US Claims Malfunctioning Russian Cruise Missiles Hit Iran; Moscow, Tehran Both Deny

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 14:52 "No matter how unpleasant and unexpected for our colleagues in the Pentagon and Langley was yesterday's high-precision strike on Islamic State infrastructure in Syria, the fact remains that all missiles launched from our ships have found their targets."

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s Perspective: 25 Page Transcript Western Media Would Rather You Never See

by Iranian Khabar TV, The News Doctors:

Question 1: In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. Mr. President, thank you very much for accepting the invitation of the Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran to give this interview. Thank you very much.
There are many issues which need to be raised; and in this interview, I’ll raise a number of them. I hope that I’ll get candid and transparent answers from your Excellency. For about five years now, Syria has been suffering from a war waged by armed terrorist groups that inflicted tremendous damage on the Syrian people.
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Rate-Hike Odds Tumble Post-Minutes; Stocks Soar

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 14:24 UPDATE: Stocks are now soaring after we noted the initial reaction...
A decidedly dovish FOMC Minutes, warning that the economy is not ready for rate-hikes, has driven rate-hike odds to their lows once again. December and January odds are now below 50% and markets are reacting with bond, crude, and bullion buying, dollar selling and stocks uncertainty.

Fed Admits "Changes In Asset Prices", "Decline In Equity Prices" Influenced Rate Decision

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 14:20 "During their discussion of economic conditions and monetary policy, participants indicated that they did not see the changes in asset prices during the intermeeting period as bearing significantly on their policy choice except insofar as they affected the outlook for achieving the Committee’s macroeconomic objectives and the risks associated with that outlook."

Fed Mouthpiece "Explains" Epic September Fed Confusion

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 14:10 WSJ’s Fed whisperer is always good for a bit of Eccles propaganda and so, for whatever it's worth to you, we present the following Hilsy interpretation of the just-released minutes from the “most important” Fed meeting in recent history.

FOMC Minutes Confirm Economy Not Ready For Rate-Hike This Year, Worried About Inflation, "Global Risk"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 14:04 Given the tumble and stock save since September's infamous "chickening out" FOMC Meeting, investors hope today's minutes will provide some color on just how close Janet and her merry men were to pulling the trigger:

• *FED OFFICIALS SAID `PRUDENT' TO WAIT FOR CLARITY ON OUTLOOK
• *FOMC MINUTES: MOST PARTICIPANTS SEE LIFTOFF CONDITIONS MET THIS YR
• *FOMC MINUTES: ALL BUT ONE MEMBER SAID ECON COND DIDN'T WARRANT HIKE

With all the blame pinned on global turmoil (which has now "calmed" apparently) the S&P 500 has roundtripped to unchanged post-FOMC and given these minutes which suggest this was not a close-call at all. However, this was before the Sept payrolls data.
Pre-FOMC Minutes: S&P Futs 1988.25, 10Y 2.095%, Gold $1145, EUR 1.1285

NATO Threatens To Send In Troops After Russia Stations Ground "Battalion" In Syria

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 13:56 "The force that they have deployed down there is actually quite impressive for a rapid deployment of a week or so. It is all arms, combined arms, attack aircraft, it is the attack helicopters and artillery, rocket artillery. NATO is ready and able to defend all allies, including Turkey against any threats."

47 Years After 1968, Bundesbank STILL Fails To Deliver A Gold Bar Number List

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 13:52 Frequent followers of the German public campaign “Repatriate our Gold“ already know how intensively we have been struggling since 2011 (and longer) with Deutsche Bundesbank to finally – after more than 50 years of external storage of Germany’s gold – get credible transparency regarding this matter. Some progress was brought about recently (2012 disclosure of the whereabouts of Germany´s gold by BuBa; 2013 partial repatriation plan announced by BuBa; 2013 and ongoing through 2015 alleged physical repatriation of approximately 200 tons to date – equaling approximately 10% of Germany’s gold abroad). But real proof and transparency is still lacking from Bundesbank’s side!

In Major Escalation, US To Sail Warships Around China's Man-Made Islands In South Pacific

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 13:37 “If the US is serious about ensuring that China does not dominate these waters, then the longer it waits, the riskier its freedom-of-navigation activities will become.”

It's Time For Negative Rates, Fed's Kocherlakota Hints

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 13:22 If you’re a fan of dovish policymakers who are committed to Keynesian insanity, you can always count on Minneapolis Fed chief Narayana Kocherlakota who is out today with the latest hint that NIRP is coming to America.

GOP Chaos: Boehner's Chosen Successor Kevin McCarthy Pulls Out Of Speaker Race

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 13:19 Just two weeks after House speaker John Boehner dramatically announced his premature resignation without cause from his position seemingly in an attempt to difuse the tension within the GOP, there has been another just as dramatic development when moments ago we learned that Boehner's chosen successor Kevin McCarthy has withdrawn his candidacy for the speaker position: "While I am grateful for the encouragement I’ve received, I will not be a candidate." This puts in jeopardy not only any future negotiations over US government funding when the continuing resolution expires in mid-December but more importantly puts into question what happens with the US debt ceiling when the US government runs out of emergency measures some time in early November as Jack Lew has warned is the deadline for getting a deal struck.

Treasury Completes Weekly Auction Trio With Solid Demand For 30 Year Paper

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 13:17 Following two stellar auctions earlier this week, when both the 3 and 10 Year showed substantial demand, and in the case of the latter a near record surge in foreign central bank takedown, today's final 30Year auction went without a glitch as the Treasury sold $13 billion in the RN0 reopening, which priced at 2.914%, through the When Issued 2.917%, lower than the 2.98% in September, and virtually unchanged from the yield the 30Y paid at the last auction of 2014. In other words, just like stocks, so the long end of the curve has gone exactly nowhere in 2015.

U.S. Spent Nearly $100 Billion On Foreigners To Fight Terrorists

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 13:01 To combat Islamic militants the White House says threaten national interests, the U.S. has spent nearly $100 billion to arm and train foreign militaries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, an analysis by Vocativ shows. And nearly all of them are reeling from setbacks that threaten to undermine what’s become a core component of American foreign policy in these regions. As a former military commander and United States ambassador in Afghanistan recently noted, "our track record at building security forces over the past 15 years is miserable."

Unemployed Americans Are Happiest In 6 Months

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 12:51 Americans who are unemployed (or earn less than $50,000 per year) are the most upbeat in six months accoridng to Bloomberg Comfort survey data. Despite near-record layoffs, stagnant incomes, global instability, and domestic uncertainty, the jobless are happier and happier as full-time-workers lose faith.

Could The Syrian Conflict Irrevocably Change Global Geopolitics?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 12:25 The urgency of the moment favors cooperation, while geography gives Russia major advantages in leading the fight. The highly charged political atmosphere in the U.S., in the midst of a Presidential election, only adds to the fog of war in Syria, forcing public denials and secret agreements where there needs to be utmost clarity, making military cooperation in Syria almost impossible, while raising the risks of accidental conflicts between so-called partners. Adding to the confusion is the increasingly cordial meetings between Russian and Saudi leaders.

WTI Crude Surges Back Above $49 After OPEC Comments

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/08/2015 - 12:18 WTI Crude has recovered the losses following yesterday's DOE-reported inventory and production rise as it appears comments from OPEC Secretary-General Al-Badri told The IMF that demand will climb more this year than previously projected (coming on the heels of EIA's comments that oil companies worldwide will cut investments in oil exploration and production by a record 20 percent this year.) USD weakness is also helping drive algos to run stops in crude.

Employment, The Fed, Earnings, Debt… and Gold

from Outsider Club:

It’s starting to happen… I think.
The curtain is being pulled back, and the Wizard has limited options. Though, if I’ve learned anything over the past six years… it’s to never underestimate the Wizard.
Still, for the first time since 2011 the S&P is lower in October than it was in January while precious metals are simultaneously moving higher.
We’ve maintained in these pages that the recovery was nonexistent.
But all the king’s horses and all the king’s men have adamantly claimed otherwise, backed only by their ability to conjure up imaginary dollars.
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SILVER: MORE THAN EVER, THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM’S “ACHILLES HEEL”

from Miles Franklin:

Fleckenstein – Gold Is Headed Higher But The Stock Market Will Roll Over, Hit New Lows And Accelerate To The Downside

from KingWorldNews:
With the Dow surging and gold and silver continuing to trade firm, one of the greats in the business sent King World News a fantastic piece saying he believes that the gold market has already bottomed and is headed higher, but the stock market will roll over, hit new lows, and then accelerate to the downside, plus a bonus Q&A that includes questions on whether or not the Fed has lost control and also covering the turn in the gold market.
There was obviously a fair amount of motion while I was on the road — as is so often the case. (Although I have absolutely no explanation why, this phenomenon has accompanied my travel schedule off and on for about 20 years.)…
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