China, Japan Tell Europe: "No Blank Check For You"

Remember all those daily rumors (prmarily courtesy of the FT) that either China, or Japan, or Europe itself would bailout Europe (yeah, don't ask). Well we can put them all to rest...for at least a few more hours. Because in the battle of inverse counter disinformation, it is important to refute the rumors you yourself have created just so next time the same rumor is spread it has some impact.... Unfortunately said impact will be less, much less, with every single iteration, until just like central bank intervention, its impact is lost in the noise. Per Businessweek: "Officials from China and Japan, the world’s second- and third-biggest economies, indicated that their support for Europe will have limits  and the region needs to solve its own debt crisis. Japanese Finance Jun Azumi said in Washington today that while his nation can buy European Financial Stability Facility bonds if needed, there is no blank check. “At the margin we can do quite a bit to help,” Chinese central bank Deputy Governor Yi Gang said in a panel discussion yesterday at the International Monetary Fund in the same city. At the same time, “the real solution of the European sovereign debt crisis has to be done by Europeans themselves." Good luck in that whole Europeans coming up with a solution: after all it was mere hours ago that France’s Baroin said that the Eurozone is "open to support from others." Translation: "Show us the money." In other news, the countdown for the latest European bailout rumors from the FT is now on.

 

 

Goldman Capitulates On Long EURUSD Call

Just when it seemed that Goldman's all time unbest sell side analyst, FX "guru" Thomas Stolper, may actually have a strike at bat with his long suffereing EURUSD call which has had a worse Sharpe ratio than even John Paulson's hedge fund over the past 12 months, we are sad to inform our readers that Stolper is and continues to be the perfect contrarian signal (pari passu with that other all time fade: Barton "Notorious" Biggs) with a 0.000 statistical average (which, as everyone knows, is just as valuable as a 1.000). Because just as we predicted earlier today, when we said that "Goldman is about to announce it was just stopped out on its 1.55 EURUSD "tactical" trade", Goldman has just announced that it was "Stopped out of long EUR/$." Something tells us the slow money will not be happy to read this when they roll into the office between 10 am and 1 pm tomorrow.

 

 

G-20 Pledges Strong, Coordinated (Sisyphean) Response To Global Challenges

Ironically, French minister Baroin says that the G-20 will release a statement in response to sovereign debt risk (after dinner of course). Isn't it nice when we all get along? Well the response by the markets has been absolutely lackluster so far with after-hours gains being held but not accelerating.

Via Bloomberg:

*G-20 WILL ACT TO MAINTAIN FINANCIAL STABILITY, GROWTH: BAROIN
*G-20 COMMITTED TO 'STRONG AND COORDINATED' RESPONSE
*G-20 SEEKS BALANCE BETWEEN GROWTH, BUDGET BALANCING: BAROIN
*G-20 SEES 'HEIGHTENED DOWNSIDE RISKS FROM SOVEREIGN STRESSES'
*G-20 SEES 'FINANCIAL SYSTEM FRAGILITY'
*G-20 SAYS EURO AREA WILL IMPLEMENT EFSF STEPS BY NEXT G-20

 

 

Second Bank Scrambles To Defend Morgan Stanley Against Vicious "Blogger Attack"

Earlier today some blog pulled up some factual data that suggested that Morgan Stanley had $39 billion in total exposure against French banks at the end of 2010, up $30 billion from the year prior, and enough to wipe out its entire market cap and then some should French banks be pulled under. Sure enough, the stock tanked even though as CNBC pointed out "there was absolutely no news." Since then, first Credit Suisse defended Morgan Stanley for its "European exposure" (we wonder how long before Morgan Stanley returns the favor and has to defend Credit Suisse for its US exposure: judging by Credit Suisse's maximum outlier 3M USD Libor rate, not too long). And now it is bank #2's turn, in this case Alliance Bernstein, whose conclusion is that "we estimate that total risk to France and its banks is less than $2 billion net of collateral and hedges." Ah yes, collateral and hedges, which, lest we recall incorrectly, did miracles when Lehman blew up and the very fabric of net hedging offset was threatened when the viability of the initiator in the "gross" CDS chain was put into question (thank you AIG). Naturally, if and when the 3 Big French banks go down, everyone will be perfectly normal and have no problem netting of hedges. Naturally. As for the coup de grace in the AB report, it is this piece of rhetorical brilliance: "Over the last six months, there have been 5,600+ articles published by the press on the subject of "French Banks" and "Credit Risk". We believe Morgan Stanley's risk management staff and its trading units are fully aware of the highly publicized risks emanating from Europe and warnings about the firm's potential exposure to a European Sovereign crisis." And there you have it: just because everyone is aware the bank is doomed, means the bank is ok. See, this is nothing like the logic that comedy entertainment icons such as Cramer and Dick Bove used to endorse Bear and Lehman days before both imploded. Then again, the downside for AB to actually tell the truth is substantially higher (as in contagion which takes down the entire banking system, AB included), than the upside from, well, prevaricating. As for abovementioned blog, we are just waiting for the third bank to come to Morgan Stanley's defense to know it was 100% correct.

Silver - Weekly Chart and annotations

Trader Dan at Trader Dan's Market Views - 45 minutes ago

Silver tends to get harder than gold during bouts of risk aversion related selling. That was made evident today as the metal lost nearly 10% during the session. Potential buyers who had been active on dips below the $40 level and ranging down towards $39 stepped out of the way of the herdlike fund liquidation removing the buying support beneath the market that had been putting a floor there. There are several minor bands of support between the present level and the critical $32.50 region. Whether it holds those depends on the extent of further risk aversion related selling. As long ... more »

CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge - Friday, Week 1

Bonus Bucks for Friday, September 23.

1.  According to Daryl Guppy's post on Tuesday gold prices are likely to retest what level?
C. $1,920


2.  The F8 Facebook Developers Conference 2011, took place in:
B. San Francisco, CA

3.  The top institutional holder of Apple Inc stock is:
D.  Fidelity

Guest Post: The Unwelcome Impact of Interventionist Monetary Policy In The US

A fascinating insight from Graham Giller of Giller Investments, who analyzes over 55 years of Treasury data to point to what is the crux of the problems of monetary policy since Greenspan took over the Fed. The Greenspan [and Bernanke] era monetary policy has altered the distribution of changes in interest rates in a way that exchanges a reduction in day-to-day 'normal' variability for a considerably higher (perhaps catastrophically higher as we are finding out this week) likelihood of extreme shocks.

A Week After Madeira-Gate, Moody's Downgrades Them to B3

Last Friday, Blooomberg reported the mysterious appearance of unreported debts by the island of Madeira. A week later, Moody's steps up to the plate and slaps a two-notch downgrade on the Autonomous Region due to (among other things) "grave irregularities" in the region's budget reporting. It is little wonder that investors are reducing exposure to government debt throughout Europe as these little anomalies keep popping up among the weaker oh-so-desperate-to-be-among-the-in-crowd sovereigns.

Notorious B.I.G.G.S. Flip Flops Again, Bottom-Ticks Market

The last several times Barton Biggs was on TV we laughed, we cried, we laughed much more, but most importantly we faded every word out of his confused mouth with as much leverage as the CME would allow us (at last check margin requirements on Biggs Ultra Shorts had not been hiked in a while). After all could anyone top tick the market better than the Notorious BIGGS who on August third and fourth predicted a 7-9% rally in the S&P, only to realize a month later that he may have 99 (redemption) problem but a Biggs AUM ain't one. Even more conclusive proof that old people should take their RDA of geritol and Gingko Biloba came two short weeks later, when the same former Morgan Stanley (what is it about that bank and producing some of the worst asset pickers known to man?) strategist told Bloomberg "I don't see all the bad news that you keep citing." It then took him only a month to see preciseley all the bad news that Bloomberg keeps citing. According to a just released comedic appearance by Bloomberg TV, the BIGgster is now only 20% net long, down from 85% 6 months ago. Said otherwise redemptions are rolling in. The is further confirmed by his statements:  "I wish I was minus 20,” and so do your LPs. "I wish I was zero. I don’t think any place is a place to invest." The slurring continues: "I want to see an important stimulus program in the United States, combined with major reform in social security, Medicare and our defense budget. If we did that, we could have a 20 percent rally." Likewise, as much as we wish we had a magic stick made of gold to beat idiots on the head with, we don't. Which lead Bart-o to the following statement: "Markets are telling policy makers that they’ve got to change and act or we’re going to go into a double-dip recession, and we’re going to go down another 20 percent." Yes ladies and gents, the age old 100% guaranteed trade of fading old faithful means it is now time to go dodecatuple down all in the market and mortgage that 4th unborn generation: the direction has been called. In the meantime, to watch an old white man not quite hiphopping, but certainly quoting "old negro spirituals", watch the rest.

A Plea To UBS For Another Year Of Record Bonuses For Its Bankers - A (Tax Haven) Lampoon

It has been a while since we have referred to Bloomberg columnist Jon Weil. The reason is we were waiting for something juicy, something one can sink one's teeth in, using money from a "tax free" Swiss bank account to pay. The need to wait is now over, as Weil explains why preserving the Swiss bank's bonus pool is right up there in the list of national priorities for the Swiss country as preserving the illusion that only you and your banker know who is behind that "numbered" account, in "Swiss Must Save UBS’s Bonus Pool or Die Trying." Cutting to the chase: "this year’s UBS bonus pool isn’t doomed, per se. It’s “at risk.” And where there’s a risk there’s always a way. What the UBS bankers need is a plan to ensure that the people who bear this loss are people other than themselves. Luckily, I have prepared one. To save the UBS bonus pool, UBS’s leaders must persuade the people of Switzerland to eat the losses the company is blaming on Kweku Adoboli, and to do so with joy in their hearts. Impossible, you say? Consider the following talking points..."





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Here's one you just have to read...

A bad summer for grizzly bear attacks continues: Gutsy wrangler, huge horse save boy from charging grizzly.

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