Tag: news

2013’s Best And Worst: Complete Hedge Fund Performance Update

The time has come for the monthly status check on the performance of the now largely anachronistic hedge fund industry: a 2 and 20 anachronism (whose every phone call is monitored by the FBI nowadays, thanks Stevie Cohen) because in Bernanke’s centrally-planned world, risk is verboten, as are any selloffs, and if indeed one does come and the Fed has no “tools” left to counteract it, no amount of hedges will protect an investing community that has now largely eliminated any short positions on their books. So without further ado, here are the best and worst performing hedge funds of 2013.

As every year in the past five, the vast majority of hedge funds continue to underperform the S&P.

 

And finally, the full performance report via HSBC:


    



via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/EKgDykVn1vE/story01.htm Tyler Durden

Atlanta Continues Tormenting Street Vendors with New Regulations

Chaos! Utter chaos!In October, Reason Intern Jess
Remington
updated readers with the latest about Atlanta’s war on street
vendors. The city revoked the business permits of independent
vendors and handed the rights to sell to a monopoly. The Institute
for Justice represented some of the affected vendors and fought
back. A judge ruled in their favor last year, but rather than
comply, Mayor Kasim Reed shut down all street vending. In October,
the judge ruled yet again that Reed must allow the street vendors
back their permits.

But the city and the mayor still hadn’t complied and are now
facing a potential contempt ruling for defying the judge’s
orders.

In order to get the judge off the city’s backs, Atlanta’s City
Council passed an ordinance Monday creating more regulations and
conditions for vendors to operate. The Institute for Justice is not
impressed.

“The ordinance is a step back for Atlanta vendors,” Institute
for Justice Attorney Rob Frommer told Reason. Among the problems
with the new rules, Frommer explained, is that it replaces the
proposed private monopoly with the government instead. The
government will still control where vendors can sell goods, mandate
how they sell things, and even control exactly what goods they may
sell. A street vendor may not sell items that are the same as
what’s being sold in nearby brick-and-mortar shops.

“The end result is the same,” Frommer said. “There’s less
opportunities, less choice, and less benefits for consumers.” He
described the anticompetitive product restrictions as “patently
unconstitutional.”

Frommer said the Institute for Justice will have to assess the
ordinance more thoroughly before deciding their next steps, as it
was rammed through in just two weeks, and there’s been little
analysis. In the meantime, they’re still pushing forward to try to
have the judge rule Mayor Reed in contempt.

“For 11 months, Mayor Reed violated the law by preventing honest
entrepreneurs from working,” Frommer said. “We expect the court to
call him to account for his lawless actions.”

Below, the Institute for Justice’s video explainer about the
ongoing fight. According to the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the city is not
providing in these new rules an option for street vendors around
Turner Field, where the Braves play:

from Hit & Run http://reason.com/blog/2013/11/05/atlanta-continues-tormenting-street-vend
via IFTTT

Vid: Ron Bailey on "The End of Doom"

“Are human beings smart enough to overcome scarcities through
their intellectual powers?”

Reason science correspondent Ron Bailey says this is the
question that scientists and economists have been grappling with
for decades. In a talk in front of a live, in-studio audience at
Reason’s LA headquarters, Bailey answered that question with a
resounding, “Yes!”

Bailey previewed his upcoming book, The End of
Doom, in this thought-provoking talk of the same name. By
documenting numerous errors in prediction from the past, from Paul
Ehlrich’s famous
commodities bet with Julian Simon to unfounded concerns
about “peak oil,” Bailey takes on the doomsayers and argues that
it’s much more rational to expect a more prosperous, resource-rich,
and ecologically sound future than it is to fear armageddon.

Approximately 20 minutes. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by
Alex Manning, Paul Detrick, and Tracy Oppenheimer.

Click the link below for downloadable versions of this video,
and subscribe to Reason
TV’s Youtube channel for daily interviews, documentaries
and more.

View this article.

from Hit & Run http://reason.com/blog/2013/11/05/vid-ron-bailey-on-the-end-of-doom
via IFTTT

Vid: Ron Bailey on “The End of Doom”

“Are human beings smart enough to overcome scarcities through
their intellectual powers?”

Reason science correspondent Ron Bailey says this is the
question that scientists and economists have been grappling with
for decades. In a talk in front of a live, in-studio audience at
Reason’s LA headquarters, Bailey answered that question with a
resounding, “Yes!”

Bailey previewed his upcoming book, The End of
Doom, in this thought-provoking talk of the same name. By
documenting numerous errors in prediction from the past, from Paul
Ehlrich’s famous
commodities bet with Julian Simon to unfounded concerns
about “peak oil,” Bailey takes on the doomsayers and argues that
it’s much more rational to expect a more prosperous, resource-rich,
and ecologically sound future than it is to fear armageddon.

Approximately 20 minutes. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by
Alex Manning, Paul Detrick, and Tracy Oppenheimer.

Click the link below for downloadable versions of this video,
and subscribe to Reason
TV’s Youtube channel for daily interviews, documentaries
and more.

View this article.

from Hit & Run http://reason.com/blog/2013/11/05/vid-ron-bailey-on-the-end-of-doom
via IFTTT

Hockey Sticks of the Day

Three years ago I wrote this comment on Zerohedge:

Hey man, I am peak oil aware.  Check my history on this blog. 
Nevertheless, you do know that producers in Eagle Ford are using
horizontal drilling and fracking technology to produce oil, not gas? 
They are having success all the way up to Dallas county.  I know this
only buys a few months of global demand, but Kunstlers statement re
shale requiring huge investment is false.  This I do know, and with this
knowledge has come some excellent returns.

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/chris-martenson-and-james-howard-kunstl…

Today, regular unleaded gasoline is $2.85/gallon here in Texas.   As a follow up to my article from nearly one year ago, Fracking responsible for the big boost in US crude production?, I once again direct your attention to the following chart from the EIA, updated 10/30/13.  The Texas and North Dakota hockey sticks are very impressive.

I am no geologist or petroleum engineer, but one might expect fracking to lead to similiar crude oil production growth in more difficult operating environments such as the GOM and Alaska.

In similiar news, here is a photo from The Houston Chronicle of XOM’s new headquarters that is now being constructed just south of The Woodlands, Texas. What do they know?

 

APC is also close to completing it’s second office tower just up the street in The Woodlands.  What do they know?

 

Happy Motoring!


    



via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/5o3ldEj3TPQ/story01.htm hedgeless_horseman

The Definitive Chart On How To Identify A Terrorist

Submitted by Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

A little over a year ago, I wrote an article titled:  You Know You Are a Conspiracy Theorist If…

It proved a useful description of the varied afflictions that might overcome your fellow man on the path toward becoming a sentient human being. These include critical thinking, the enjoyment of nature and the distrust of mainstream media.

Well now we have the United States Government Terrorist Identification Chart. This should further aid you in identifying if there are enemies in your midst. Pay close attention serfs.

 


    



via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/b4Rs7sSi9ig/story01.htm Tyler Durden

The Smallest & Liveliest Of The DeadBeat Carriers Successfully Launched Wireless WMDs

 

deadbeat2 deadbeat2 

Bloomberg reports: T-Mobile Sales Beat Analysts’ Estimates as Subscribers Surge. So, how did BoomBustBloggers know this would occur? Well, It started last year with the article “Deadbeat Carrier Creative Destruction In The Ongoing Mobile Computing Wars“. You see, US wireless carriers are running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes around. The buy overpriced hardware from manufacturers on contract (see Have We Reached “Peak Premium Smartphone”?) mark up said hardware and then offer it at heavily and usurious financing rate otherwise called a subsidy. The US consumer buys these overpriced devices for a relatively small downpayment and then proceeds to pay through the nose to the carrier a very, very margin rich wireless fee for what amounts to a commodity service of dumb virtual pipes through the airwaves.  Not only does the carrier recoup its outlay for the device purchased en masse from the OEM, the carrier also tacks on and collects a very large premium for its post paid wireless services as well.

There are 4 major national carriers in the US, basically two big ones two smaller ones. The smallest of the 4, T-Mobile, consistently go beat up – losing out on the right to subsidize the iPhone at a loss (like AT&T used to and Sprint still does) and basically losing subscribers. Then they decided to do something about it. They said, “Hey, let’s stop being deadbeats!”. By changing their pricing plans and eliminating subsidies and instead selling pure access to their virtual pipes (like a carrier is supposed to) combined with actual “real” financing of the hardware (at competitive rates, nonetheless) they essentially committed DeadBeat Carrier Blashphemy. The only issue was, it worked, to the chagrin of the competition – reference:

 Reggie Middleotns Carrier Cost Comparison Reggie Middleotns Carrier Cost ComparisonReggie Middleotns Carrier Subsidy Cost ComparisonReggie Middleotns Carrier Subsidy Cost Comparison

Now, back to the Bloomberg article whose substance we predicted this time last year: T-Mobile Sales Beat Analysts’ Estimates as Subscribers Surge

T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS), the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier, reported third-quarter sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates as its cheaper service plans and phone-upgrade strategy attracted customers.

Sales rose to $6.69 billion, an increase of 8.7 percent when adjusted to account for T-Mobile’s merger with MetroPCS Communications Inc., according to a statement today from the Bellevue, Washington-based company. Analysts projected $6.58 billion, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

T-Mobile, which combined with MetroPCS in May, added 648,000 new monthly subscribers, topping the 401,000 average estimate and gaining for a second straight quarter. 

T-Mobile, which merged with MetroPCS six months ago, added 648,000 new monthly subscribers, topping the 401,000 average estimate and gaining for a second straight quarter. T-Mobile has benefited from offers such as zero-down financing on phones and a $10-a-month service that lets customers upgrade their devices more often — a program that rivals such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. (T)and Sprint Corp. (S) have now adopted. 

Umm… Margin Compression!!!??? Remember we called this in the telecomm space a few months ago… Deadbeat Carriers Compete, aka #MarginCompression!!!

The net loss was $36 million, following a second-quarter net loss of $16 million. The average phone bill for monthly subscribers shrank about 3 percent to $52.20 from the second quarter as more customers opted for cheaper plans. Analysts had projected $52.86, according to a survey of seven estimates by Bloomberg.

… T-Mobile rose 1.7 percent to $28.83 at 9:42 a.m. in New York. As of yesterday, the shares had climbed 72 percent since May 1, following the MetroPCS merger. Deutsche Telekom rose 0.6 percent to 11.82 euros in Frankfurt.

Who in the hell is behind this rampany wave of #MarginCompression? Oh yeah! Google Has Officially Gone On Record To Confirm Reggie Middleton’s “Negative Margin Business Model” Tactics. Google has created an atmosphere and environment that is primed to drive down the cost of computing and Internet access even further. I will discuss that in detail in my next article on this topic. In the meantime and in between time, read: 

Subscribers, this is directly relevant to both the Apple and the Google valuations. 

Recent Apple Valuation Reports

Subscribers, download the Q3 and Q4 2013 valuation reports (click here to subscribe).

The update from two months ago is also of value for those who haven’t read it. It turns out that it was quite prescienct!

Recent Google Valuation Reports


    



via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/a6Zb464IH8I/story01.htm Reggie Middleton

The Smallest & Liveliest Of The DeadBeat Carriers Successfully Launched Wireless WMDs

 

deadbeat2 deadbeat2 

Bloomberg reports: T-Mobile Sales Beat Analysts’ Estimates as Subscribers Surge. So, how did BoomBustBloggers know this would occur? Well, It started last year with the article “Deadbeat Carrier Creative Destruction In The Ongoing Mobile Computing Wars“. You see, US wireless carriers are running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes around. The buy overpriced hardware from manufacturers on contract (see Have We Reached “Peak Premium Smartphone”?) mark up said hardware and then offer it at heavily and usurious financing rate otherwise called a subsidy. The US consumer buys these overpriced devices for a relatively small downpayment and then proceeds to pay through the nose to the carrier a very, very margin rich wireless fee for what amounts to a commodity service of dumb virtual pipes through the airwaves.  Not only does the carrier recoup its outlay for the device purchased en masse from the OEM, the carrier also tacks on and collects a very large premium for its post paid wireless services as well.

There are 4 major national carriers in the US, basically two big ones two smaller ones. The smallest of the 4, T-Mobile, consistently go beat up – losing out on the right to subsidize the iPhone at a loss (like AT&T used to and Sprint still does) and basically losing subscribers. Then they decided to do something about it. They said, “Hey, let’s stop being deadbeats!”. By changing their pricing plans and eliminating subsidies and instead selling pure access to their virtual pipes (like a carrier is supposed to) combined with actual “real” financing of the hardware (at competitive rates, nonetheless) they essentially committed DeadBeat Carrier Blashphemy. The only issue was, it worked, to the chagrin of the competition – reference:

 Reggie Middleotns Carrier Cost Comparison Reggie Middleotns Carrier Cost ComparisonReggie Middleotns Carrier Subsidy Cost ComparisonReggie Middleotns Carrier Subsidy Cost Comparison

Now, back to the Bloomberg article whose substance we predicted this time last year: T-Mobile Sales Beat Analysts’ Estimates as Subscribers Surge

T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS), the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier, reported third-quarter sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates as its cheaper service plans and phone-upgrade strategy attracted customers.

Sales rose to $6.69 billion, an increase of 8.7 percent when adjusted to account for T-Mobile’s merger with MetroPCS Communications Inc., according to a statement today from the Bellevue, Washington-based company. Analysts projected $6.58 billion, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

T-Mobile, which combined with MetroPCS in May, added 648,000 new monthly subscribers, topping the 401,000 average estimate and gaining for a second straight quarter. 

T-Mobile, which merged with MetroPCS six months ago, added 648,000 new monthly subscribers, topping the 401,000 average estimate and gaining for a second straight quarter. T-Mobile has benefited from offers such as zero-down financing on phones and a $10-a-month service that lets customers upgrade their devices more often — a program that rivals such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. (T)and Sprint Corp. (S) have now adopted. 

Umm… Margin Compression!!!??? Remember we called this in the telecomm space a few months ago… Deadbeat Carriers Compete, aka #MarginCompression!!!

The net loss was $36 million, following a second-quarter net loss of $16 million. The average phone bill for monthly subscribers shrank about 3 percent to $52.20 from the second quarter as more customers opted for cheaper plans. Analysts had projected $52.86, according to a survey of seven estimates by Bloomberg.

… T-Mobile rose 1.7 percent to $28.83 at 9:42 a.m. in New York. As of yesterday, the shares had climbed 72 percent since May 1, following the MetroPCS merger. Deutsche Telekom rose 0.6 percent to 11.82 euros in Frankfurt.

Who in the hell is behind this rampany wave of #MarginCompression? Oh yeah! Google Has Officially Gone On Record To Confirm Reggie Middleton’s “Negative Margin Business Model” Tactics. Google has created an atmosphere and environment that is primed to drive down the cost of computing and Internet access even further. I will discuss that in detail in my next article on this topic. In the meantime and in between time, read: 

Subscribers, this is directly relevant to both the Apple and the Google valuations. 

Recent Apple Valuation Reports

Subscribers, download the Q3 and Q4 2013 valuation reports (click here to subscribe).

The update from two months ago is also of value for those who haven’t read it. It turns out that it was quite prescienct!

Recent Google Valuation Reports


    



via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/a6Zb464IH8I/story01.htm Reggie Middleton

Europe's Not Fixed, China's Inflation, and Housing Bust 2.0

 

Here’s the news worth knowing about today:

 

1)   Europe is not fixed. The EU just announced record high unemployment with unemployment numbers rising nearly one million thus far in 2013.Greece, which was hoping to increase taxes or grow its way out its debt problems has just revealed that over 500,000 companies cannot pay their taxes (up from 182,000 last month). So much for the “Europe is fixed” theme.

 

We believe the crisis will re-emerge later in 2013 or early 2014. The key item to watch is the German Dax. Whenever it comes back to test the upper trendline in the chart below, things will start getting messy again.

 

 

 

2)   China is engaging in the same taper/no-taper verbal interventions as the US. The Chinese premiere warned against loose monetary policy last night and China’s market dropped.

 

The People’s has a major problem on its hands (several actually). The primary one pertains to inflation. China has flooded its financial system with credit and easy money in ways that Ben Bernanke never dreamed of.

 

As a result of this inflation is rising, which leads to wage strikes, which erases profit differentials between China and other manufacturing centers, which leads to manufacturers pulling out of China, which results in a weaker Chinese economy, which results in the need for more credit to sustain growth and finance more projects.

 

This has resulted in a sideways Chinese stock market with every new flood of liquidity kicking off rallies and every talk or taper or tightening causing corrections. At some point this will break and we’ll either collapse or skyrocket depending on whether we see a debt deflationary collapse or a debt deflationary collapse accommodated by rampant monetization which would result in a  Zimbabwe-esque stock market rally.

 

 

 

3)   In the US, the housing market is definitively in a bubble. And it is once again popping.

 

Over 50% of all home purchases are cash only. In California, the amount of median income needed to buy a home is virtually identical to the Bubble Years of 2005-2006.

 

Mortgage applications are plunging and sales are stalling (we’ve been flat for two months but are down 27% since June). Be aware of this. Homebuilder stocks seem to be sensing something is amiss. We’ve been moving sideways since the peak in May 2013.

 

 

 

These are the trends to be away of.

 

Be prepared.

 

For a FREE Special Report outlining how to protect your portfolio a market collapse, swing by: http://phoenixcapitalmarketing.com/special-reports.html

 

Best

Phoenix Capital Research

 


    



via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/aqM5pcGp9NA/story01.htm Phoenix Capital Research

Europe’s Not Fixed, China’s Inflation, and Housing Bust 2.0

 

Here’s the news worth knowing about today:

 

1)   Europe is not fixed. The EU just announced record high unemployment with unemployment numbers rising nearly one million thus far in 2013.Greece, which was hoping to increase taxes or grow its way out its debt problems has just revealed that over 500,000 companies cannot pay their taxes (up from 182,000 last month). So much for the “Europe is fixed” theme.

 

We believe the crisis will re-emerge later in 2013 or early 2014. The key item to watch is the German Dax. Whenever it comes back to test the upper trendline in the chart below, things will start getting messy again.

 

 

 

2)   China is engaging in the same taper/no-taper verbal interventions as the US. The Chinese premiere warned against loose monetary policy last night and China’s market dropped.

 

The People’s has a major problem on its hands (several actually). The primary one pertains to inflation. China has flooded its financial system with credit and easy money in ways that Ben Bernanke never dreamed of.

 

As a result of this inflation is rising, which leads to wage strikes, which erases profit differentials between China and other manufacturing centers, which leads to manufacturers pulling out of China, which results in a weaker Chinese economy, which results in the need for more credit to sustain growth and finance more projects.

 

This has resulted in a sideways Chinese stock market with every new flood of liquidity kicking off rallies and every talk or taper or tightening causing corrections. At some point this will break and we’ll either collapse or skyrocket depending on whether we see a debt deflationary collapse or a debt deflationary collapse accommodated by rampant monetization which would result in a  Zimbabwe-esque stock market rally.

 

 

 

3)   In the US, the housing market is definitively in a bubble. And it is once again popping.

 

Over 50% of all home purchases are cash only. In California, the amount of median income needed to buy a home is virtually identical to the Bubble Years of 2005-2006.

 

Mortgage applications are plunging and sales are stalling (we’ve been flat for two months but are down 27% since June). Be aware of this. Homebuilder stocks seem to be sensing something is amiss. We’ve been moving sideways since the peak in May 2013.

 

 

 

These are the trends to be away of.

 

Be prepared.

 

For a FREE Special Report outlining how to protect your portfolio a market collapse, swing by: http://phoenixcapitalmarketing.com/special-reports.html

 

Best

Phoenix Capital Research

 


    



via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/aqM5pcGp9NA/story01.htm Phoenix Capital Research