Tag: news

In a day that will be remembered for the first major snowstorm to hit New York in 2014 and test the clean up capabilities and resolve of the city’s new populist mayor (not starting on a good note following reports that JFK airport will be closed at least until 8:30 am Eastern), it was only fitting that there was virtually no overnight news aside for the Chinese non-manufacturing PMI which dropped from 56.0 to 54.6, a new 4 month low. Still, following yesterday’s ugly start to the new year, stocks in Europe traded higher this morning, in part driven by value related flows following the sell-off yesterday. Retailers led the move higher, with Next shares in London up as much as 11% which is the most since January 2009 and to its highest level since 1988 after the company lifted profit forecast after strong Christmas trading performance. Other UK based retailers with likes of AB Foods and M&S also advanced around 2%.

Looking elsewhere, peripheral bonds continued to outperform their core counterparts, with IT/GE 10y spread below 200bps mark for the first time since July 2011 and SP/GE 10y spread below 200bps mark for the first time since May 2011. The recent flow into peripheral bonds said to have driven by domestic accounts, together with international real money accounts putting on new trades for 2014. A combination of a sharp drop in EONIA fixing, together with the release of better than expected UK macroeconomic data meant that GBP/USD outperformed EUR/USD. On that note, analysts have noted that sharp decline in EONIA fixing leaves EUR/USD vulnerable to the downside.

In summary, the Italian and Dutch markets are the best-performing larger bourses, Swiss the worst. The euro is weaker against the dollar. Portuguese 10yr bond yields fall; Spanish yields decline. Commodities little changed, with zinc, nickel underperforming and silver outperforming. New York ISM, U.S. vehicle sales data released later.

Looking at the day ahead, it will likely be a quiet end to the week with little on the data docket to note and inclement weather on the US east coast possibly preventing some market participants from returning to their desks. Today’s European data include Euroarea money supply and Spanish/Italian CPI readings. December auto sales is the main data release in the US. Bernanke, Lacker, Plosser and Stein are scheduled to speak at the American Economic Association annual meeting in Philadelphia although some may not make it due to the weather.

Recap:

• S&P 500 futures down 0% to 1827.3
• Stoxx 600 up 3% to 326.7
• US 10Yr yield down 1bps to 2.98%
• German 10Yr yield down 1bps to 1.94%
• MSCI Asia Pacific down 0.4% to 140.3
• Gold spot up 0.5% to $1231/oz

EUROPE

• 17 out of 19 Stoxx 600 sectors rise; retail, real estate outperform, insurance, basic resources underperform
• 67.5% of Stoxx 600 members gain, 29.8% decline
• Top Stoxx 600 gainers: Next PLC  +8.6%, Banco Espirito Santo SA  +5.1%, Dixons Retail PLC  +4.9%, Telecom Italia SpA +4.7%, Valiant Holding AG  +4.2%, Marks & Spencer Group PLC +4%, Debenhams PLC  +3.5%, Eutelsat Communications SA +3.5%, Hays PLC  +2.9%, Azimut Holding SpA  +2.9%
• Top Stoxx 600 decliners: International Personal Finance -2.7%, Swiss Re AG -2.7%, DKSH Holding AG -2.3%, Remy Cointreau SA -2.3%, Lonmin PLC -2.2%, Commerzbank AG -1.6%, Rexam PLC -1.3%, Rotork PLC -1.2%, Pearson PLC -1.2%, Coca- Cola HBC AG -1.2%

ASIA

• Asian stocks fall with the Hang Seng underperforming.
• MSCI Asia Pacific down 0.4% to 140.3
• Nikkei 225 closed, Hang Seng down 2.2%, Kospi down 1.1%,  Shanghai Composite down 1.2%, ASX down 0.3%, Sensex down 0.3%
• 2 out of 10 sectors rise with health care, consumer outperforming and energy, tech underperforming
• Gainers: ANTA Sports Products Ltd  +8.7%, Celltrion Inc +6.1%, Chongqing Changan Automobile C  +5.8%, Advanced Info Service PCL  +4.8%, Kasikornbank PCL   +4.7%, Kasikornbank PCL  +3.8%, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd  +3.5%, OCI Co Ltd +3.4%, United Spirits Ltd  +3.3%
• Decliners: Thai Oil PCL -6.9%, China Taiping Insurance Holdin -6%, Eclat Textile Co Ltd -5.8%, Banpu PCL -5.4%, Belle International Holdings L -5.1%, Astra Agro Lestari Tbk PT -4.9%, First Pacific Co Ltd/Hong Kong -4.9%, Adaro Energy Tbk PT -4.7%, CITIC Securities Co Ltd -4.7%, E-Mart Co Ltd -4.4%

Overnight headline bulletin fromRanSquawk

• European stocks trade higher following yesterday’s sell-off, with the peripheral markets outperforming as Italian and Spanish spreads continue yesterday’s tightening.
• UK Mortgage Approvals came in at the highest since January 2008, with UK Nationwide House Prices showing the biggest rise since August 2009.
• Going forward, market participants will get to digest the release of the latest EIA Nat Gas Storage report, DoE data and US vehicle sales.

Asian Headlines

Chinese Non-Manufacturing PMI (Dec) M/M 54.6 (Prev. 56.0); 4-month low

South Korean finance minister Hyun stated a need to closely monitor JPY’s movements, adding that they may need to strengthen support measures for smaller companies following the weak JPY and that Japan may face international pressure on currency.

EU & UK Headlines

UK Mortgage Approvals (Nov) M/M 70.8K vs. Exp. 69.7K (Prev. 67.7K, Rev. to 68.0K) – highest since January 2008

– UK November net lending to non-financial businesses at GBP -4.656bln vs October GBP -1.121bln, biggest fall since series began in May 2011.

UK PMI Construction (Dec) M/M 62.1 vs Exp. 62.0 (Prev. 62.6)

UK Nationwide House PX (Dec) M/M 1.4% vs Exp. 0.7% (Prev. 0.6%, Rev. 0.7%) – Biggest rise since August 2009

– Nationwide House PX NSA (Dec) Y/Y 8.4% vs Exp. 7.1% (Prev. 6.5%)

Spanish Unemployment Net (‘000s) (Dec) M/M -107.6 (Prev. -2.5)

Swiss PMI Manufacturing (Dec) M/M 53.9 vs 56.3 (Prev. 56.5)

Analysts at UBS believe that any BoE rate increases may be as small as 5bps. Saying that the withdrawal will be cautious if inflation and wage growth remain subdued, suggests 5bps rate rises to emphasize that any more will be incremental and hesitant.

German government will not increase taxes, according to draft of annual economic report of German government.

No major Tier 1 data from the US data, with focus on the energy markets as today sees the release of the DoE Inventories and EIA Natural Gas Storage Change.

US volumes today may be impeded by adverse weather conditions.

According to the National Weather Service, a combination of storms will impact areas from the southern Appalachians into New England into Friday. Heaviest snow will fall from central New York to the Massachusetts coast. Blizzard conditions are possible for eastern Long Island and the Massachusetts coast. Bitter cold will move into the Midwest and East following the storm.

Equities

Following yesterday’s sell-off in European equities, stocks have managed to trade with gains this morning, with Next in the UK being the notable outperformer. This follows the Co.’s pre-market update, with Q4 sales coming in significantly higher than expected. This news for Next has seen other UK stocks including AB foods and M&S trade higher for the session. Elsewhere, the periphery is leading the way across Europe, with Telecom Italia supporting the FTSE MIB after pre-market reports that Telefonica are to review the feasibility of Telecom Italia Brazil unit breakup next week.

FX

In FX markets overnight, the South Korean Finance Minister said that they need to closely monitor JPY’s movements and that Japan may face international pressure on currency with USD/JPY then running through stops at 104.50 to the downside. Following the release of a better than expected UK PMI Construction, GBP/USD has outperformed EUR/USD, with EUR also under pressure from JPY strength. There is also market talk of real money accounts selling in EUR/GBP.

Analysts at Credit Suisse say that any setbacks in GBP/USD towards 1.6320/00 offers a chance to re-establish long positions as med-term outlook remains bullish

Commodities

Nomura forecasts Brent oil average price at USD 100/bbl in 2014 and forecasts WTI crude average price at USD 90/bbl in 2014.

Iraq starts fixing oil pipeline that was damaged by a bomb yesterday evening. There is no definite date to complete repairs as there was extensive damage according to North Oil.

China’s November copper products output rises 25% on year to 1.5 mil mt.

* * *

Finally, here is the complete overnight recap from DB’s Jim Reid

DM equities had a soft start to 2014 with both the S&P500 (-0.89%) and Stoxx600 (-0.74%) recording their worst opening day performances since 2008. S&P500 volumes were on the low-side, even for a first trading day of the year, and it may drop further today after winter storm Hercules hit the US north east late on Thursday prompting a state of emergency to be declared in New York State and New Jersey. There are reports of flight cancellations, highway closures and reduced transport services in major cities in the north east, while NYC is expected to receive up to 9 inches of snow on Thursday night/Friday morning accompanied by a sharp drop in temperatures.

Coming back to markets, yesterday saw a partial reversal of one of the major themes of 2013, being that of stronger DM equities and subdued fixed income performance. All ten industry sectors in the S&P500 and Stoxx600 closed in the red yesterday, with utilities, financials and resources bearing the brunt of the selloff. On the fixed income side, peripheral European bonds had an impressive day with both Spain and Italian 10 year yields closing below the 4% mark. US treasury yields reached an early high 3.05% before rallying to close at 2.989% (-4bp on the day) – partially reversing some of the losses from the last trading day of 2013. The weaker-than-expected ISM data (more below) helped sentiment in USTs as did the weakness in US equities which opened lower and stayed low for the entire session. The USD had a strong start to the year (USD index +0.65%) while emerging market assets experienced the opposite as worries permeated across Turkey, Thailand and LATAM. The MSCI EM index fell 1.2% for its largest drop in more than a month and the TRY, BRL and MXN all struggled against the USD.

Reviewing the data flow, the latest round of ISM/PMI surveys showed that manufacturing activity ended 2013 on a mixed note. The US manufacturing ISM for December fell 0.3pt from November’s levels to 57.0 but this was still slightly above the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 56.8. DB’s economists noted that this was a similar performance to the Chicago PMI which was released earlier in the week, but they also noted some positives in ISM report including the fact that both the new orders (64.2 vs. 63.6 previous) and employment components (56.9 vs. 56.5 previous) made new multi-year highs.

The ISM data had minimal effect on markets though 10yr yields dropped a couple of basis points following its release. Across the Atlantic, the Euro-area manufacturing PMI for December came out in line with the flash estimate at 52.7 but the surprise was in the strength of the numbers in Spain (50.8 vs 49.8 forecast) and Italy (53.3 vs 51.7 forecast). Meanwhile in the core, the divergence between Germany and France continued to widen (+1.1 to 52.7 for & -1.4 to 47.0 respectively). Outside of the manufacturing data, US initial  jobless claims for the last full week of 2013 dropped -2k to 339k though the week-to-week numbers have been impacted by seasonal factors of late.

Looking at overnight markets, Asian equities are taking the lead of the US and Europe with losses paced by the Hang Seng (-1.9%) and KOSPI (-1.1%). USDJPY remains under some pressure, dropping 0.6% early today while Japanese stock markets remain closed for New Year holidays. All eyes remain on the wobbles in EM and the latest data flow from China hasn’t helped sentiment there either. The official Chinese December services PMI (released overnight) came in at 54.6 which is a four-month low and is 1.4 pts lower than November’s reading. This follows the weaker-than-expected official manufacturing PMI (51.0 vs 51.2 expected) released earlier this week. Thailand’s SET equity index is faring better today (-0.7%) following yesterday’s 5.2% fall which brought the index to an 18-month low. Asian EM credit spreads are about 3-4bp wider in general. Chinese bank funding pressures remain of some concern but the 7-day repo rate has eased around 15bp this morning. Amid the recent worries about debt levels at Chinese local governments, there is talk that a number of local governments may tap onshore Chinese USD funding markets after Shanghai Chengtou Corp issued the first onshore USD-denominated bond by a local-government financing vehicle in China as yuan borrowing costs surge (Bloomberg).

Returning to DM, 2013 will be partly remembered for being a robust year for M&A, leveraged financings and IPOs particularly in North America – and there are signs that 2014 will be another healthy year for corporate activity. The buyouts of Verizon Wireless, Heinz and Dell were amongst the standout buyout deals of 2013, and the first out of the gates this year is auto-maker Fiat who announced on New Year’s Day a $4.4bn deal to acquire the remaining 41% portion of Chrysler. The fully-merged Fiat-Chrysler group is aiming to list in New York within the year according to the Financial Times. Speaking of buyouts, it will be also interesting to track the LBO pipeline with the  improving optimism in that market evident in the latest buyout stats from Reuters that show that the median EBITDA multiple in US LBOs jumped to 9.8x in 2013 from 8.3x in 2012, citing data from market research firm Preqin. Thomson Reuters also notes that the US leveraged bank lending posted a record $510bn in volumes in 2013 (up 55% over 2012) and the average LBO debt levels crept up to 6.2x in 2013. So valuations and leverage levels crept upwards in 2013, supported by accommodative debt and equity funding markets – whether this can be sustained in 2014 is the big question. On a related note, following a gain of more than 30% in 2013, the S&P500 is predicted to gain around 5.5% in 2014 according to the average of 20 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That outlook is the lowest forecast since 31 Dec 2004.

Looking at the day ahead, it will likely be a quiet end to the week with little on the data docket to note and inclement weather on the US east coast possibly preventing some market participants from returning to their desks. Today’s European data include Euroarea money supply and Spanish/Italian CPI readings. December auto sales is the main data release in the US. Bernanke, Lacker, Plosser and Stein are scheduled to speak at the American Economic Association annual meeting in Philadelphia.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/O22DFsvcAPs/story01.htm Tyler Durden

Gold and silver prices surged higher today in the opening hours of trade in 2014. Gold rose 1.8% to $1,220/oz and silver surged over 3% to $20.02/oz.

Gold fell 28% in 2013, while silver recorded a 36% decline. It was gold’s first annual drop since 2000 and gold and silver’s worst performance since 1981 and 1984 respectively.

FREE EBOOK: Are your deposits safe? Get our report here.

Gold in U.S. Dollars, 5 Days – (Bloomberg)

Gold fell as low as $1,182/oz briefly on the last day of trading (12/31) on Tuesday after another large sell order in illiquid COMEX trading pushed prices lower to test support at $1,180/oz. Gold bounced sharply from support at $1,180/oz to close the year above the psychologically important $1,200 level at $1,205.55/oz.

Overnight in Asia, physical buyers scooped up physical gold on this latest dip in prices to 6 month lows. Reuters reported bargain hunters stepping in to buy beaten down gold and silver, notably Chinese buyers. The Lunar New Year falls at the end of this month, and the Chinese holiday always sees strong store of wealth demand from Chinese buyers.

China is set to become the world’s largest buyer of gold in 2013 and the ramifications of China’s huge demand for physical gold, both from the Chinese people and the People’s Bank of China is yet to be realised and factored into prices.

Chinese buyers are of increasing importance but it is important to note that physical demand rose significantly throughout the world in 2013 despite falling prices. This is seen in the levels of demand experienced by leading bullion dealers, refiners and government mints. This is clearly seen in the data released by the Perth Mint and the U.S. Mint which both saw increased demand for physical gold coins and bars in 2013. Other mints have yet to report their numbers.

Gold in U.S. Dollars, 1 Year – (Bloomberg)

The Perth Mint of Western Australia reported that they saw a very significant increase in sales in 2013 despite the falling prices. Gold sales from the Perth Mint, which refines most of the bullion from the world’s second-biggest producer Australia, climbed 41% last year.

Sales of gold coins and minted bars totalled 754,635 ounces in 2013 from 533,333 ounces a year earlier, according to data from the mint.

Silver coin sales surged 33% to about 8.6 million ounces from 6.5 million ounces in 2012, according to the Perth Mint.

Gold bullion sales expanded 12% to 58,944 ounces in December from 52,700 in November and about 51,778 ounces in December 2012, according to data from the mint. Gold sales fell to as low as 30,430 ounces in August and peaked at about 112,575 in April, when gold was hammered 14% lower on the COMEX in just two days.

Silver coin sales were 845,941 ounces last month from 807,246 in November and 452,389 a year earlier, it said.

The U.S. Mint also saw an increase in physical gold sales and sold 14% more American Eagle gold coins last year and sales climbed 17% to 56,000 ounces in December from November, according to data on the mint’s website as reported by Bloomberg.

Jim Rickards, monetary expert and author of Currency Wars explained to Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television’s “Money Moves” that gold has fallen in price in 2013 despite “skyrocketing demand.”

Rickards said that the price fell in 2013 due to “some technical reasons” and “probably manipulation as well”, meanwhile physical supply is disappearing and leaving the gold ETF the GLD and going straight to China – to the people,

Meanwhile, global demand for gold is skyrocketing as people lose faith in paper currencies. This will lead to a huge rally in gold to over $7,000/oz and “at some point you are going to want your gold and there is not going to be any around.” See video here.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/Tqpx2E0P-aE/story01.htm GoldCore

Gold and silver prices surged higher today in the opening hours of trade in 2014. Gold rose 1.8% to $1,220/oz and silver surged over 3% to $20.02/oz.

Gold fell 28% in 2013, while silver recorded a 36% decline. It was gold’s first annual drop since 2000 and gold and silver’s worst performance since 1981 and 1984 respectively.

FREE EBOOK: Are your deposits safe? Get our report here.

Gold in U.S. Dollars, 5 Days – (Bloomberg)

Gold fell as low as $1,182/oz briefly on the last day of trading (12/31) on Tuesday after another large sell order in illiquid COMEX trading pushed prices lower to test support at $1,180/oz. Gold bounced sharply from support at $1,180/oz to close the year above the psychologically important $1,200 level at $1,205.55/oz.

Overnight in Asia, physical buyers scooped up physical gold on this latest dip in prices to 6 month lows. Reuters reported bargain hunters stepping in to buy beaten down gold and silver, notably Chinese buyers. The Lunar New Year falls at the end of this month, and the Chinese holiday always sees strong store of wealth demand from Chinese buyers.

China is set to become the world’s largest buyer of gold in 2013 and the ramifications of China’s huge demand for physical gold, both from the Chinese people and the People’s Bank of China is yet to be realised and factored into prices.

Chinese buyers are of increasing importance but it is important to note that physical demand rose significantly throughout the world in 2013 despite falling prices. This is seen in the levels of demand experienced by leading bullion dealers, refiners and government mints. This is clearly seen in the data released by the Perth Mint and the U.S. Mint which both saw increased demand for physical gold coins and bars in 2013. Other mints have yet to report their numbers.

Gold in U.S. Dollars, 1 Year – (Bloomberg)

The Perth Mint of Western Australia reported that they saw a very significant increase in sales in 2013 despite the falling prices. Gold sales from the Perth Mint, which refines most of the bullion from the world’s second-biggest producer Australia, climbed 41% last year.

Sales of gold coins and minted bars totalled 754,635 ounces in 2013 from 533,333 ounces a year earlier, according to data from the mint.

Silver coin sales surged 33% to about 8.6 million ounces from 6.5 million ounces in 2012, according to the Perth Mint.

Gold bullion sales expanded 12% to 58,944 ounces in December from 52,700 in November and about 51,778 ounces in December 2012, according to data from the mint. Gold sales fell to as low as 30,430 ounces in August and peaked at about 112,575 in April, when gold was hammered 14% lower on the COMEX in just two days.

Silver coin sales were 845,941 ounces last month from 807,246 in November and 452,389 a year earlier, it said.

The U.S. Mint also saw an increase in physical gold sales and sold 14% more American Eagle gold coins last year and sales climbed 17% to 56,000 ounces in December from November, according to data on the mint’s website as reported by Bloomberg.

Jim Rickards, monetary expert and author of Currency Wars explained to Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television’s “Money Moves” that gold has fallen in price in 2013 despite “skyrocketing demand.”

Rickards said that the price fell in 2013 due to “some technical reasons” and “probably manipulation as well”, meanwhile physical supply is disappearing and leaving the gold ETF the GLD and going straight to China – to the people,

Meanwhile, global demand for gold is skyrocketing as people lose faith in paper currencies. This will lead to a huge rally in gold to over $7,000/oz and “at some point you are going to want your gold and there is not going to be any around.” See video here.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/Tqpx2E0P-aE/story01.htm GoldCore

Submitted by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts via Alt-Market blog,

2014 is upon us. For a person who graduated from Georgia Tech in 1961, a year in which the class ring showed the same date right side up or upside down, the 21st century was a science fiction concept associated with Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey." To us George Orwell's 1984 seemed so far in the future we would never get there. Now it is 30 years in the past.

Did we get there in Orwell's sense? In terms of surveillance technology, we are far beyond Orwell's imagination. In terms of the unaccountability of government, we exceptional and indispensable people now live a 1984 existence. In his alternative to the Queen's Christmas speech, Edward Snowden made the point that a person born in the 21st century will never experience privacy. For new generations the word privacy will refer to something mythical, like a unicorn.

Many Americans might never notice or care. I remember when telephone calls were considered to be private. In the 1940s and 1950s the telephone company could not always provide private lines. There were "party lines" in which two or more customers shared the same telephone line. It was considered extremely rude and inappropriate to listen in on someone's calls and to monopolize the line with long duration conversations.

The privacy of telephone conversations was also epitomized by telephone booths, which stood on street corners, in a variety of public places, and in "filling stations" where an attendant would pump gasoline into your car's fuel tank, check the water in the radiator, the oil in the engine, the air in the tires, and clean the windshield. A dollar's worth would purchase 3 gallons, and $5 would fill the tank.

Even in the 1980s and for part of the 1990s there were lines of telephones on airport waiting room walls, each separated from the other by sound absorbing panels. Whether the panels absorbed the sounds of the conversation or not, they conveyed the idea that calls were private.

The notion that telephone calls are private left Americans' consciousness prior to the NSA listening in. If memory serves, it was sometime in the 1990s when I entered the men's room of an airport and observed a row of men speaking on their cell phones in the midst of the tinkling sound of urine hitting water and noises of flushing toilets. The thought hit hard that privacy had lost its value.

I remember when I arrived at Merton College, Oxford, for the first term of 1964. I was advised never to telephone anyone whom I had not met, as it would be an affront to invade the privacy of a person to whom I was unknown. The telephone was reserved for friends and acquaintances, a civility that contrasts with American telemarketing.

The efficiency of the Royal Mail service protected the privacy of the telephone. What one did in those days in England was to write a letter requesting a meeting or an appointment. It was possible to send a letter via the Royal Mail to London in the morning and to receive a reply in the afternoon. Previously it had been possible to send a letter in the morning and to receive a morning reply, and to send another in the afternoon and receive an afternoon reply.

When one flies today, unless one stops up one's ears with something, one hears one's seat mate's conversations prior to takeoff and immediately upon landing. Literally, everyone is talking nonstop. One wonders how the economy functioned at such a high level of incomes and success prior to cell phones. I can remember being able to travel both domestically and internationally on important business without having to telephone anyone. What has happened to America that no one can any longer go anywhere without constant talking?

If you sit at an airport gate awaiting a flight, you might think you are listening to a porn film. The overhead visuals are usually Fox "News" going on about the need for a new war, but the cell phone audio might be young women describing their latest sexual affair.

Americans, or many of them, are such exhibitionists that they do not mind being spied upon or recorded. It gives them importance. According to Wikipedia, Paris Hilton, a multimillionaire heiress, posted her sexual escapades online, and Facebook had to block users from posting nude photos of themselves. Sometime between my time and now people ceased to read 1984. They have no conception that a loss of privacy is a loss of self. They don't understand that a loss of privacy means that they can be intimidated, blackmailed, framed, and viewed in the buff. Little wonder they submitted to porno-scanners.

The loss of privacy is a serious matter. The privacy of the family used to be paramount. Today it is routinely invaded by neighbors, police, Child Protective Services (sic), school administrators, and just about anyone else.

Consider this: A mother of six and nine year old kids sat in a lawn chair next to her house watching her kids ride scooters in the driveway and cul-de-sac on which they live.

Normally, this would be an idyllic picture. But not in America. A neighbor, who apparently did not see the watching mother, called the police to report that two young children were outside playing without adult supervision. Note that the next door neighbor, a woman, did not bother to go next door to speak with the mother of the children and express her concern that they children were not being monitored while they played. The neighbor called the police. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/mom-sues-polices-she-arrested-letting-her-kids-134628018.html

"We're here for you," the cops told the mother, who was carried off in handcuffs and spent the next 18 hours in a cell in prison clothes.

The news report doesn't say what happened to the children, whether the father appeared and insisted on custody of his offspring or whether the cops turned the kids over to Child Protective Services.

This shows you what Americans are really like. Neither the neighbor nor the police had a lick of sense. The only idea that they had was to punish someone. This is why America has the highest incarceration rate and the highest total number of prison inmates in the entire world. Washington can go on and on about "authoritarian" regimes in Russia and China, but both countries have far lower prison populations than "freedom and democracy" America.

I was unaware that laws now exist requiring the supervision of children at play. Children vary in their need for supervision. In my day supervision was up to the mother's judgment. Older children were often tasked with supervising the younger. It was one way that children were taught responsibility and developed their own judgment.

When I was five years old, I walked to the neighborhood school by myself. Today my mother would be arrested for child endangerment.

In America punishment falls more heavily on the innocent, the young, and the poor than it does on the banksters who are living on the Federal Reserve's subsidy known as Quantitative Easing and who have escaped criminal liability for the fraudulent financial instruments that they sold to the world. Single mothers, depressed by the lack of commitment of the fathers of their children, are locked away for using drugs to block out their depression. Their children are seized by a Gestapo institution, Child Protective Services, and end up in foster care where many are abused.

According to numerous press reports, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 year-old children who play cowboys and indians or cops and robbers during recess and raise a pointed finger while saying "bang-bang" are arrested and carried off to jail in handcuffs as threats to their classmates. In my day every male child and the females who were "Tom boys" would have been taken to jail. Playground fights were normal, but no police were ever called. Handcuffing a child would not have been tolerated.

From the earliest age, boys were taught never to hit a girl. In those days there were no reports of police beating up teenage girls and women or body slamming the elderly. To comprehend the degeneration of the American police into psychopaths and sociopaths, go online and observe the video of Lee Oswald in police custody in 1963.

Oswald was believed to have assassinated President John F. Kennedy and murdered a Dallas police officer only a few hours previously to the film. Yet he had not been beaten, his nose wasn't broken, and his lips were not a bloody mess. Now go online and pick from the vast number of police brutality videos from our present time and observe the swollen and bleeding faces of teenage girls accused of sassing overbearing police officers.

In America today people with power are no longer accountable. This means citizens have become subjects, an indication of social collapse.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/nz-6kxyn26Q/story01.htm Tyler Durden

While the taper is apparently priced in, someone forgot to tell Emerging Market FX markets again as from India to Indonesia and from Thailand to the Philippines, currencies are tumbling against the USD. While most of Asian FX is weakening, the JPY is surging – its biggest gain in 4 months. Of course, with Japanese cash markets still closed, futures are bearing the brunt as Nikkei 225 futures are down 450 points from New Year’s Eve’s high close, filling the Christmas Eve gap perfectly.

 

Nikkei 225 Futures have fille dthe Christmas Eve gap higher…

 

as USDJPY tumbles… (JPY strength)

Even as most of Asia is seeing its FX dump against the USD…

 

For now, S&P 500 futures are holding in despite the JPY carry slump…

 

But Asian equities are tumbling (most notably Korea and Thailand)…

 

Time to get back to work Mr. Kuroda…

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/PPEY9HTNFAo/story01.htm Tyler Durden

All it took was a year or two of extremely obvious “catches” of leaked data for the government to begin to decide that perhaps, just perhaps, it is time to end the press lockup for each week’s initial jobless claims data. As the WSJ reports, the original idea behind lockups was to give reporters time to digest complicated economic reports to produce accurate reports for the public. In the past decade, news organizations have also built expensive networks to send government data to high-speed investors who can make trades on the data before members of the public can react. Now, however, the BLS believes, “government data is for the public good and it is paid for by taxpayer dollars. There must be a commitment to a level playing field.”

 

Via WSJ,

A Labor Department panel has called for abandoning media lockups for a key weekly measure of U.S. employment.

 

The recommendation is the first formal call by a government entity to end media lockups and could hasten a move away from the government’s decades-old practice of releasing sensitive economic data through the media.

 

A lockup is the term used for the traditional way in which government agencies release market-moving data to the public. In a lockup, reporters are given embargoed copies of the reports and are “locked” in media rooms, without the ability to send their stories to the public until the embargo is lifted.

 

…

Following the release of the Inspector General’s report examining problems with the release, however…

the Labor Department said in a statement: “We agree with the [Inspector General] that it is appropriate to consider ending the [unemployment insurance] weekly claims press lockup.”

 

It continued: “In fact, well before the release of the [Inspector General’s] report, the department began exploring the value of the press lockup…and intends to continue its consideration of how best to disseminate the report to the public and to news organizations.”

 

…

Of course, even if the end-users hadn;t been so obvious, you would have changed the plan? Hmm…

The new report could provide new momentum to that effort, though political pressure and technological barriers remain. Any move to end lockups will face lobbying pressure from news organizations that benefit from the current system because they control the dissemination of the government’s economic data.

 

…

 

Nonetheless, the recommendation from the Labor Department’s Office of inspector General represents the most significant step to date toward scrapping the current system of media lockups.

 

Keith Hall, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said “government data is for the public good and it is paid for by taxpayer dollars. There must be a commitment to a level playing field.”

 

The Inspector General made six recommendations to improve the release of the weekly report to eliminate the “competitive advantages provided to news organizations inside the lockup,” according to the report.

 

“Absent a viable solution,” the report suggested that the department “consider discontinuing the use of the press lockup.”

Ya think!?

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/_qExxCIOFMA/story01.htm Tyler Durden

All it took was a year or two of extremely obvious “catches” of leaked data for the government to begin to decide that perhaps, just perhaps, it is time to end the press lockup for each week’s initial jobless claims data. As the WSJ reports, the original idea behind lockups was to give reporters time to digest complicated economic reports to produce accurate reports for the public. In the past decade, news organizations have also built expensive networks to send government data to high-speed investors who can make trades on the data before members of the public can react. Now, however, the BLS believes, “government data is for the public good and it is paid for by taxpayer dollars. There must be a commitment to a level playing field.”

 

Via WSJ,

A Labor Department panel has called for abandoning media lockups for a key weekly measure of U.S. employment.

 

The recommendation is the first formal call by a government entity to end media lockups and could hasten a move away from the government’s decades-old practice of releasing sensitive economic data through the media.

 

A lockup is the term used for the traditional way in which government agencies release market-moving data to the public. In a lockup, reporters are given embargoed copies of the reports and are “locked” in media rooms, without the ability to send their stories to the public until the embargo is lifted.

 

…

Following the release of the Inspector General’s report examining problems with the release, however…

the Labor Department said in a statement: “We agree with the [Inspector General] that it is appropriate to consider ending the [unemployment insurance] weekly claims press lockup.”

 

It continued: “In fact, well before the release of the [Inspector General’s] report, the department began exploring the value of the press lockup…and intends to continue its consideration of how best to disseminate the report to the public and to news organizations.”

 

…

Of course, even if the end-users hadn;t been so obvious, you would have changed the plan? Hmm…

The new report could provide new momentum to that effort, though political pressure and technological barriers remain. Any move to end lockups will face lobbying pressure from news organizations that benefit from the current system because they control the dissemination of the government’s economic data.

 

…

 

Nonetheless, the recommendation from the Labor Department’s Office of inspector General represents the most significant step to date toward scrapping the current system of media lockups.

 

Keith Hall, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said “government data is for the public good and it is paid for by taxpayer dollars. There must be a commitment to a level playing field.”

 

The Inspector General made six recommendations to improve the release of the weekly report to eliminate the “competitive advantages provided to news organizations inside the lockup,” according to the report.

 

“Absent a viable solution,” the report suggested that the department “consider discontinuing the use of the press lockup.”

Ya think!?

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/_qExxCIOFMA/story01.htm Tyler Durden

For generating the greatest “wealth effect” and highest return of any global stock market in the world in 2013, the Caracas stock exchange, which closed the year at the ripe level of 2.7 million, is getting surprisingly little attention or love (maybe because unlike other countries, here unpleasant inflation from currency debasement is a coincident indicator resulting in such things as a shortage of toilet paper). Because after all isn’t it an economist and monetarist’s dream to achieve a 480% return in one year based on simply printing money?

Supposedly, the answer is no.

But for whatever reason, since nobody talks about the massively successful Venezuelan stock market, which in the modern era is second only to the even more “successful” Zimbabwe stock market, it bears noting that earlier today, quietly, the Caracas stock market announced it would proceed with a 1000 for 1 stock, er, index split.

We assume this happened because according to the “specialized technical report prepared by experts in the area of market organization”, an index trading at 2,737 appears more attractive to a toilet-paper deprived population than its identical version which however has risen to 2,737,000.

Of course, we give the post-split index a few months before it hits its previous absolute record level. At which point it will be rinse repeat. However, at least the local
“experts” will constantly keep removing zeroes from the benchmark number thereby giving the impression that all is well.

Come to think of it, both Japan and the US could be next when the glorious socialist policies of Venezuela trickle out from the oil-rich Latin American country…

From the Caracas Stock Exchange, google translated. Be careful the Bolsa website may have a virus in it:

A new formula for calculating the Caracas Stock Exchange and the Financial and Industrial indices is effective from today

 

The Caracas Stock Exchange , based on a specialized technical report prepared by experts in the area of market organization , announced to brokers, investors and the general public a modification of the indicators of the stock market , which comes into effect from today January 2, 2014 , as follows :

 

Previous Formula :

 

Index = ( Capitalization Companies / Cap Base) x 1,000

 

The modification was performed on the multiplier factor ” 1.000″ , in order to reduce proportionally reflected in indicators of six ( 6) whole numbers to at least three ( 3) whole numbers with two ( 2) decimal values.

 

New Formula:

 

The formula to be used from January 2, 2014 is the multiplier factor “1”, and is as follows:

 

Index = ( Capitalization Companies / Cap Base) x 1

 

The formula has the following parameters :

 

a. Daily compounding of each of the shares comprising the index basket .

 

b . Capital base, calculated and corrected based on the capitalization of the index basket 1997 , known as the base year .

 

c . A constant number used to identify the units or points indicator (Value Today 1 before 1000 )

 

The Caracas Stock Exchange ( IBC ) is the arithmetic average of the capitalization of each of the securities that make up , these being the largest capitalization and liquidity traded in the stock market of the Caracas Stock Exchange , while the Financial Indices Industrial and have different baskets.

 

The changes are effective as of January 2, 2014 . However, they were announced to the general public daily from 20 December 2013 until its entry into force on the first day of the new year.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/tgd56eSCx80/story01.htm Tyler Durden