World Bank

Three months ago we discussed in detail the growing anti-dollar hegemony alliances that were building across the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Their efforts at the time, to create a structure that would serve as an alternative to the IMF and the World Bank (which are dominated by the U.S. and the EU), appear to be nearing completion. As AP reports, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff and Russia's Vladimir Putin have discussed the creation of a development bank to promote growth across the BRICS and hope to produce an agreement on the proposed institution at this week's BRICS Summit. As Rousseff concluded (rather ominously), the five countries "are among the largest in the world and cannot content themselves in the middle of the 21st century with any kind of dependency."

The UK had feared whiplash from sanctions on Russian oligarchs but this 'boomerang' is too much to bear... As Bloomberg reports, “We’re seeing a lot less Russian surnames on the booking sheet," at London's Mahiki, a Polynesian-themed nightclub in upmarket Mayfair where a bottle of Cristal Champagne goes for $719 - and Russian customers are being supplanted by revelers from countries including China and Nigeria. “The Russian market was like a Champagne fountain,” notes on ereveler, "The money was coming into the top and flowing down..." but not so much anymore...

This is misguided and not in the U.S. national interest and could backfire spectacularly. After a period of relative calm, currency wars look set to escalate and will make owning gold important again in the coming months.

Gold has held firmly above $1300 for over two weeks, confounding those who said it would never see that key level again, but as the constantly-bearish SocGen explains in this 'astounding' report, gold's downturn is set to return... except their reasoning has a fatal flaw - it's entirely factually incorrect.

We live in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable, and people need to understand that the period of relative stability that we are enjoying right now is extremely vulnerable and will not last long. The following are 18 signs that the global economic crisis is accelerating as we enter the last half of 2014...

• Obama Administration Widens Export Potential for U.S. Oil (BBG)
• WTI Pares Gains as U.S. Export Ruling Seen Limited (BBG)
• Senator Cochran defeats Tea Party rival in Mississippi Republican runoff (Reuters)
• Militants attack Iraq air base, U.S. assessment teams deploy (Reuters)
• Maliki rules out national emergency govt (AFP)
• Koch to Start EU Power Trading as It Plans LNG Expansion (BBG)
• Obama Said to Ready Sanctions on Russian Industries (BBG)
• Ghana Sends Plane With $3 Million to Calm World Cup Team (BBG)
• Ghana’s First Hedge Fund Planned by Ex-Exchange Regulator (BBG)
• SEC Is Gearing Up to Focus on Ratings Firms (WSJ)
• Abe Declares Deflation End as Growth Plan Confronts Skeptics (BBG)

"...On June 28, 1914, a Slavic nationalist in Sarajevo murdered Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne. The battle lines were drawn. Austria positioned itself against Serbia. Russia announced support of Serbia against Austria, Germany backed Austria, and France backed Russia. Military mobilization orders traversed Europe. The national and private finances that had helped build up shipping and weapons arsenals in the last years of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth would spill into deadly battle. Wilson knew exactly whose help he needed. He invited Jack Morgan to a luncheon at the White House. The media erupted with rumors about the encounter. Though Wilson explained this did not signify the start of a series of talks with “men high in the world of finance,” rumors of a closer alliance between the president and Wall Street financiers persisted..." Woodrow Wilson and Jack Morgan’s collaboration to finance the Allies in the early days of the war - aside from its timeliness - provides one of the strongest examples of the intimate cooperation between the presidency and the highest levels of banking to drive American interests.

• Levin Hearing Ups Volume in High-Frequency Call to Action (BBG)
• Ukrainian President Fires Central Bank Chief (BBG)
• Argentina Plans Debt Swap (WSJ)
• Fed Decision Day Guide From Dot Plots To Exit Strategy (BBG)
• World Bank Economist: China May Face US-Style Financial Crisis (WSJ)
• Premier Li says no hard landing for China, expects medium to high growth (Reuters)
• Putin Talks Peace With Ukraine Leader After Gas Pipe Fire (BBG)
• Poll Shows Erosion in President's Support (WSJ)
• U.S. mortgage applications plunge in latest week (Reuters)
• Ex-Goldman director goes to prison, still owes $13.9 million fine (Reuters)

We all knew just how wrong it was as we sat there and listened to the World Bank going on in January about how world economic growth would top 3.2%. Today the World Bank has downgraded economic growth to 2.8%, which some might say is even over the odds

Yesterday, the IMF and World Bank issued warnings about rising interest rates, housing crashes and the global economy. The World Bank’s chief economist is inadvertantly offering important advice to investors and savers when he said that "now is the time to prepare for the next crisis ..."

The World Bank joined the hallowed ranks of the IMF and admitted it was clueless last night, slashing growth estimates for every developed and developing nation from Brazil to the US. The "bumpy start" as they called it merely exacerbated what is now becoming a dismal joke as the death cross of GDP growth expectations and world stock market valuations diverge in an ever more fragile manner.

Overnight saw China spook its markets by weakening the CNY (and breaking the trend again) and suffering a failed bond auction and that led on to weakness across Europe as USDJPY toyed with 102 and dragged stocks and peripheral bonds down. The US opened weak, saw the usual buying spree jerked higher by JPY then as the budge deficit hit (reducing room for monetization money) stocks tumbled to the session's lows and red fo rthe week. Of course that will never do and at around 330ET, as usual, the buying panic began (though in a tiny range). US cash equity markets saw a double dump-and-pump but were unable to scramble back to the green by the close. The USD closed unchanged as EUR tested once again down to Draghi spike lows. Gold and silver closed unch (with a midday dump of $175 million notional in gold futs); oil flatlined (iraq vs world bank) and copper slid (China). Treasury yields closed 2bps lower with the belly outperforming. VIX was slammed at 330 but stocks could not hold their gaisn as The Dow had its worst day in 3 weeks.

Overnight weakness following The World Bank downgrade, China's flip-flop on CNY and failed auction, Cantor's 'compromise-shattering' loss, appeared to be stabilized by a levitating USDJPY but when the budget deficit hit (as expected) it appears the market was hoping for a bigger deficit (and thus more to monetize and moar QE). Stock are diving lower with Trannies worst along with the Russell 2000 -1%. CNBC is already discussing if this is the pullback to buy for the next leg higher in stocks as money on the sidelines floods in...

• World Bank Cuts Global Growth Forecast After ‘Bumpy’ 2014 Start (BBG)
• Al-Qaeda Offshoot Threatens Iraq Oil Site After Taking Mosul (BBG)
• Fed Prepares to Keep Record Balance Sheet for Years to Come (BBG)
• EU investigates tax rulings on Apple, Starbucks, Fiat unit (Reuters)
• Cantor Loss Shocks Republicans, Dims Immigration Changes (BBG)
• More surveillance: Google to Buy Satellite-Imaging Startup for $500 Million (WSJ)
• Tea Party activist who defeated Cantor focused on budget, immigration (Reuters)
• Airbus Suffers Worst Order Loss as Emirates Deal Scrapped (BBG)
• Amazon.com plans local services marketplace this year (Reuters)
• Amazon Stops Taking Advance Orders for ‘Lego’ and Other Warner Videos (NYT)

If predicting yesterday's EURUSD (and market) reaction to the ECB announcement was easy enough, today's reaction to the latest "most important ever" nonfarm payrolls number (because remember: with the Fed getting out of market manipulation, if only for now, it is imperative that the economy show it can self-sustain growth on its own even without $85 billion in flow per month, which is why just like the ISM data earlier this week, the degree of "seasonal adjustments" are about to blow everyone away) should be just as obvious: since both bad news and good news remain "risk-on catalysts", and since courtesy of Draghi's latest green light to abuse any and every carry trade all risk assets will the bought the second there is a dip, the "BTFATH mentality" will be alive in well. It certainly was overnight, when the S&P500 rose to new all time highs despite another 0.5% drop in the Shcomp (now barely holding on above 2000), and a slight decline in the Nikkei (holding on just over 15,000).