LIBOR

During the European crisis, we saw sovereign debt yields rising way above their domestic banking sector's yields as investors feared systemic crisis and technical flows dominated the price action amid aggressive hedging. Now, with Washington looking increasingly likely to crash upon the shores of a US Treasury technical default, for the first time on record the yield on short-term Treasury-Bills is above the yield on US interbank loans. T-Bill yields (the US government's "risk") have surpassed short-term LIBOR (US Banks' "Risk")... must be a good reason to BTFATH...

• House GOP banking on Plan C (Politico)
• Pimco shook hands with the Fed - and made a killing (Reuters)
• BlackBerry's Torsten Heins has a $55 Million golden parachute (Reuters)
• JPMorgan Urged to Pay More in Mortgage Deal (NYT)
• Soros Adviser Turned Lawmaker Sees Crisis by 2020 (BBG)
• U.N. Members Agree on Syria Disarmament (WSJ)
• U.N. Says Humans Are 'Extremely Likely' Behind Global Warming (WSJ)
• The non-falsifiable threats emerge: Shutdown Would Shave Fourth-Quarter U.S. Growth as Much as 1.4% (BBG)
• Swaps Rules Worry Industry: Coming Regulations Have Market Players Concerned About Possible Disruption (WSJ)

Silver’s fundamentals remain very sound, with a very small finite supply of above ground, investment grade silver coins and bars and robust and increasing industrial and store of value demand - particularly in Asia.

We continue to believe silver will rise to its real record high or inflation adjusted high of $140/oz in the coming years.

• The new normal name of a broken market: glitches - NYSE, Nasdaq Consider Cooperating to Address Glitches (WSJ)
• Early Thursday Humor: Abe Tells Wall Street Japan’s Economy Is Exceptionally Good (BBG)
• Rising Rates Seen Squeezing Swaps Income at Biggest Banks (BBG)
• JPMorgan Mortgage Talks Said to Discuss $11 Billion Deal (BBG)
• Can't make this up: HFT firm "finds" Fed did not leak data early to benefit HFT firms (FT)
• Hertz Cuts Full-Year Forecast on Weak U.S. Airport Rentals (BBG)
• Greece does not need third bailout, seeks debt 'reprofiling' - deputy PM (Reuters) - right, it needs a fourth and fifth
• Hezbollah gambles all in Syria (Reuters)
• Twitter Adds J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley as Bankers on IPO (WSJ)
• Messi in Court Shows Tax Collectors Set to Pursue Star Athletes (BBG)

The best summary of what has (not) been going on in the downward drifting equity markets comes from DB's Jim Reid, quoting: "Markets are in non-panicky limbo at the moment ahead of the upcoming US budget debate. US equities fell for the 5th day in row (S&P 500 -0.27%) and although this is the worst run since the Christmas/New Year’s Eve period of 2012 (due to the fiscal cliff debacle), the cumulative fall is only -1.9% over this decline. Meanwhile Treasuries hit a 7-week low in yield as they recorded their 12th decline in the last 14 days." As has been the case over the past week, stocks in Asia have generally traded lower with the exception of the Nikkei225 which day after day continues to do its insane penny stock thing, first dropping -1.5% only to close up 1.2% on absolutely no news, but some chatter the Abe administration would raise the sales tax on October 1, only to offset the fiscal benefit by lowering corporate tax.  How this has any net impact is beyond us. Proceeding to Europe, stocks failed to sustain the initial higher open and moved into negative territory, with Italian asset classes underperforming, as market participants digested reports citing Italian MP Gasparri saying that PdL lawmakers are ready to quit if Berlusconi is ousted. This in turn saw a number of Italian banking stocks come under intense selling pressure, with the Italian/German yield spread widening in spite of supportive reinvestment flows that are due this week.

Here is Part Two of our exclusive interview with World Bank Whistleblower Karen Hudes in which I discuss with Ms. Hudes the need to end an immoral fractional reserve banking system that continually drains the wealth of citizens without their consent and without their knowledge.

It is somehow fitting that on the day when even more undisputed evidence is revealed, surrounding the most brazen market manipulation scheme in history - one involving the "unmanipulable" Libor benchmark rate which serves as the foundation for hundreds of trillions in interest rate sensitive instruments - that the CFTC would also come out moments ago, and announce that in its long-running investigation of alleged manipulation in the silver market... there is absolutely nothing wrong.

• Derivatives Broker 1: Make 6m go lower! They r going up. [Senior yen trader] will buy you a ferrari next yr if you move 3m up and no change 6m (February 29, 2008, via text message to personal mobile phone)
• Yen Desk Head: Lord Baliff, I would suggest a lunch over golden week. Monday or Tuesday if you are around. *** As for kick backs etc we can discuss that at lunch and I will speak to [Senior Yen Trader] about it next time he comes up for a chat.

• JPMorgan eyes $4bn ‘pay for peace’ deal (FT)
• Prosecutors Pursue Big SAC Settlement (WSJ) - in the US if you are rich enough, no crime is bad enough
• Cruz's Defiant Stand Is Also a Lonely One (WSJ); Texas senator speaks for more than 14 hours (FT)
• Iran Applies Brakes to U.S. Mideast Plans (WSJ)
• Americans in Poll Doubt Economy Rebound in Defiance of Forecasts (BBG)
• Big Banks Cut Basel III Shortfall by $112 Billion at End of 2012 (BBG) - the equivalent of 10 bridges to the Kalahari desert
• Obama’s Jabs at Russia on Syria Shows Diplomacy Tensions (BBG)
• ICAP Staff Face Criminal Charges Tied to Libor  (WSJ)
• Alibaba Is Said to Shift Target for I.P.O. to U.S. From Hong Kong (NYT)
• Home gold rush is over (Reuters)
• Conoco in landmark Alaska drone flight (FT)

• Iran Icebreaker Set at U.N.  (WSJ)
• Chrysler Feud Triggers IPO Filing  (WSJ)
• JPMorgan Chase, 12 More Banks Said to Be Sued Over Libor (BBG)
• Regulator sues Morgan Stanley, eight others over faulty securities (Reuters)
• Monte Paschi Seen Boosting Cost Goals to Meet EU Demands (BBG)
• Here we go again - "not enough funds": CFTC chair Gary Gensler warns on fund cuts to police derivatives (FT)
• Congress Fuels Private Jails Detaining 34,000 Immigrants (BBG)
• KKR, Sycamore looking to buy Jones Group this week (NYPost) - take with lots of salt
• Fiat rethinks alliance with Chrysler after IPO filing (Reuters)
• Young Invincibles Caught in Crossfire Over Obamacare Cost (BBG)
• Mayfair Office Squeeze Spawns New London Real Estate Hubs (BBG)

Yes, yes, only the Fed matters. Still, there was some event flow overnight which while completely meaningless for the epic liquidity bubble, may have some implications eventually when the music finally stops. In thie regard, perhaps the best summary of the the lunacy coming out of the Marriner Eccles building is the following sentence from Bloomberg: "Bernanke said he was concerned that market interest rates, driven higher by his own suggestion he would scale back QE, would curb growth." One can't make this up.

We have discussed RINs a number of times in the past year - pointing out the surge in the price of these ethanol credit-related derivatives and how they are the gas-market's four-letter word. As we explain below, the NY Times notes that the recent surge in the price of this little-known financial instrument - which was in large part responsible for the rise in the price of gas at the pump - could have been manipulated by JPMorgan's alleged stockpiling. As they note, the market in ethanol credits is exactly the kind Wall Street loves: opaque, lightly regulated and potentially very lucrative; and the ability for a major player to build a stockpile of these credits (effectively cornering the market) is relatively straightforward given the lack of detailed regulation. As Senator Thomas A. Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, notes "When you see something change as rapidly as this, somebody’s hoarding them, somebody’s buying them, somebody’s making big bucks."

Gold and silver futures surged 2.1% and 3.6% respectively and the dollar fell on the open in Asia prior to determined selling which again capped precious metal prices. Analysts and media attributed the price gains on the withdrawal of Larry Summers from the race to be the new Fed Chairman, leaving Janet Yellen as the new frontrunner.

The most important event of the "coming" week was unexpected, and did not even take place during the week, but the weekend. So with Summers unexpectedly, and uncharacteristically out, here is what else is in store.

• Syrian Rebels Hurt by Delay (WSJ), U.S. seeks quick proof Syria ready to abandon chemical weapons (Reuters)
• Lavrov Brings Acerbic Pragmatism to Syria Meet With Kerry (BBG)
• Five years after Lehman, risk moves into the shadows (Reuters)
• U.S. shares raw intelligence data with Israel, leaked document shows  (LA Times)
• Japan to raise sales tax, launch $50 bln stimulus (AFP) - so 1) lower debt by sales tax, then 2) raise debt through stimulus.
• Blackstone’s Hilton Files for $1.25 Billion U.S. Initial Offer (BBG)
• Second Life Bankers Thrive in Dubai as Boutiques Boost Fees (BBG)
• Brussels probes multinationals’ tax deals (FT)
• Wall Street's Top Cop: SEC Tries to Rebuild Its Reputation (WSJ) ... and fails
• Tablet sales set to overtake PCs (FT)
• The end of angst? Prosperous Germans in no mood for change (Reuters)