David Tepper Demands to See $TERP’s Books

Appaloosa maintains a 9.5% holding in TERP and made a formal request to inspect its books, to confirm what everyone already knows.

On December 21, 2015, AMLP, on behalf of the Funds, delivered the letter to the Issuer’s corporate secretary demanding the opportunity to inspect certain of the Issuer’s books and records pursuant to Section 220 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. The purpose of the demand is to enable AMLP and certain of its affiliates to, among other things, investigate breaches of Delaware common and statutory law and breaches of fiduciary duties perpetrated on the Funds and the Issuer’s other stockholders, by the Issuer, its board of directors and certain of its officers.

I am sure the good folks at SUNE are hushmailing the catamites at TERP right now, strategizing ways out from Tepper’s diabolical snare.

This is going to be an interesting story to watch develop in 2016.

All of the doom and gloomers are crapping in their bloomers now, after Q3 GDP stats showed a robust consumer and a booming US economy. No wonder why the Fed is hell bent on tightening.

Get this: in the third quarter of 2015, the U.S. economy grew at an amazing 2% clip.

Consumer spending came in hot, flat, at 3% and home construction powered ahead at an 8.2% clip. While exports were soft due to a strong dollar, imports grew at a 2.3% clip, as gluttonous fiends sopped up all of the cheap foreign wares they could get their disfigured hands on.

No one really knows what Gartman is up to these days, with all the doublespeak. Bear in mind, I do not hate any of these talking heads. I love them. They’re like human dart boards for me.

After 4 1/2 years of punching Jim Rogers’ bow tied commodity basket in the nuts, Dennis Gartman is bullish on commodities.

What the fuck?

The great ‘command economy’ of China is having all sorts of fits trying to slow down its epic deceleration of growth. Ever since the government began to crack down on the wanton corruption and shenanigans that made China the capitalist dreamhouse Steve Wynn was born to waste shareholder money in, the economy has collapsed.

SUPRISE!

Now that growth is at 1990 lows, a year when Vanilla Ice was the shit, the PBOC is desperate to figure out ways to draw the rural rice farmer out from the fields into a ghost town condo and common stock portfolio.

Monetary policy must be more “flexible” and fiscal policy more “forceful” as leaders create “appropriate monetary conditions for structural reforms,” according to statements released at the end of the government’s Central Economic Work Conference by the official Xinhua News Agency on Monday. It said the fiscal deficit ratio should be raised gradually.

Cutting costs for businesses “will be a major task” next year and the government should streamline administrative procedures, cut taxes and fees, and reduce social security contributions to help lower expenses, according to Xinhua. Financial regulators should reduce financing costs for companies and help “normalize interest rates” to benefit the economy. Authorities also should consider lower value-added taxes on manufacturing, it said.

Additional Central Economic Work Conference pledges, as outlined by Xinhua reports:

Further steps to “guard against and defuse financial risks” in 2016, and to effectively defuse local-government debt risks.

Promote “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” and continue to implement an innovation-driven strategy.

Reduce poverty by establishing a detailed register of the poor population and offering tailored assistance.

Offer more support for companies to upgrade technology and equipment, and reduce debt with “innovative financial policies.”

Beef up agricultural production to ensure food security and stable income growth for farmers by modernizing infrastructure and technology to boost capability and quality.

The case for additional stimulus has been strengthened by capital outflows after an August currency devaluation, some weaker-than-forecast economic data and the aftermath of a stock-market slide that started in June. Inflation data for November showed there’s scope for looser monetary policy, with consumer prices rising about half the government’s targeted pace and producer prices falling for a record 45th straight month.

Robust consumption and strength in services hasn’t proved enough to offset the drag from slumping old-economy sectors including steel, coal and cement. President Xi said Nov. 3 that average annual growth must be no lower than 6.5 percent in the next five years to realize China’s goal of doubling 2010 output and per capita income by 2020. Growth will slow to 6.9 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year, according to the median of estimates Bloomberg surveys of economists.

Goldman’s take

“Although the overall cyclical policy stance is set to be ’steady’, the tone on fiscal, monetary and other policies was modestly dovish,” economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. led by Song Yu wrote in a note. “The more positive cyclical policy tone from this conference makes us somewhat more comfortable with our forecast of only a moderate growth deceleration in 2016.”

I think it’s pretty obvious that the law of large numbers are taking hold of China. You just can’t continue to grow an economy of that size at 10% per annum without grave ramifications. The commodity super cycle is being unwound, born in China. The great engine of global growth is now sledding down the other side of the mountain. I suppose we could draw comparisons to when the US overtook Britain as dominant economic power and how our economy slowly, but surely, had to decelerate to a reasonable growth rate. The world survived and stocks kept making new highs.

On the other hand, we didn’t have an inter-connected financial system wrought with derivitive based products that could threaten our ability to finance the delivery of food back then. So, this time might be different, at least for awhile.

You think HYG is tanking now? We’re barely seeing 3% monthly moves. Back in 2008, when the world was really ending, that fucker was nosediving 10-15% per month. That was a credit crisis, formed in middle earth, designed to eliminate humans from the field of finance. This shit you see here is merely child’s play. However and having said that, what exactly is going to serve as a catalyst for better credit conditions?

Class?

“Ooh, ooh, I know. Pick me Professor Fly.”

“Yes, young Horatio, go ahead.”

“FEDERAL RESERVE RATE HIKES, AMOUNTING TO 16 IN TOTAL FROM NOW UNTIL 2018.”

Do you see the sort of evil we are facing now? The Fed is working against us and HYG is barely down, yet the market is tits up in a frenzy about it. Be warned: the price of oil drops into the $20’s next year and credit in the high yield space really starts to get sporty, you will all rue the day that you decided to pass your series 7 or 65 exams. You will pray to the Gods that you could work a garbage truck and somehow dispose of yourself into its bowels. Markets will face calamity, the ultimate beatdown, and nothing and no one will be there to catch its fall.

Janet Yellen will be, inexorably, at her local luncheonette eating a clubbed sandwich, enjoying the scenery of young whipper-snappers passing by.

NOTE: RAUL’s 2016 predictions are up.

How is it possible that the CDC is investingating ANOTHER ecoli outbreak and the company hasn’t the faintest idea where it’s coming from?

The locales are always different, yet the CDC is always there to find that pesky bacteria. If life imitated a movie and movie imitated life, I’d guess that it was the CDC, working in conjunction with somone trying to take down CMG’s share price, who was responsible for the outbreaks. In no way am I giving CMG a pass. All I am saying is, this shit is awfully suspect.

Now if it was a big hedge fund, or plankton like, diabolical competitor: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. I’ll never eat at Chipotle’s again.

Heading into the final week of shopping, amidst throngs of hungry holiday day walkers, this is an absolute worse case scenario for CMG. Estimates are coming way down. The company is going to get hammered on year over year compares. I would not be looking to buy any dip until valuations resembles something really cheap.

Update:
CDC is investigating another, more recent outbreak of a different, rare DNA fingerprint of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 (STEC O26) linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill. Because it is not known if these infections are related to the larger, previously reported outbreak of STEC O26 infections, these illnesses are not being included in the case count for that outbreak. This investigation is ongoing. 5 ill people have been identified in Kansas (1), North Dakota (1), and Oklahoma (3). The illnesses started on dates ranging from November 18, 2015 to November 26, 2015. All five (100%) reported eating at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in the week before illness started.

I just read that Chubb is offering insurance to people who’ve been cyber-bullied. They cite “trolls” as being a cause for concern and loss of income and even possible relocation. Chubb endeavors to help you with your trolling disaster expenses and will assist you in your road to recovery.

The fuck out of here with this shit!

What the hell is wrong with people and why isn’t TWTR going higher today? Where is Sacca to tell us how awesome Periscope is and why isn’t the Arab spring happening anymore?

All of these questions, AND MORE, should be answered for me by the end of trading.

Early action in stocks is encouraging, despite Tim Cook’s designs on escaping his Federal tax burden.

Biotech, commodities and tech are higher. Copper is diverging from oil, a good sign for FCX.

Truth be told: I am seriously considering going to a large cash position before year end. I need to mull it over this week.

I can’t wait to visit the family this pagan Xmas, where everyone will gather around the tree and stare into the abyss of their fucking cellphones.

Twitter is huge loser.

The end.

The obvious choice is Disney. They’ll make money off the movie, licensing and the parks. This is more of a long tail play for DIS, since the immediate earnings won’t really move the needle. Long term, however, the new Star Wars movies will be extremely lucrative.

Both MAT and HAS have deals in place to market Star Wars related merchandise. Hasbro has the better deal in place; but MAT could use some earnings help, after seeing it stock nearly cut in half the past few years.

The theatres will crush it off ticket sales, namely RGC, AMC and IMAX. A smaller capped theatre company is CKEC, who will also benefit from the bonanza.

EA has an exclusive 10 yr deal with DIS to create games. I bet you didn’t know that. Now you do.

Last but not least is JAKK. They’re a small toy company with a big deal to make small, 18-36 inch, Star Wars figurines. If JAKK is able to execute on this opportunity, the stock could be ripe for a move higher.

All in all, it was a great movie, brilliantly executed.

Remember when oil going lower meant MOAR money to be spent at Banana Republic and Chipotle? Well, where the fuck did all the gas savings go? Did Kylo Ren seize all of the excess reserves to build a brand new fucking death star?

Well…where the fuck did the money go?

Brent is at an 11 yr low. Futures are up 100. European markets are surging ahead and we’re oversold like a motherfucker. However, it’s worth noting, Exodus did not flag oversold last week.

Nevertheless, we’re heading towards the end of 2015, which has been extraordinarily bad year, and volume is going to dry up and investors are desperate for a rally. All of the ingredients for an end of year respite are present. Moreover, it’s entirely possible that we get a truly face ripping event in early January, led by the very lowest stocks in the galaxy: CHK, SN, OAS, FCX and other commodity names.

After all, has a sector ever been so hated?

Bear in mind, the hatred of an industry isn’t reason enough to invest in it. If they trade up, don’t disillusion yourself. It will only be a trade.

Good luck.

I read this story on bbg and had to share it.

Let me get this straight. Oil collapses to $35 per barrel. As a result, the entire industry is in shambles, forcing companies to fire workers, close down fields, en masse, and the droids on bloomberg think everything is okay. Nothing to worry about, since the true danger lies in 2017.

Give me a fucking break.

Question for you stock market lovers out there.

If you knew a hedge fund had to liquidate his largest position by next month because of redemptions and you were short that stock, patiently waiting for it to fall, would you: A. cover the short ahead of the fund collapsing? Or, B: short more, knowing that a big seller was soon going to hit the stock, giving you a once in a life time trade to bank coin?

Look at the debt schedule for the oil and gas sector.

To believe this mountain of distressed debt will somehow resolve itself is more than naive, but straight up stupid. These analysts are hoping the price will rise, in order to alleviate the debt burden. Well, what if it doesn’t? Don’t you think Saudi Arabia, Exxon Mobile and other major oil conglomerates want the weak players out of the way? Isn’t it feasible that the price of crude will stay depressed for years to come to ensure the complete destruction of the Bakken Shale?

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a miracle– and certainly do not believe the horseshit coming out the media and the bedraggled microbes, who pose as analysts, when they tell you that crude down 65% from the highs isn’t a big deal.

NOTE: All 2016 predictions from the iBC crew will be posted, exclusively, on our Facebook page. Bluestar’s have been posted tonight.