tepper went all in and bought anything that moves, or doesn't, in financials and tech. As the chart below shows, after having a mere $764 million in equity AUM at the end of December 31, Appaloosa went on an epic liftathon, and increased its AUM to a whopping $4.1 billion in the span of 3 months.

First came the rhetorical jawboning, where following announcements by Fitch, European politicians, and finally Germany's finance minister, the scene was set to prepare the general public that despite protests to the contrary, a Greek exit from the euro would not really be quite the apocalypse imagined. Now comes the actual quantification part, whereby in addition to adding numbers and determining what the further sunk costs to a Greek bailout will be (hint: much, much greater than anyone can conceive), Germany has finally understood what we have been warning for over a year: that contingent liabilities become very real liabilities when a threshold event forces the transition from "off balance sheet" to on, and the piper has to be paid. According to an analysis released hours ago in Wirtschafts Woche, Germany "would only absorb losses of 76.6 billion euros in Germany. This amount results from bilateral aid loans, the liability of Germany's share in credit rescue fund EFSF, Germany's share of losses of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the German share of liability to the credit support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)."

• China Industrial Output Growth Slows Sharply In April (WSJ)
• Indian industrial output shrinks unexpectedly (AFP)
• China’s Inflation Moderates, Adding Room for Easing (Bloomberg)... a nickel for every "imminent RRR-cut" prediction
• Drew Built 30-Year JPMorgan Career Embracing Risk (Bloomberg)
• Spain Offered Time to Curb Deficit (FT)
• France Entrepreneurs Flee From Hollande Wealth Rejection (BBG)
• Venizelos Eyes Unity Deal After Agreement With Democratic Left (Ekathimerini)
• Berlin Reaches Out to the Periphery (FT)
• Bernanke Speaks About Risks From End of Pro-Growth Plans (Bloomberg)

A Guide for Those with Much Money and Very Little Patience Whom Want to Prepare for Zombie Apocalypse But Are Afraid to Google It For Fear of DHS Labeling Them A Terrorist.

The only thing funnier than a nationalization statement spun as positive, or favorable for taxpayers, is one that has been Google translated, in this case from Spanish, courtesy of Bank of Spain, which has just formally bailed out Bankia, leaving the best for last: "In any case, BFA-Bankia is a solvent entity that continues to function quite normally and customers and depositors should have no concern." Move along. Nothing to see here. Nobody should be concerned.

Ask yourself the following. For the technologies which allowed for the increased rate of extraction of coal in the 19th century, or,  which now allow for the increased rate of extraction of natural gas from shale in the 21st century: did those technologies create the resources or merely extract them as they already existed? The answer seems rather obvious, doesn’t it? I mean, I want to be sympathetic to the view that technology creates resources, in the sense that technology makes previous unrecognized or unrecoverable resources available. But a threshold I cannot cross, however, is that idea that there are always a new resources waiting to be discovered, if we can only create a technology to obtain them.

Which brings us back to mining for minerals. On asteroids.

If you're not familiar with the concept of "Cost Shifting", the deadly (to your competition) effect of negative margins or believe that Google is search engine or ad co., then this article/video is a must read/see.

Yesterday it was Fitch setting the groundwork. Today the natural escalation has arrived, with a Handelsblatt report that German coalition lawmakers saying they are open to a Greek farewell. To wit: "Politicians of the CDU-FDP coalition will no longer look on the goings on passively. Given the uncertain political situation in Greece are advocating for a withdrawal of the crisis-Mediterranean Heads of State from the euro zone. "We should offer Greece, leaving the euro zone controlled, without withdrawing from the European Union." For now this is merely posturing, as Greek is doing all it can to make it clear it does not need Germany. Of course, Germany has no other choice but to reply the way it has. The only problem is that the Nash equilibrium is now of mutual defection, which is the worst possible outcome for Europe, and even worse for US taxpayers, whose cash via the FRBNY's FX swaps will be used to rescue Europe when the dominoes finally tumble. But at this point, this it is pretty much a given.

If French Fitch, which will first be Egan-Jonesed than downgrade France from its unmovable AAA rating is starting to say that the unthinkable, namely the departure of Greece from the Eurozone, would be "bearable", then things are about to get once again exciting, as this is merely setting the stage for the next leg down. Among the other google translated gibberish said by Fitch chief Taylor, here is the argument: Germany would merely soak up the damage caused by a Greek departure: "Greece's exit does not mean the end of the euro. Above all, Germany has a fundamental interest in preserving the common currency remains. Would the D-mark re-introduced, they would add value compared to other currencies strong. The export industry, that is: would the engine of the German economy, damaged. This will not allow Germany - even if one or more countries leave the single currency area." How about Italy's exit? Or Portugal's? Or Spain's? At what point does it become unbearable for German taxpayers to burn their wealth to preserve a system that virtually nobody but a few select career politicians demand?

• It just get worse and worse: After McClendon's trades, Chesapeake board gave blessing (Reuters)
• Iran Accepts Renminbi for Crude Oil (FT)... which is not news: recall China and Iran Bypass Dollar from July 2011
• As Gas Prices Fall, a Sigh of Relief  (WSJ)... so now people can direct their disability payments to where they belong: extra fries
• Greece Braces for a Repeat of Elections (FT), as first predicted by Zero Hedge, this will be a recurring affair
• China dissident Chen says officials must face justice (Reuters)
• Merkel Urges Athens to Stick With Reform (FT)
• Hollande’s Win is a Chance for Change (FT)
• U.K. Manufacturers Expect Exports to Rise (WSJ)
• U.S. Says Bomb Plot Disrupted Before Public Threatened (Bloomberg)
• Santorum Endorses Romney as Republican Nominee (Bloomberg)
• Beijing May Host OTC Market (China Daily)
• India Delays Tax Avoidance Laws (FT)

And from one presidential election, we go to the other even more crucial parliamentary election, in Greece, where courtesy of Planet-Greece we have the first unofficial exit polls. Since these numbers differ massively with what opinion polls predicted as recently as 2 weeks ago, and indicate the status quo is likely to persist, we urge everyone to take these with a huge grain of salt.