Private Equity

• Carney Guidance Threshold Strained as BOE Holds Policy (BBG)
• Does one laugh or cry: China Tells Banks to Improve Disclosures in Shadow-Lending Fight (BBG)
• Big Business Doubles Down on GOP Civil War With Tea Party (BBG)
• CIA sued for records on possible role in Nelson Mandela arrest (RT)
• Bridge Scandal Destroys Christie's 'Nice Jerk' Image (BBG)
• Borrowers Hit Social-Media Hurdles (WSJ)
• U.S. Leverage in Iraq Tested As Fears of Civil War Mount (WSJ)
• Austerity drive cuts into Chinese inflation (FT)
• Dish Pulling Its Bid for LightSquared (WSJ)
• BlackRock agrees to end analyst surveys (Reuters)
• Germany defends economic policies after US criticism (FT)
• Bank of Korea Holds Rate Even as Yen Clouds Export Outlook (BBG)

• Here comes JPM's next multibillion legal reserve: Federal Probe Targets Banks Over Bonds (WSJ)
• Mulally Bows Out of Microsoft CEO Race, Staying at Ford (BBG)
• United States sending more troops and tanks to South Korea (Reuters)
• Eurozone unemployment sticks at record high (FT)
• China-Japan 'Voldemort' attacks up ante in propaganda war (Reuters)
• Alternative Lenders Peddle Pricey Commercial Loans (WSJ)
• John McAfee: glad Intel dropping name from security software (Reuters)
• Jobless Benefits Bill Stays Alive Amid Talks on Offsets (BBG)
• Chicago Colder Than South Pole as Frigid Air Clamps Down (BBG)
• Former Miss Venezuela shot dead in attempted robbery (Reuters)

There is no quicker route to success in the USSA than to go into “public service” regulating a massive industry and then flip back over to engage in M&A in the exact industry you were in charge of regulating.

With Trader Monthly magazine having, ironically, gone out business long ago, all those traders whose egos demanded that their insider trading connections put them at least in one of the iconic "Top X under X" league tables, pardon, rankings, had to bide their time in expectation of one day when their prowess to frontrun others or move markets with repeated calls to 555-7617 (with or without references to Anacott Steel) would be appreciated by such sterling Wall Street "experts" as Anthony Scaramucci. Well, for this year's crop of some 30 traders under 30, the day has arrived. And while Forbes may not be Trader Monthly, the amusement, the hubris and the behind the scenes dealing to appear in such a list, sure are still the same...

From this point on I start demonstrating to those who can't see the benefits of smart digital money over dumb fiat currencies. Now, you can short bitcoin and hedge against volaitlity using same tools the big boys use for USD/EUR/CNY, etc.

• Heavy snowstorm hammers northeastern U.S. (Reuters)
• Coins Remain a Bright Spot for Gold (WSJ)
• Gross’s Mistake on Fed Taper Echoes Across Pimco Funds (BBG)
• China December services PMI falls to four-month low (Reuters)
• General Mills Starts Making Some Cheerios Without GMOs (WSJ)
• U.S. considers flammability risk of Bakken crude after accidents (Reuters)
• China Mobile’s Costly iPhone Deal with Apple (WSJ)
• Hezbollah Upgrades Missile Threat to Israel (WSJ)
• UK House Prices Cap Best Year Since 2006 as Mortgages Surge (BBG)
• China tells police to be loyal to party amid graft crackdown (Reuters)

Either the Volcker Rule is making Wall Street's menu of investment choices so unbearably limited, or traditional assets are so overpriced Wall Street won't even touch them with other people's money, but when it comes to allocating capital the smartest conmen in the room are coming up with some truly unorthodox products. Such as investing in ex-convicts in the form of 2000 newly released prisoners.

• Firms to Face new Rules Over Pay, Taxes (WSJ)
• US to test commercial drones at six sites (CNN)
• China’s Local Debt Swells to 17.9 Trillion Yuan in Audit (BBG) - which is about 2 trillion less than where it actually is (Reuters)
• Fears after key China debt level soars 70% (FT) and in reality the debt level is saoring far more
• Pot Shops in Denver Open Door to $578 Million in Sales (BBG)
• China Says It Will Shun Abe After Shrine Visit (WSJ)
• De Blasio Taking Office Citing Wealth Gap as Crime Falls (BBG)
• China Approves $353 Million of Share Sales as IPOs Resume (BBG)
• Obama Seeks Way to Right His Ship (WSJ)
• Netflix Tests Subscription Fees Based on Number of Account Users (BBG)
• Three big macro questions for 2014  (FT)

• Late Surge in Web Buying Blindsides UPS, Retailers, Some Christmas Packages Aren't Delivered (WSJ)
• Yen Slides as Turkish Stocks Drop, U.S. Futures Rise (BBG)
• Turkish lira drops to record low against dollar, as Turkey’s Erdogan replaces 10 ministers (FT)
• Egypt designates Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group (Reuters)
• Thai elections in doubt after political violence (AFP)
• Batista Cedes Oil Unit Control in $5.8 Billion Debt Deal (BBG)
• China celebrates Mao's birthday, but events scaled back (Reuters)
• First-class stamps to cost 49 cents as of Jan. 26 (AP)
• Obamacare Hits Snag in States as U.S. Site Finds Footing (BBG)
• NSA Struggles to Make Sense of Flood of Surveillance Data (WSJ)

• Edward Snowden, after months of NSA revelations, says his mission’s accomplished (WaPo)
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 Extends Six-Year High on U.S. Data  (BBG)
• Retailers blend stores, e-commerce to snag holiday stragglers (Reuters)
• Storm wreaks havoc in Britain, France ahead of Christmas (Reuters)
• Big Rally to Pump Up Wall Street Bonuses (WSJ)
• Obamacare Sign-Up Extended as Record 1 Million Use Site (BBG)
• Merkel Hits Wall With Europe Fix (WSJ)
• Boaz Weinstein Loses for Second Year as European Bet Sours (BBG)
• UniCredit has reached an agreement to sell almost €1 billion in nonperforming loans to Cerberus (WSJ)
• U.S. mortgage applications fall as refinance hits five-year low (Reuters)
• Cohen Said to Have Warned Friend About Possible Federal Investigation (NYT)
• ‘Duck Dynasty’ Dad Risks $500 Million With Gay-Sin Remark (BBG)

The ink on the final Volcker Rule has not dried yet, and already the TBTF armies of lawyers have found all the loopholes in the rule they need to continue prop trading as if nothing has changed. Enter Goldman Sachs which as the WSJ reported, is raising a new fund, to which it will contribute 20% in capital, which will make investments in commercial real estate-backed loans including office buildings, hotels, and shopping centers. "Goldman has raised more than $1 billion for the new fund, according to people briefed on the matter. The fund aims to boost that total to $2 billion, and Goldman expects to invest "up to 20% of total equity commitments," according to September marketing documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal." Just how did Goldman get the green light to allocated up to $400 million for what is clearly a prop trading bet: "because regulators excluded many real-estate loans from the tough restrictions on investment funds, allowing Wall Street firms to continue making concentrated bets—sometimes risky ones—with their own capital." In other words, when it comes to reflating the precious real estate bubble, anything goes.

• Apple, China Mobile sign long-awaited deal to sell iPhones (Reuters)
• U.S. growth hopes help shares shrug off China money market jitters (Reuters)
• Rule Change on Health Insurance Rattles Industry (WSJ), Obamacare's signup deadline on Monday has its exceptions (Reuters)
• Tale of Two Polish Mines Shows Biggest EU Producer’s Woes (BBG)
• Probes See U.K. Market Manipulation Reports Rise 43% (BBG)
• Shoppers Grab Sweeter Deals in Last-Minute Holiday Dash (BBG)
• Banks Mostly Avoid Providing Bitcoin Services (WSJ)
• Secret Handshakes Greet Frat Brothers on Wall Street (BBG)

Blackstone Group appears to be trying to oligopolize the business of renting single-family homes in the U.S.. As Bloomberg reports, after the housing crash left more than 7 million foreclosed homes in its wake, the investment firm has spent more than $7.8 billion purchasing about 41,000 single-family homes for rental conversion. The world's largest private equity firm has quickly become the largest landlord (of rental homes) in the U.S. and in October, Blackstone offered the first-ever "rental-home-backed" security on Wall Street. One has to wonder if this was the plan all along?

First hint of what happens when the heavily subsidized industry is being encouraged to try to stand on its own wobbly feet.

• Traders Seek an Edge With High-Tech Snooping (WSJ)
• Gold Drops Below $1,200 an Ounce for First Time Since June (Bloomberg)
• SAC Manager Guilty as Insider Focus Turns to Martoma (Bloomberg)
• Why Ukraine spurned the EU and embraced Russia (Reuters)
• Target confirms major card data theft during Thanksgiving (Reuters)
• Zuckerberg is no suckerberg: Company to Sell 27 Million Class A Shares While CEO Will Offer 41.4 Million (WSJ)
• Facebook, Zuckerberg, banks must face IPO lawsuit (Reuters)
• Swiss Christmas Trees Feel Chill as Franc Helps Rivals (BBG)
• Iran, six powers to resume nuclear talks after snag (Reuters)
• Dolphins Suffering From Lung Disease Due to Gulf Oil Spill, Study Says (WSJ)