As Rich Dump To The Poor, Tesla Daytrading Millennials Dream Of Untold Riches

As Rich Dump To The Poor, Tesla Daytrading Millennials Dream Of Untold Riches

If you have found yourself recently wondering what stage of this record-long, Fed-induced bull market we are in, here is the answer: the “dump to the masses” stage. Indeed, we are in that delightful time where the hype surrounding the stock market, as evidenced by such totally normal moves as cash furnace Tesla doubling in just a few days, has hit a fever pitch. And this, as Goldman points out, is always the time when the “smart money” dumps their equities to the unsuspecting and excitable, yet horribly uninformed, retail crowd. 

The evidence has been trickling in every day.

For instance, recently released data from the Federal Reserve Board shows us a couple of trends that are worth keeping an eye on. The two following charts indicate that as recessions begin, the top 1% begins to sell their holdings, while the bottom 90% continues to try and “buy the dip”.

The first chart shows the top 1% dumping as the market falls entering recession. Of late, we can see that selling has happened in spurts by the top 1%:

For the bottom 90% it’s just the opposite: the vast majority of unsophisticated retail investor start to chase momentum at the worst possible time, as they buy stocks en masse just as a recession begins, which in turn craters the market. In the Goldman chart below, we can see that the share of equities owned by the 90% jumps just as recession begin.

In laymens terms, the rich dump their stock to the poor just before the market crashes.

The technical term is “distribution.”

And when it comes to other signs of both recession and “dumping to the bottom 90%” as of late, there’s plenty.

Despite the stock market rallying to new heights, sectors like automotive have been mired in recession for the better part of the last 18 months globally. Recent housing data also suggests that we could be on our way to recession in 2020, as we have pointed out. We also pointed out recently that 9 states were heading to recession over the course of just six months – numbers that we haven’t seen since the 2008 financial crisis. 

There also remains the existential threat of the coronavirus, whose economic damage won’t be knownfor weeks. It has, however, put a damper on the newly signed U.S./China trade deal, paralyzing the country of China just days after that volatility was putting downward pressure on the market (if you can even call it that). 

Going back to Tesla again, it was posted on Robintrack , a site that monitors the buying and selling habits of Robinhood users, that 21,000 new users on Robinhood have bought Tesla stock since the beginning of February during the stock’s wild ascent. Of course, Robinhood users – whose frontrun orderflow has made the CEOs of some of the most notorious HFT companies in the world unbelievably rich – are about as “retail” as it gets.

Case in point: the following video posted on T`witter, shows a young girl claiming she “paid off her student loans” by trading stocks while in class. The video then shows her, in class, on Thinkorswim, trading. She also shows a photo of her P/L, where its clear that she owns both Microsoft and (of course) Tesla.

“This is how to make money in school as a college student,” the millennial daytrader cheerfully says, before directing people to open a TD account and download Thinkorswim (perhaps she is an influencer?) Alas, we have a feeling this video will soon be followed up of her crying into a Starbucks frappuccino, just as soon as Tesla flash crashes and has a circuit breaker halt lower.

We’ll keep an eye out for it. Until then, we hope to have answered the question “what stage of the cycle is this”

 


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 13:30

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Liberal White Women Pay $2,500 To Be Lectured About How Racist They Are

Liberal White Women Pay $2,500 To Be Lectured About How Racist They Are

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

Liberal white women across America are paying $2,500 to attend dinners at which they are lectured by two non-white women about how racist they are.

Yes, really.

The Guardian reports on Race to Dinner, a scheme where co-founders Regina Jackson, who is black, and Saira Rao, who “identifies” as Indian-American, make white guilt-riddled rich white women admit to their subconscious bigotry.

“Recently, I have been driving around, seeing a black person, and having an assumption that they are up to no good,” said Alison Gubser.

“Immediately after I am like, that’s no good! This is a human, just doing their thing. Why do I think that?”

Maybe she’s been reading too many FBI crime statistics.

Participants were also asked, “What was a racist thing you did recently?”

Jess Campbell-Swanson struggled to prostrate herself adequately, stuttering, “I want to hire people of color. Not because I want to be … a white savior. I have explored my need for validation … I’m working through that … Yeah. Um … I’m struggling,” before giving up.

She subsequently committed to writing a journal to note down “thoughts that could be considered racist.”

Another woman, Morgan Richards, admitted that she was still potentially racist despite adopting two black children. When someone patronizingly labeled her a ‘white savior’ for adopting them, Richards responded, “What I went through to be a mother, I didn’t care if they were black.”

“So, you admit it is stooping low to adopt a black child?” Rao challenged her, to which Richards responded by accepting that the undertone of her statement was “racist.”

The organizers say the events are proving extremely popular and that 15 dinners have been held so far (total cost $37,500).

“I understand polls show liberal white women are the only racial group on the planet who view their own in-group negatively but dropping $2,500 on a dinner just to wallow in ethnomasochism seems like a bit much,” commented Chris Menahan.

One respondent on Twitter commented, “ladies you can also pay me 2500 american dollars to come to your home, eat all your food, and insult you.”

Clown world strikes again.

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 13:10

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Carrie Lam Caves, Closes All Hong Kong Crossings Into Mainland China

Carrie Lam Caves, Closes All Hong Kong Crossings Into Mainland China

Carrie Lam finally knows what it feels like to be brought to her knees by the people of Hong Kong.

After successfully resisting the pro-democracy movement’s demands (aside from withdrawing the hated extradition bill, a decision that likely had Beijing’s backing) for months and months, Lam lasted all of about two days after thousands of health-care workers decided to go on strike in the face of a worsening epidemic poised to be the worst infectious outbreak in the city since SARS (SARS killed 300 after ripping through the city’s financial district).

On Wednesday, Lam said all travelers from mainland China, including local residents re-entering the country, will be required to be quarantined for 14 days. The new policy takes effect on Saturday, giving travelers 48 hours to figure out where they need to be.

However, Lam didn’t explain how the ‘quarantine’ will be enforced, sowing doubts about the city’s ability to forcibly house that many people, particularly after protesters persuaded the city government not to use a newly built public housing project to isolate infected patients.

Lam also apologized for a controversial comment made on Tuesday when she chided public officials not to wear masks except under dire circumstances to help conserve supplies.

The strikers forced Hong Kong’s hospitals to cut services for a second day as they demanded that Carrie Lam acquiesce and shut the border with the mainland.

HK confirmed its first coronavirus death on Tuesday – the second outside mainland China. That’s another reason why Lam’s government might have caved. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the city confirmed six new cases, increasing the total to 21. The three confirmed cases on Tuesday had no travel history.

“It is worrying…the coming 14 days will be key,” she added.

“The situation has entered another critical stage. After consulting medical experts, I am announcing the further reduction of cross-border traffic.”

The chief executive said the government would also suspend immigration services at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and Ocean Terminal.

Lam said the city would set up a $1.28 billion (HK10 billion) fund to help combat the outbreak. She also begged citizens to “unite” to fight the outbreak, a reference to lingering protests and resentment between the people and the government (and particularly the police).

“We must unite and set aside our differences, so that we can win this war against the disease,” Lam said.

By folding, Lam is likely infuriating her backers on the mainland, including President Xi, who managed to ‘convince’ the WHO that China isn’t unsafe and that border closures and travel restrictions targeting Chinese citizens aren’t necessary.

Still, the news that China’s special administrative regions are joining the rest of the world in cutting ties to the mainland is hardly reassuring. But markets still look set to notch their first back-to-back gains in a week, even as quarantines are being set up on the Chinese base of iPhone maker Foxconn, at land borders with Hong Kong, on a cruise ship docked in Japan and US military bases.


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 12:50

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All Hail Greta, The Great Carbon Hypocrite

All Hail Greta, The Great Carbon Hypocrite

Authored by Michael Shedlock via MishTalk,

Above all else, Greta Thunberg is a world class carbon hypocrite.

Al Hail Greta

Greta Demands Action Now!

Greta gets accolades for demanding the world Immediately and Completely Divest From Fossil Fuels.

We demand at this year’s World Economic Forum, participants from all companies, banks, institutions and governments: immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels,” said Greta.

Even if you are convinced man and not the sun is the overwhelming force in climate change, the idea that we can immediately divest from fossil fuels and have “real zero” emissions is economic nonsense.

Such statements do not merit praise, they merit ridicule. And her parents deserve scorn for putting her on stage to be used in this way.

The media treats Greta like she is some sort of saint. Actually, she is little but a pawn in someone else’s game on a fool’s mission to achieve the impossible.

Success Defined

Ironically, Greta’s message is so absurd that if we did what she asked, there would be panic and a global economic collapse.

Among other things, food production would collapse. Of course, if 90% of the people died from starvation from her idiotic proposal, we would come close to her goal of “success”.

Meanwhile, Greta travels the world to preach her silly message wearing shoes and clothes with a high carbon footprint. Worse yet is the carbon footprint of her travels.

Greta’s Carbon Footprint

Greta sometimes travels by an alleged zero-emission sailboat.

However, please take a look at Greta Thunberg’s Not-So-Little Carbon Footprint.

She most recently traveled to the United States, and is now about to embark on a whirlwind tour as part of her global climate strike, and won’t return to Europe for nine months. She’ll now be heading to Canada, then Mexico, and then in December Greta will head to Chile for the UN climate conference. That’s a lot of traveling.

So how does Greta get around to all her speaking engagements on behalf of the planet?

You might be surprised to learn that Greta didn’t come to the US by air. No, Greta came by boat. And not just any boat—we’re talking about a zero-emissions sailboat called the Malizia II, which took her weeks. Malizia II has solar panels and underwater turbines that generate electricity onboard. Experts say that the Malizia II offers the lowest-carbon way to cross the Atlantic. Fantastic!

That’s the picture that Greta supporters would like you to focus on. But there’s another side to this eco-friendly journey: Two crewmembers had to fly across the Atlantic to New York to bring the boat back, and two of the crewmembers that made the original voyage had to fly across the Atlantic from the US to return homeThat’s four flights to keep Greta from making two.

We won’t even mention the train trip Greta took to get to Plymouth, England, in order to set sail, nor will we mention the numerous freeze-dried meals, which we assume are encased in some single-use plastic product, which by our estimations, the two-man crew, Greta, her father, and some cameraman documenting the experience equated to over 200 meals. We also won’t talk about how Greta will return home, since the boat has since returned to Europe.

In a nutshell, the 5,337-kilometer flight times four people generated 2,134,800 grams of C02 by our calculations, just for the flights alone.

Trump Threatens Retaliation On Proposed Carbon Taxes

The above article is from October 2019, but I just came across it while researching Trump Threatens Retaliation on Proposed EU Carbon Taxes.

Comments From Acting Man on Carbon Taxes

The EU and Germany in particular is committing economic suicide to battle a non-problem. This is too absurd for words; of course, politicians in Europe never let an opportunity to raise taxes pass them by – and they try to make others pay as well now, because they know Europe is losing on every front in terms of tax and regulatory competition. I’m opposed to Trump’s trade war, but in this case his threat of retaliation actually deserves to be supported, if only because it may lead to the EU thinking twice about imposing yet another layer of taxes for absolutely nothing.

In Germany electricity prices have gone through the roof, and for what? We hear that global temperatures continue to rise (based on highly dubious, very likely outright fraudulent data) and CO2 in the atmosphere also continues to rise inexorably year after year. What exactly are Germany’s citizens making this sacrifice for? 100ds of thousands are living in “energy poverty” by now and can no longer afford to heat their homes properly in the winter. Germany used to export electricity to the rest of Europe – today it is now dependent on imports to prevent its grid from collapsing when there is not enough wind or sunlight. And all of this happened under the “conservatives” of Merkel!!

The above accurate comments from Pater Tenebrarum at the Acting Man Blog.

Fashionista Report

Also consider the Fashionista report IS YOUR GRETA THUNBERG T-SHIRT CONTRIBUTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE?

The problem with T-shirts, even those purporting to promote climate action, is they’re especially hard on the environment. Just growing the cotton that goes into one can take 2,700 liters of water — enough for a person to drink for two-and-a-half years — and, if it isn’t farmed organically, a third of a pound of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals. T-shirts, particularly those with “heathered” yarns of mixed colors, may contain polyester and other synthetic fibers, which are derived from crude oil and emit greenhouse-gas emissions from extraction to disposal. They’re also linked to the production of microplastics: minuscule fragments of plastic, tinier than one-fifth of an inch, that slough off during laundering to pollute the oceans, tap water, table salt and the guts of every species of sea turtle.

Greta might not be able to control T-Shirts with her name on them, so cut her some slack for that, but not the fools buying them in her name.

The important point is Greta cruises and jet sets accompanied with a film crew in the name of zero emissions while having a carbon footprint greater than nearly everyone else on the planet.

She demands we do as she says, not what she does, knowing full well if we actually did what she asked, there would be a global economic collapse.

All hail Greta, the great carbon hypocrite.


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 12:30

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Get Ready For Impeachment 2.0: House Dems To Subpoena Bolton After Senate’s Refusal

Get Ready For Impeachment 2.0: House Dems To Subpoena Bolton After Senate’s Refusal

Ge ready for ‘impeachment 2.0’.

CNN reports that the Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler is planning to subpoena John Bolton to testify in the House, after moderate Senate Republicans refused to join Democrats in demanding that the Senate call Bolton to testify about claims made in an upcoming book. Republicans argued that collecting testimony was the House’s job (even though the leaked Bolton manuscript conveniently surfaced shortly after the trial began). And they eventually won the day.

Now, the Democrats are hoping to take a mulligan – just like Biden and Buttigieg now that Bernie Sanders was robbed in Iowa. And instead of limiting the testimony to Ukraine, they’re jonesing to let Bolton talk about anything and everything that’s weighing on his mind (though he might want to hold off on some spoilers for the sake of book sales).

Impeachment was supposed to be a political shitstorm, a deeply shameful exposition of the president’s many iniquities, and the genesis of dozens of campaign ads. Instead, President Trump’s acquittal on Wednesday is a virtual certainty, and Trump is walking away from the third impeachment trial in the nation’s history more popular than ever. But that’s not all: The whole process was a snoozefest. An almost unbearable procession of ridiculous and hysterical soundbites like when Adam Schiff warned that Trump might trade Alaska to the Russians.

 

Like SNL joked in a surprisingly entertaining sketch, John Bolton is a messy bitch who loves drama, and he and the Dems are not ready to give up on ‘the trial you wish had happened’ just yet…

…but here’s the rub: Like SNL makes clear, it’s an impeachment ‘fantasy’.

Maybe the Dems can spice up the Bolton hearing with a little musical number.


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 12:10

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Apparently all white males are just mindless automatons

Recently the prominent investment bank Goldman Sachs announced that they would no longer work with companies whose Boards of Directors consisted exclusively of white males.

Specifically the bank will immediately require prospective clients to have at least one female or one non-white individual, on the Board of Directors. And by 2021, a company would need at least two ‘diverse’ directors, otherwise Goldman Sachs will refuse to underwrite that company’s Initial Public Offering.

(Obviously this doesn’t apply to Chinese or Middle Eastern companies; Goldman Sachs is happy to continue selling its soul to non-diverse companies in those parts of the world.)

But Goldman is just the latest bank to make this announcement.

BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors, two of the largest asset managers in the world, also recently stated that they would vote against directors at the companies in which they are shareholders, unless those Boards have at least one female member.

Everything about this is remarkably stupid.

In the case of BlackRock and State Street, there are literally ZERO companies in the S&P 500 anymore that have all-male boards. None. And a recent Harvard study showed that 80% of large-cap companies have at least two female directors, if not more.

So their supposedly bold proclamation is completely pointless, except to demonstrate their ‘wokeness’ to Millennials.

More importantly, though, it highlights a major revolution in capitalism itself.

Business and capitalism should be the ultimate meritocracy. Talent rises to the top. Mediocrity stagnates. And poor performance washes out.

But talent has no gender. It has no ethnicity. It has no sexual orientation.

Talent is measured by how well you can accomplish the mission and lead an organization to greater achievements.

This is what’s supposed to matter. And the shareholders (i.e. the OWNERS) of a business are supposed to elect their representatives to the Board of Directors based on this critical factor.

It shouldn’t matter if the entire board is white males, trans women of color, benevolent space aliens, or people who identify as seedless watermelons. Those shouldn’t even be factors.

I serve on a number of boards– including large companies that I’ve started, non-profits, and one company that’s traded on a major stock exchange.

Some of the best directors I’ve ever served with are women. And good thing, because I picked them myself.

But I didn’t pick them because they’re women. That would be a horrible insult to them. I picked them because they’re seriously freaking talented… which is the only reason that matters.

The common refrain among social justice warriors is that ‘diverse boards make better decisions because they come from different backgrounds, and the companies are better off for it.’

This is such a dumb thing to say. It presupposes that all white males are robotic automatons who think in exactly the same way. What a bunch of bullshit.

Moreover, Stanford University published an analysis last year of 11 different academic studies concluding that “evidence on board diversity and corporate outcomes is highly mixed.

In other words, there is no conclusive evidence that diverse boards create better companies.

But these social justice warriors, and the companies like Goldman, State Street, and Black Rock that bow to the pressure, are happy to ignore facts and data.

And even if it were true that diversity somehow makes better Boards, why stop at gender and race?

If you believe that it’s better to have people with different perspectives, then why not demand that every board also include someone who is physically disabled? Or someone who served in a combat zone? Or someone of a smaller religion or political affiliation?

I imagine that a blind gay vegan veteran Wiccan probably has a unique perspective. So why not demand one of those on every Board?

Because that would be ridiculous, right? Of course. But that’s what this entire movement is– ridiculous.

Capitalism is responsible for the greatest and widest level of prosperity in the history of the world. Without the free market we would still be Medieval serfs. Capitalism is not perfect, but it works. And it has a hell of a track record.

But these whacktivists are trying to replace the critical fundamentals of capitalism which drive prosperity (like talent) with a ridiculous value system that has no factual basis whatsoever.

And they’re winning.

Source

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Bitcoin Price May Hit $27K All-Time High By Summer, Predicts Fundstrat’s Tom Lee

Bitcoin Price May Hit $27K All-Time High By Summer, Predicts Fundstrat’s Tom Lee

Authored by William Suberg via CoinTelegraph.com,

Bitcoin is primed for average gains of almost 200% over the next six months, one of its best-known supporters has told mainstream media. 

image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

Speaking to Yahoo! Finance on Feb. 4, Tom Lee, co-founder at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said one bullish technical factor, in particular, made him “really optimistic” about Bitcoin’s short-term potential.

Lee: 200MA triggers 197% returns

“Notably in January – January is usually a week month, it was a great month for Bitcoin, up 26% – but it also recovered its 200-day moving average,” Lee explained. 

“That’s a big deal as you know, as anyone who’s a trend follower knows — when you’re back above your 200-day, you’re back in a bull market. Whenever Bitcoin breaks back into its 200-day, its average six-month gain is 197%.”

As Cointelegraph reported, the 200-day moving average has traditionally represented a major area of resistance for markets.

Bitcoin price; 200-day moving average.

BTC 2020 growth can beat 2019

Bitcoin, in fact, gained closer to 30% in January before continuing its growth to hit recent highs around $9,450. 

For some analysts, the cryptocurrency’s most successful January since 2013 is a sign that its next long-term bull cycle is already beginning

Lee also considered 2020 to have larger returns in store for BTC investors than last year, despite 2019 delivering gains which at one point crossed 300%.

Like many, he highlighted May’s block reward halving as a “catalyst” for Bitcoin price expansion. Not only will the event reduce the new Bitcoin supply by 50%, it will also take its inflation rate below that of both gold and the 2% inflation target of the United States Federal Reserve. 

A historically accurate price forecasting model, Stock-to-Flow, predicts the halving will trigger a bull run to around $100,000 by the end of 2021. 

Last month, Lee said the halving event was nonetheless not “priced in.” At the time, before the moving average crossover, he said that he envisaged Bitcoin’s 2020 gains topping out at 100%.


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 11:55

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Pelosi Shredded After Tearing Up SOTU Speech; Offers Lame Excuse

Pelosi Shredded After Tearing Up SOTU Speech; Offers Lame Excuse

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was widely rebuked on both sides of the aisle after tearing up her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union Address Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the White House Twitter account slammed Pelosi for dishonoring distinguished guests, writing “That’s her legacy.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence told Fox & FriendsI wasn’t sure if she was ripping up the speech or ripping up the Constitution,” adding “The contrast here was a president who spent an hour-and-a-half making the speech about America and Nancy Pelosi in the final moments tried to make it about her.”

Several C-Span callers who identified as Democrats said that Pelosi’s stunt was beyond the pale.

And conservative attorney and impeachment witness Jonathan Turlley wrote in a Wednesday Op-Ed in The Hill, “the conduct of Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union address this week will go down as a day of infamy for the chamber as an institution.”

While it has long been a tradition for House speakers to remain stoic and neutral in listening to the address, Pelosi seemed intent on mocking President Trump from behind his back with sophomoric facial grimaces and head shaking, culminating in her ripping up a copy of his address.

Her drop the mic moment will have a lasting impact on the House. While many will celebrate her trolling of the president, she tore up something far more important than a speech. She shredded decades of tradition, decorum, and civility that we need now more than ever. The House speaker is more than a political partisan, particularly when carrying out functions such as the State of the Union address. A president appears in the House as a guest of both chambers of Congress. The House speaker represents not her party or herself but the entirety of the chamber. At that moment, she transcends her political ambitions and loyalties. –Jonathan Turley via The Hill

Pelosi has responded to critics, telling House Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting “He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech,” adding that Trump’s address was “a manifesto of mistruths,” according to The Hill.

“You are supposed to talk about the state of the union,” Pelosi continued. “not the state of your alleged mind.”


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 11:33

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Rabobank: All Hail “Our Glorious Algos”

Rabobank: All Hail “Our Glorious Algos”

Authored by Michael Every via Rabobank,

“Let her rip!” So said the equity-market bulls yesterday, or rather a combination of the algos that can’t catch coronavirus if they wanted to, and the young traders who have never worked a day in a market in which they haven’t had at least one central bank somewhere promising to push asset prices higher in the name of the good of mankind. And rip she did, with the Nasdaq up 2%, the S&P up 1.5%, and even Asian markets bouncing. Naturally, bonds, like protective face masks, are oh-so last season.

This was despite the fact that: total deaths are now over 490; confirmed cases are over 24,000, with 176 globally, up from single figures a few weeks ago, still rising exponentially and with no direct Wuhan link in many of these new cases, showing localised human-to-human transmission; the UK government has told all British citizens to leave China; there are 10 cases on a giant, quarantined Japanese cruise ship; American and United airlines have just suspended flights to Hong Kong due to “lack of demand”, meaning that even that key Asian financial hub is at risk of de facto quarantine; Europe is considering a US-style flight ban from China; and the epidemiologist who led the fight against SARS has stated even travel bans won’t stop the coronavirus from spreading. What he says is needed are stronger national health-care systems – which the same markets now rallying have cheer-led being gutted for decades. Yes, the WHO says we have a window of opportunity to deal with this virus globally. So do the IMF when talking about global economic imbalances. So do the WEF when talking about inequality. So do the UN when talking about climate change. How are we doing so far?

We also have the US proceeding with new tariff measures against anyone engaging in currency manipulation, which deserves more space than I can spare here, but basically means a secular trend of a stronger USD, then higher tariffs, and then a yet stronger USD until something breaks; and we have Larry Kudlow saying coronavirus means China likely won’t be rushing to buy US agri goods (colour us unsurprised there); and we have Bloomberg reporting that there are still discussions taking place in the White House about limiting US portfolio inflows into Chinese capital markets on top of the current physical restrictions on access to China. Perhaps that has something to do with the 8% drop in Chinese stocks on Monday(?), but it certainly underlines the threat that a Chinese economy being hit hard by this virus–for example, the massive April Canton fair just got cancelled–might not see the USD inflows it will need to provide a counterweight to the flood of new CNY liquidity it will have to produce at home to try to re-float its economy. Consider that as you consider where USD/CNY might be heading, taking other crosses with it.

Regardless, it seems our glorious algos would be buying diamonds all day long as they trudged through a baking-hot desert – especially with central banks crying “free liquidity!” without the actual ability to make it rain.

Also being ripped up is political convention. In this case, hopes for an orderly US Democratic Party convention. The results of the Iowa caucus are finally dribbling in a day late, and with 71% of the total released, Mayor Pete Buttigieg seems to be ahead. That’s the same Mayor Pete whose campaign backers produced the voting app that has both singularly failed to work in Iowa, and which has put the relative unknown at the top of the caucus pack ahead of better-known politicians drawing far larger crowds. All very new normal. The populist outsider Bernie Sanders may still pip him to the post, however; and very much worth noting is that Democrat establishment’s (grand)father figure of Joe Biden has come out very poorly from Iowa.

Meanwhile, US President Trump gave a State of the Union address that was part campaign rally and part reality TV show. This is an election year, after all I suppose. The Democrat’s Speaker Nancy Pelosi then responded to this political theatre with the statesmanlike action of physically ripping up the speech on the podium. At least nobody burned down the Reichstag – yet. However, one has to say that the 2020 electoral season is not doing anything to relieve fears that populism is here to stay and getting worse, in the US of A.

Data-wise, today already saw Japan’s services PMI dip to 51.0 and China’s Caixin to 51.8, and we heard RBA Governor Lowe make the case for a policy rethink in terms of the embrace of monetary-fiscal policy coordination as an economic stabilizer (meaning permanent tool), suggesting that the runway is indeed being foamed for AUS-QE ahead. Just two rate cuts to go, and then it’s fiscal spending and the RBA bond-buying as far as the eye can see. And, as we see elsewhere, with no way back home afterwards. Can the AUD really hold up in the face of that kind of radical policy? Is it a USD in disguise? We shall soon find out. But with AUD at 0.6736 again today, the market is simply shrugging it all off. For a change. Free-money, money-on-trees, total-upending-of-how-everything-we-used-to-think-works-really-works. *Yawn* Buy stocks. *Yawn*

Indeed, not to worry – ever: as our Rates Strategy team put it so well yesterday, we live in a post-Minsky world. There are no consequences to our precarious debt levels; there are no consequences to our investment actions; and, for politicians, for most of their actions full-stop. Ask the Soviets how that worked out for them. Or just let nature continue to explain how things actually work.

*  * *

Nothing actually matters to markets anymore, so I am not sure why I am bothering to list what to look ahead to this week, but I guess I am my own auto-algo in that regard.


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 11:20

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Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 Crash-Lands At Istanbul Airport

Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 Crash-Lands At Istanbul Airport

Between the coronavirus and the number of planes that seem to be falling out of the sky these days, the blowback on the airline industry might be even more severe than Wall Street fears (analysts at Jeffries expect Cathay Pacific to take a big hit during H1 before bouncing back in H2).

But to the list of recent plane crashes and near-miss incidents, we can add a Boeing 737 run by Pegasus Airlines, which crash-landed at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport on Wednesday. Video showed the fiery wreckage. Though the scene looks bad, local press just reported that all 177 passengers and 6 crew members were safely evacuated after the plane skidded off the runway.

Here’s a still close-up of the wreckage:

The incident mirrors another shocking near-miss one month ago. On Jan. 7, a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 overshot the runway at Sabiha Gokcen while landing a flight from Sharjah during less-than-favorable conditions. All 169 passengers were safely evacuated, with no serious injuries.

That accident forced a temporary shut-down of Istanbul’s main airport.


Tyler Durden

Wed, 02/05/2020 – 11:05

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/31ssvvD Tyler Durden