trading recap

“The Prophet took down idols with his bare hands when he went into Mecca,” said the militant, destroying a statue of the ancient Assyrian deity of protection, ignorant of the irony. Because the only thing more dangerous to a jolly band of Jihadis than letting a Buddha statue stand, is knocking one down. And besides, anyone confident in his own faith should quite naturally find no insult in the faith of another. “NEIN

Obama’s Treasury Secretary spoke all day. And felt no one understood him. Because Jack’s mother tongue is English, the language of business; but more precisely, Lew spoke American, with a New York accent – the dialect of money. Sapin spoke the language of love. Of course, there’s no more beautiful tongue, but those who speak French have grown tone deaf to American, bitter that it’s not love, but money, that mak

Week-in-Review: Mon: China trade surplus record $60bln (imports -19.9% yoy, exports -3.3%), Japan CA surplus Y187bln (trade deficit –Y396bln), UAE/Jordan announce joint ISIS airstrikes, Abbot survives no-confidence vote, Greece’s Tsipras refuses bailout extension, Merkel/Obama meeting (disagree over arming Ukraine), Obama “Won’t extend Iran nuclear deal deadline,” S&P -0.4%; Tue: China CPI 5yr low +0.8% yoy (PPI

“We want as little market distortion as possible,” announced the French central banker, a career contortionist. You see, in early March the ECB will create money from the ether, buying bonds, and continue until inflation magically rises to 2%. One-third of Europe’s sovereign debt already trades at negative yields. Because ECB deposit rates are -0.20%. Denmark announced the globe’s 542nd rate cut since Dick fulded Leh

“We can make it cheaper to invest,” said Benoit Coeure, defeated. “But people have to want to invest,” bemoaned the European central banker. “That’s the role of government.” Which is the heart of today’s political paradox: the role of government. You see, Benoit and the boys tried for 6yrs to get European governments to do their job; without asking, what is that job? 40yr old Alexis Tsipras refused the customary Gree

The king has died. Long live the dyed king. So no sooner had one 90-year old monarch discovered what comes next, than one of his innumerable 79-year old sickly half-brothers came next; sporting a midnight black goatee. You see, while elderly despots happily rob their young subjects of opportunity, prosperity and dignity, they’ve not yet figured out how to steal youth. So surrounded by sycophants, they pretend and ext

“These days everything’s padded and comes with warning labels,” said Jorgensen, triumphant, tiny, towering above Yosemite. He’d just free climbed El Capitan; once considered impossible. But there is no impossible, there’s only not yet possible. “This just lights a fire under me, and that’s a really exciting way to live,” continued the young alpinist, fingers raw, embracing uncertainty, pursuing extraordinary. You see

“The odds of success are 50/50,” said the baby-faced billionaire, smiling. “But I pretty much made that up,” admitted Elon Musk, “I have no idea.” And how could he? After all, he was attempting to gently land his rocket, upright on a barge, floating in the Atlantic, at night, in the fog. Which quite frankly isn’t all that hard. It just takes imagination, an entrepreneur, capital, and technology; America’s abundant re

Week-in-Review: Mon: China loosens LDR, Japan approves $29bln economic stimulus spending, Greece fails to elect president (Jan 25th elections), Weidmann reiterates opposition to sovereign QE, Brazil budget deficit 11yr high of +5.8% (gross debt 63%), Dallas Fed -6.4 to 4.1%, S&P +0.1%; Tue: Abe proposing 3.3% corporate tax cut, Putin critic Navalny convicted of fraud (sentence commuted), US consumer confidence +1