Boeing

Those who went long Boeing in the last few days on hopes the "smoking battery" issue had been resolved, especially following Ray LaHood comment's he would fly the Dreamliner, which is rapidly becoming the Nightmareliner for Boeing, anytime anywhere, are about to be grounded, as is the entire 787 fleet of All Nippon Airlines and Japan Airlines following yet another incident forcing an emergency Dreamliner landing. This happened after ANA "alarms indicated smoke in the forward area of the plane, which houses batteries and other equipment, the airline said, and there was a "burning-like smell" in the cockpit and parts of the cabin. The plane landed at Takamatsu airport in western Japan, where the 129 passengers were evacuated using the plane's emergency chutes. The plane also carried eight crew members. ANA said that the exact cause was still undetermined. The event was designated as a "serious incident" by Japan's transport ministry, setting off an immediate investigation by the Japan Transport Safety Board, which dispatched a team to the scene." The result - a 4% drop in the stock so far premarket, and if any more airlines are to ground their fleet the implications for the backlog could be devastating, it will only get far worse for both the company and the Dow Jones average, of which it is part.

• White House delays 2014 budget after "fiscal cliff" standoff (Reuters) - And Senate will pass this... never?
• Amari Signals Limits to Abe’s Campaign to Weaken Yen (BBG)
• Draghi’s Bond Rally Masks Debt Doom Loop Trapping Spain (BBG)
• Obama backs gun limits, concedes tough fight ahead (AP)
• Bernanke to Weigh QE Costs as Fed Assets Approach Record (BBG)
• Japan to Sell Debt Worth 7.8 Trillion Yen to Pay for Stimulus (BBG)
• France more than doubles forces in Mali (FT) and yet...
• Malian Rebels Take Town and Vow to Avenge French Attack (NYT)
• China’s Li Calls for Patience as Government Works to Reduce Smog (BBG)
• EU berates China over steel subsidies (BBG)
• Number of working poor families grows as wealth gap widens (Reuters)

• Guess who doesn't believe in the "great rotation out of bonds and into stocks": Abe Aids Bernanke as Japan Seen Buying Foreign Debt (BBG)
• AIG Sues Federal Reserve Vehicle in Dispute Over Lawsuit Rights (WSJ)
• JPMorgan Said to Weigh Disclosing Whale Report Faulting Dimon (BBG)
• Ugly Choices Loom Over Debt Clash (WSJ)
• Credit Suisse to cut bonus pool by 20 percent (Reuters)
• Brazilian Bikini Waxes Make Crab Lice Endangered Species (BBG)
• EU redrafts plan for bank rescue funding (FT)
• JCPenney stock plunges after bad holiday (NY Post)
• Regulator Comments Buoy Shanghai Stocks (WSJ)
• Japan voters back PM Abe's efforts to spur growth, beat deflation (Reuters)
• Cameron averts row over Europe speech (FT)
• Swatch Buys Harry Winston Jewelry Brand for $1 Billion (BBG)

• WSJ picks up on excess "deposits over loans" theme, reaches wrong conclusion: Wads of Cash Squeeze Bank Margins (WSJ)
• SAC Is Bracing for Big Exodus of Funds (WSJ)
• Japan unveils Y10.3tn stimulus package (FT)
• China’s Inflation Accelerates as Chill Boosts Food Prices (BBG)
• Berlusconi Denies Responsibility for Italy Crisis (BBG)
• Fed hawks worry about threat of inflation (Reuters)
• And then the lunatics: Fed easing may not be aggressive enough: Kocherlakota (Reuters)
• BOJ Likely to Take Easing Steps (WSJ)
• Draghi Shifts Crisis Gear as ECB Focuses on Economy Inbox (BBG)
• Argentina Bondholders Lose Bid to Get State-Court Review (BBG)
• Regulators Find Major Euribor Shortcomings (WSJ)
• Basel III Punishes Dutch Over Risk That Isn’t (BBG)
• Bondholders in Crosshairs as Merkel Travels to Cyprus (BBG)

• Obama Picking Lew for Treasury Fuels Fight on Budget (BBG)
• Deutsche Bank Bank Made Huge Bet, and Profit, on Libor (WSJ)
• Spain Beats Maximum Target in First 2013 Debt Sale (BBG) - In other news, the social security fund is now running on negative?
• "Icahn is also believed to have taken a long position in Herbalife" (NYPost) - HLF +5% premarket
• Lew-for-Geithner Switch Closes Era of Tight Fed-Treasury Ties (BBG)
• Turkey Beating Norway as Biggest Regional Oil Driller (BBG)
• Greek State Firms are Facing Closure (WSJ)
• Draghi Spared as Confidence Swing Quells Rate-Cut Talk (BBG)
• China’s Yuan Loans Trail Estimates (BBG)
• SEC enforcement chief steps down (WSJ)
• CFPB releases new mortgage rules in bid to reduce risky lending (WaPo)
• Japan Bond Investors Expect Extra Sales From February (BBG)

• A Bold Dissenter at the Fed, Hoping His Doubts Are Wrong (NYT)
• China and Japan step up drone race as tension builds over disputed islands (Guardian)
• How Mario Draghi is reshaping Europe's central bank (Reuters)
• Merkel Economy Shows Neglect as Sick Man Concern Returns (BBG)
• US oil imports to fall to 25-year low (FT)
• China Loan Share at Record Low Shows Financing Risks (BBG)
• Dimon Says Some JPMorgan Execs ‘Acted Like Children’ on Loss (BBG) - children that reveleased who 'excess reserves' are truly used
• Fed injects new sell-off risk into Treasuries (FT) - really? So the Fed will stop monetizing the US deficit some time soon?
• Obama aide presses Republicans to accept more tax revenues (Reuters)
• Ex-SAC analyst named 20 alleged insider traders (FT)
• BOJ easing bets help dollar regain ground vs yen (Reuters)
• Goldman Sachs Said to Be Part of Fed-Led Foreclosure Settlement (BBG)
• Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez (Reuters)

• London Quantitative Hedge Funds Report Second Year of Losses (BBG)
• Berlusconi Forms Alliance in Comeback Bid (WSJ)
• Japan to Buy ESM Bonds Using FX Reserves to Help Weaken Yen (BBG)
• Japan Mulling BOJ Accord Linked to Employment, Mainichi Says (BBG)
• Samsung Expects Record Operating Profit (WSJ)
• Boeing 787 Dreamliner Fire Probed, Blaze Adds to Setbacks (BBG)
• BOJ's Shirai: Open to Firmer Inflation Target (WSJ)
• HSBC N.J. Client Admits Conspiracy in Offshore Tax Case (BBG)
• Lampert to Assume CEO Role at Sears (WSJ)
• Abe prepares fresh stimulus measures (FT)
• U.S. Set for Biggest State-Local Jobs Boost Since 2007 (BBG)
• Pakistan Seen Needing IMF Bailout as Rupee Drops Before Vote (BBG)

• Just like last year: A Postholiday Letdown for Retailers (WSJ)
• Obama Fights Republicans on Debt as Investors Seek Growth (BBG)
• Housing a Sweet Spot for U.S. Economy as Recovery Expands (BBG)
• House chooses Boehner as speaker again despite dissent (Reuters)
• Backlash pushes Republicans to seek cuts (FT)
• Jobs Lost Hit 5 Million With Rigged Currencies (BBG)
• Chavez still has "severe" respiratory problem (Reuters)
• Paris promises flurry of economic reforms  (FT)
• Investors Sour on Pro Stock Pickers (WSJ)
• Abe moves to ease South Korea tensions (FT)
• Wildfires Hit Australia Amid Worst Heatwave in Decade (BBG)
• Monti attacks ‘extremist’ rivals (FT)

A broken safety net is no safety net at all.  

• Obama Concessions Signal Potential Bipartisan Budget Deal (BBG)
• Cerberus to sell gunmaker after massacre (CNN)
• With New Offers, Fiscal-Cliff Talks Narrow (WSJ)
• Judge rejects Apple injunction bid vs. Samsung (Reuters)
• U.S. policy gridlock holding back economy? Maybe not (Reuters)
• President fears for Italy’s credibility (FT)
• Struggles Mount for Greeks as Economy Faces Winter (WSJ)
• Abe leans on BoJ in post-election meeting (FT)
• Bank of Japan to mull 2 percent inflation target as Abe turns up heat (Reuters)
• EU exit is ‘imaginable’, says Cameron (FT)
• Mortgage Risk Under Fire in Nordics as Bubbles Fought (BBG)
• Sweden cuts interest rates to 1% (FT)
• External risks impede China recovery, more easing seen (Reuters)

• MSM discovers window dressing: Fund Managers Lift Results With Timely Trading Sprees (WSJ)
• White House Unyielding on Debt Limit (WSJ)
• Obama, Boehner talk; Geithner prepared to go off "cliff" (Reuters)
• Republicans urged to resist tax rises (FT)
• China looms large over Japanese poll (FT)
• As predicted here two months ago, Greek Bond Buyback Leads S&P to Cut to Selective Default (BBG)
• Japan opposition LDP set to win solid election majority – polls (BBG), but...
• Japan Opposition LDP’s Main Ally Cautions Abe on BOJ Pressure (BBG)
• U.S. and Europe Tackle Russia Trade (WSJ)
• King Seen Maintaining QE as Osborne Extends Fiscal Squeeze (BBG)
• Syria pound fall suggests currency crisis (FT)
• Irish budget seeks extra €3.5bn (FT)
• U.K. Extends Cuts Due to Poor Outlook (WSJ)
• ECB Seen Refraining From Rate Cuts as Yields Sink on Bond Plan (BBG)

• LA port workers to return Wednesday (AP)
• Iran says extracts data from U.S. spy drone (Reuters)
• Obama to stress need to raise debt limit "without drama" (Reuters)
• Big Lots Chief Probed by SEC (WSJ)
• NATO missiles to be sent to Turkey, Syria clashes rage (Reuters)
• GOP Deficit Plan Irks Conservatives (WSJ)
• Japan Can End Deflation in Months, Shirakawa Professor Says (BBG) ... almost as good as Bernanke ending inflation in 15 minutes.
• Osborne Prepares to Breach Fiscal Rules Amid U.K. Growth Slump (BBG)
• Global Banking Under Siege as Regulators Guard National Interest (BBG)
• Freeport plans return to energy (FT)
• Serbian NATO envoy jumps to death at Brussels airport (Reuters)
• Tide Turns After a Flood of Chinese Listings (WSJ)
• Australian economy loses steam (FT)
• Euro Crisis Feeds Corruption as Greece Slides in Rankings (BBG)

• Two weeks ago here: The Latest Greek "Bailout" In A Nutshell: AAA-Rated Euro Countries To Fund Massive Hedge Fund Profits... and now on Bloomberg: "Hedge Funds Win as Europe Will Pay More for Greek Bonds" (BBG)
• Oracle sends shareholders cash as tax uncertainty looms (Reuters)
• GOP Makes Counteroffer In Cliff Talks (WSJ)
• Iran says captures U.S. drone in its airspace (Reuters)
• IMF drops opposition to capital controls (FT)
• Vogue Editor Wintour Said to Be Possible Appointee as U.K. Envoy (BBG)
• Juncker Stepping Down French Finance Minister to Head Euro Group? (Spiegel)
• Australia cuts rates to three-year low (FT)
• Europe’s banking union ambitions under strain (Reuters)
• EU Nations Eye New ECB Bank Supervisor Amid German Doubts (BBG)
• Frankfurt's Ambitions Get Cut Back (WSJ)
• House Republicans Propose $2.2 Trillion Fiscal-Cliff Plan (BBG)

• OECD slashes 2013 growth forecast (FT)
• Fiscal Cliff Compromise Elusive as Congress Returns (Bloomberg)
• China’s PBOC Chief Search Spurs Focus on Finance Regulators (Bloomberg)
• Elected, but Still Campaigning (WSJ)
• Pentagon Readies Options for Afghanistan Force After 2014 (Bloomberg)
• Greece Wins Easier Debt Terms as EU Hails Rescue Formula (Bloomberg)
• Monti presses Cameron for EU referendum (FT)
• Welcome, Mr Carney – Britain needs you (FT)
• Argentina seeks halt to $1.3bn debt order (FT)
• Asean chief warns on South China Sea disputes (FT)
• South Korea Tightens FX Rules to Temper Won Surge (WSJ)

The dollar rises for the same reason gold and grain rise: scarcity and demand. Which is easier to export: manufactured goods that require shipping ore and oil halfway around the world, smelting the ore into steel and turning the oil into plastics, laboriously fabricating real products and then shipping the finished manufactured goods to the U.S. where fierce pricing competition strips away much of the premium/profit? Or electronically printing money and exchanging it for real products, steel, oil, etc.? I think we can safely say that creating money out of thin air and "exporting" that is much easier than actually mining, extracting or manufacturing real goods. This astonishing exchange of conjured money for real goods is the heart of the "exorbitant privilege" that accrues to the issuer of the global reserve currency (U.S. dollar). To understand the reserve currency, we must understand Triffin's Paradox.