IMF Seen Approving Yuan As "Reserve Currency"

The bottom line is that the "internationalization" and an increasing free float of the Yuan is bearish. And since the currency urgently needs even more devaluation as today's PBOC rate cut confirmed, this may just be the IMF's way of greenlighting even more devaluation for China's currency. And since any devaluation would lead to a surge in capital outflows, what the IMF is doing is merely blessing the Yuan's weakness while pretending it is in a position of strength, in an attempt to slow down the capital outflow as much as possible.

THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY

by Bill Holter, JS Mineset
We will no doubt look back upon the current era as the “crime of the century” for so many different reasons.  Actually, current times represent the worst financial crimes of ALL TIME!  The various crimes and how they are operated are too numerous to list and would probably fill a three volume set of books, let’s concentrate on just one.  Central to everything is the U.S. issuing the global reserve currency by fiat knowing full well it truly means “non payment”.  The absolute cornerstone to the dollar retaining confidence and thus value has been the suppression of the price of gold.
Before getting to specifically what I’d like to point out, let’s look at a couple common sense points which beg questions.  How is it China has been importing 2,400 tons of gold over the past two and a half years without any upward push to the gold price?  This amount equals almost EXACTLY the TOTAL amount of gold mined annually around the world!  How is it possible that ALL production has been purchased by China and yet the price goes down?  The answer of course is quite simple unless you purposely close your eyes or disingenuously “apologize”.
Read More

Look Out Saudi Arabia: Russia, Iran Forge Energy Partnerships, May Form New Bank To Fund Projects

With Russia now in the driver's seat in terms of supplying crude to China, and with Iranian supply set to come back online with the lifting of economic sanctions, Saudi Arabia faces a serious threat to its dominance of the global oil market. Given the increased cooperation between Moscow and Tehran in Syria, it comes as no surprise that Ruusia and Iran are now in talks on some $40 billion in energy projects which the two countries say could lead to the formation of a new development bank.

Meet "Stunningly Catastrophic" Patricia, The World's Strongest Storm Ever Is About To Hit Mexico

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/23/2015 - 13:59 "Stunning, historic, mind-boggling, and catastrophic" is how Weather Underground's Jeff Masters sums up Hurricane Patricia, which intensified to an incredible-strength Category 5 storm with 200 mph winds overnight as it approaches the Mexican coast. As The NY Times reports, The World Meteorological Organization warned that the hurricane’s strength was comparable to that of Typhoon Haiyan, which caused devastation in the Philippines in 2013, and so Mexico has declared a state of emergency for Puerto Vallarta (with officials warning that storm surges could cause waves of up to 39 feet) as she is forecast to hit the coast between 6 and 10pm ET. Hurricane Patricia is "uncharted territory."

EURUSD Plunges To 1.09 Handle - Lowest In 11 Weeks

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/23/2015 - 13:51 With the biggest 2-day plunge in 9 months, EURUSD has broken back to a 1.09 handle this morning. It appears Mario Draghi has officially become US Corporate CEOs greatest nemesis (along with BoJ's Kuroda) as The USD Index surges to 3-month highs...

The Central Bankers' Death Wish

There is no alternative except to take cover because the latest stock market rip is based on pure central bank hopium. Indeed, Mario Draghi has confirmed once again that the world’s central bankers have a monetary death wish. Unlike the gamblers who bought Cramer’s top 49 stock picks, the best course of action is to sell, sell, sell—–and do it now.

Oil Hovers Near Crucial Technical Level As Rig Count Decline Slows, China Inventory Soars

Overnight weakness on the back of 8-month highs in Chinese crude inventory (combined with the recent plunge in super-tanker rates - i.e. China is no longer refilling its SPR) sent WTI Crude towards the critical $44 level (which has acted as support for 2 months). The China rate cut weakened crude further as PBOC admitted it was needed because of the state of the economy. And then Baker Hughes reported a total rig count unchanged 787 (lowest since April 2002) and an oil rig count decline of just 1 to 594 (the 8th weekly drop in a row). WTI slipped on the news.

Slumping Crude Will Send Norway To ZIRP As Economy Careens Toward Recession

With crude prices still stuck in the doldrums, economists at Handelsbanken say the Norges Bank will soon be forced to cut rates to zero in order to stave off a looming recession. What we want to know is this: if the housing bubble that the Norges Bank has helped to inflate bursts, how does the central bank plan to deal with the fallout (which will be amplified by the economic drag from low oil prices) when it has exhausted its counter-cyclical capacity by cutting rates to zero?

U.S. Shale Drillers Running Out Of Options, Fast

Much has been made about the impressive gains in efficiency and productivity in the shale patch, as new drilling techniques squeeze ever more oil and gas out of new wells. But the limits to such an approach are becoming increasingly visible. The U.S. shale revolution is running out of steam.

Draghi's Verbal Intervention Perfection

Never, in the history of man, has so much 'wealth' been created, by so few, for so few, by doing so little...

It's Absurd - Do Not Fool Yourself

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/23/2015 - 11:37 The mainstream view that central banks have suppressed tail risk is absurd and runs counter to common sense. Policy makers have done the opposite. Central banks have taken asset returns from the future and brought them to the present… they have taken tail risk from the present and shifted it into the future… that have turned private risk into public risk. The risk is not gone... do not fool yourself.

Peak Intervention? China Rate-Cut Stock Gains Erased In Under 4 Hours

Did the age of central bank omnipotence just come to an end?

Why Is Wealth/Income Inequality Soaring?

Why is wealth/income inequality soaring? The easy answer is of course the infinite greed of Wall Street fat-cats and the politicos they buy/own. If conventional labor and finance capital have lost their scarcity value, then the era in which financialization reaped big profits is ending.

Another Ackman Casualty: PAH Tumbles After CEO Retirement

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/23/2015 - 10:33 It's been a tough week for Pershing Square and Bill Ackman. First, Valeant gets eviscerated; and now, another major holding - Platform Specialty Products - plunged as much as 15% on news that the CEO is retiring.

Competitor Offers Equivalent To Turing's Scandalous $750 Pill For Just $1

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/23/2015 - 10:20 Having become an overnight social and industry outcast, at least Turing Pharma's Martin Shkreli had one thing going for him: a business model that afforded him solid margins, because despite promising to cut the price of the scandalous Daraprim, Turing did not do that. Now, however, even that may be in jeopardy following news that San Diego-based specialty drug maker Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, says it can make a close, customized version of Daraprim for a paltry $1 a pill, NBC reports. That's a big contrast to the $750-a-dose that Shkreli said Turing was going to start charging for the same drug.

"The Bernank" Says Economy Needs To Crash Periodically So We Can Be Sure We're Pushing It Hard Enough

"My mentor, Dale Jorgenson [of Harvard], used to say — and Larry Summers used to say this, too — that, ‘If you never miss a plane, you’re spending too much time in airports.’ If you absolutely rule out any possibility of any kind of financial crisis, then probably you’re reducing risk too much, in terms of the growth and innovation in the economy.”

Dec Rate Hike Looms: Despite Job Cuts, Survey Collapses, US Manufacturing PMI Surges To May Highs

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/23/2015 - 09:52 Having stabilized at 2-year lows in September, October's preliminary US Manufacturing PMI printed 54.0 (smashing expectations of a small drop to 52.7). Despite collapse regional Fed surveys, and widespread job cuts across the manufacturing sector, Markit claims US Manufacturing is the strongest since May. Both output and new orders surged as input costs fell, as Markit notes, despite cycle high inventory levels, today's data "indicated a robust and accelerated expansion of production levels across the manufacturing sector." December rate-hike odds are risisng...

Sofia Smallstorm Maps The Corporatized You

from The Sleuth Journal:

Incisive sociopolitical researcher Sofia Smallstorm joins the program to discuss her recent work examining the stealth privatization of individuals, local and regional governments, and the United States itself. She argues that this legal corporatization that has ensued in varying degrees since the late 1800s is a major factor in better understanding recent “mass shooting” drills, some of which are being presented to the public as actual events. In other words, once local municipalities and law enforcement agencies become dependent on federal grants, they are compelled to partake in such exercises to justify continued funding.
Read More

Rand Paul Destroys Hillary Clinton Over Benghazi-Gate During Capitol Hill Press Conference

from Mat Larson

ht/WhatReallyHappened

Gold Q&A – How To Allocate, Dollar Cost Average, Rebalance and Store Where?

from Gold Core:

• Global Economic Outlook
• History and Role of Gold in Portfolios Today
• Asset Allocation – Higher Allocations to Gold Justified
• Dollar Cost Average – Need to Front End Financial Insurance
• An “ETF Is No Substitute for Physical Allocated Gold in the Vault”

Switzerland, Singapore and London are Safest Places to Store GoldJohn Butler was interviewed by Mark O’Byrne about gold and the vitally important but little covered aspects of investing in gold such as – higher allocations, how to geometrically dollar cost average, re-balancing gold and of course geographic diversification and the safest locations to own gold.
Read More

Genius Is Failing: Hedge Fund Giants Burned By Changing Markets

from Dollar Collapse:

If you ignore their recent volatility, the financial markets are painting a fairly happy picture. The S&P 500, for instance, is closer to its 12-month high than its low, and investment grade bonds are behaving like next year should be pretty much like this one.
But under the surface — which is where big trends are born — the scene is chaotic, with brutally-disappointing earnings reports and company-specific scandals combining to burn some legendary investors:
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s stock tumbled 23% on heavy volume in midday trade Wednesday, after a bearish report from a noted short-seller regarding questionable business practices made the rounds. The drug company’s stock has now plunged $64.36, or 36% this week, after the company said early Monday that it was mulling a change in strategy, including a possible spinoff of assets, as it faces government scrutiny over its pricing and distribution practices.
Read More

Bernie Sanders, Don’t Kid Yourself!

by Pater Tenebrarum, Acting-Man.com:

When during the last presidential election campaign Mitt Romney suggested that some 47 percent of Americans choose to be dependent on the government, he seems to have been right. (The exact number is probably impossible to ascertain.) And at this time, the Democrats are pretty much hoping that at least that many Americans believe they are the beneficiaries of government wealth redistribution, consisting of welfare payments, subsidies, Medicare, unemployment benefits, public works, public education, etc., etc., which they will secure for them.
To generalize this, let us simply take it that a very large proportion of the citizenry sees itself as dependent on government support. This is how most people in Europe and elsewhere around the globe see themselves. They require cradle to grave handouts. The rest are the producers, people who take the initiative to be productive, creative, and so forth. It is this latter group that supplies the resources from which the former take the wealth they require for their survival and flourishing. So Mitt Romney had it roughly right.
Read More…

The Elite Are The Most Paranoid Preppers Of All...

by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:
When it comes to “prepping”, many among the elite take things to an entirely different level.  As you will see below, the elite are willing to pay big money for cutting edge home security measures, luxury bomb shelters and superyacht getaway submarines. Some of the things that the elite are demanding for their own protection go beyond even what we would see in a James Bond film, and serving the prepping needs of the elite has become a multi-billion dollar business.  Meanwhile, the media outlets that the elite own continue to mock the rest of us for getting prepared.  All the time we see headlines like this one that appeared in a major American news source: “Preppers: Meet the paranoid Americans awaiting the apocalypse“.  Well, if we are paranoid for setting aside some extra food and supplies for the future, what does that make the people that you will read about in this article?
Read More…

Russia Continues Buying Gold to Minimize Exposure to Dollar

by Samuel Bryan, Schiff Gold:

Russia and other countries formerly part of the Soviet Union continue to increase gold reserves at a steady pace.
Russia added another 34.2 tons of the precious metal in September. This follows on the heels of a 1 million ounce increase in Russian gold reserves in August, and continues a steady buying spree by the world’s seventh largest holder of gold.
Since the global financial crisis, Russia has increased its gold reserves at an average pace of about 300,000 ounces per month.
Read More

Ben Carson Just Revealed The 1 Reason Why Hillary Won’t Win

from Western Journalism:

Dr. Ben Carson, one of the top two GOP front-runners for president, said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could face other legal problems that would keep her from continuing her campaign.
“Hillary could well be in jail, and it’s hard to run from there,” he said. Then Carson added: “I think she may not be actually in jail, but I think the controversy swirling around that will have an extremely damaging effect.”
Carson made the comments in an interview with Fox News Radio’s John Gibson. The interview was released Wednesday. At the time the interview was released, Vice President Joe Biden had not announced his intentions regarding seeking the Oval Office. Carson said that Biden would win, if he ran.
Read More

filed under (unt

The Hillary Doctrine: Create Instability, Wing it, Then Refuse to ‘Retreat’

from Reason:

In her opening statement to the Benghazi Select Committee this morning, former Secretary of State and current Democratic Party 2016 presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton continued to justify the United States’ 2011 intervention in Libya in terms that should be worrying to the wide swath of the American polity that has grown allergic to haphazardly-planned, open-ended military conflicts:
America must lead in a dangerous world, and our diplomats must continue representing us in dangerous places. […]
We have learned the hard way when America is absent, especially from unstable places, there are consequences. […]
Read More

Dec Rate Hike Looms: Despite Job Cuts, Survey Collapses, US Manufacturing PMI Surges To May Highs

Having stabilized at 2-year lows in September, October's preliminary US Manufacturing PMI printed 54.0 (smashing expectations of a small drop to 52.7). Despite collapse regional Fed surveys, and widespread job cuts across the manufacturing sector, Markit claims US Manufacturing is the strongest since May. Both output and new orders surged as input costs fell, as Markit notes, despite cycle high inventory levels, today's data "indicated a robust and accelerated expansion of production levels across the manufacturing sector." December rate-hike odds are risisng...


filed under Sows...

How To Profit From Oprah Winfrey Gaining Weight

Far more importantly for arbitrageurs, there is now a direct way to profit from Oprah's weight gain, because if WTW surges simply on Oprah "losing" weight, then logically it has become the short of the century for every incremental pound in weight that Oprah gains.


/