Goldman Sachs

With that in mind, I suggest keeping a close eye on the bond markets. These will be the “tell” of what the Fed is likely to announce.

In the six weeks since the last FOMC meeting there has been almost uninterrupted relatively 'hawkish' chatter from Fed members. However, the consensus remains convinced there will be no 'Taper' anytime soon - as somewhat evidenced by the following summary of FOMC expectations from Goldman's Jan Hatzius. So the question is - if, based on the 'economy' there is a belief that no Taper will occur - why has the Fed been so 'hawkish'? We suspect, as we have noted numerous times, the decision to 'Taper' (or at least jawbone 'Tapering') is not economically data-driven but more a growing concern over technical impacts on the Treasury (fails and excess ownership) and mortgage (non-economic spreads crowding out private money and huge build in convexity) market and the bubble-like rational exuberance across every asset class that they have created.

The last time Hilsenrath tried to be relevant, back on May 22, he essentially said to ignore anyone who tried to time the Taper (but don't call it a Taper) when he said: "when the Fed shuts off bond buying, it won’t be abrupt and it won’t be predictable." So just to make sure market expectations of tapering are actually very predictable, if at least on the short end, moments ago Hilsenrath once again hit the tape with the following: "Fed Likely to Push Back on Market Expectations of Rate Increase: Federal Reserve officials have been trying to convince investors for weeks not to overreact when the central bank starts pulling back on its $85 billion-per-month bond-buying program. An adjustment in the program won’t mean that it will end all at once, officials say, and even more importantly it won’t mean that the Fed is anywhere near raising short-term interest rates. Investors aren’t listening." So here comes the Hilsenrally to save the day by making investors listen, even if not so much for the benefit of stocks this time, as for bonds, which little by little are starting to lose it.

• Global shares pummeled, dollar slumps as rout gathers pace (Reuters)
• Hong Kong to Handle NSA Leaker Extradition Based on Law (BBG)
• Lululemon chairman sold $50 million in stock before CEO's surprise departure (Reuters)
• Companies scramble for consumer data (FT)
• Traders Pay for an Early Peek at Key Data (WSJ)
• When innovation dies: Apple looking at bigger iPhone screens, multiple colors (Reuters)
• Washington pushed EU to dilute data protection (FT)
• Japan-U.S. drill to retake remote island kicks off (Japan Times)
• EM economies in danger of overheating, World Bank says (FT)
• Don't forget the Indian crisis: Chidambaram seeks to quell concerns over rupee (FT)

Goldman Sachs has suggested that there may be up to 349 Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) taking place in China this year. But, it’s not the Chinese capital markets that those companies will be wanting. Chinese firms are still hell-bent on getting floated on the world’s biggest and best stock exchange, and rightly so.

Here are the worst IPO fails of all time in the world. The ones that we thought would be unfailingly good. The ones that we thought we could bet our bottom dollar on and still strike it rich.

• Citigroup Facing $7 Billion Currency Hit on Dollar, Peabody Says (BBG)
• World has 10 years of shale oil, reports US (FT)
• ECB prepares to defend monetary policy in German court (FT)
• European Stocks Sink to Seven-Week Low as Treasuries Fall (BBG)
• Fitch warns on risks from shadow banking in China (Reuters)
• Obama administration to drop limits on morning-after pill (Reuters)
• ACLU asks spy court to release secret rulings in response to leaks (MSNBC)
• SEC Nets Win in 'Naked Short' Case (WSJ)
• SoftBank Raises Offer for Sprint to $21.6 Billion (WSJ)
• Chinese rocket launch marks giant leap towards space station (FT)

Overnight, following the disappointing BOJ announcement which contained none of the Goldman-expected "buy thesis" elements in it, things started going rapidly out of control, and culminated with the USDJPY plunging from 99 to under 96.50 as of minutes ago, which was the equivalent of a 2.3% jump in the Yen, the currency's biggest surge in over three years. Adding insult to injury was finance ministry official Eisuke Sakakibara who said that further weakening of yen "not likely" at the moment, that the currency will hover around 100 (or surge as the case may be) and that 2% inflation is "a dream." Bottom line, NKY225 futures have had one of their trademark 700 points swing days, and are back knocking on the 12-handle door. Once again, the muppets have been slain. Golf clap Goldman.

• In Hong Kong, ex-CIA man may not escape U.S. reach (Reuters)
• Backlash over US snooping intensifies (FT)
• Apple to Revamp IPhone Software, Ending Product Funk (BBG)
• Nothing like revising history: Japan revises up Q1 growth to annual 4.1% (FT), just don't look at the trade deficit
• Coffee Exports From Indonesia Seen Slumping to Two-Year Low (BBG)
• Euro bailout Troika nears end of road with patchy record (Reuters)
• Treasuries Little Changed Before Bullard Speaks Amid QE Debate (BBG)
• Schwab Topping Goldman Sachs Presages Return to Stocks (BBG)
• Hedge funds take over another city: London’s Forced Renters Fuel Apartment Investing Boom (BBG)

With JPY back around 98 and the Nikkei 225 indicating further advances, perhaps the fears in the market are mis-represented - at least that's what the other Goldman desk would have you believe. But, as The Japan Times reports, even glorious leader Abe's own LDP party are beginning to voice concerns that all this fluff is - well - just that. As we outlined here the market is already concerned, and additionally as Goldman notes, the fact that the JGBi expected inflation level - a now symbolic indicator of policy success since Kuroda quoted it -  is now suddenly moving counter to its previous extended trend could possibly indicate the markets’ early signal questioning the credibility of the BOJ policy. The recent stock price collapse, Lower House LDP lawmakers noted "shows the market expects little (of Abenomics)." The sky-high approval ratings (and business confidence) for the Abe Cabinet have been bolstered by the resurgence of the benchmark Nikkei since 'Abe(g)nomics began. The stock market’s downturn, therefore, has created a sense of crisis among some members of the ruling LDP, because "Abenomics could fail."

While Wall Street is implicitly conflicted in its actions, there is also another group of individuals who are also just as conflicted - corporate executives. Today, more than ever, corporate executives are compensated by stock options, and other stock based compensation, which are tied to rising stock prices. There are billions at stake in many cases and the game of "beat the Wall Street estimate" is critical in keeping corporate stock prices elevated. Unfortunately, this leads to a wide variety of gimmicks to boost bottom line profitability which is not necessarily in the best interest of long term profitability or shareholders. Today we will discuss four tools that have been at the heart of the surge in profitability since 2009 and why such profitability has failed to boost the economy. While the Fed's ongoing interventions since 2009 have provided the necessary support to the current economic cycle it will not "repeal" the business cycle completely.  The Fed's actions work to pull forward future consumption to support the current economy.  This is turn has boosted corporate profitability as the effectiveness of corporate profitability tools were most effective. However, such actions leave a void in the future that must be filled by organic economic growth.  The problem comes when such growth doesn't appear.

Here are some of the most recent top insider dealing stories in the USA. The biggest in terms of fines!

Year-over-year inflation in Venezuela accelerated to 35.2% - up from 20.1% YoY in December. Goldman is concerned as the 6.1% MoM (the highest on record) in May means inflation is now endemic and the economy could easily veer from the current stagflation equilibrium into the dangerous and slippery road to hyperinflation. In a sentence that rings all to close to home, they sum up: All in all, we are increasingly concerned with the inflation and monetary dynamics in Venezuela as the classical Sargent and Wallace (1981) “unpleasant monetarist arithmetic” of severe fiscal dominance brought about by growing monetization of fiscal deficits and very weak policy credibility could easily degenerate in a recessionary hyper-inflationary spiral. That must mean it is time to buy the Caracas Stock Index (+72% YTD, +600% since Jan 2012)?

Given that ALL of the stock market gains since 2008 were based on Fed money printing… what do you think will happen when the Fed tries to taper QE?

Today, there is almost zero truth in mainstream media. The fascist corporate-banking-government machine has ensured that mainstream media has now become the official department of propaganda, not only in political news, but also regarding nearly all financial news as well.