As the fervor of the US Presidential campaign begins to heat up, it appears - despite all the hand-wringing and prosecution of the status quo - that the incumbents are losing... and losing large. According to Bloomberg's Consumer Comfort survey, Republicans are near the most confident relative to Democrats since Obama was re-elected.

The Muslim population of Britain surpassed 3.5 million in 2015 to become around 5.5% of the overall population of 64 million. In real terms, Britain has the third-largest Muslim population in the European Union, after France, then Germany. Islam and Islam-related issues were omnipresent in Britain during 2015, and can be categorized into five broad themes: 1) Islamic extremism and the security implications of British jihadists in Syria and Iraq; 2) the continuing spread of Islamic Sharia law in Britain; 3) the sexual exploitation of British children by Muslim gangs; 4) Muslim integration into British society; and 5) the failures of British multiculturalism.

Between Draghi's disappointment, Kuroda's un-dovishness, China's currency war, and flailing faith in The Fed (as policy errors loom), it appears European stocks were not the "no brainer" investment everyone promised them to be after all. December's 5% plunge was the worst for this time of year since 2002 (2nd worst on record).

America has never - ever - avoided a recession when Chicago's Business Barometer has collapsed to these levels. At 42.9, missing the expectations of 50.0 by the most ever, down from 48.7 in November, the final US economic data point of the year sums up perfectly what a disaster Yellen has hiked rates into.

The S&P 500 closed 2014 at 2058.90 and is currently trading below that level as the market opens. For the sake of faith in The Fed's "control" and trust in central planners ability to do "whatever it takes," it appears NYFed better "get back to work" soon to save the world.

Yesterday, in keeping with what has become a daily tradition, we asked a simple question: "Which hedge fund will close today." It turns out that despite our intention, the question was not rhetorical because just a few hours later Bloomberg answered, when it reported that the latest hedge fund casualty was another iconic, long-term investor: Scott Bommer's SAB Capital, which as of a year ago managed $1.1 billion, and which is now returning all outside money.