ratings

As was reported in the latest Tecne poll for Italy's SkyTG24 released a few hours ago, support for Italian frontrunner Bersani's coalition has dropped once more, declining by 0.8% to 33.2% in the week ended February 7, while the ratings of the bloc headed by Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi keep rising on momentum generated by Monte Paschi scandal, boosting his popularity to 29.2%, or +1%, and now entirely within the margin of error. At the same time outgoing PM Monti has seen yet another drop in popularity, now down 1% to 12.9% while ex-comedian Beppe Grillo's support keeps rising, and is now at 16.3% up 0.8%. Combining all this data means that with three weeks to go until Italy's February 24-25th election, courtesy of the seemingly improbable surge in Berlusconi's popularity in recent weeks, the biggest emerging risk for Europe in the coming month is that of an Italian "Hung Parliament" which would then likely result in another round of elections in a matter of months, jeopardizing the Italian "success story" and pushing headline political risk once again into the open.

• Rate-Rig Spotlight Falls on 'Rain Man' (WSJ)
• Blizzard Cancels U.S. Flights, Threatens Snow in New York (BBG)
• Monti says he did not know of bank probes (FT)
• Japan's Aso: yen has weakened more than intended (Reuters)
• Japan Pledges Foreign-Policy Response to Territorial Incursions (BBG)
• Paratroops mutiny in Bamako in blow to Mali security efforts (Reuters)
• China, Japan engage in new invective over disputed isles (Reuters)
• Asteroid to Traverse Earth’s Satellite Zone, NASA Says (BBG)
• EU leaders haggle over budget tightening (FT)
• China Trade Tops Forecasts in Holiday-Distorted Month (Bloomberg)
• Buffett’s Son Says He’s Prepared Whole Life for Berkshire Role (BBG)

The easiest way for a patriotic, civil liberties defending U.S. citizen to know whether to support or oppose an issue is when two of the most authoritative, narcissistic politicians from the two controlled political parties in America are in strong agreement. In this case, I am referring to Lindsay Graham and Barack Obama’s recent love fest on drone warfare...

While Moody's slipped over 20% when the DoJ announced its cajillion dollar lawsuit against S&P for knowing the crisis was coming but not telling anyone, it later bounced back over 10% as investors believed the non-US-downgrading rating agency (that happened to be owned by Buffett) was too-big-to-jail. After-hours today, Reuters is reporting that the Justice Department and multiple states are discussing also suing Moody's Corp for defrauding investors, according to people familiar with the matter, but any such move will likely wait until a similar lawsuit against rival Standard and Poor's is tested in the courts. The stock is trading down 3% after-hours as sources (not authorized to speak publicly) added "don't think Moody's is off the hook." We can't help but think about the pending sequester-delaying deficit spike as perhaps, to appear impartial, the DoJ will keep the threat of a lawsuit against Moody's alive... during the entire period when the US may and should be downgraded.

• Bersani's lead over Berlusconi continues to erode, now just 3.6 Pts, or inside error margin, in Tecne Poll
• Spain gears up for U.S. debt investor meetings (Reuters)
• PBOC Set for Record Weekly Liquidity Injection (WSJ)
• RBS Trader Helped UBS’s Hayes With Libor Bribes, Regulators Say (BBG)
• ECB, Ireland reach bank debt deal (Reuters)
• AMR-US Airways Near Merger Agreement (WSJ)
• Monte Paschi says no more derivatives losses (Reuters) ... remember this
• Harvard’s Gopinath Helps France Beat Euro Straitjacket (BBG) - by sliding into recession?
• Obama Relents on Secret Drone Memo (WSJ)
• Brennan to face questions on interrogations, drones and leaks (Reuters)
• Wall Street Success With Germans Boomerangs (BBG)
• Khamenei rebuffs U.S. offer of direct talks (Reuters)
• Boeing Preps Redesign to Get 787 Flying  (WSJ)

• Tunisian opposition politician shot dead, protests erupt (Reuters)
• China says extremely concerned after latest North Korea threats (Reuters)
• Postal Service to cut Saturday mail to trim costs (AP)
• Debt Rise Colors Budget Talks (WSJ)
• Obama proposes short-term budget fix, Republicans swiftly object (Reuters)
• S&P Analyst Joked of Bringing Down the House Before Crash (BBG)
• Dell’s Bigger Challenge Ahead in Turnaround After Buyout (BBG)
• Some of the Mark Carney Gloss Is Coming Off (WSJ)
• Japan Official Says BOJ Tools Sufficient as Shake-Up Looms (BBG)
• S&P Lawsuit Undermined by SEC Rules That Impede Competition (BBG)
• Heavy Clashes Erupt in Syrian Capital (WSJ)

The raging second Egyptian Spring isn't quite the webcast ratings bonanza it was when it first struck in 2011, which makes sense as the current Muslim Brotherhood government has the full backing of the US and thus it is in "everyone's best interest" to not follow how close to a counterrevolution the nation once again is. And while for the time being the country's most valuable asset, the Egypt-controlled Suez Canal Authority is in "stable" hands, that does not mean that the government, which today announced its foreign reserves had dipped precariously to only $13.6 billion, can't enforce inflation where everyone else says deflation reigns. As a result, as of May 1, the tolls for any crude oil and other liquid tankers will rise by 5%, while tolls for other commodities will increase by 2-3%. Expect said additional infrastructure costs to be promptly passed on to end consumers around the globe.

We urge readers to do a word search for "Moody's" in the official department of justice release below. Here are the highlights:

DOJ COMPLAINT ALLEGES S&P LIED ABOUT ITS OBJECTIVITY - when it downgraded the US?
HOLDER SAYS S&P'S ACTIONS CAUSED `BILLIONS' IN LOSSES - did Moody's actions, profiled previously here, which happens to be a major holding of one Warren Buffett, cause billions in profits?
HOLDER SAYS `NO CONNECTION' BETWEEN S&P SUIT, U.S. DOWNGRADE - just brilliant

Pure pathetic political posturing, because it was the rating agencies, whose complicity and conflicts of interest everyone knew about, who were responsible for the financial crisis. Not Alan Greenspan, not Ben Bernanke, and certainly not Wall Street which made tens of billions in profits selling CDOs to idiots in Europe and Asia. Of course, the US consumer who had a gun held against their head when they were buying McMansions with no money down and no future cash flow is not even mentioned.

Unfortunately, the spectacular rise of Wall Street’s securitization machine will likely forever frustrate attempts to ascertain the extent to which the Fed is responsible for what happened to the U.S. housing market and financial system in 2008.  After all, it wouldn’t be fair to short sell (no pun intended) all the Special Purpose Vehicle sponsors, CDO asset managers, investors, and ratings agencies who, for at least five years, worked so hard to collapse the system.

• Obama to meet with Goldman's Blankfein, other CEOs Tuesday (Reuters)
• Chinese Firms Shrug at Rising Debt (WSJ)
• McGraw-Hill, S&P Sued by U.S. Over Mortgage-Bond Ratings (BBG)... but not Moody's or Fitch
• Dime a Dozen: Dollar Stores Pinched by Rapid Expansion (WSJ)
• Dell Board Said to Vote Monday Night on $24 Billion LBO (BBG)
• BOJ Governor Shirakawa to step down on March 19 (Reuters)
• Alberta may offer more to smooth way for Keystone (Reuters)
• Facebook Is Said to Create Mobile Location-Tracking App (BBG)
• Barclays takes another $1.6 billion hit for mis-selling (Reuters)
• Apple App Advantage Eroded as Google Narrows IPhone Lead (BBG)
• Texas School-Finance System Unconstitutional, Judge Rules (BBG)
• World Risks ‘Perfect Storm’ on Capital Flows, Carstens Says (BBG)

Egan-Jones may have been barred from rating sovereigns for 18 months due to missing a comma here or there in its NRSRO application (when everyone knows this was merely retribution for downgrading the US ahead of all the other rating agencies), but now the time has come for that other rating agency which dared to follow in EJ's footsteps and downgrade the US of AmericaAA+ in August 2011 to be punished: Standard & Poors. Moments ago we learned that federal and state prosecutors will five civil charges against S&P for its mortgage bond ratings during the housing crisis.

With Dow at 14,000 and rates rising, those that need to take commissions and get their ratings up are seeing the 'conventional wisdom' seemingly proved right. However, Rick Santelli does not see it quite as clearly. Bianco Research's James Bianco joins Santelli for what they call 'mythbusting' as the two skeptics rightfully expose the unreality of the 'fiscal cliff' fears, the untruth that is the 'Great Rotation' due to tax concerns ahead of the fiscal cliff, and dismal performance of the Fed's failed forecast ranges. As extreme monetary policy continues (crisis-mode) - seemingly in absolute opposition to what the talking heads will say about jobs and the economy - Santelli and Bianco conclude that "right now the market is not bothered by [the Fed setting rates], but at some point it might be, Trust Capitalism" as they reiterate the need for Market Forces to be allowed to act. 3 minutes well spent.

In a post-financial crisis world, the lack of viable international leadership is potentially troubling. In 2013, the WEF believes, this breakdown of international coordination will go increasingly local: in such a world, governments will focus more on their domestic agendas, which will create new risks in and of itself. Most importantly, the growing vulnerability of elites makes effective public and private leadership that much more difficult to sustain. Leaders of all kinds are becoming more vulnerable to their constituents, generating more reactive and short-term governance. Whether one looks at the dismal approval ratings of the U.S. Congress or the impact that more open flows of information is having on the Chinese ruling elite, it is clear that people are becoming more and more uninspired by their governments. When it comes to unemployment, the widening disparity of wealth, or environmental degradation, highly complex or even intractable issues set politicians up for failure in the eyes of their constituents. Underperformance erodes elites’ legitimacy, making it that much harder for them to lead effectively. Against this backdrop, a host of key 2013 risks and opportunities takes shape.

The globalists have stretched the whole of the world thin.  They have removed almost every pillar of support from the edifice around us, and like a giant game of Jenga, are waiting for the final piece to be removed, causing the teetering structure to crumble.  Once this calamity occurs, they will call it a random act of fate, or a mathematical inevitability of an overly complex system.  They will say that they are not to blame.  That we were in the midst of “recovery”.  That they could not have seen it coming. Their solution will be predictable.  They will state that in order to avoid such future destruction, the global framework must be “simplified”, and what better way to simplify the world than to end national sovereignty, dissolve all borders, and centralize nation states under a single economic and political ideal?

In a move farcically reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau, the French Finance Minister made an impromptu appearance on the BBC to confirm what we all should have known all along: that "France is a truly solvent country, France is a truly credible country." As the Washington Post notes, the oh-so-honest faux-pas that enfant terrible Monsieur Michel Sapin made yesterday - explaining how his nation is "totally bankrupt" - had French politicos scrambling today to recover their je ne sais pas. It would appear the crisis management approach taken is the repetitive Jedi mind-trick and of course we should believe Moscovici - even as France faces near-record unemployment, ratings downgrades, fiscal atrophication thanks to a plunge in competitiveness, and backlash among the elites at its increasingly socialist policies. "This is not the France you are looking for," and sure enough, now we believe them.