The proposed possible break up in Scotland is hardly an isolated case.
Look at Catalonia in Spain, Hong Kong, the recent elections in France and Germany. And on a more local level there are numerous other examples.
Here in the U. S. there are gads of people who want to get that octopus in Washington finally out of their lives. And they're not all gun-toting, camouflage-fatigue wearing, over-weight, dumb ass white people either. They run the ethnic and racial and religious gamut. That's the scary part for these bureaucratic elitists. Like the Ebola virus it's spreading. But unlike EBV it's a good, healthy spread. And they get it. As has been pointed out by many throughout history, one of the constants is changing borders. Folks who think it can't or won't happen here are naive. Britain treated the Scots as third class people for centuries, just as they treated much of the rest of the world during Kipling's heyday. Sovereignty has been turned into a nasty term by globalists in their quest to rule all. Most people revere and prefer the local not the cosmic. The media portray them as inane or even insane, but most recognize the media, from Fox to CNN to any of the major networks, for what it is, shills for the status quo, useful idiots for the system masquerading as protective truth seekers instead of the pompous, self-important higher-ups they really are.
The only real growth industry flourishing today is intrusive government. The EU experiment is the latest tinder box that can explode any day.
Here's a headline from today's Financial Times that in our mind is the story of the day, especially leading into Scotland's pending vote for independence.
"Greenspan, Zoellick and McCain warn Scots against voting for independence."
If the Scottish people who wanted a better sign to carry out their conviction for independence, this is it. It would be hard to assemble a more pathetic triumvirate than these three. Forget Moe, Larry and Curley or even Manny, Moe and Jack.
This is Greenie, Zoe and Mac. And it shows you just how worried these folks are. Of the three Greenspan's and McCain's pronouncements are most likely the most dangerous. Zoellick is just another incompetent former World Bank bureaucrat. That's our view. We hope you know yours. t. man hatter
We knew it was bound to happen, just a matter of time.
It's part of the new meme, thanks in large part to political correctness, no one is responsible any more for his or her actions.
It ain't the devil that makes them do it. It's the monopoly on healthcare by the giant pharmaceutical companies. Here's the headline from a recent Financial Times article: "US more open to obesity drugs."
US regulators are becoming more open to drugs for tackling obesity, according to Lars Sorensen, chief executive of Novo Nordisk, as the Danish company pushes for approval of a weight-loss medicine that analysts forecast could generate $1bnin annual sales. Type II diabetes, the kind most folks eat their way into, is a huge money maker. If you don't believe us here's more from Sorensen and his company.
Growth in obesity drugs could provide a new source of momentum for Novo Norkisk on top of its role as the world's biggest maker of insulin for diabetics.
Rising incidence of diabetes across the world has helped Novo Nordisk over-take GaxoSmithKline to become Europe's fourth-biggest drugmaker by market capitalisation after Roche, Novartis and Sandofi.
Mr Sorensen said 10 per cent of global healthcare costs were attributable to diabetes. He said the 'enormous business potential' in treating diabetes meant Novo Nordisk had no need to join the rush of mergers and acquisitions among drug makers this year. Back in the 1990s another anti-obesity drug, called fen-phen for short after its ingredients, fenfluramine/phentermine, captured the public's attention. Though it had been around since the early 1970s, phentermine when mixed with fenfluramine sales began to take off.
Up until that time fenfluramine was not popular because it only temporarily reduced weight. Later it was discovered that this and a similar weight-loss drug has serious side effects.
If you're paying attention, there are two five-letter words here. One is drift and the other is greed. Once again what could be done naturally gets an artificial, painless solution. Natural is big pharma's biggest nightmare. For a decent recap on the history of fen-phen and its problems, here's an interesting link. https://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/course/Syllabi/97Dartmouth/day-2/fen-phen-1.pdf
Forget the cat. It's now about the slack. Most are familiar with the old saying about the cat being out of the bag. With the Fed's two-day FOMC meeting starting today, the real question on many minds is: How much slack is still in the bag?
Up to now Fed policy has been slow and steady as you go. Growth in the U.S. has picked up, according to many watchers, notwithstanding claims that inflation remains below the Fed's target rate of two percent.
Wage pressures also remain low by some accounts. But others are saying that wages never receded enough during the The Great Recession to begin with and are thus starting from a level that won't take too much of a hike to pressure employers. Stock market pundits near and far of course have rolled out their historical charts that show the market continues to rise during the first few Fed rate hikes, especially if those increases are orderly. But history buffs are like people, they come in all shapes and biases. Today's Wall Street Journal "Ahead of The Tape" column quoted bond guru Jeffery Gundlach, saying "Yellen will be in no hurry to raise rates since U.S. economic growth is no stronger than in 2012." But today's Financial Times noted in three previous occasions, 1994, 1999 and 2004, the Fed jumped on higher rates when conditions were less favorable than they are today, notwithstanding that each situation is different. Confidence is a fragile thing. The longer the Fed waits to clearly signal what's on it's connect-the-dots mind, the greater the possibility investor confidence wanes. A Bank of America Merrill Lynch fund manager survey for September released earlier today cited the second quarter of next year as "48% expect the central bank
to deliver its first rate hike then, up from 38% a month earlier"
The end of the Fed's asset purchase gig, set to end next month, is actually a statement about declining slack left in the bag. Sitting atop a $4.4 trillion bond portfolio and after five years of look-no-hands-zero interest rates, there's more than enough room for some unpleasant surprises. t. man hatter
Investors might not have to wait past Wednesday's Fed FOMC meeting and the Swiss rate decision Thursday for some volatility. According to the Wall Street Journal, Fed Chair Janet Yellen when she was vice chair at the Fed was "an unabashed advocate of easy money who pressed colleagues to embrace her view." Leopards aren't reputed to change their spots, but some apparently do. And Yellen seems to be one of them. As the head honcho, per the Journal, she now is taking a "more restrained consensus" view like her former boss Ben Bernanke. One of the things investors will be looking for is any change in the long-standing Fed phrase "considerable time." It's etched in investor psyches and the Fed knows it. It's been three years since the S&P 500 witnessed a 10% correction. That's a party few want to walk away from. Unification is a lot like new stuff; it hardly ever goes down easily. So the most skillful tap dancing appears in order. Any riff here among members could cause a much bigger riff in the market. Though short-lived, most investors remember the first time bond tapering made its way into investors' lexicon. So now the wait is only a day away. Having said that, there is another meme making the rounds. One could call it the absence of any meaningful alternatives. With low interest rates in Europe and Japan looking as if they'll be hanging around a while money continues to flow into U.S. bonds and equities. Fear of rising interest rates and a stronger dollar have sent investors away from smaller caps stocks into safer havens like utilities and consumer necessities. Given those low rates in the EU and Japan, for stateside investors that means buying larger cap domestic companies rather than multinationals that don't face currency risks. For EU investors buying higher yielding U.S. bonds it's just the opposite. For certain, few things have been more anticipated and discussed than the eventual upswing in interest rates. But jittery investors are as jittery investors do. And any unclear road ahead will most likely make them even more jittery. t. man hatter
The Japanese market might have been closed Monday but that didn't stop much of the rest of Asian markets from taking a hit. With the Japanese market being closed it might have lessened the damage. It was Asian markets lowest level in over a month based on what many believe was China's recent negative economic news. The MSCI, the broadest Asian-Pacific index excluding Japan was down again, according to Reuters, hitting its lowest level since early August. Numbers released over the weekend showed weaker Chinese factory output in August accompanied by a slowdown in other sectors. Commodity currencies like the Australian dollar took the brunt of the blows as Chinese officials noted they would spend more efforts on employment and were comfortable with the current rate of growth. Translation to investors: further government stimulus will remain on hold for foreseeable future. Look no further than American-based Cliff Natural Resources (CLF). Cliffs manages and operates five iron oremines located in Michigan and Minnesota.
The U.S.-based mines currently have an annual rated capacity of 32.9
million gross tons of iron ore pellet production, representing 59
percent of total U.S. pellet production capacity to get an idea about the metal.
So far in 2014 iron ore prices are down around 40 percent, adding more pressure on commodity currencies and the concerns about a global recovery. Falling copper and energy markets have added to the weakening signs. About the only bright spots have been U.S. markets and the rally in the dollar. But that could change too pending this week's Yellen report. t. man hatter
The idea that the European Union in its current state will survive may be naive. Besides many politicians now within the EU who are calling for an easing of the three percent GDP rules, there are others who want the EU dismantled entirely. Some anti-EU groups have been gaining popularity. Catalonia and Scotland could also be bellwethers should they exit they current ties. If the ECB's latest magic fails to repair the EU's current ills, things could get interesting fast.
Alternative for Germany, founded last year with a platform of dismantling the euro area, was projected to take 12 percent in Brandenburg and 10 percent in Thuringia. The party, known as AfD, won its first state parliament seats in Saxony last month.
“This gives us huge momentum,” party leader Bernd Lucke said in televised comments. “We won’t just sit back and let the other parties spout their empty rhetoric.”
In a sign of a possible shift of the political landscape in Europe’s biggest economy, the AfD’s ascent mirrors the decline of the Free Democratic Party, a traditional junior partner of both Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. Merkel has ruled out alliances with the AfD, which failed to win seats in national elections on its first try last September
We recently wrote a piece about fracking, "What the Frack Is Happening?"
It's a subject we've been writing about for a while now. Fracking as you know is much hated in many circles. States like New York have passed legislation to ban or halt the process. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a leftist Democrat, is reportedly waiting for one more study to decide fracking's future in the Empire State.
In Colorado a recent controversy about fracking was headed to November's ballot with the prospects of hurting the state's take from fracking fees and taxes until heavy-hitting local and national Colorado politicians did a one eighty.
It's easy to dislike something until one needs it. And that's why the story at this link is about fracking but it's also about something even more important to real people--hypocrisy of the worse kind, the bureaucratic-politically-driven kind.
Language as most of us realize to subject to misunderstandings. If
you've ever tried to make what you thought was a simple, innocuous
point to your significant other that turned into a
you-said-I-didn't-mean-that-but that's-what-it-sounded-like tussle you
know what we're talking about. Well, language will
certainly be on the plate of investors this week when the FOMC meets.
One of the things investors will be looking for is any hint of a change
in the Fed's so-called guidance about interest rates. Monday, September 15
US Economics (Time Zone: EDT)
08:30 Empire Manufacturing (Sep) - expected 16.00, prior 14.69 09:15 Industrial Production (Aug) - exp 0.3%, prior 0.4% 09:15 Capacity Utilization - exp 79.3%, prior 79.2% 11:00 Fed buying $950M-$1.15b Treasuries in 25 to 30-year range 11:30 Treasury to sell $24b 3-month bills, $23b 6-month bills
Global Economics (Time Zone: GMT)
09:00 EUR Eurozone Trade Balance
Earnings
No reports scheduled
Tuesday, September 16
US Economics (Time Zone: EDT)
08:30 Producer Price Index Final Demand (Aug) YoY - expected 1.8%, prior 1.7% -- MoM exp 0.0%, prior 0.1% 08:30 PPI Ex Food & Energy YoY - exp 1.8%, prior 1.6% -- MoM exp 0.1%, prior 0.2% 4:00 Net Long-term TIC Flows - prior -$18.7B 4:00 Total Net TIC Flows - prior -$153.5B 11:00 Fed buying $2b-$2.5b notes in 7 to 10-year range 11:30 Treasury to sell 4-week bills, $25b 52-week bills
Global Economics (Time Zone: GMT)
08:30 GBP CPI & PPI 09:00 EUR German ZEW Economic Sentiment 5:30am BoJ Kuroda speaks in Osaka
Earnings
After Adobe Systems (ADBE)
Wednesday, September 17
US Economics (Time Zone: EDT)
07:00 MBA Mortgage Purchase Index 08:30 Consumer Price Index YoY (Aug) - expected 1.9%, prior 2.0% -- MoM - exp 0.0%, prior 0.1% 08:30 CPI Ex Food & Energy YoY - exp 1.9%, prior 1.9% -- MoM - exp 0.2%, prior 0.1% 10:00 NAHB Housing Market Index (Sep) - exp 56, prior 55 2:00 FOMC Rate Decision 11:00 Fed to buy $350m-$450m TIPS in 5 to 30-year range
08:30 Initial Jobless Claims - expected 304K, prior 315K 08:30 Continuing Claims - prior 2487K 08:30 Housing Starts (Aug) - exp 1040K, prior 1093K 08:30 Building Permits - exp 1040K, prior 1052K 10:00 Philly Fed - exp 23.0, prior 28.0 12:00 Household Change in Net Worrth (2Q) 11:00 Fed to purchase $250m-$350m Treasuries in 10 to 17-year range 1:00 Treasury selling $13b 10-year TIPS (reopening)
Fedspeak
8:45am Yellen (dove, chair) speaks in Washington
Global Economics (Time Zone: GMT)
NZD GDP JPY Trade Balance 01:30 CNY China August Property Prices 07:30 CHF SNB Rate Decision 08:30 GBP Retail Sales 7:35am Kuroda speaks in Tokyo
Earnings
Before: ConAgra (CAG)
After: Oracle (ORCL) TIBCO Software (TIBX)
RiteAid (RAD) RedHat (RHT)
Friday, September 19
US Economics (Time Zone: EDT)
10:00 Leading Index (Aug) - expected 0.4%, prior 0.9%
Global Economics (Time Zone: GMT)
Japan Investors Purchases of Foreign Bonds/Stocks 04:30 JPY All Industry Activity Index (Jul) 06:00 EUR German PPI 12:30 CAD CPI 7:05am BoJ's Kuroda speaks
