Fed Doves Cry As Core Consumer Prices Jump At Fastest Pace Since August 2011

This must be trasitory, right? Core Consumer Prices surged 0.3% MoM – the biggest jump since August 2011 – and is up 2.2% YoY (the most since June 2012).

We assume this will be ignored for a data-dependent Fed that needs to keep the easing dream alive (as long as stocks are off the highs)…

 

As detailed in the breakdown… this is a 2.2% YoY rise

As the details show, inflation is picking up…quickly…

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the past 12 months. This is its highest 12-month change since the period ending June 2012, and exceeds the 1.9 percent average annualized increase over the last 10 years. The index for shelter has risen 3.2 percent over the span, and the medical care index has increased 3.0 percent. In contrast, the indexes for apparel and for airline fares have declined over the past 12 months.

 

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in January. The increase was broad-based, with most of the major  components rising, but increases in the indexes for shelter and medical care were the largest contributors.

Furthermore, Shelter costs surged 3.7% YoY – the most since October 2008…well done Janet!

 

It will be hard for Bullard to call for QE4 after this.

Chart: Bloomberg


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Edward Snowden Keynoting Free State Project’s Liberty Forum Today & Tomorrow

I’m off to Manchester, New Hampshire for The Free State Project’s annual Liberty Forum. The big draw this year is an appearance via the Internet of Edward Snowden, the national security whistleblower whose revelations continue to astonish and disturb us all.

As Anthony Fisher noted recently, FSP recently reached its goal of getting 20,000 people to commit to move to New Hampshire over the next five years. The goal of FSP is to influence politics in a libertarian direction while getting on with the business of living their lives in an atmosphere of maximal social and economic freedom.

Besides moderating the conversation with Snowden, I’ll be reporting on the scene and the vibe now that the great migration is officially underway. As Brian Doherty has written, about 2,000 FSP members are already in New Hampshire and they’ve already effected change:

Over 1,900 Free Staters already are there and we’ve reported here at Reason on some of what they’re already accomplished, from getting 15 of their brethren in the state House, challenging anti-ridehail laws, fighting in court for outre religious liberty, winning legal battles over taping cops, being mocked by Colbert for heroically paying off people’s parking meters, hosting cool anything goes festivals for libertarians, nullifying pot juries, and inducing occasional pants-wetting absurd paranoia in local statists.

.At last year’s Liberty Forum, we interviewed Overstock CEO and Bitcoin/blockchain enthusiast Patrick Byrne. Take a look/listen:

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These Activist Investors Have Been Crushed By The Oil Rout

They may end up being right, but they were all way too early.

Activists investors are that special breed of hedge fund managers known for their aggressive forays into situations few others would touch (especially if much, much debt can be issued) usually demanding management, business or board changes. And while sometimes they make a killing thanks to their aggressiveness, other times they themselves are crushed.

Like this time.

Activist investments in the energy space has been nothing short of a total disaster: as Reuters reports, those “brave enough to have ventured into the volatile energy sector are paying a heavy price for their courage, stuck with hefty paper losses and no near-term recovery in sight.”

Among the more prominent names pounded in recent months are Corvex Management, Elliott Associates and ValueAct Capital – they are among the largest and most prominent activist firms that have seen the value of their energy holdings tumble in step with sliding crude prices and remain exposed to the price rout.

Southeastern Asset Management, an investment management firm and occasional activist, has seen the value of its energy bets fall $2.7 billion in the last year, which include holdings in Chesapeake Energy Corp and Consol Energy.

Corvex’s $1 billion holding in natural gas pipeline company Williams Companies worth around 14 percent of the firm’s total portfolio, represents the largest current exposure of any activist fund to a single energy stock, according to quarterly filings. Corvex’s stake in Williams – which has an agreement to be purchased by pipeline rival Energy Transfer – lost $1.1 billion over last year, filings show. Corvex declined to comment.

The second largest exposure is Elliott’s $863 million stake in oil and gas company Hess Corp which is worth around 10 percent of Elliott’s portfolio, according to filings. The stake was valued at as much as $1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2014, filings show. Elliott declined to comment.

Fir Tree Partners lost $259 million, Symmetric.io data show, among various energy investments including Williams.

ValueAct, a shareholder in Halliburton since 2012, disclosed last January that it bought a stake in Baker Hughes, saying at the time that its belief in the deal was underpinned by the drop in oil prices. The two holdings together comprise nearly 10 percent of ValueAct’s total portfolio and lost a combined $656 million in value in the course of last year, Symmetric.io data show. ValueAct declined to comment.

They are not the only ones: Thirteen activist investors with the largest fund exposure to the energy sector have suffered a combined $9.2 billion in unrealized paper losses in 2015, according to quarterly filings analyzed by hedge fund data firm Symmetric.io.

But nobody’s combined loss is as big as that of Carl Icahn: the sum of the one-year losses includes a $2.8 billion drop in the value
of Carl Icahn’s on seven energy industry investments, Symmetric.io data
show. While that is the biggest loss for any activist investor, Icahn
invests his own money and can ride out the oil downturn for as long as
he wants. Others do not have that luxury.

One has already shit down: Orange Capital, headed by a person who some say spends more time engaging in twitter spats than managing money, is already shutting down in part because of its exposure to a Canadian oil and gas driller.

“This is a cyclical industry. Everyone knows it comes back. But not everyone has the time to wait it out,” said Kai Liekefett, a partner at law firm Vinson & Elkins who is head of its activism practice. “The problem is that activist hedge funds have to answer to their own investors, and the question is whether they will give them the time.”

The problem for hedge funds, many of whom have investors who can demand their money back on a quarterly basis, was that many just had not foreseen such a long, steep fall in crude prices even after they began their slide in June 2014. “It is possible that certain activist investors in oil and gas stocks misjudged the severity and speed of the drop in oil and gas prices,” said Osmar Abib, global head of oil and gas banking at Credit Suisse.

Of course, by now everyone knows that the meaning of the word “hedge” in “hedge fund” is mostly for show, and not to actually, you know, hedge in case something unanticipated happens… like the biggest commodity rout in history.

Here are the casualties:


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“Own Some Solid Currency, In Other Words … Gold” Warns Faber

“Own Some Solid Currency, In Other Words … Gold” Warns Faber

“Leave a million dollars with a bank, and in a year, you get only something like $990,000 back,” Marc Faber, respected publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, told Bloomberg by phone yesterday.

“I would rather want to own some solid currency, in other words … gold” warned Faber.

gold_bloomberg_2016

Gold bears for years fed off the prospects for higher borrowing costs. Now bulls are thriving in a world where negative rates are becoming commonplace.

The Bank of Japan adopted negative rates last month to spur growth, joining central banks in Denmark, the euro area, Sweden and Switzerland. With about a quarter of the world economy facing negative rates in some form and growth faltering, gold has become one of this year’s best investments.

It’s a big turnaround for the metal which slid to a five-year low in December as the Federal Reserve readied for its first rate increase in almost a decade. With China’s slowdown roiling markets, there’s less chance the Fed will move again until next year. Negative rates mean depositing cash would leave investors with less than when they started, making traditional stores of value such as gold more appealing.

You can read the full article on Bloomberg here

Marc Faber is an eloquent advocate of owning physical gold which he describes as being a way to become “your own central bank.”  He believes an allocation to physical gold will serve as vital financial insurance and that Singapore is the safest place to own gold in the world today.

Marc Faber Webinar on Storing Gold in Singapore 

Essential Guide To Storing Gold In Singapore

LBMA Gold Prices

19 Feb: USD 1,221.50, EUR 1,101.14 and GBP 853.35 per ounce
18 Feb: USD 1,204.40, EUR 1,082.41 and GBP 841.19 per ounce
17 Feb: USD 1,202.40, EUR 1,080.57 and GBP 838.84 per ounce
16 Feb: USD 1,212.00, EUR 1,083.75 and GBP 838.04 per ounce
15 Feb: USD 1,208.45, EUR 1,078.94 and GBP 834.57 per ounce

For the week, gold is 0.4% lower and gold appears to have recovered from the falls seen on Sunday night and Monday morning.

For the week, silver is 0.7% lower and also appears to have recovered from the falls seen at the start of the week.

Both appear over valued in the short term and under valued in the medium and long term.

Smart money will continue to accumulate and dollar cost average into bullion.

 

Gold and Silver News and Commentary

“Bullion brokers GoldCore declared a bull market” – South China Morning Post

Gold sparkles amid global gloom to brighten mining sector – South China Morning Post

Gold firm above $1,200 as lower equities stoke safe-haven bids – Reuters

Gold Resumes Rally as ETP Assets Swell Amid Demand for Haven – Bloomberg

Gold rises, reverses earlier losses as equities pull back – Reuters

‘Helicopter money’ on the horizon, fund manager Dalio says – Finfacts

Gold Set to be the Most Popular Investment in 2016 – Prague Post

Questions and Answers with Bill Holter and Jim Sinclair – GoldSeek

New York Fed Suggests Large Asset Managers Are Systemic Risk Due To Runs – Value Walk

Negative interest rates a ‘dangerous experiment’ for the world as monetary policy hits buffers – Telegraph

Click here

GoldCore.com


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Victory for Porn Industry in California Condom Vote

After hearing hours of passionate testimony Thursday from adult-film stars, webcam workers, public-health professors, and others, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) voted against a proposal to require condoms and other “protective barrier” use in porn. It’s a major victory not just for the adult-entertainment biz but also for personal liberty and against an overreaching nanny state.

The proposal, which I wrote about in detail yesterday, would have updated California’s workplace safety standards to say that any “recorded or live representation” of sexual activity in which people might be exposed to “sexually transmitted pathogens” would require the use of “personal protective equipment” such as condoms, dental dams, and special eyewear—i.e., picture your favorite porn star in safety goggles the next time they’re taking a load to the face. Porn performers and producers rightly complained that compliance would make their product unmarketable. And rather than abide by such measures, adult filmmakers would splinter off to other states and underground—where the robust, centralized system of testing for sexually-transmitted-infections among performers would no longer work. 

In short, performers testified yesterday, the condom proposal—part of a coordinated anti-porn effort from activist Michael Weinstein and his Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF)—wouldn’t just cost California tons in lost revenue, it would cost them their community, their safety net, and possibly their livelihoods. 

Speakers included porn-industry veterans and notables such as Jessica Drake, Joanna Angel, James Bartholet, Jiz Lee, Dee Severe, Abella Danger, and Julia Ann, along with dozens of others—around 100 in total. 

After more than four hours of testimony before the Cal/OSHA Standards Board yesterday, the line of porn-industry folks waiting to speak out against the Weinstein proposal was still formidable. The mood among them, as evidenced by their Twitter commentary, was both proud and tense. On the one hand, how could board members refuse to listen to the reasoned, heartfelt, and intelligent testimony given all afternoon? How could they overlook the opposition of so many whose lives would be directly affected, as well as the people—a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert, a St. John’s Infirmary representative, an epidemiology professor—who knew best and still said this proposal was the worst? 

On the other hand, these were government officials we were talking about. And this was the porn industry. Rational actions from the former regarding the latter have historically been rare. 

As testimony wound down, two Cal/OSHA board members said they would like more time to review and possibly revise the proposal. One, Dave Harrison, told the crowd he was “actually more torn over this than I can ever explain.” Board member Robert Blink concurred: “I’m going through similar mental gyrations over this,” he said. A motion to postpone the vote failed, however, and the five board members went ahead with the process. Four affirmative votes were required to pass the Weinstein proposal and add a new section to the California Health Code.

Only three board members voted yes. 

Board member Patty Quinlan said the issue would be reconsidered in the future “with more input from the affected industry.”

The room erupted in cheers as the news was announced, and social media in tiny victory speeches. “I can’t believe it’s real life but…WE WON!” wrote sex columnist and adult performer Siouxsie Q on Instagram. “Fucking. Awesome. A wonderful victory, thank you to all the people who spoke today,” tweeted cam girl Alex Coal. 

“Today was a monumental win, not only for the adult industry, but for the #sexworkersrights movement as a whole,” tweeted porn trade group the Free Speech Coalition (FSC).

At a post-vote speech, FSC Executive Director Eric Paul Leue said he hopes his group can work closely with officials on the drafting of future porn-safety regulations. He also noted that a similar struggle was imminent: “The California Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act,” also sponsored by Weinstein and AHF, will put the issue of condoms in porn (along with a host of other intrusive, privacy-infringing, business-killing regulations) up for a statewide vote in November. 

“Now we face a larger battle, which would seek to replicate and amplify the worst parts of the regulations,” said Leue. “In fact, the ballot initiative, allows private citizens to sue adult performers who do not use condoms, and would drive a legal industry underground where performers would be less safe. This idea — that private citizens can sue adult performers because of actions they disapprove of is outrageous, and would not be permitted in any other sector of our society. We will fight this, and this too, we will win.”

In a press release, Weinstein said AHF is “disappointed” by Cal/OSHA’s decision and “are announcing today that we will immediately file a new petition with Cal/OSHA on this important health measure.” 

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Complex California Pot Act Created Unseen Problem: New at Reason

California legislators were in a rush to change a 20-year-old law and messed up. Steven Greenhut reports:

California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 215, legalizing marijuana’s use for medical purposes, back in 1996. It’s hard to understand why such measures needed to be rushed through after nearly two decades of dawdling.

The problem: The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act included a paragraph that gave state officials full authority to license and regulate medical marijuana in any cities or counties that did not adopt specific ordinances regulating or banning marijuana cultivation by March 1. With the deadline looming, localities began hurrying through cultivation bans.

View this article.

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“Brexit” Looms As Cameron Pushes For Reforms In All-Nighter

“I was here till 5 o’clock this morning working through this and we’ve made some progress but there’s still no deal.”

That’s from British PM David Cameron, who was apparently up all night in an effort to understand why his country should stay in the EU. Unless Cameron hears what he wants to hear, he will not campaign for the UK to remain in the bloc ahead of an expected referendum on membership in June.

“Britain has always had an ambiguous relationship with the bloc, staying out of two of its most ambitious projects, the Schengen border free zone and the euro common currency,” Reuters writes. “Its exit would end the vision of the EU as the natural home for European democracies and reverse the continent’s post-World War Two march toward ‘ever closer union.’”

Cameron is seeking changes that will reduce his country’s financial burden as it relates to refugees and other EU nations. “As I have said, I would only do a deal if we get what Britain needs, so we are going to get back in there,” he said, after marathon talks. 

“Paris has pushed for amendments to ensure Britain cannot veto actions by the euro zone countries or give City of London banks competitive advantage through regulation,” Reuters goes on to note. “A group of east European states chaired by the Czechs is trying to hold back how far their citizens can be denied welfare benefits in Britain or have family allowances reduced.”

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party and the UK press are pushing for reforms. “Britain’s place in Europe has been allowed to fester for too long” Cameron says, but there’s “now a chance to settle this issue for a generation”.

“For now I can only say that we have made some progress but a lot needs to be done,” EU president Donald Tusk said.

UK business leaders are skeptical. “Mr Cameron’s team has been lining up business leaders to come out in support of his EU deal next week, even before any agreement has been reached,” FT says, before noting that although “a letter from supportive business leaders is planned for next week, with  80 out of Britain’s FTSE 100 companies backing Britain staying in the EU, “that number was seen as speculative by some in the Remain camp and research by the Financial Times this month revealed that some top companies were reluctant to get drawn into the debate.”

Here’s a bit of color from Bloomberg on what “Brexit” would mean for London’s “City”: 
  • What is at stake? Financial services account for 180 billion pounds ($258 billion) a year — about 12 percent — of U.K. economic output and contribute 66 billion pounds in taxes. In some areas, like foreign exchange trading (41 percent of the world total) and over-the counter derivatives (49 percent), London is the undisputed global leader. Opponents of a Brexit fear a departure would precipitate years of uncertainty and steady waning of influence and market share.
  • What is passporting and why does it matter? Under the current regime, any firm authorized in the U.K. firm is free to do business in any other European Economic Area state by applying for a “passport” from British regulators. For non-EU banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group AG or Nomura Holdings Inc., the ability to access the region’s 500 million customers from a base in London has been an important draw. Without it, many firms may seriously consider upping sticks.
  • What would Brexit mean for the banks? Every day more than a trillion dollars worth of euros change hands in London, close to half the global total, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The City’s global dominance of the foreign-exchange market is likely to be tested by any Brexit package that fails to guarantee a continuation of access to the single market. Over-the-counter derivatives are another area for concern. About three-quarters of all trading in such instruments in Europe currently takes place in the British capital. Without access to the single market, much of that is likely to migrate, according to lawyers and bankers who say that U.S. banks are already mulling moving operations.

Right. So this isn’t just symbolic. “While no FTSE 100 company said it wanted Britain to leave the EU, only 18 were prepared to state unequivocally that they supported continued membership,” FT goes on to note.

Right. Because in reality, there aren’t very many solid arguments for supporting continued memebership and whatever arguments were left have been significantly diminished by the bloc’s worsening migrant crisis. Still, Cameron is calling for a “live and let live approach.” Here’s a look at UK trade vis-a-vis the rest of Europe. 

But numbers aren’t likely to sway the British people who are prepared to opt out of the ill-fated union. 

Cameron says he’s “battling for Britain”, but in reality he’s “battling for the EU.” With the future of the union already in question thanks to the festering migrant crisis, Britain may well be better off abandoning this sinking ship. “It’s the EU in question, not just one country in the EU,” French President Francois Hollande said on Friday.

Indeed. And the time has now come for Britain to decide whether it’s prepared to go down with this ship, or forge a path ahead on its own. In the meantime, expect volatility, PIMCO says. “Irrespective of the twists and turns in the debate over U.K.’s planned referendum on EU membership, uncertainty over the result is likely to weigh on U.K. markets for a good few months yet,” Mike Amey, Pimco portfolio manager said in a press release. 

Of course all of this is nothing a rate cut can’t fix…


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Frontrunning: February 19

  • Stocks knocked back as oil rally falters (Reuters)
  • Still no deal for Britain on EU reforms after all-night talks (Reuters)
  • Oil Falls Near $30 as Rising U.S. Crude Stockpiles Expand Glut (BBG)
  • PBOC to Raise Reserve Ratios for Banks That Don’t Meet Criteria (BBG)
  • China’s Top Securities Regulator to Step Down (WSJ)
  • Excessive loosening of China’s monetary policy would increase yuan pressure (Reuters)
  • Tough road for Venezuela after dire data, inadequate measures (Reuters)
  • Secret Memo Details U.S.’s Broader Strategy to Crack Phones (BBG)
  • U.S. Clash With Apple Was Months in the Making (WSJ)
  • Big banks see the need to shrink – but face a path full of obstacles (Reuters)
  • Credit Suisse Said to Be Probed in Italy for Money Laundering (BBG)
  • Standard Chartered CEO Braces for More Bad News (WSJ)
  • This $9 Billion Fund Manager Says He’s Sticking With Cash (BBG)
  • Two European Carriers to Adopt Ad-Blocking Technology (WSJ)
  • Pope says Trump ‘not Christian’ in a sign of global concern (Reuters)
  • Draghi Wagers Propel Bunds Toward Longest Winning Run in a Year (BBG)
  • Norway Central Bank Chief Warns on Oil Wealth as Coffers Raided (BBG)
  • Apple likely to invoke free-speech rights in encryption fight (Reuters)
  • Commodities’ $3.6 Trillion Black Hole (BBG)
  • This Is San Francisco’s Plan to Get the 1 Percent to Pay Up (BBG)
  • Goldman Sachs to Turn Its Hedge Fund Research Into an ETF (BBG)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

– The dispute between the U.S. Justice Department and Apple has been months in the making, and long predates the latest tussle over an iPhone related to the San Bernardino attacks. (http://on.wsj.com/1KYA6XV)

– An extraordinary verbal dispute broke out between Pope Francis and Donald Trump after the pontiff criticized Donald Trump as “not Christian” for his anti-immigrant stand. (http://on.wsj.com/1KYAaqP)

– The White House gave its clearest indication yet that President Barack Obama is looking to name a Supreme Court nominee with past support from Republicans to put forward for the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. (http://on.wsj.com/1KYAdTr)

– IBM is buying data company Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion, in a bid to expand its already considerable presence in the health-care industry. (http://on.wsj.com/1KYAeXq)

 

FT

Tom King, the head of Barclays Plc’s investment bank, is leaving the bank in two weeks, according to people familiar with the situation. Barclays is expected to tell staff about his departure on Friday.

Russian mobile phone operator VimpelCom Ltd, said on Thursday it would pay $795 million to resolve U.S. and Dutch probes into a bribery scheme in Uzbekistan, in the second largest global anti-corruption settlement in history.

Media group Vivendi said on Thursday it plans to ally with Qatar-controlled beIN Sports channels in France to shore up its loss-making French Canal Plus pay-TV business.

Prime Minister David Cameron appealed to EU leaders on Thursday to help him settle the question of Britain’s European Union membership for a generation, as France and Belgium insisted that any deal agreed was the final word and would never get any better. Cameron urged colleagues to adopt a “live and let live” approach to Britain, where the UK would gain a special deal on the edge of a more integrated bloc.

 

NYT

– China’s foreign-exchange reserves have shrunk by nearly a fifth since the summer of 2014, as Beijing has moved to shore up the value of its currency. A year and a half ago, China held as much as $4 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. The reserves represented a symbolic trophy for China’s leaders, who have described them as the “blood and sweat” of the workers. (http://nyti.ms/1PUuzyE)

– Residents of the Porter Hill community in Los Angeles say they worry that health problems will continue from the natural gas leak that was discovered in October. Testing showed that air quality had returned to normal, but for some angry residents, nothing short of the gas field’s closing will be enough. (http://nyti.ms/21cjxfj)

– Documents suggesting Volkswagen AG executives knew of elevated diesel emissions in early 2014 could create problems with regulators, car owners and stockholders. (http://nyti.ms/1PVcBMt)

– Fresenius Medical Care, The world’s largest provider of kidney dialysis equipment and services, has agreed to pay $250 million to settle thousands of lawsuits from dialysis patients and their relatives claiming that the company’s products had caused heart problems and deaths. (http://nyti.ms/1ow12EZ)

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says he wants nothing to do with Ottawa’s plan for a national minimum price on greenhouse gas emissions as he raises the political heat ahead of the First Ministers climate summit scheduled for Vancouver in two weeks.(http://bit.ly/1KZ1iG7)

** Quebec lawmakers and business leaders are cranking up pressure on the Canadian government to help Bombardier Inc as the struggling plane maker lays plans to refresh its board of directors in the weeks ahead. (http://bit.ly/1osgxgg)

** An accident in Canada that killed passengers in a 2011 Toyota RAV4 has led to a worldwide recall of about 2.9 million Toyota Motor Corp RAV4 crossovers, many of them built in Canada. (http://bit.ly/1PHPE19)

NATIONAL POST

** In a debate on Israel, the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP agreed that the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the only democracy in the Middle East is a misguided idea that undermines the prospects of peace. (http://bit.ly/1VrEL5f)

** The global economy is growing at a stubbornly weak pace and governments should be deploying fiscal tools alongside monetary policy to stoke growth, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in its latest outlook Thursday. (http://bit.ly/1OjitwV)

 

Britain

The Times

– Asda has slumped to its worst performance on record over Christmas as the fierce price war in Britain’s supermarket sector continues to wreak havoc. The Walmart-owned grocer said that its same store sales dropped 5.8 percent in the final quarter of 2015 after it was hit by rivals’ heavy promotions on beer and wine and fresh produce. (http://thetim.es/1SD1c9H)

– Groupe Eurotunnel SE is claiming more than 29 million euros ($32.22 million) in compensation from the French and British governments for disruption to its services caused last year by the migrant crisis. (http://thetim.es/1SD1eyj)

The Guardian

– Tesco Plc will only sell straight croissants from Friday, despite the breakfast pastry’s French name meaning “crescent”. It claims that demand for the traditionally curved breakfast snacks has fallen and British consumers now prefer straight ones due to their optimised “spreadability factor” and a sense that they are somehow more sophisticated. (http://bit.ly/1mKWQzp)

The Telegraph

– Market expectations that UK interest rates will remain on hold until 2019 are not justified, according to the deputy governor of the Bank of England. Jon Cunliffe said bets by investors that rates could even be cut were not backed by economic fundamentals. (http://bit.ly/1SD1wW3)

– Three is poised to become the first major European mobile operator to block online advertising on its network, signalling a clash with digital publishers and advertising companies. (http://bit.ly/1SD1w8p)

Sky News

– Centrica Plc, the owner of British Gas, has trimmed its full-year losses for 2015 to 1.1 billion pounds ($1.58 billion), down from 1.4 billion pounds in 2014. The firm called this a “resilient financial performance in a challenging environment”. (http://bit.ly/1SD1pts)

– Business leaders are being asked to sign an open letter endorsing a deal between David Cameron and European Union leaders even before he thrashes out an agreement which paves the way for a summer referendum. (http://bit.ly/1SD1pcS)

The Independent

– Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has stressed in its latest report that countries must adopt a more balanced approach to spending to try and stop economic growth from stalling. The latest figures show the UK economy is expected to grow by just by 2.1 percent in 2016 and 2 percent, 0.3 points less than it was thought at the end of last year. (http://ind.pn/1mKWFUF)

 


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Movie Review: The Witch — New at Reason

The WitchFor a horror movie, The Witch isn’t especially horrifying, but it’s a masterful exercise in godforsaken atmosphere. Set in Puritan Massachusetts in the year 1630, it presents us with a world in which Satan is real, if only because everyone believes him to be. A farmer named William (Ralph Ineson) has turned his back on his austere religious community—he finds it to be insufficiently grim—and has struck out with his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie) and their five children to found a homestead of their own on the edge of a remote, spooky forest. It’s a hard place of pewter-gray days and long nights, filled with strange rustlings and eerie portents (the local wildlife is exceedingly creepy). The children have been well-drilled by their parents in the wages of sin, and after the family’s first corn crop fails, and their baby son vanishes in the blink of an eye, we wait for the devil to really bring the hammer down. It’s a short wait, writes Kurt Loder.

View this article.

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