JPMorgan Chase

The Abe administration nominated a major proponent of reflationary monetary policy to the central bank’s board, buttressing Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s efforts to save the nation from the dread of deflation. As Bloomberg reports, economist Yutaka Harada, who will replace Ryuzo Miyao, has said Japan can beat deflation by printing money in a 2013 book "Reflationary Policy Revives Japan’s Economy." So far that is not working so try harder... “The nomination is a good news for Kuroda... he will keep a majority on the board and win what he wants." Why such good news? As deputy director at the finance ministry’s Policy Research Institute, Harada exclaimed, "we just need to print money."

That didn't take long: just hours after Greece entered the ECB countdown mode, with now just 23 days until midnight on February 28, when the ECB is set to yank the final pillar of liquidity support, the ELA - as it has warned before - it is time to start contemplating Plan B, or rather plan Z. A plan, which as described by Nordea's analyst Jan von Gerich, would be quite unpleasant for that nearly extinct class of Greeks, bank depositors, because the "plan", or rather blueprint, is a well-known one: capital controls.

• Germany Sees No Need to Scrap Troika in Overseeing Greek Turnaround (WSJ)
• European markets subdued as Chinese data weighs (Reuters)
• U.S. Oil Workers Strike Enters Second Day as Crude Prices Slide (BBG)
• Oil prices rally above $55 as investors pile in (Reuters)
• Obama Wants a New Tax on U.S. Companies' Overseas Profits (BBG)
• If Trading Bonds Is Hard, Think About Pain When Rates Rise (BBG)
• Julius Baer Braces for Swiss Franc Impact (WSJ)
• Coke, Budweiser win as Super Bowl ad battle gets serious (Reuters)

Here's why bankers are the ones driving Lamborghinis and not farmers as Jim Rogers has been saying

In aggregate, companies are reporting earnings and revenue below expectations to date. The aggregate dollar-level earnings reported by these 37 companies is 0.4% below the aggregate dollar-level earnings estimated for these 37 companies. The aggregate dollar-level revenue reported by these 37 companies is 1.2% below the aggregate dollar-level revenue estimated for these 37 companies. As a result, even though more companies have beat earnings and revenue estimates to date than missed earnings and revenue estimates, the surprise percentage (which reflects the aggregate difference between actual results and estimated results) is negative for both earnings (-0.4%) and revenue (-1.2%). This means that Q4 is shaping up as the worst quarter since 2012, perhaps even the start of the great financial crisis in 2008/2009.

• Saudi Arabia’s New King Probably Will Not Change Current Oil Policy (BBG)
• Saudi King’s Death Clouds Already Tense Relationship With U.S. (WSJ)
• Oil Pares Gains as New Saudi King Says Policies Stable (BBG)
• Kuroda Says BOJ to Mull Fresh Options in Case of More Easing (BBG)
• U.S. pulls more staff from Yemen embassy amid deepening crisis (Reuters)
• Putin Said to Shrink Inner Circle as Hawks Beat Billionaires (BBG)
• A Few Savvy Investors Had Swiss Central Bank Figured Out (WSJ)

As we detailed previously, the first USD-denominated Chinese corporate bond default last week - of developer Kaisa Group - signals considerably deeper problems in China's economy as one manager noted, "everyone is rethinking risk right now." As Bloomberg reports, Chinese companies comprised 62% of all U.S. dollar bond sales in the Asia-Pacific region ex Japan last year, issuing $244.4 billion and that huge (and illiquid) market "has been too complacent," according to one credit strategist who warned, investors would be “rational to adopt a cautious approach in view of the fact that anything can happen, anywhere, anytime. It would be irrational to continue thinking that after Kaisa none of the companies will see a similar fate."

Q: What is the fastest growing asset class at US banks? Leveraged loans? US Treasury debt? A: Reserves deposited at the Fed.

To most people it would be shocking that after $60 billion in litigation charges, i.e., the "cost of doing criminal business" for just the first 9 months of 2014 and a ridiculous $178 billion since Lehman the there would be those who are stunned that bonuses on Wall Street may take a hit as a result of all this rampant, and caught, criminality. Well, "those" exist. They are called bankers, the same group which in poll after poll heading into the end of 2014 predicted that this bonus season would be far better than what was paid out in 2013 (and most of which spent the money well in advance). Alas, that is not going to be the case.

Manhattan: 260 Columbus Ave NYPD calling a level 1 Mobilization in regards to a bank robbery at Chase Bank.

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) January 6, 2015

To all those wondering if everything is rigged, we have a very simple answer: Yes.

• Russia says NATO turning Ukraine into 'frontline of confrontation' (Reuters)
• Oil Drillers Under Pressure to Scrap Rigs to Cope With Downturn (BBG)
• Demonstrators Defy NYC Mayor's Call to Suspend Police Protests (BBG)
• U.S. to send more private contractors to Iraq (Reuters)
• ISIS Shoots Down Jet From U.S.-Led Coalition, Syrian Monitors Say (NYT)
• Russians Race to Secure Mortgages Before Costs Spiral (BBG)
• Abe Brings in Former Soldier Nakatani as Defense Minister (BBG)
• At Coke, Newest Flavor Is Austerity (WSJ)
• Fear and retribution in Xi's corruption purge (Reuters)
• UBS Raises Flag on China’s $1 Trillion Overseas Debt Pile (BBG)

• Christmas rally enters sixth day in Europe (Reuters)
• Downing North Korea's Internet not much of a scalp (Reuters)
• North Korean Internet Access Restored After Hours-Long Outage (BBG)
• At U.N. council, U.S. calls life in North Korea 'living nightmare' (Reuters)
• Ukraine Cuts Gold Reserve to Nine-Year Low as Russia Buys (BBG)
• De Blasio Seeks to Heal Rifts With Police After Officers Slain (BBG)
• Oil steady around $60 on hopes of strong U.S. data (Reuters) - so it fell below $60 because...
• Australian Dollar Hits Four and a Half Year Low on Chine Growth Worries (Reuters)

This is it, folks; this is the endgame right in front of our faces. The year of 2014 is the new 2007, with all the negative potential but 100 times more explosive going into 2015. Our nation has wallowed in slowly degrading financial conditions for years, hidden by fake economic statistics and manipulated stock prices. All of it has been a prelude to a much more frenetic and shocking event. We expect a hailstorm of geopolitical crises over the next year to provide cover for the shift away from the dollar. Ultimately, the death of the dollar will be hailed in the mainstream as a “good and necessary thing.” They will call it “karma.” They will call it “progress.” They will even call it “decentralization” and a success for the free market. But it will not feel like a positive development for the American public, who will suffer greatly as the dollar crumbles.