We The Sheeplez- The Coming Economic Collapse.."A Nation Of Sheep Ruled By Wolves" Thomas Jefferson : Pimco sees rising inflation for 3

This is why the bearish setup in bonds is so interesting today. Capital discounts and anticipates the future. Persistent bearish concentration in 2011 suggests not only rising interest rates but also infla...

Dollar Drops To Record Low Against Swiss Franc

It may not be gold, but it is the closest substitute to the shiny metal in the fiat space (where comparative devaluation is the name of the game once again). While the Swiss Franc has yet to retest recent lows against the euro, the USDCHF just touched an all time record low price of 0.8287, as today's theme is once again wholesale shorting of the funding (note, not reserve) currency. In the meantime Swiss exporters continue to pretend that margin compression is something best left for the comic books. And after all, Tim Geithner made it all too clear at all recent G8 meetings that it is every country's patriotic duty to welcome DXY 0 with open arms.

Yesterday I said this...

The next article is from the Scum at the new york times...you can bet that this article was written specifically to help the Banker Bastards shake out the weak hands, and drive the price lower so they can buy...you watch it and let me know what happened...
Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas

Today we see this...

Goldman Closes Nat Gas Short, Sees Higher Prices Ahead

Two weeks ago we reported on Goldman's natgas trading recommendation change, after analyst Samantha Dart said to short at $4.84. Well, in what may be the first time in 2011 in which a Goldman trading reco has lead to client profits (and Goldman prop losses), the firm apparently has just reached its breaking point on how much losses it can take, and just announced it is closing the short. "Closing: Short October 2011 NYMEX Natural Gas (initial price $4.84/mmBtu, closing price $4.33/mmBtu, gain $0.51/mmBtu) We close our short trading recommendation in the October 2011 NYMEX contract, as prices have corrected in line with our expectations. We also see increased price support from higher coal prices going forward, which allows for coal-to-gas substitution at a higher price level." Confirming Goldman's now suddenly "bullish" bias is the firm's reco to go long Q4 2012 ICE natgas: "Long UK NBP Q4 2012 ICE Natural Gas contracts (initial price 70.8 p/th, current loss 0.8 p/th) We recommend opening a long position in the UK NBP Q4 2012 contracts, as we expect a continued tightening of global LNG markets to lead to a reconnection between spot prices and oil-indexed prices in Europe, with spot gas pricing above oil-indexed in the beginning of the winter to attract incremental volumes for the peak demand period. This reconnection between spot and oil-indexed natural gas prices in Europe is not currently priced in the UK NBP forward curve." In summary: "outside of the United States, after two years of a cyclical surplus, the tightening has been accelerated by the recent events in Libya and Japan. As a result, we expect future global demand growth to test effective LNG production capacity, ultimately leading to a re-connection between UK NBP and oil-indexed gas prices this year on a sustainable basis."

Sterling Falls As BOE’s Posen Says BIS Talking “Nonsense” And Stagflation “Unlikely” In UK

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/28/2011 07:05 -0400

Despite UK inflation being 4.5% in May, more than twice the Bank of England's target, the BOE’s Posen’s ultra dovish comments are leading to speculation that zero percent interest rates and ultra loose monetary policy will continue for the foreseeable future. This poses risks to those on fixed incomes in the UK, savers, the poor and the elderly, and to countries that export to the UK such as Ireland. Posen said that the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) call for central banks to raise interest rates was “nonsense”. Posen also said there is little risk of a repeat of 1970s-style stagflation. His comments are odd given the fact that the UK is already experiencing high inflation and declining economic growth and looks on the verge of a contraction in economic growth and another recession and possibly a depression. Posen’s lack of appreciation of the real risk of inflation and stagflation both of which the UK is already experiencing leave him open to the accusation that he is talking “nonsense”. These real risks and the BOE’s ultra loose monetary policy will likely result in sterling continuing to weaken in the coming months.

One In Six Banks Expected To Fail EU-Wide Stress Tests

The first piece of red herring news out of Europe is already on the tape, after Reuters reports that 15 out of 91 banks are expected to fail the second round of stress tests: "Up to one in six European banks is set to fail an EU-wide financial health check, according to euro zone sources close to the stress-testing, as officials scramble to set up backstops for those at risk. Euro zone sources said the European Banking Authority is set to announce within weeks that between 10 and 15 of the 91 banks being tested had failed the tests, with casualties expected in Greece, Germany, Portugal and Spain. In the drive to ensure the credibility of the bank assessments, the European Banking Authority (EBA), which runs the tests and the European Central Bank, which sets the macroeconomic scenarios, are pushing for a higher number of banks to fail than last year's seven. "How many do we expect to fail? I would say 10 to 15," said one senior euro zone central banking source." Of course, the reason why this is total non-news is that while the EBA will huff and puff, the end result, just like last year, will be absolutely no failures, as Europe has no failsafe mechanisms to deal with the aftereffects of a bank failure chain reaction. Expect futures, which dipped briefly on this news to more than rebound, as this merely confirms that the ECB will inject even more money to keep the SS Ponzi afloat for a few more months.

Today's Economic Data Highlights - Case Shiller, Conference Board And 3rd To Last POMO

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/28/2011 08:05 -0400

Even as everyone is glued to webcasts out of Athens, there will be some secondary data in the US, first of which is the Case-Shiller index, as usual about 3 months delayed, and thus very much irrelevant, and second is the circular loop of an indicator that is the Conference Board (it's up when the market is up, it's up when the market is down but when the respondents are Wall Street CEOs, it's up when stocks plunge but when gas is down a cent, and in fact, it is never down). More importantly, the third to last POMO in QE2 will be completed at 11 am. Lastly, $35 billion in 5 year notes will be "sold" to Primary Dealers.

Frontrunning: June 28

Greek Unions Strike as Papandreou Seeks Support (Bloomberg)
Massive Strike Set for U.K. (WSJ)
U.S. Money Funds Risk Losses From Europe Crisis (Bloomberg) - Mainstream media finally wakes up
Dubai Denies Emirate Neighbors Fuel in Struggle to Pay Debt (Bloomberg) The untold story
Europe looks for contingency plan B (FT)
Plan B Budget Emerges in California (WSJ)
Greek woes may eclipse Lehman: Ackermann (Reuters)
Italian, Spanish Bonds Advance Before Sale on Greek Optimism (Bloomberg)
China, U.K. Forge New Trade Deals (WSJ)
Confidence in Canada Economy at Two-Year Low, Nanos Poll Shows (Bloomberg)

ICE Takes Further Steps To Protect Itself From "Parasitic" HFT Algorithms

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/28/2011 08:59 -0400

As HFT algos continue to increasingly encroach on commodity trading, the most recent example of which was the berserk Nat Gas algo documented previously, the ICE has taken yet more steps to protect itself from "parasitic" algorithmic traders (a topic that has been beaten to death on Zero Hedge since the spring of 2009). From Reuters: "ICE Futures U.S. will increase its ability to adjust trade prices in softs futures, the latest in a series of changes it has made to deal with volatility in its coffee, cocoa, cotton and sugar markets. The amended rules will be effective July 1 and follow a series of changes to reduce unwarranted volatility in 2011, following the "flash crash" in equity markets in May 2010 that was exacerbated by high-frequency trading. In January, ICE delayed its attempt to mitigate cascading stops in the softs complex following feedback from market participants." Basically, the exchange has now decided to override the "market" at its sole discretion. ICE will be able to adjust trades made in coffee "C", cotton No. 2, cocoa, frozen concentrated orange juice and sugar No. 16 futures contracts. It will do this if "the exchange determines the original price of the trade does not represent the market value of the specific futures or options contract at the time of the trade," a notice states." Expect to see comparable approaches to ignoring what HFT quotes say as mini flash crashes become a now daily occurrence.

Case Shiller Says Home Prices Dropped Less Than Expected Three Months Ago

There was some good news for the home sector after Case Shiller the first sequential increase in home prices in almost a year, with the Composite 10 increasing 0.8% in April, and a 0.7% increase in the Composite 20 on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. On a SA basis prices fell again, this time by 0.1%, slightly better than consensus which was looking for a 0.2% drop (and lest anyone believes revisionism is contained to the BLS, the February/March decline was revised even more from -0.23% to -0.26%) and in line with Goldman's expectation noted earlier. But before Toll and Lennar go ahead and prebuild another 10,000 empty units, there were some caveats: "In a welcome shift from recent months, this month is better than last - April’s numbers beat March,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. “However, the seasonally adjusted numbers show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the Spring-Summer home buying season. It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather...“Other housing statistics show the same trends. Single-family housing starts were up in May, but still well below their 2010 levels and still very close to their 30-year low. Existing home sales rose in May, but are still about 15% below last year’s pace and about 35% below their 2005 pace. While foreclosures remain a large factor in most parts of the country, the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default indices show a small decline in the pace of new defaults since last November. Other reports confirm that banks have tightened lending standards in the past year making it harder to qualify for a mortgage despite very low interest rates." Lastly, and perhaps most important, is that this is data that was relevant back in April... and that 6 out of 20 MSA just hit new lows. America is increasingly becoming a story of two polar opposites.

Did Someone Just Break The Consumer Confidence Embargo?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/28/2011 09:34 -0400

According to crossing headlines, US Consumer Confidence per the Conference Board, which was expected to print at 10:00am, has come out at 58.5, on expectations of 61.0 and down from 61.7. It is unclear if this is due to an embargo breach, but this is the number for what its worth. Not even the HFT algos could front run a fully leaked number. The index components were worse on both counts: present situation was down from 39.3 to 37.6, while expectations dropped from 76.7 to 72.4. Naturally, this number only has an impact on the market when it show improvement so the embargo break will likely be promptly forgotten.

Guest Post: IEA Oil Dump A Disaster In The Making

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/28/2011 09:57 -0400
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but this country has been thoroughly gutted over the past few decades. Our industrial base has been dismantled and shipped overseas to the benefit of foreign nations and corporate feudalists. Our grain reserves, once ample, have been depleted to an all time low. Our currency has been systematically debased. And now, our oil reserves, without rational cause, are being sold off only to feed the catastrophe our government is supposedly out to stop. Are the American people being prepped like a glazed ham for the fires of the globalist oven? Is this really all due to coincidence and stupidity as skeptics claim, or is there something else at work here? I find it hard to believe that the IEA and our government are not aware that their proposed strategies conflict with their own source data, or that they are completely oblivious to the destruction they are about to reap upon our economy. The latest IEA decision is just one more piece of evidence of an agenda of deliberate financial destabilization trending towards a disaster that serves the interests of a select few, to the detriment of all the rest.