Tag: finance

Producer Prices in the US (less the all important food and energy – which no on uses) fell 0.2% month-over-month – the biggest drop since July 2013 – and missing expectations of a 0.1% rise. This is only the third month of ‘disinflation in the last 18 months. Perhaps even more relevant is the dramatic slowdown in prices for final demand services which dropped 0.3% (the biggest drop since May 2013) and equal slowest rise year-over-year since the ‘recovery’ began.

Core PPI (ex food and energy)…

 

And Final Demand Services PPI rose at the slowest pace since the recovery began…

 

Via The BLS,

The index for final demand services moved down 0.3 percent in February, the largest decrease since a 0.4-percent decline in May 2013. Most of the February drop can be traced to margins for final demand trade services, which fell 1.0 percent. (Trade indexes measure changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers.)

 

Prices for final demand transportation and warehousing services declined 0.2 percent. Conversely, the index for final demand services less trade, transportation, and warehousing inched up 0.1 percent in February.

Must be the weather?

 

Charts: Bloomberg

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1oTp1qm Tyler Durden

While Russia has been massively piling up troops next to Ukraine’s eastern border, one thing that was missing to allow the crossing of the border was a provocation, aka the proverbial spark to give Moscow the green light to “defend” Russian citizens in the East. It may have just gotten that last night, when as previously reported, clashes in the eastern city of Donetsk between pro-Ukraine and pro-Russian civilians turned lethal, killing at least one person and dozens injured. A clip of the clashes can be seen below:

 

Needless to say, this escalation was just the green light Russia needed. As Reuters reports, the Russian Foreign Ministry, responding to the death of at least one protester in Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk, repeated President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of the right to invade to protect Russian citizens and “compatriots”.

“Russia is aware of its responsibility for the lives of compatriots and fellow citizens in Ukraine and reserves the right to take people under its protection,” it said. Curiously, organizers of the anti-Moscow demonstration said the dead man was from their group. That, however, is irrelevant, and in the fog of war, when tank batalions enter a country to “defend” select citizens, mistake are made.

In the meantime, and as we have been reporting since day one, Russian troops continue to gather:

A Reuters reporting team watched a Russian warship unload trucks, troops and at least one armored personnel carrier at Kazachaya bay near Sevastopol on Friday morning. Trucks drove off a ramp from the Yamal 156, a large landing ship that can carry more than 300 troops and up to a dozen APCs.

As also reported before, the key event in the coming days is the Crimean referendum whether to join Russia. Which is why a doomed last ditch diplomatic scramble has seen John Kerry rush to London where he later today he will meet Russian foreign minister Lavrov in a final attempt to diffuse the situation. The attempt will fail.

Summarizing it best, or perhaps just waking from a month-long nap, was the Estonian defense minister, Urmas Reinsalum who suddenly appears agitated to quite agitated:

• PUTIN IS PREPARING TO INVADE EASTERN UKRAINE: ESTONIAN DEF MIN
• UKRAINE EVENTS CLEARLY SHOW RUSSIA ONLY ACCEPTS FORCE: ESTONIAN DEF MIN

Hardly anyone is surprised there…

But perhaps the biggest news so far this morning is that the EU is considering visa bans to 13 Russian politicians and industry leaders, which according to Germany’s Bild, include the headest hocnho of all: Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller. From Reuters:

Visa bans threatened by the European Union and United States should Crimea vote to join Russia in a referendum would target at least 13 Russian politicians and industry leaders including Vladimir Putin’s close aides, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported.

 

The visa ban list includes Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, the secretary of the National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, as well as several of Putin’s advisors, Bild said in an advance copy of a report to be published on Saturday. The report cited diplomatic sources in Brussels and Washington.

 

Visa bans could also be slapped on the chief executive of Russian energy firm Gazprom Alexei Miller, and Igor Sechin, head of Russia’s top crude oil producer Rosneft .

Remember, it is all about the gas. And if Europe “forces” Russia’s hand by denying Gazprom free access, then Gazprom will have no choice but to retaliate. At that point all bets are off.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/Ndbs8R Tyler Durden

Until today, the prevailing theory surrounding the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was either catastrophic midair disintegration and/or terrorism. That changed overnight, following reports by various news agencies that the Boeing 777 was deliberately flown hundreds of miles off course, in a westerly direction toward India’s Andaman islands, heightening suspicions of foul play among investigators, as reported by Reuters. And like that the theory shifts from one of terrorism to hijacking and sabotage, ostensibly by highly skilled operators, yet considering the results, one gone horribly wrong.

Reuters reports:

Analysis of the Malaysia data suggests the plane, with 239 people on board, diverted from its intended northeast route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and flew west instead, using airline flight corridors normally employed for routes to the Middle East and Europe, said sources familiar with investigations into the Boeing 777’s disappearance. Two sources said an unidentified aircraft that investigators believe was Flight MH370 was following a route between navigational waypoints when it was last plotted on military radar off the country’s northwest coast.

 

This indicates that it was either being flown by the pilots or someone with knowledge of those waypoints, the sources said.

 

The last plot on the military radar’s tracking suggested the plane was flying toward India’s Andaman Islands, a chain of isles between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, they said.

 

A third source familiar with the investigation said inquiries were focusing increasingly on the theory that someone who knew how to fly a plane deliberately diverted the flight.

While the western direction is a recent hypothesis, the reality is that searching for the plane so far has been the equivalent of finding the needle in the proverbial haystack, as shown in the map below which plots the potential area where MH370 could have gone:

A summary timeline of the progression in the MH370 theories:

Regardless of the plane’s final resting place, the key change is that in addition to possible terrorism, the prevailing theory is shifting to one involving hijacking:

“What we can say is we are looking at sabotage, with hijack still on the cards,” said that source, a senior Malaysian police official.

All three sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media and due to the sensitivity of the investigation.

Officials at Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport, the official point of contact for information on the investigation, did not return calls seeking comment.

Malaysian police have previously said they were investigating whether any passengers or crew had personal or psychological problems that might shed light on the mystery, along with the possibility of a hijacking, sabotage or mechanical failure.

As a result of the new evidence, the sources said, multinational search efforts were being stepped up in the Andaman Sea and also the Indian Ocean.

But if it was indeed a hijacking, who was the perpetrator? And what was the ultimate destination? Question which will hopefully be answered soon. In the meantime, the search for the missing flight continues:

In one of the most baffling mysteries in modern aviation, no trace of the plane nor any sign of wreckage has been found despite a search by the navies and military aircraft of more than a dozen countries. The last sighting of the aircraft on civilian radar screens came shortly before 1:30 a.m. Malaysian time last Saturday (1730 GMT Friday), less than an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur, as the plane flew northeast across the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand. That put the plane on Malaysia’s east coast.

 

Malaysia’s air force chief said on Wednesday an aircraft that could have been the missing plane was plotted on military radar at 2:15 a.m., 200 miles northwest of Penang Island off Malaysia’s west coast. This position marks the limit of Malaysia’s military radar in that part of the country, a fourth source familiar with the investigation told Reuters.

When asked about the range of military radar at a news conference on Thursday, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said it was “a sensitive issue” that he was not going to reveal.

“Even if it doesn’t extend beyond that, we can get the co-operation of the neighboring countries,” he said.

The fact that the aircraft – if it was MH370 – had lost contact with air traffic control and was invisible to civilian radar suggested someone on board had turned off its communication systems, the first two sources said.

They also gave new details on the direction in which the unidentified aircraft was heading – following aviation corridors identified on maps used by pilots as N571 and P628. These routes are taken by commercial planes flying from Southeast Asia to the Middle East or Europe and can be found in public documents issued by regional aviation authorities.

In a far more detailed description of the military radar plotting than has been publicly revealed, the first two sources said the last confirmed position of MH370 was at 35,000 feet about 90 miles off the east coast of Malaysia, heading towards Vietnam, near a navigational waypoint called “Igari”. The time was 1:21 a.m..

The military track suggests it then turned sharply westwards, heading towards a waypoint called “Vampi”, northeast of Indonesia’s Aceh province and a navigational point used for planes following route N571 to the Middle East. From there, the plot indicates the plane flew towards a waypoint called “Gival”, south of the Thai island of Phuket, and was last plotted heading northwest towards another waypoint called “Igrex”, on route P628 that would take it over the Andaman Islands and which carriers use to fly towards Europe.

The only other question is how this too airplane “crisis” will not be put to waste by US authorities, and the FSA…

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1oTj0dg Tyler Durden

• Ukraine anxiety triggers flight to safety, stocks tumble (Reuters)
• Woodrow Wilson’s Ukraine Failure Foreshadows West’s Dilemmas (BBG)
• Fortress Executives Join Peers Selling Stock After Rally (BBG)
• 303 Deaths Seen in G.M. Cars With Failed Air Bags (NYT)
• Putin Deports Executives for Speeding as Sanctions Loom (BBG)
• Russia blocks internet sites of Putin critics (Reuters)
• China Bond Risk Exceeds Ireland as Defaults Unavoidable (BBG)
• China H-Shares Post Biggest Weekly Drop Since October (BBG)
• Surge in Rail Shipments of Oil Sidetracks Other Industries (WSJ)
• Blackstone’s Home Buying Binge Ends as Prices Surge (BBG)
• Teslas in California Help Bring Dirty Rain to China (BBG)
• Norway’s Oil Stimulus Nears Tipping Point as Growth Fades (BBG)
• China’s Big Four Banks See $70 Billion Vanish From Stocks (BBG)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

* Malaysia Airlines’ missing jet transmitted its location repeatedly to satellites over the course of five hours after it disappeared from radar, people briefed on the matter said, as searchers zeroed in on new target areas hundreds of miles west of the plane’s original course.

* Ukraine appealed for arms, ammunition and intelligence support, according to senior U.S. officials. But the Obama administration has agreed to send only military rations for now, wary of inflaming Russia.

* General Electric Co filed for an initial public offering of the unit that provides financing plans and private-label credit cards for North American retailers.

* BP PLC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached an agreement that will allow the oil and gas company to start doing business again with the federal government.

* Asian stock markets are lower as tensions between Ukraine and Russia combined with fears about China’s economic slowdown, pushed the Nikkei almost 3 percent lower.

* Amazon.com Inc said it will raise the annual price of its Prime shipping and streaming-video service by $20 to $99, the first increase in its nine-year history.

* China’s central bank is temporarily suspending the use of two forms of smartphone payments in a setback for China’s two largest Internet companies as they try to gain a larger share of the online finance market.

* Target Corp’s computer-security team was alerted when hackers broke into the retailer’s systems during the holiday shopping season, but decided the warning didn’t need a follow-up.

* U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Thursday that regulators might have acted sooner to push for a recall of General Motors Co cars equipped with faulty ignition switches, but lacked the information company officials had about problems with the vehicles.

* Consumers appear to be emerging from their dens to visit stores and restaurants, a sign the U.S. economy could be poised to perk up from a winter chill.

 

FT

Barclays is planning to axe thousands of jobs in a radical shake-up of its investment bank and may replace the European and the U.S. heads of the unit.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has criticised the United States over revelations that the government has secretly spied on the activities of some of his company’s 1.2 billion users.

The U.S. government lifted a ban on Thursday that excluded BP from new federal contracts, following a lawsuit by the British oil major saying it was being unfairly penalised for its Gulf of Mexico spill in 2010.

Bank of England has unveiled what appear to be the world’s toughest rules for clawing back bonuses under new proposals aimed at preventing a repetition of the mis-selling and rate manipulation scandals that have hit the sector.

Alexei Kudrin, former Russian finance minister and a key ally of President Vladimir Putin, has warned that the country could soon face capital outflows as high as $50 billon a quarter and no economic growth, should western countries press forward with proposed sanctions against Moscow.

 

NYT

* A new review of federal crash data shows that 303 people died after the air bags failed to deploy on two of the General Motors Co models that were recalled last month.

* Four years after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, BP is being welcomed back to seek new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. government lifted a 2012 ban that was imposed after the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that BP had not fully corrected problems that led to the well blowout in 2010 that killed 11 rig workers, spilled millions of gallons of oil and contaminated hundreds of miles of beaches.

* Sotheby’s, the auction house fending off attacks by the activist billionaire Daniel Loeb, dug in its heels on Thursday by rejecting his proposal for new board members and instead selected two others.

* Liberty Media Corp, the company controlled by John Malone, announced late Thursday that it had abandoned its plan to buy the shares of Sirius XM Holdings Inc that it did not already own as part of a move to set up two tracking stocks to house the company’s assets.

* Olam International Ltd, a Singapore agricultural commodities company that has been targeted by the short seller Carson Block, said on Friday that it had received a cash buyout offer led by Temasek Holdings, a Singapore government investment firm valuing it at more than $4 billion.

* U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday that Lions Gate Entertainment Corp had agreed to admit wrongdoing and pay a $7.5 million penalty for its actions in fending off a takeover by Carl Icahn.

* Moody’s cut Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s long-term debt rating a notch on Thursday in light of the potential difficulties of the British lender’s turnaround plan.

* Gleacher & Co Inc, the troubled investment bank that had tried unsuccessfully to sell itself, announced on Thursday that it planned to liquidate its assets, closing up shop after 24 years.

* General Electric Co on Thursday took the next step to reduce the size of its North American retail finance unit, filing to spin off its GE Capital division in an initial public offering.

* The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, said on Thursday that euro zone banks faced a period of “creative destruction” that would be healthy for the economy, and he praised the banks that were moving more aggressively to deal with their problems.

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* Sobeys Inc is focused on shaving costs to win a tough food fight, with plans to consolidate manufacturing and distribution operations, cut jobs in two regional offices and force suppliers to retroactively reduce their prices.

* Transport Canada is investigating a fatal car accident in Canada that it says appears to be linked to the same failure of General Motors Co ignition switches that led to 12 deaths in the United States.

Reports in the business section:

* PetroChina Co Ltd is close to securing government approval for a northern Alberta oil sands project, though a dispute with a native community that dragged the process out for months shows how the industry faces increasingly tough hurdles for new developments.

NATIONAL POST

* Passengers aboard a U.S. Airways flight were forced to evacuate the plane via its emergency slide after its nose gear collapsed on a runway at Philadelphia International Airport Thursday evening.

FINANCIAL POST

* E-book retailer Kobo Inc and Indigo Books & Music Inc are challenging the Canadian Competition Bureau’s deal with major e-book publishers that removed restrictions on retailer discounting, arguing Kobo would “suffer significant unrecoverable losses” and could allow Amazon to gain a “monopoly or near-monopoly on the supply of e-books in Canada.”

* Thirty-three years after it was discovered, and nine years after construction began, Cameco Corp has finally brought the much-anticipated Cigar Lake uranium mine into production.

 

China

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

– China Power Investment Corp, one of China’s top state-owned power suppliers, plans to launch ownership reform this year to allow private investors to hold shares of its subsidiaries, its general manager Lu Qizhou told the paper.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

– Tencent Holdings Ltd’s online brokerage product “Yong Jin Bao”, run in conjunction with Sinolink Securities Co Ltd, has attracted over 250,000 users since its launch, according to data from CITIC Securities.

21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD

– China’s banking regulator is expected to include four major Chinese banks, including Bank of China Ltd and Bank of Communication Co Ltd, in a preferred stock pilot scheme, unnamed sources told the paper.

CHINA DAILY

– China’s western province of Shaanxi will clamp down on medicine being given to students, after almost 1,500 preschoolers were given prescription drugs without parental consent over a four-year period.

SHANGHAI DAILY

– Chinese scientists have discovered a molecular compound that can be used to treat potentially fatal hand, foot and mouth disease. The disease affects over one million children in China every year, according to Rao Zihe, who led the research.

PEOPLE’S DAILY

– China should deepen political and economic reform under the rule of law and socialist democratic politics, the paper which act as the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece said. This comes after the country’s annual parliamentary meeting closed on Thursday.

 

Britain

The Telegraph

CUT HIGHER TAX RATE FOR MIDDLE EARNERS, SAYS LORD LAWSON

(http://ift.tt/1m3ftM9)

Former Tory chancellor says the Coalition is wrong to drag more workers into the 40 percent tax band, and blames Liberal Democrats for blocking rate cuts which could help middle earners.

RBS RESTRUCTURING WILL ‘HEAVILY DEPRESS’ PROFITS, WARNS MOODY’S

(http://ift.tt/1ezqddF)

Royal Bank of Scotland’s massive restructuring plan will “heavily depress” profits and could leave the lender struggling to cope with unexpected costs, Moody’s has warned. The credit ratings agency, which also expects RBS to suffer from lower capital levels than previously thought, cut the bank to “Baa1” from “A3” with a negative outlook, meaning it could slash the rating further.

The Guardian

MORRISONS TO CUT PRICES AFTER SECOND PROFIT WARNING IN THREE MONTHS

(http://ift.tt/1ezqg9f)

Supermarket chain Morrisons has issued its second profit warning in three months as it announced a programme of aggressive price cuts to take on Aldi and Lidl .

STOCK MARKET TRADERS BEING REPLACED BY COMPUTERS, ACCORDING TO SURVEY

(http://ift.tt/1m3ftMf)

European equity investors placed more orders via computers than through flesh-and-blood traders for the first time last year, as new market rules drive more money managers to go high-tech and low-cost.

The Times

Global tensions send Wall Street into a spin

(http://ift.tt/1m3fv6I)

Traders on Wall Street took fright last night after a day in which world stock markets were hit by rising concerns over Russia’s stand-off with Ukraine, slower growth in China and the growing threat of deflation in the eurozone.

Sky News

LIBERTY GLOBAL AIMS TO BLOOM WITH £500M DAISY

(http://ift.tt/1m3ftMh)

The U.S.-based cable giant Liberty Global has been holding secret talks about a 500 million pound plus takeover of the London-listed IT supplier Daisy Group.

CITY INVESTORS COURT LAWYERS IN ESSAR FIGHT

(http://ift.tt/1m3fv6M)

Leading City investors have approached lawyers to assist their battle against a potential delisting of Essar Energy , stoking an increasingly fractious tussle over the future of the India-based oil refiner.

 

 

Fly On The Wall 7:00 AM Market Snapshot

ECONOMIC REPORTS

Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Producer Price Index for February at 8:30–consensus up 0.2%
Consumer sentiment index for March at 9:55–consensus 81.8

ANALYST RESEARCH

Upgrades

Banc of California (BANC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee
Independent Bank (INDB) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette
Lowe’s (LOW) upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer
NuStar Energy (NS) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
NuStar GP Holdings (NSH) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman
Selective Insurance (SIGI) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette
Teva (TEVA) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley
Teva (TEVA) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan
Turkcell (TKC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

Downgrades

AngloGold (AU) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie
Covisint (COVS) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse
Delek Logistics (DKL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Harmony Gold (HMY) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie
Houston Wire & Cable (HWCC) downgraded to Underperform at Raymond James
Nucor (NUE) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse
Oncothyreon (ONTY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Cantor
Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
Plug Power (PLUG) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital
U.S. Steel (X) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse

Initiations

Alcoa (AA) initiated with a Buy at Sterne Agee
Allscripts (MDRX) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Atmel (ATML) initiated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill
Cerner (CERN) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
China Biologic (CBPO) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer
Computer Programs (CPSI) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust
DHT Holdings (DHT) initiated with a Buy at UBS
Navios Acquisition (NNA) initiated with a Neutral at UBS
Quality Systems (QSII) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust
Rose Rock Midstream (RRMS) initiated with a Buy at UBS
Scorpio Tankers (STNG) initiated with a Buy at UBS
SemGroup (SEMG) initiated with a Buy at UBS
StealthGas (GASS) initiated with a Buy at UBS
Teekay Tankers (TNK) initiated with a Neutral at UBS
Top Image Systems (TISA) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord
Tsakos Energy (TNP) initiated with a Buy at UBS

COMPANY NEWS

Herbalife (HLF) rescheduled its annual general meeting to allow the company to continue its discussions with Carl Icahn about adding Icahn nominees to the company’s board
AT&T (T) completed Leap Wireless (LEAP) acquisition
Barnes & Noble (BKS), Microsoft (MSFT) amended NOOK partnership
Liberty Media (LMCA) said its offer for Sirius XM (SIRI) was no longer applicable and will split its cable and media assets into two new tracking stocks
Zogenix (ZGNX) declined on news that Senator Manchin introduced a bill to ban Zohydro
Trian’s Peltz criticized PepsiCo’s (PEP) ‘dismissive tone’ on separation proposal
Aeropostale (ARO) reported a financing pact with Sycamore Partners

EARNINGS

Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
Luxfer (LXFR), Erickson Air-Crane (EAC), Aastrom (ASTM), Omeros (OMER), Sophiris Bio (SPHS), Federal Agricultural Mortgage (AGM), ChemoCentryx (CCXI), KaloBios (KBIO), Engility Holdings (EGL), Oncothyreon (ONTY), Mattress Firm (MFRM), Paragon Shipping (PRGN), Bright Horizons (BFAM), SeaWorld (SEAS), Ulta Salon (ULTA), ImmunoCellular (IMUC)

Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
Fuel Systems (FSYS), Hibbett Sports (HIBB), B2Gold (BTG), Silvercrest Asset (SAMG), Surgical Care Affiliates (SCAI), TransAtlantic Petroleum (TAT), Gastar Exploration (GST), Ocera Therapeutics (OCRX), Transcept Pharmaceuticals (tspt), BioAmber (BIOA), Athersys (ATHX), Cbeyond (CBEY), Aeropostale (ARO), XO Group (XOXO)

Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Tahoe Resources (TAHO), TearLab (TEAR), Anacor (ANAC)

NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES

Barclays (BCS) readying radical overhaul of investment bank unit, FT says
Electronic Arts (EA) to lay off some employees from PopCap unit, WSJ reports
Target (TGT) did not follow up after hackers broke into system, WSJ reports
RBS (RBS) hires Morgan Stanley (MS) to advise on options for Ulster Bank, Irish Times reports
Cisco (CSCO) being probed by DOJ, SEC over Russia unit, Bloomberg reports
Microsoft (MSFT) ready to fight back as iPad (AAPL) generation shuns Office, Reuters says
Sony (SNE) tops Microsoft (MSFT) in February console sales, Bloomberg reports 
General Electric (GE) spinoff should boost stock, Barron’s says

SYNDICATE

Athersys (ATHX) files to sell 20M shares of common stock, warrants
Castlight Health (CSLT) 11.1M share IPO priced at $16.00
Dyax (DYAX) files to sell common stock
Ignyta (RXDX) 5.245M share Secondary priced at $9.15
InterMune (ITMN) 7.5M share Secondary priced at $32.75
MakeMyTrip (MMYT) 5.5M share Secondary priced at $23.00
Omeros (OMER) reports proposed offering of common stock
TICC Capital (TICC) files to sell 6M shares of common stock
ZAIS Financial (ZFC) files to sell 3.25M shares of common stock for holders
ZBB Energy (ZBB) files to sell common stock

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/Obcp2x Tyler Durden

It has been a relatively quiet overnight session, aside from the  already noted news surrounding China’s halt on virtual credit card payments sending Chinese online commerce stocks sliding, where despite an ongoing decline in the USDJPY which has sent the Nikkei plunging by 3.3% (and which is starting to impact Abe whose approval rating dropped in March by a whopping 5.6 points to 48.1% according to a Jiji poll), US equity futures have managed to stay surprisingly strong following yesterday’s market tumble. We can only assume this has to do with short covering of positions, because we fail to see how anyone can be so foolhardy to enter risk on ahead of a weekend where the worst case scenario can be an overture to World War III following a Crimean referendum which is assured to result in the formal annexation of the peninsula by Russia.

In Asia, a senior Chinese government source said not to panic if Q1 GDP is below target and that growth as low as 7% would meet this year’s jobs target. The source also added that a Reserve Requirement Ratio cut seems far off for now and that monetary policy wouldn’t be prudent if RRR was cut. Earlier in the week, PBOC sources stated that they could cut the RRR if GDP growth slips below 7.5%. The Chinese RRR currently stands at 20%. Newsflow on Chinese companies coming under pressure to repay debts continues, with private steel mill Haixin failing to pay back overdue bank loans last week. However, Baoding Tianwei Baobian Electric are said to have paid bond interest on time. Much beleaguered Chaori Solar have reportedly had 6 of their trust products paid off by Zhongrong International. As a result, stocks in Asia finished the session with heavy losses, the Nikkei 225 index down over 3% at the close.

In the west, risk averse sentiment dominated the price action this morning amid concerns over the credit markets in China, together with uncertainty surrounding Russia and Ukraine ahead of the referendum in Crimea on March 16th. As a result, industrials and basic materials underperformed its peers following more reports of further distress in China relating to potential corporate bond defaults, with base metals also trading lower. At the same time, flight to quality supported flows into JPY, with the major pair falling to its lowest level since early March as the Nikkei 225 index settled the session with a net loss of over 3%.

Looking elsewhere, EUR/USD has recovered overnight Draghi inspired losses after the head of the central bank said that real interest rate spread between Eurozone and rest of world will probably fall, putting downward pressure on exchange rate. Draghi also said EUR exchange rate is becoming increasingly relevant in ECB’s assessment of price stability adding that the ECB has been preparing additional non-standard measures to guard against inflation and stands ready to take further decisive action if needed. On that note, analysts at UBS believe that the recent bullish EUR trend may be due to a correction on increasing risk of fallout from Ukraine crisis and dovish comments from ECB’s Draghi. Going forward, there is little in terms of tier 1 economic releases, but market participants will get to digest the release of the latest U. Michigan Confidence survey

Bulletin news summary from Bloomberg and RanSquawk

• Risk averse sentiment dominated the price action this morning amid concerns over the credit markets in China, together with uncertainty surrounding Russia and Ukraine ahead of the referendum in Crimea on March 16th
• A senior Chinese government source said not to panic if Q1 GDP is below target and that growth as low as 7% would meet this year’s jobs target. The source also added that a Reserve Requirement Ratio cut seems far off for now and that monetary policy wouldn’t be prudent if RRR was cut
• Flight to quality which in turn weighed on USD/JPY ensured that EUR/USD was able to capitalise on a weaker USD and retrace overnight losses
  Treasury 10Y yields headed for biggest weekly decline since January as concerns on China growth, Ukraine tensions spur flight-to-quality flows.
• Economists at UBS, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Nomura cut forecasts for Chinese growth after disappointing data fueled speculation the nation may not meet its 7.5 percent economic-expansion target for 2014.
• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in London to press his Russian counterpart to halt a takeover of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula after clashes killed one person and injured dozens in the country’s east
• Crimea votes March 16 on becoming independent or rejoining Russia, with the U.S. and Germany threatening Moscow with sanctions over its support for the secession
• Russia’s central bank said borrowing costs will remain unchanged in the coming months after what it called a  temporary interest-rate increase last week
• U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne should scale back his housing-market stimulus next week to prevent prices spiraling, according to a survey of economists
• Millions of Americans may be exempt from Obamacare’s individual mandate under rules issued by the administration, including homeless people, homeowners who’ve been foreclosed upon, those who’ve had utilities shut off, suffered domestic violence or have had a death in the family
• Mark Zuckerberg said he called Obama to express frustration over the government’s spying following reports the NSA had been disguising itself as Facebook to gain access to users’ computers
• Sovereign yields mixed. EU peripheral spreads tighten. Asian equities slide, with Nikkei -3.3%, Shanghai -0.7%; European equity markets lower, U.S. stock-index  futures gain. WTI crude and copper gain, gold little changed

US Event Calendar

• 8:30am: PPI Final Demand m/m, Feb., est. 0.2% (prior 0.2%); PPI Ex Food and Energy m/m, Feb., est. 0.1% (prior 0.2%)
• 9:55am: UofMich. Confidence, March preliminary, est. 82 (prior 81.6)
• 11:00am POMO: Fed to purchase $1b-$1.25b in 2036-2044 sector

EU & UK Headlines

ECB’s Knot said would be wise to eventually have joint Eurobonds. (Financieele Dagblad)Germany remain opposed to such a plan, with German central bankers and government officials repeatedly stating their distaste for joint issuance.

Fitch says Eurozone deflation unlikely but a risk to periphery. (BBG)

UK Construction Output SA (Jan) M/M 1.8% vs. Exp. 1.5% (Prev. 2.0%)

UK Visible Trade Balance GBP/mln (Jan) M/M -9793 vs. Exp. -8600 (Prev. -7717, Rev. to -7662)

US Headlines

The Senate reached a bipartisan deal on Thursday that would renew federal unemployment benefits for five months. (TheHill.com) The plan put together by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) would provide retroactive benefits to people who lost federal help after the program expired on Dec. 28
Equities
Although stocks in Europe managed to recover off the lowest levels of the session, Russian MICEX remained
under pressure and traded lower as much as 5% as market participants positioned for any sanctions that
Russia may be imposed upon as early as next week. Heading into the North American open, oil & gas sector is the
only sector in the green , supported by somewhat resilient energy prices which managed to hold onto minor gains ahead
of the eagerly awaited referendum in Crimea.

FX
EUR/USD managed to fully retrace Draghi inspired losses overnight, which in turn supported EUR/GBP which now
trades firmly above the 100DMA line. The move was largely driven by a lower USD which suffered as a result of flight to
quality into JPY. Of note, analysts at Morgan Stanley recommended that clients go short USD/JPY, adding that a firm
break below the 101.20 level will start a down turn reaching 97.00.

Commodities

CME lowered crude oil future NYMEX initial margins for specs by 13.3%, lowered natural gas Henry Hub future initial margins specs by 25%, lowered NY Harbour future initial margins for specs by 6.8%, and lowered RBOB gasoline futures initial margins for specs by 5.9% to USD 4,400 per contract from USD 4,675. (CME)

The US Senate delayed vote on Ukraine loan and Russia sanctions until the week starting the 24th of March. (BBG) Furthermore, according to an American defence official, Ukraine has asked the US for military assistance and equipment and as yet, Pentagon officials have not rejected the request but have indicated diplomacy and economic aid are the favoured options.

IEA has raised its 2014 oil demand estimate as the world economy starts to recover, increasing by 1.4mln bpd this year to a record 92.7mln bpd. According to IEA OPEC’s crude oil production surged above its target for the first time in five months on the back of Iraq, who pumped the most in 35 years.(BBG)

The newly appointed CEO of Posco has announced that they will not be being seeking expansionary investment for a while. The new focus for the south Korean steel maker is to increase value by improved finances and by making the business structure more efficient. This comes after a wave of investments and acquisitions that left the Co. with high debt levels. (BBG/RTRS)

* * *

We conclude with the traditional overnight recap by DB’s Jim Reid

Outside of the peripheral European markets it’s becoming harder to find a main equity index that is up YTD now with the S&P500 (-1.17% last night) one of the last to fall back into negative territory yesterday. Time is running out to turn Q1 round from a risk point of view although we should point out that credit is still holding in relatively well. One can understand the nervousness at the moment as there are a couple of almost unanalysable themes at the moment. Firstly the situation with Russia/Ukraine/Crimea and secondly China. Before we try to analyse the unanalysable we just thought we have a look at what Q1’s normally tell us about the overall direction for the year using US data. If we look back at the S&P 500 since 1940, 30 of the 74 years have seen negative price returns by the end of Q1. Of these 30, 57% of the time the market finished the year down overall with an average annual price move of -14%. 40% of the time the market recovered by year end to return an average of 11% in price terms. Of the 44 times the market was up at the end of Q1, the average price return for the full year was 16%. So there is some evidence that Q1’s performance does shape the year to some degree. Could it be a coincidence that we’re having these issues in the first full quarter of the taper? Are we more susceptible to bad news now? We think we probably are as liquidity reduces.

Onto the main stories and its fair to say that there has been increased nervousness ahead of Sunday’s referendum in Crimea. The referendum is on whether to break away from the Ukraine and join Russia. In the run-up to the referendum tensions rose yesterday as Russia began military exercises on the border and Ukraine’s parliament voted to create a 60,000-strong volunteer force. The upcoming referendum has been dismissed as illegal by Ukraine and the West however Russia continues to support it. European leaders have suggested that any attempt by the Russians to legitimise the result will be met with further consequences, generally believed to imply stronger sanctions. The Crimean parliament has already voted to break away from Ukraine and the referendum is being held with the aim of showing public endorsement of the decision with the referendum itself clearly titled towards Russia with the two options being (1) to join Russia as part of the Russian Federation or (2) for Crimea to become an independent region within Ukraine. The status quo is not on offer. In terms of the campaign leading up to the vote, reports from the BBC suggest that the campaign has been almost entirely pro-Russian with Ukrainian TV channels removed from broadcast in Crimea shortly after the referendum was called. Looking ahead to the result most commentators believe that given the Russian political and military control of the region the result is almost certainly going to be a vote for Crimea to join Russia. The Crimean parliamentary speaker said on Ukrainian TV that, the vote was a matter of “legalising opinion” and “there will be no surprises. Do not even hope.” This point is supported by the fact that according to the last census of the Crimean population (13 years ago), 58% of residents are Ethnic Russian whilst the number of Ukrainians is estimated at 24%. The Crimean parliament has formally invited OSCE election monitors, but the OSCE does not plan to send anyone because of its stance that the vote is “illegal”. Indeed Reuters reported that observers from the OSCE have already been blocked from entering Crimea when shots were fired by pro-Russian troops on March 8th (Reuters).

Meanwhile, Russia plans to send 24 MPs to observe the referendum and eight election officials to oversee the vote (BBC).The result of the referendum is expected to be announced no later than 10 days after the vote. As we head into the poll, we should highlight a research piece from our Russian and Ukraine strategists published last week noting the macro implications for Russia from the increased geopolitical risk. They think that Russia could see a significant rise in capital outflows and the recent ruble weakness will likely intensify inflationary pressures later this year (mitigated to some extent by the CBR’s tightening policy). Their analysis suggests capital outflows of US$100bn could lead to an average RUBUSD rate of 39.1 (vs around 36.5 now).

Turning to Asia, the news flow from China has been fairly mixed overnight but the price action is more unambiguous with falls in the Shanghai Copper futures (-0.9%), HSCEI (-0.9%) and Hang Seng (-1.3%). The latter has been weighed by a sharp fall in Tencent (-5.1%) one of the world’s largest internet companies,
on reports that the PBoC has called for a halt to virtual credit cards operated by the company. China worries have also sent Australian mining stocks down 2.3% and the Nikkei is down 3.4% with all industry sectors suffering >2% falls. S&P500 futures (+0.1%) are slightly firmer though and US treasury yields are trading flat in Asian trading following yesterday’s 9bp move lower. In domestic Chinese equities, banks are leading the markets losses as concerns over corporate defaults continue to weigh on the sector. On the topic of potential defaults, Chinese equipment-maker Boading Tianwei, who generated headlines earlier this week as a potential second default in China’s domestic bond sector, released a statement saying that it will be meeting its coupon payment obligations on July 11th this year. The bonds are guaranteed by the company’s central-government-linked shareholder. The bonds remain suspended from trading though. There was also news that trust products linked to Shanghai Chaori (the first domestic corporate bond issuer to default last week) have been “paid off” by Zhongrong International Trust Co, suggesting that maybe the trust product’s investors may have been able to recover a substantial amount of their investment (Shanghai Securities News).

Elsewhere in Asia, there was little reaction to the latest BoJ minutes where members said that the economy and prices were on track with Bank forecasts. Away from the worries in EM, there were interesting comments from Draghi in his prepared remarks at a presentation ceremony in Vienna yesterday. Draghi said that the ECB’s efforts in repairing bank balance sheets prior to the start of the Single Supervisory Mechanism was in a sense “encouraging creative destruction in the banking sector”. He said he wanted to avoid “zombie banks” that do not lend and that interfere with the “churn process between firms entering and exiting the market that is a crucial driver of productivity”. We wouldn’t disagree with these comments. As we have argued many times in the past, low default rates are a big feature of this high liquidity world which is great if you’re a credit investor but its highly debatable whether it’s good for the wider economy in so much as it distorts the efficient allocation of capital.

Defaults are a good thing through time. However with so much debt outstanding now we may have long passed the point where you can allow defaults without causing major systemic concerns and subsequent economic weakness. On a separate matter, but also related to the banking industry, the FT wrote yesterday that Barclays is planning a “radical overhaul” of its investment bank with a new management strategy to be unveiled before the summer.

Looking at the day ahead, it’s likely that the focus will remain squarely on geopolitical developments rather than economic data. All eyes are on the Kerry-Lavrov meeting in London today, but it’s fair to say that expectations of this meeting are low at this point. The world will be watching the Crimean referendum on Sunday, but as we mentioned above, the outcome of the vote seems pretty certain at this point and it will be more about how the protagonists react to the formality. The main data releases are US producer prices and the UofMichigan consumer confidence report

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By: Chris Tell

A politician is a material incarnation of the absolute worst of human nature. Look around you, it’s self-evident. Basic human nature is to survive. Once that is accomplished and we become comfortable, extremes in behaviour can develop. If you’re a typical politician those extremes normally manifest as unchecked ego and unbridled power. A bad combination!

Putin is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them. Yes he is dangerous, yes he is power hungry, but show me a politician that is not. Again, politics is where the worst of human nature congregates, like flies to shit.

Russian Pipeline network in Ukraine

Take a look at the map above. It tells you all you need to know about why Ukraine is in the cross-hairs of the world’s super powers. It is about the Russian pipeline network that feeds Europe, plain and simple. Ukraine is, as you can see, a pretty damn important piece in the Russian energy distribution network.

This has nothing to do with Russians in Ukraine. “Brother Vlad” would gun those “countrymen” down in a heartbeat if they threatened his pipelines. He’d then return to his morning tea without a second thought. “Pass the toast Alina.” Oh, and unless you have been drinking the western media Kool Aid, the Brits and Yanks would do the same. This isn’t a cultural issue, it’s a matter of ECONOMICS, POWER AND POLITICS.

The 64 million dollar question now is how far will the delusional, intellectually bankrupt “gentlemen” that inhabits the White House push this with Putin..?

Obama’s foreign policy is a joke. The decisions coming out of this administration are nothing short of BRAIN DEAD. Imposing sanctions on Russia only serves to push Putin into a corner. If he backs down now he loses credibility, which means he can’t, as it would be political suicide.

I cannot fathom what the Obama administration thought they would get out of imposing sanctions, other than further alienating the Russians and endangering millions upon millions of people in the region.

Did they really think Putin would roll over and say “Sorry gee, you know what you’re right.”?

Did they really think that the Europeans, who by the way Russia has by the balls (via control over the flow of natural gas), would see it in their best interests to follow the US and antagonize the hand that feeds them?

Did they really think that China would back them up on this one?

The US’s “allies” and “friends” have not suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. This is the real price of the NSA spying.

The US has the world’s largest , most sophisticated military. Spending on its military ($683.7B) alone is greater than the entire GDP of Afghanistan ($33.7B), where they have been unable to suppress the restless locals.

Antagonizing China and Russia is a dangerous game. One misstep and we could have WWIII on our hands, which would be most unfortunate.

– Chris

“If one looks at the map of the world, it’s difficult to find Iraq, and one would think it rather easy to subdue such a small country.” – Vladimir Putin

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1nXYsBG Capitalist Exploits

The PBOC issued a statement today, according to 21st Century Business Herald, that halts virtual credit card products and "face-to-face" payment services such as QR code payment:

• *PBOC HALTS QR CODE PAYMENT: 21ST HERALD
• *PBOC HALTS VIRTUAL CREDIT CARDS BY ALIPAY, TENCENT: 21ST HERALD

Tencent is down over 5% and Yahoo was dumped in morning trading in Japan (on the back of Alibaba's Alipay service being affected).

 

21st Century Business Herald reports:

March 13, the central bank issued an urgent document halt Alipay, Tencent's virtual credit card products, but stopped there barcode (QR Code) payment and other payment services face to face.

21st Century Network 21 has learned that on March 13, the central bank issued an urgent document halt Alipay, Tencent's virtual credit card products, but stopped there barcode (QR Code) payment and other payment services face to face.

 

Tencent is tumbling (and it appears perhaps a few people knew earlier in the week)…

 

and Yahoo (trading in Japan) was flushed on massive volume at the open…

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The West will claim “everything Putin does is illegal,” but while Ron Paul notes “he’s no angel,” the former congressman adds Putin “has some law on his side.” America has a right of secession and Crimea should have it too – “it’s such a facade,” Paul explains, noting that “contracts, and agreements, and treaties” linked to the Sevastopol base provide Putin with a legal basis to militarily occupy Crimea, “Russia could accuse America of occupying Cuba because it, too, holds a lease on the land around the Guantanamo Bay prison.”

Paul goes on to note the hypocrisy of the West and alleges US and European participation in the overthrow of Yanukovich… and for good measure discusses Diane Feinstein, the CIA and spying…

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The "good" news this evening is that Baoding Tianwei Baobian Electric Co (TBE), the company which as recently as two days ago was rumored to be the second "imminent" Chinese corporate bond default which sent copper to multi year lows, has issued a statement that it will not default on its upcoming interest payment (due July 11th – so how the delisted company is convinced it will have enough cash four months from now is a mustery). The "bad" news is that markets don't care. There is a slight whiff of positivity in Copper futures but aside from that, weakness continues in China's corporate bond and stock market. Simply put, the market gets it – this is no longer about the next idiosyncratic bond (or trust) to default; this is about Xi's renewed confidence in efforts to 'clean up' the mounting local government and corporate debts and shrink the shadow-banking bubble. This is systemic, and the markets know it.

Hooray…

• *BAODING TIANWEI SAYS CO. TO PAY BOND INTEREST ON TIME

Copper was excited momentarily…

TBE statement: (link)

Co. will pay bond interest for due July 2014 on time, according to a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange.

So to be clear, TBE is promising that in 4 months it will pay interest on a bond that it currently has zero liquiidty to pay, is losing money, and is in an industry that the government has specifically targeted for 'normalization'…

BofA explains why is it not a big piece of news in China?

To the Mainland China media, the delisting of TBE bonds is not a big piece of news, in our view, because TBE was already in a law suit on its other debt, and the “new energy” sector has been in deep trouble anyway (as we have seen with Wuxi Suntech and Chaori). TBE is in the business of making power transmission equipment, but in recent years has heavily invested in the ill-fated new energy sector which has resulted in two straight years of losses with the losses in 2013 surging to RMB5.2bn. TBE’s Shanghai Stock Exchange listed bond was issued in 2011, with principal at RMB1.6bn, a 5.75% yield and 7-year tenor. TBE’s stock price has already fallen by 15% this year. TBE’s controlling shareholder is Tianwei Group, which is a central-government owned company.

 

We do see a significant rise in bond and trust loan defaults We believe the chance of corporate bond and trust loan defaults will rise significantly in 2014 as a more confident President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will aim to seriously clean up mounting local government and corporate debts.

As Li himself noted,

Though Mr Li said that he could not possibly "want to see" defaults in financial products, he added that "sometimes certain individual cases of such defaults are hardly avoidable".

As a gentle reminder (from our very detailed coverage of the China bubble about to burst), the bubble is gigantic (as Marc Faber would say) and there are many more debt maturities coming up…
 

From November 2012, The Chinese Credit Bubble – Full Frontal:

 

 

Everyone should also know that like a metastatic cancer, the amount of non-performing, bad loans within the Chinese financial system is growing at an exponential pace.

 

Finally, what everyone learned over the past month, is that as the two massive, and unresolvable forces, come to a head, the first cracks in the facade are starting to appear as first one then another shadow-banking Trust product failed and had to be bailed out in the last minute.

However, as we showed again last week, the default party in China is only just beginning as Trust failures in the coming months are set to accelerate at a breakneck pace.

So as Moody's noted:

Analysts see more such defaults in the coming months in sectors with overcapacity, such as steel and mining, as crackdowns on careless loans continue. "The lack of intervention is consistent with the central Chinese government's adoption of more market-oriented policies, which include increased tolerance for corporate bond defaults, as it reforms the country's financial markets," Moody's said in a commentary after the default.

In conclusion, one default here or there now is no longer relevant as the first crack in the damn has been made. Risk will be re-priced… confidence has been broken that money is free and 10% yields are riskless… finally, as we previously noted in great detail, here are the next steps…

The question, however, in addition to "why", is whether the Fed also agrees with BofA's stunningly frank, and quite disturbing conclusion, perhaps finally realizing that aside from the US, the biggest house of cards that would topple once the "flow"-free emperor is exposed in his nudity, is that of the world's largest "growth" (and credit) dynamo of the past two decades – China. Because, as noted above, if Lehman's collapse was bad, a deflationary collapse brought on by Chinese hard landing coupled with a full unwind of the global carry trade, would be disastrous and send the world into a depression the likes of which have never before been seen.

Finally, for those who want the blow by blow, here is BofA's tentative take of what the preliminary steps of the next global great depression will look like:

If we do experience a sizable default, the knee-jerk market reaction will be cash hoarding since it will strike as a big surprise. Thus, we expect the repo rate to rise first, while the long term government bond would get bid due to risk aversion flows.

 

However, what follows will be quite uncertain, aside from PBoC injecting liquidity and easing monetary policy to help short term rate come down. It has been proven again and again the Chinese government will get involved and be proactive. The bond market reaction will be different depending on the government solution.

Alas, at that point, not even the world's largest bazooka will be enough.

At this point one should conclude that reality – through massive, unprecedented liquidity injections – has been deferred long enough. It is time to let the markets finally return to some semblance of uncentrally-planned normalcy: there is a reason why nature abhors a vacuum. Even if it means the eruption of the very painful grand reset, washing away decades of capital misallocation, lies and ill-gotten wealth, so very overdue.

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Submitted by Casey Research's Sound Money blog,

Complete Breakdown of Financial Controls in US Government, Says Austin Fitts

Former HUD Assistant Housing Secretary and investment advisor Catherine Austin Fitts reveals her thoughts on the ever-rising debt ceiling… what Obamacare is really about (and that’s not socialized healthcare)… why over $4 trillion missing from federal programs may not be incompetence, but a covert strategy… how to protect yourself from the constant devaluation of the US dollar… and what exactly the Popsicle Index measures and why it matters.

Here are a few excerpts:

“I don’t see Obamacare as something designed to offer healthcare. … I think the question comes down to a bigger one, which is, are we going to create a society where one hundred percent of everything is digitized and under central control?”

 

“Who is the governance system, and why are they behaving the way they are behaving? What we see is literally a psychopathic effort and intensity—whether it is in the energy area, whether it is in the currency area, whether it is in the food area, whether it is in the healthcare area—to get 100% central control and to use digital means to do it, and the question is why?”

 

“Well, you have a complete breakdown of internal financial controls in the US government. … You had over $4 trillion of what is called undocumentable adjustments and to this day, [these agencies] have never, as required by law, produced audited financial statements.”

 

“In my experience, government is not incompetent at all. … Gridlock is a cover story, incompetence is a cover story. There is a plan, you just can’t see what it is.”

The article Complete Breakdown of Financial Controls in US Government, Says Austin Fitts was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

Full podcast audio below:

 

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