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Monthly Archives: April 2014

Market Cap to GDP: The Old Man Buffett Valuation Indicator

“From time to time I’m asked why I don’t include Market Cap to GDP among the long-term valuation indicators I routinely follow. The metric gained popularity in recent years thanks to Warren Buffett’s remark in a 2001 Fortune Magazine interview that “it is probably the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment.”

My friend and guest contributor Chris Turner offered some analysis along those lines last year using the S&P 500 as the surrogate for the market (When Warren Buffett Talks … People Listen). For a broader measure of Market Cap, VectorGrader.comuses line 36 in the Federal Reserve’s B.102 balance sheet (Market Value of Equities Outstanding) as the numerator. Since both GDP and the Fed’s data are quarterly, the folks at VectorGrader.com do some interpolation and extrapolation to produce monthly estimates. Their latest chart is available to the general public here.

The four valuation indicators I track in my monthly valuation overview offer a long-term perspective of well over a century. The raw data for the “Buffett indicator” only goes back as far as the middle of the 20th century. Quarterly GDP dates from 1947, and the Fed’s B.102 Balance sheet has quarterly updates beginning in Q4 1951. With an acknowledgement of this abbreviated timeframe, let’s take a look at the plain vanilla quarterly ratio with no effort to interpolate monthly data or extrapolate since the end of the most recent quarterly numbers.

 

 

That strange numerator in the chart title, MVEONWMVBSNNCB, is the FRED designation for Line 36 in the B.102 balance sheet (Market Value of Equities Outstanding), available on the Federal Reserve website. Here is a link to a FRED version of the chart…..”

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$GS Posts a List of the Most Undervalued Stocks

“David Kostin, Goldman Sachs‘ chief U.S. equity strategist, says the S&P 500 will climb just 3% this year.

However, within the market he sees no shortage of stocks and sectors expected to outperform.

In his new U.S. Monthly Chartbook, Kostin provides a list of stocks with the most upside potential today.

According to Goldman’s analysts, the 40 stocks on this list offer 21% to 41% upside relative to their recent prices.

The current list has a mix of energy, tech, and retail firms….”

Full list of companies 

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MSM Slammed for Belief Based Opinions on Global Warming

If you think this is not happening here then your smoking to much crack. Throw your tv away and seek out alternative media.

“A UK parliamentary committee has released a damning report, criticizing the state-run British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for its unbalanced and false coverage of climate change.

The report by the parliamentary Science and Technology Committee found that the BBC had used unqualified experts instead of scientists to give their views on the issue.

In addition, the committee said the BBC’s use of climate lobbyists has blurred the lines between scientific facts and belief-based opinions.

Committee chair Andrew Miller said it was “disappointing that the BBC does not ensure all of its programs and presenters reflect the actual state of science in its output,” adding, BBC’s news teams, including Radio 4’s Today program “continue to make mistakes in their coverage of climate science by giving opinions and scientific fact the same weight.”

The parliamentary panel also criticized British newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph  and The Daily Mail  for their coverage on global warning. ….”

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Obamao Asks Congress to Shell Out Cash for the U.N. and Their “Peacekeeping Militia”

“At a time of soaring U.S. budget deficits, brutal economic hardship for tens of millions of Americans, and unprecedented levels of federal spending, the Obama administration is asking Congress to drastically increase U.S. funding for the scandal-plagued United Nations and its oftentimes ruthless so-called international “peacekeeping” troops. However, rather than rewarding the widely criticized “dictators’ club” with more borrowed or confiscated funds, critics say U.S. lawmakers should cut off all funding to the UN — and eventually withdraw from the sovereignty-subverting outfit altogether.

In its fiscal year 2015 budget request, which seeks almost $4 trillion in spending overall, the Obama administration is asking Congress to approve a massive 33-percent hike in U.S. taxpayer handouts to the UN and other international organizations. In addition, the White House is pushing “contributions” to so-called global “peacekeeping” schemes that are a full 43 percent larger than last year, sparking outrage from critics.

Most of the proposed increase in UN military funding, the administration says, will go to deploying even more UN troops to prop up the dubious regimes ruling war-torn African nations such as Mali, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and more. The self-styled global military already has about 100,000 UN troops and “police” deployed across 15 “missions,” along with more than 15,000 civilians. Apparently, though, the UN and Obama want more…..”

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Documentary: Building the Machine

Cheers on your weekend!

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjxBClx01jc 450 300]

behave-like-gov

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5jRewnxSBY 450 300]

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Paulsen of Wells Capital Management: History Does Not Usually Repeat, We May See a 1987 Crash Again

“Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management, who apparently sees the future in numbers, said in a client note that on May 27, the current bull market will be 1,311 trading days old, USA Today reported.

That is an important date because it was 1,311 trading days after the start of the 1982 bull market that the S&P 500 endured its biggest one-day point crash in history, on Oct. 19, 1987.

“Normally these kinds of things are just market oddities. But investors are taking this one seriously since there are such strong similarities with the 1982 bull market and the one the market is currently in,” USA Today said.

In fact, stock market charts that begin with the 2009 start of the current bull market, when overlaid with the corresponding charts that began in 1982 and ended with the 1987 crash, look eerily similar.

Paulsen noted the current bull market has staged a 175 percent rally from the low — which is also where the 1982 bull market was at this point in its run.

However, he is not out to scare his clients, and concludes a 10 percent correction is probably the more likely scenario ahead.

“Don’t worry much, however, about another major style 1987 collapse. History doesn’t usually fully repeat,” Paulsen wrote in his note to clients.

In a less colorful piece, USA Today noted the price-earnings ratios of the top 10 biggest stocks in the S&P 500 today are nowhere close to the peaks that the 10 most highly valued stocks hit in 2000, another recent market blow-off year when the dot-com stocks imploded….”

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Equity Inflows Begin to Trickle Back Into Emerging Markets

“Emerging market bond and equity funds both experienced inflows for the first time this year in the week ending April 2, a further sign that optimism is growing toward developing world assets.

Investors plowed $2.44 billion into emerging market equity funds in this latest week, the highest amount since October 2013, Barclays said, citing data from fund-tracker EPFR Global.

Meanwhile in emerging market bond funds, investors poured $1.06 billion in, compared with outflows of $1.11 billion in the previous week.

“The price action and the mood may have turned on emerging markets,” said Koon Chow and Durukal Gun, analysts at Barclays.

“But given the long period of outflows and emerging market growth having yet to rebound, we may need a couple more weeks of positive flow numbers to confirm this,” they cautioned.

After a tumultuous start to the year…”

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According to Cramer These Stocks are Too Cheap

“The most treacherous part of the year is about to begin, says Jim Cramer, “Earnings season.”

It’s a time when headlines can move stocks higher or lower only to have those gains or losses canceled out hours later when companies hold their conference calls.

And it’s also a time when Cramer looks for those knee-jerk reactions from Wall Street to generate sudden discounts. If you identify a solid company, with a strong balance sheet, reliable management and other bullish fundamentals, Cramer suggests buying shares on any unexpected pullback.

However, if you don’t want to wait for earnings season to generate an opportunity in which you can buy the stock of a good company at a discount, Cramer thinks there are at least two companies that are currently cheaper than they should be.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

PVH

“Consider PVH,” said Cramer…..”

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Judge Rules $JPM Shareholders ‘Can Sue’ Over London Whale

“A US judge has ruled shareholders can can sue JPMorgan Chase for securities fraud over the activities of the “London whale” trader.

The US bank lost $6.2 billion  (£3.7 billion) as a result of the scandal linked to trades made by Bruno Iksil from the London-based chief investment office.

District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said shareholders could pursue claims that chief executive Jamie Dimon and former chief financial officer Douglas Braunstein hid increased risks the office had been taking early in 2012, according to Reuters.

But he dismissed an action brought against bank’s directors and another brought by employees over losses made by investing in the bank’s stock in their pensions….”

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Syria’s U.N. Representative, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, Says Another False Flag is Being Planned

“New York, (SANA) Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari said that terrorist groups are planning to launch attacks using chemical weapons in Jobar area to accuse Syrian government of it , as indicated in a phone call between terrorists monitored by the authorities.

Al-Jaafari told Russia Today TV channel in a phone call on Tuesday he sent two identical letters on March 25th to the UN Secretary-General and President of the Security Council drawing their attention to two vital issues.

He said  the first issue is that Syrian authorities monitored a landline phone call between two terrorists in Jobar area in Damascus’ suburb, during which one of them said a third terrorist referred to as Abu Nader is secretly distributing gas masks to protect from toxic gas among his cohorts.

Al-Jaafari said the Syrian authorities also intercepted another call between two terrorists, one of them referred to as Abu Jihad who said there will be a use of toxic gas in Jobar area, asking the terrorist members working with him to prepare gas masks.

He added the purpose of this talk is to use toxic gas once again to accuse the government of the attack, just like what happened last year in Ghouta area in Damascus Countryside and in Aleppo before it.

Syria’s Permanent Representative said more critical piece of information is that terrorist organization known as Jabhat al-Nusra broadcast a video on their YouTube channel on March 23rd showing preparations for carrying out a bombing in Sukkar site in Adra area in Damascus Countryside, where Jabhat al-Nusra and Al Qaeda terrorists are running amok.

He noted that the video showed a BMP armored vehicle loaded with 7,000 kilograms of TNT and C4 and driven by a terrorist called Shamel al-Ansari, in addition to another car loaded with explosives driven by a Jordanian terrorist called “Abu Stef al-Urduni, with the purpose of the two vehicles is to detonate them in Sukkar site, which contains chemicals.

There’s nothing called international community, unfortunately, al-Jaafari said “we directed two letters to the Security Council to have the countries that keep talking about the threats of chemical weapons to pressure the countries sponsoring and funding these terrorist groups – specifically Turkish, Saudi, and Qatari governments – to prevent such terrorist acts by pressuring these gangs and terrorist gangs” adding that now this matter is in the hands of the Security Council…..”

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Economist Sees the S&P Fallling 30% After Reaching 1900

“The S&P 500 is just 9 points off a trigger point that will see it tumble 30 percent, veteran trader and economist Steen Jakobsen told CNBC on Thursday.

The index, which tracks the U.S.’s 500 biggest companies, touched a new high on Wednesday, and closed at 1,890.90 points, up 2.3 percent on the year. It has grown steadily since mid-2011, when it touched a low of 1,011.52.

Jakobsen, the chief economist and chief investment officer at Saxo Bank, warned the index was just points away from the key 1,900 level, which could herald a 30 percent correction. This would see the S&P tumble to 1,330.

 

Getty Images

The S&P plummeted nearly 50 percent between May and November 2008 in the wake of the financial crisis, falling to a session low of 741.02 in November. However, it has enjoyed a long bull run since then.

The economist said that the index was overdue for a correction.

“Equities are the only asset class that have not been impacted by this crisis — we had commodities and then we had fixed income. So for the crisis to play out fully, we need to go into equities. That will happen on lack of earnings, the lack of growth coming into the sector,” Jakobsen told CNBC.

He said that typically equity markets corrected 10 percent once a year, and corrected 25-30 percent every five years.

“So statistically we are overdue (for a fall-off),” he said…..”

Full video article 

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No Recovery in Sight as Jobless Numbers Jump and the Trade Gap Widens

“The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the underlying trend continued to point to some strength in the labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the week ended March 22 were revised to show 1,000 fewer applications received than previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits rising to 317,000 in the week ended March 29.

The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of underlying labor market conditions as it irons out week-to-week volatility, nudged up 250 to 319,500. This indicates a firmer bias in the labor market.

A Labor Department analyst said no states were estimated and there were no special factors influencing the state level data.

The government made revisions to the model it uses to smooth the claims data for seasonal fluctuations. It also revised claims data going back to 2009.

Despite last week’s increase, claims have been generally stable in March, which should support expectations of an acceleration in job growth during the month.

The government’s closely watched employment report on Friday is expected to show nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000 jobs last month after rising 175,000 in February, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is seen falling one-tenth of a percentage point to 6.6 percent.

A report on Wednesday showed private employers stepped up hiring in March for a second straight month.

The labor market suffered a setback in December and January when unseasonably cold weather gripped large parts of the country. With temperatures rising, a pick-up is in the cards, which should help to unleash pent-up demand and put the economy on a stronger growth trajectory.

The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid rose 22,000 to 2.84 million in the week ended March 22.

Trade gap widens sharply, exports tumble…”

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Malaysian Government Admits Altering MH370 Pilot Transcript, Hiding Evidence and Misleading the Public in Massive Cover-up

“As the facts about MH370 slowly emerge, it is increasingly apparent that the Malaysian government has been — and continues to be — involved in an elaborate cover-up that falsified and hid evidence the public deserves to know about the fate of Flight 370 passengers.

The government openly admitted this, in fact. “A Malaysian team have told relatives of Chinese passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 that there was sealed evidence that cannot be made public, as they came under fire from the angry relatives at a briefing on Wednesday,” reported the Straights Times.(1)

The Times also reports:

“We demand you retract announcement that MH370 ended in south Indian Ocean and continue search-and-rescue operations,” one relative said at the briefing.

Why would a government seal evidence concerning the fate of MH370? It would only do so if it didn’t want the public to see that evidence, of course. This is typically done under circumstances of national security or military secrets. We all have to wonder: what evidence is there concerning MH370 that the Malaysian government would not want to be made public? And why?

Pilot transcript altered, mischaracterized for weeks

We also know that the Malaysian government altered the pilot transcript, misleading the public for weeks about the sign-off words uttered by either the pilot or the copilot. The government’s claim that the pilot said, “all right goodnight” turned out to be false. This strange-sounding sign-off was apparently floated by the Malaysia government to support its contention that the pilot was suicidal and departing from customary communications protocols.

But now, we’ve learned the pilots actually said, “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero.”(3)

It is, of course, impossible to misconstrue “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero” as “all right goodnight.” This means the Malaysian government deliberately altered the pilot transcript and fed disinfo to the public. This charade continued for weeks until public pressure finally forced the government to release the real transcript, as follows:

Families of MH370 victims not fooled by deceptive Malaysian government

The families of MH370 passengers are, of course, outraged at the increasingly apparent deceptions being pushed by the Malaysian government. As the Straights Times reports:

Some family representatives targeted Malaysian envoy Iskandar Sarudin, asking him: “You expect us to accept a report you cannot defend?”

“No comment,” said Mr Iskandar.

He again declined to comment when asked “how do you expect us to feel friendly towardsMalaysia?”

Upset by the response from the Malaysia team, a relative said: “You have once again left us speechless!”

The Malaysian government is now engaged in a stonewalling exercise to deliberately prevent the public from learning the truth.

Governments routinely deceive the People and withhold crucial evidence…”

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It Takes an Act of God to Set Criminals Free in Chile, Not So In America

Chilean earthquake sets criminals free

“Obama Administration Releases 68,000 Illegal Immigrant Criminals

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials released 67,879 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions in 2013 and made no move to deport them. ICE is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This information was made available on March 31 by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that collected the information from ICE’s “Weekly Departures and Detention Report” for the end of fiscal year 2013. The CIS obtained a copy of the report through a lawsuit.

CIS released it findings in a document written by former State Department foreign service officer Jessica Vaughan titled, “Catch and Release: Interior Immigration enforcement in 2013.”

The ICE document showed that its agents encountered 193,357 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions last year, but issued charging documents for only 125,478. As noted above, 67,879 charged and/or convicted criminals were released.

“ICE released 68,000 criminal aliens in 2013, or 35 percent of the criminal aliens encountered by officers. The vast majority of these releases occurred because of the Obama administration’s prosecutorial discretion policies,” Vaughan wrote in a memo that drew from the ICE document. She noted that ICE classifies illegal immigrants as criminal if they have been convicted of a crime, excluding traffic offenses.

Vaughan noted further: “The Obama administration’s deliberate obstruction of immigration enforcement, in which tens of thousands of criminal aliens are released instead of removed, is threatening the well-being of American communities.”

Fox News reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement accused CIS of distorting the numbers, claiming that some of the convictions might represent minor offenses. The agency also took credit for deporting a total of 216,000 “convicted criminals” in 2013.

“ICE is focused on the removal of criminal aliens,” Fox quoted an ICE spokeswoman. “The percentage of criminals removed continues to rise. Nearly 60 percent of ICE’s total removals had been previously convicted of a criminal offense, and that number rises to 82 percent for individuals removed from the interior of the U.S. The removal of criminal individuals is and will remain ICE’s highest priority.”

Fox also reported that earlier this month, a DHS spokesman said the internal review of immigration enforcement is a process that is “ongoing” and will be done “expeditiously.”

“Since taking office, [Jeh Johnson] the secretary [of Homeland Security] has made clear that he shares the president’s commitment of enforcing our immigration laws effectively and sensibly, in line with our values,” the spokesman said. “As part of that effort he has been taking a hard look at these tough issues, meeting with a range of stakeholders and employees and already has been assessing if there are areas where we can further align our enforcement policies with our goal of sound law enforcement practice that prioritizes public safety.”

The CIS report said factors such as “family relationships, political considerations, or attention from advocacy groups” are likely helping to “trump criminal convictions as a factor leading to deportation.”

So much for President Obama’s claim last June that “today, deportation of criminals is at its highest level ever” because “we focused our enforcement efforts on criminals who are here illegally and who are endangering our communities.”

CIS has charged that the Obama administration has manipulated statistics by changing how it counts the number of deportations in order to hide the decline. Jessica Vaughan said that Homeland Security plays a statistical shell game of “removals” vs. “returns” and that if you actually “count the number of people sent out of the country, it’s not even close to a record. It’s the lowest since the 1970s.”

The number of returns in 2012 was 229,968, down from 1.6 million returns in 2000, the last full year of the Clinton administration.

Homeland Security defines a “return” — which is how deportations were previously measured — as “the confirmed movement of an inadmissible or deportable alien out of the United States not based on an order of removal.”

Senator Jeff Session (R-Ala.) issued a statement on March 31 in response to the release of the statistics that read, in part:

The preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that immigration enforcement in America has collapsed. Even those with criminal convictions are being released. DHS is a department in crisis. Secretary Johnson must reject the President’s demands to weaken enforcement further and tell him that his duty, and his officers’ duty, is to enforce the law—not break it….

American citizens have a legal and moral right to the protections our immigration laws afford—at the border, the interior and the workplace. The Administration has stripped these protections and adopted a government policy that encourages new arrivals to enter illegally or overstay visas by advertising immunity from future enforcement….

While Senator Sessions hit the nail on the head regarding the Obama administration’s lax immigration enforcement, there was a certain partisanship in his comments: “Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats continue to empower this lawlessness. Republicans must work to end it.”

Democrats have unquestionably led the charge on weakening enforcement of our immigration laws….”

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ADP Says the Private Sector Picked Up 191k Jobs :)

“The U.S. economy created nearly 200,000 new private-sector jobs last month, a closely watched economic indicator reported on Wednesday, feeding hopes about the economic recovery and a thaw in labor markets.

The ADP National Employment report said total private payrolls jumped by 191,000 in March, but sharply revised upward February’s figure, to 178,000 from 139,000. Analysts in a consensus estimate had expected a gain of 195,000 jobs.

Small business created 72,000 total jobs, ADP said…..”

Full report 

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$C Updates the Global Economy Outlook for the Next Four Years

“An economic slowdown in China, elevated geo-political tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and the Fed’s tapering of its stimulative asset purchase program are some of the biggest events in markets.

But there are so many more market stories we need to be watching.

In it’s latest 52-page Global Economic Outlook and Strategy report, Citi’s Willem Buiter and his team give us a sense of where the world’s major economies are headed.

The economists expect the global economy to expand 3.1% this year and 3.4% in 2015.

Citi’s Michael Saunders writes that they continue to cut their emerging market growth forecasts, though “this month’s revision largely reflects a large cut to our Russia GDP forecast, reflecting heightened uncertainty and the CBR’s recent rate hike.”

In China, Saunders expects policymakers to react to slower growth by “renewed credit easing.”

Among developed economies, Citi expects higher growth from the euro area, UK, and Sweden raising their forecasts, but cut Japan’s growth forecast. In the U.S., Citi expects the recent winter weakness to be reversed and thinks rate hikes won’t come till mid-2015.

We highlight a few of their viewpoints for each of the world’s most important economies including GDP forecasts through 2018….”

Full update 

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Non Farm Payrolls are Expected to be HUGE This Friday

“The Non-Farm Payrolls report — AKA The Jobs Report – comes out on Friday, and people are starting to get excited.

The Wall Street “consensus” estimate is in the 200K range, but optimism is building that the number could come in significantly higher.

Here’s Dan Greenhaus of BTIG (@danBTIG) relaying his talk with clients:

While the median estimate stands at 200K — up from 150K just one month ago — BTIG thinks job growth could be on the order of 225K while many with whom we’re meeting have been speaking of a much stronger snapback. If you believe, as we do, that weather was instrumental in weighing on the economy more generally, then this number should provide evidence for just such a belief. Conversations with clients suggest we’re not alone in the “possibly stronger” camp. On that front, [today’s] ADP report should be closely watched…..”

Full article 

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Au Jumps As $JPM Infuriates Russia With a Monetary Blockade

“While everyone was gushing over the spectacle on TV of a pro-HFT guy and anti-HFT guy go at it, yesterday afternoon we reported what was by far the most important news of the day, one which was lost on virtually everyone if only until this morning, when we reported that “Monetary Blockade Of Russia Begins: JPMorgan Blocks Russian Money Transfer “Under Pretext” Of Sanctions.” This morning the story has finally blown up to front page status, which it deserves, where it currently graces the FT with “Russian threat to retaliate over JPMorgan block.” And unlike previous responses to Russian sanctions by the West, which were largely taken as a joke by the Russian establishment, this time Russia is furious: according to Bloomberg, the Russian foreign ministry described the JPM decision as “illegal and absurd.”  And as Ukraine found out last month, you don’t want Russia angry.

More:

The biggest U.S. bank thwarted a remittance from the Russian embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan, to Sogaz Insurance Group “under the pretext of anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the United States,” the ministry said yesterday in a statement on its website. Sogaz lists OAO Bank Rossiya, a St. Petersburg-based lender facing U.S. sanctions over the Ukrainian crisis, as a strategic partner on its website.

Interfering with the transaction was an “absolutely unacceptable, illegal and absurd decision,” Alexander Lukashevich, a ministry spokesman, said in the statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced the action against Bank Rossiya last month as part of a broadening of sanctions that targeted government officials and allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose associates own Rossiya. The embassy’s transaction was for less than $5,000 dollars, a person with knowledge of the dispute said, asking not to be identified because such transfers aren’t public.

Did JPMorgan just move the second Cold War into semi-hot status? Very possibly:

Any hostile actions against the Russian diplomatic mission are not only a grossest violation of international law, but are also fraught with countermeasures that unavoidably will affect activities of the embassy and consulates of the U.S. in Russia,” Lukashevich said.

As we reported yesterday, for now the JPM party line is to plead ignorance, as it does not want to incur the wrath of the US government, because apparently lying to Congress is less of an issue than transacting with Russian oligarchs.

JPMorgan could still process the embassy payment if U.S. regulators approve, the person familiar with that dispute said.

“As with all U.S. financial institutions that operate globally, we are subject to specific regulatory requirements,” New York-based JPMorgan said in a statement. “We will continue to seek guidance from the U.S. government on implementing their recent sanctions.”

Russia’s Finance Ministry has done business with JPMorgan. It picked the lender to improve the country’s standing among U.S. credit-rating firms. Putin said in 2011 the rankings given to Russia were an “outrage” that increased borrowing costs for domestic companies and the government. JPMorgan also was among banks selected to advise Russia on a 1 trillion ruble ($28.5 billion) privatization program.

There’s that. And then there’s this, which we also said yesterday…..”

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