Monthly Archives: April 2011
Asia’s Central Bank Would Like The Yuan to Become a Fiat Currency
German Confidence Drops More Than Expected as Inflation Rises at a Quicker Pace
Oil Rises Slightly in Overnight Trade as IEA Reiterates Global Demand Forecasts
Intel Rumored To Have a Cell Phone in the Works; To Be Sold in China
Chinese REIT and Property Market Show Little Signs of Slowing
IMF Expects Slower Growth From Australia and New Zealand Due to Natural Disaster
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton Ltd Expected To Post Great Earnings
Aussie Dollar Drops Against the Yen on Fukushima Level 7 News
U.S. Flooded With Canadian Loonies
Crack Spreads Approaching $26
This should equate to phenomenal 2nd qt guidance.
Comments »European Stocks Open Lower
Euro indices are down between 0.6%-1%, with Germany fairing the worst.
Commodities are lower and S&P futs are 7 points below fair value. It’s worth noting they have stabilized over the past three hours.
Comments »Goldman Sachs Sued by MRVL Founder for Margin Fraud
“Goldman forced its clients to unnecessarily liquidate their holdings through forced margin calls, only to repurchase these same shareholdings for accounts owned by Goldman and its related hedge funds,” according to the complaint.
Goldman Sachs also forced a sale of Sutardja and Dai’s shares of Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), causing them to lose $166 million, they said in the complaint.
Comments »Brent-WTI Crude Spreads Widen
The spread between WTI and Brent crude is now at record levels of more than $14, a major boon for domestic refinery stocks.
Comments »Asia Slides; Futures Plummet
Asia is down 1.25%+ and S&P futs are now down 8
Comments »Is Volatility Broken? Normalcy Bias and Abnormal Variance
The financial markets have endured a flock of geopolitical “black swans”including the devastating earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan, widespreadrevolution and violence in the Middle East and North Africa, and escalation of theEuropean sovereign debt crisis. Incredibly domestic markets shrugged aside fearfrom each transformational event as stocks registered their best first quarter in overa decade led by a recovery in corporate earnings and job growth. The absence of sustained price volatility despite several global shock events is interpreted as abullish omen by many investors. In regard to geopolitical risk it feels like volatilityshould be perched above 30%, but surprisingly, after increasing in mid-March, theVIX index registered its second largest drop in history (and the third longest) falling-40.86%over seven days and ending the month below historic averages.
The passive mood of spot volatility is masking a dramatic revolution in the structure and behavior of the volatilitycurve that has wide-ranging ramifications for anyone who trades variance or uses portfolio insurance. The timing of recentvolatility distortions has coincided with the implementation of the Federal Reserve’s second quantitative easing programand is likely an unintended consequence of loose monetary policy.
In an increasingly volatile world many investors are talking about how to protect their portfolios against the black swanevent. What may be more relevant is to explore the psychology of a market that fears the black swan but refuses toacknowledge its presence upon arrival. In behavioral psychology this is called a “normalcy bias” and the concept provides aframework to understand the current volatility market.
Read the rest here.
Extremely Graphic Video of Syrian Massacre
[YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH5v_yV5-KA&sns=em 616 500]
Comments »NIKKEI Smashed On Open
Due to the worsening crisis at Fukushima, Japanese stocks are plunging, now down 1.4%.
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