Congress Wants The Fed’s Money for Highways

The Federal Reserve has $29 billion in surplus reserves. The drug addled degenerates in Congress, instead of doing their job and balancing a budget, have their eyes fixed on the Fed’s money–like the greedy little bank robbers they are.

Lawmakers are trying to pass a $325 billion highway bill to fix America’s crumbling roads and bridges. And Congress wants part of the funds to come from the Fed’s emergency stash of money.

In fact, Congress wants to take the $29 billion from the Fed and close the account for good too.

The Fed created this “surplus account,” shortly after it began operating in 1914. The idea was that it would serve as a cushion to absorb any potential losses the Fed incurs.

However, many members of Congress believe that the Fed doesn’t need the money any more and should be put to better use.
“It is appropriate to liquidate [the Fed’s surplus] account to meet today’s realities,” Randy Neugebauer, a Republican Congressman from Texas, told the House earlier in November.

The House agreed, and overwhelmingly voted to include the Fed’s billions in the highway bill.

The Fed doesn’t want to look like Congress’ bank account.

“To the extent that they’re seen as a piggy bank, threatens them,” says David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.

And last week, two Republicans proposed a bill that would require the Fed to operate its monetary policy based on a defined rule — something the Fed believes would hamper its ability to act during times of crises.

Fed officials say all of these actions, including Congress reaching into its piggy bank, jeopardizes the Fed’s independence from politics.

“Using a central bank as a source of revenue to cover the cost of a fiscal program is dangerous to its independence,” Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said earlier in November.

So, let’s set the record straight. Our elected officials have all but ruined this countries balance sheet, amassing almost $20 trillion in debt and that number is growing daily. Now that they’ve exhausted all sources of capital, through fucked up tax hikes and surcharges on everything but soup cans, they want to dip their beaks into the Fed’s pot, like mafiosa.

Times are changing, lads. The dichotomy between a bankrupt and corrupt Federal government, coupled with rich corporate and Federal Reserve balance sheets is leading us to a point where the people with the guns, ultimately, take what they want–just like any decent banana republic worth its salt.

I do this every late year, and without fail, there are always monster turn arounds the following year in the mega-cap space. Large asset managers need mega-caps to thrive and will pile into these things at the first sign of strength.

The following stocks are the worst performing mega-cap stocks of 2015, as defined by market caps in excess of $50 billion.

Which one do you think will have a great 2016?

I sold out of my COST trading position and redeployed those assets into more FCX, SHAK, PAH and I started a new position in VRX.

There’s too much smart money in VRX for this to be a scam. The most likely scenario is, the big scam are the lies that are being purported by the media. If it was just Ackman in VRX, I’d consider the fact that he might be Ron Johnson wrong on VRX.

But there’s too many very capable and competent managers long the stock.

It goes higher.

I sold out of my trading position in COST, which was my largest position. I don’t have time for poisonous chicken salad.

Via CDC site:

Read the Advice to Consumers »
CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, and public health officials in several states are investigating an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC O157:H7) infections.

As of November 23, 2015, 19 people infected with the outbreak strain of STEC O157:H7 have been reported from 7 states.
The majority of illnesses have been reported from states in the western United States.

5 ill people have been hospitalized, and 2 have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

The epidemiologic evidence available at this time suggests that rotisserie chicken salad made and sold in Costco Wholesale stores in several states is a likely source of this outbreak.

14 (88%) of 16 people purchased or ate rotisserie chicken salad from Costco in the week before illness started.
The ongoing investigation has not identified what specific ingredient in the chicken salad is linked to illness.

On November 20, 2015, Costco reported to public health officials that the company had removed all remaining rotisserie chicken salad from all stores in the U.S. and stopped further production of the product until further notice.

Consumers who purchased rotisserie chicken salad from any Costco store in the United States on or before November 20, 2015, should not eat it and should throw it away.
Even if some of the rotisserie chicken salad has been eaten and no one has gotten sick, throw the rest of the product away.

This product has a typical shelf life of 3 days and is labeled “Chicken Salad made with Rotisserie Chicken” with item number 37719 on the label.

A picture of the product label is available on the Advice to Consumers page.

This investigation is ongoing. CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing laboratory surveillance through PulseNet to identify additional ill persons and to interview them.
November 24, 2015

The party is over. Just stay away from this stock. It’s 100% scam.

That’s what they call a ‘widow maker’ in my business. Do yourselves a favor and stick to market caps greater than a billion, just as a rule of thumb. You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache.

First off, “BofA/Merrill” is a really stupid name. Why don’t you pick one: Bank of America or Merrill? Second, when was the last time the market has gently glided higher for 16 years? Becaue that’s what BofA/Merrill is suggesting now, with their harebrained research note.

“Based on current valuations, a regression analysis suggests compounded annual returns of 8 percent over the next 10 years with a 90 percent confidence interval of 4-12 percent. While this is below the average returns of 10 percent over the last 50 years, asset allocation is a zero-sum game. Against a backdrop of slow growth and shrinking liquidity, 8 percent is compelling in our view. With a 2 percent dividend yield, we think the S&P 500 will reach 3500 over the next 10 years, implying annual price returns of 6 percent per year.”

Their regression analysis suggests, with 90% confidence, that you’re gonna be bored to pieces with this market, all the way out to the year 2025.

It’s happening again. I don’t know how this Martin Shkreli keeps infecting my life with his brand of asshole; but I seem my be getting annoyed by him far too often.

Recall it was this little asshole who started the biotech rout a few month’s ago, after jacking prices higher for some little known aids drugs. Politicians went apeshit and he admitted to having been short the whole time, netting $15 million in profits from bets against biotechs. Those were his words, not mines.

Now, he’s back in my life in the form of a crazed greedy goblin, in cahoots with friends to manifest the biggest short squeeze the world has ever known. Bear in mind, I love short squeezes. It’s just that, KBIO is a pile of shit, a shell company with a failed drug. And, to boot, because of this epic run from $0.25 to $42 in less than a week, every Tom, Dick, and Harry are speculating over “the next KBIO.”

I guarantee this ends badly, for all parties.

This unchecked speculation into micro-cap biotech is only going to tarnish an already damaged biotech sector. I am here, trying diligently, to manage money into National Festival. I’d like it, very much, if I could do so without the distraction of Russian warplanes being shot down by NATO countries or river boat gambling in the biotech sector.

European markets are down almost 2%. Gold and oil and firming and U.S. futures are plunging lower, after a Russian warplane was shot down near the Turkish-Syrian border, by the retarded Turks.

Putin responded, saying “We understand that everyone has their own interests but we won’t allow such crimes to take place,” Putin said at talks with Jordanian King Abdullah in Sochi. “We received a stab in the back from accomplices of terrorism.”

The Kurds have been complaining about our “allies”, the Turks, for quite sometime, who, seemingly support and fund the psychotics in ISIS. It appears Putin is calling a spade a spade and upping the ante on the rhetoric.

NATO will be convening today, in an emergency meeting, over this fuckery.

It’s turkey for Thanksgiving, always has been.

Great, this is just what we needed in time for the holiday’s, the duplicitous and worst ally in the world, Turkey, plunging us into fresh crisis with a country with something to prove, in Russia.

In case you’re just tuning in, Turkey shot down a Russian SU-24 over Turkish airspace, something Moscow declines. There is video of a Syrian terrorist loving the the injured/Russian pilot on the groud, saying “God is great”, as he films him lying there.

Turkey released this graphic, effectively “proving” they had every right to fucking shoot down a Russian warploane, because, umm, just because.

And to top it all off, NATO is calling an emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss how to deal with this situation with those pesky Russians in the way, who have now, reportedly, blown up 1,000 ISIS oil tankers.

Clearly, we won’t allow any of that to take place, since we’ve hit zero to date.

NASDAQ futs -20.

I know you ball-handlers love that title–because you’ve watched lots of war films and the romance of war on the teevee is cool and manly.

Near the Syrian border, where true hell on earth exists, a Turkish warplane shot  down a Russian su-24. Details are vague and we do not know if it was a Syrian plane or belonging to the Red Russians.

Either way, it’s an escalation of tensions, as Turkey is part of NATO.

Turkish Lira is responding.

These photos are circulating, showing a plane getting pawned and then the proverbial pilot in the owned eject chair, being ferreted away to safety via parachute. Only this time, the pilot is likely to land in the hands of savages who’d love to cut his head off, helmet and all.

There are reports of a Russian helicopter at the scene of te crash and heavy gunfire too.

And then there’s this:

BREAKING: Intense exchange of fire at Turkish-Syrian border as Russian helicopters search for survivors of downed Su-24 jet.

UPDATE: Turk CNN is reporting it was a Russian plane.

UPDATE: The President of Turkey confirms they shot down a Russian warplane.

UPDATE: Nasdaq futs down 22, reversing gains.

UPDATE: BREAKING Russian Defense Ministry says warplane did not violate Turkish air airspace

UPDATE: RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS IT CAN PROVE THE AIRCARFT WAS OVER SYRIA FOR WHOLE FLIGHT – IFAX