Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Baby Bladeface
Good News For Trump? Not A Single "Credible Prediction" Has Him Winning Wisconsin
When it comes to predicting the trajectory of Trump's presidential campaign (in which he currently has a nearly 60% lead over Ted Cruz in number of delegates), "credible predictors", the media, pundits, and other self-appointed experts, have been dead wrong every step of the way, calling for his demise so many times even they themselves no longer believe their narrative.
No Rebound Here | Zero Hedge
The most important aspect of the US economy - consumption - appears to face a headwind as despite "awesome" jobs data, exuberant Manufacturing surveys, and talking heads fighting each other to come up with the most superlative superlatives for the US economy, UMIch exposes the fact that income growth expectations for Americans (the ones that are throwing their support behind Trump and Sanders) continues to slide. All that post-QE3 "hope" is gone... And Year-over-year shows no rebound here...
Rebutting Matt O'Brien's and the Washington Post's Misguided Attack on Gold
It is our mission to rebut any mainstream article that spreads misinformation about gold and/or shows a gross misunderstanding of monetary history. In Matt O’Brien’s “Wonkblog” in the Washington Post on February 23, 2016, titled “This might be Ted Cruz’s worst idea“, he does both. The ‘worst idea’ in this case refers to the Texas Senator’s view that it would be to the benefit of the US economy to return to a gold standard.
The Cyprus Template for Bail-ins Comes to Canada, Next Up the US
Canada will introduce legislation to implement a "bail-in" regime for systemically important banks that would shift some of the responsibility for propping up failing institutions to creditors. The proposed plan outlined in the federal budget released on Tuesday would allow authorities to convert eligible long-term debt of a failing lender into common shares in order to recapitalize the bank, allowing it to remain operating.
Philly Fed Spikes To 15-Month Highs (As New Orders Spike By Most 11 Years??)
It's March Madness in Philly. Thanks to the biggest jump in New Orders since Oct 2005, Philly Fed surged to 15-month highs (jumping from -2.8 to +12.4) crushiung expectations of -1.5. Number of employees improved mopdestly but remains in contraction but "hope" soared to 5 month highs led by exuberant expectations for capex and average workweek. Do you believe in miracles? The Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey suggests a pickup in general activity in March.
Deutsche Bank Tumbles As CEO Says Bank Won't Be Profitable This Year
Back in January, Deutsche Bank reported what were variously described as “horrible,” “grim” results. The net loss for 2015 came in at roughly $7 billion, the first annual loss since the crisis. The abysmal year was capped off by €2.1 billion of red ink in Q4 of which some €1.2 billion was attributable to litigation. The Q4 breakdown - which came a few days after CEO John Cryan initially reported how bad 2015 truly was - was a nightmare.
"This Is An Extremely Serious Problem" - Dollar Funding Shortage Hits Record In Japan
It was just over a year ago when we first observed a troubling development in the global currency funding arena: the global dollar funding shortage had come back after a 7 year hiatus, and "this time it was different." The reason for this observations was predicated in the collapse of USD basis swaps. This is what HPM said at the time: The decline in the cross currency swap basis across most USD pairs in recent months is raising questions regarding a shortage in dollar funding.
Caught On Tape: Sarah Palin Goes Crazy On "Punk-Ass Thuggery" At Trump Rallies
The former VP candidate endorsed the billionaire in January and was stumping for Trump in Florida on Monday, before saying she would be returning to Alaska to be with her husband Todd, who was apparently injured in a snow machine accident. In Tampa, Palin had a message for voters about just how valuable "time" is. Her husband's accident, she said, reminds her that "time" isn't something we can get back.
It's Not Just The Republican Party; The Corrupt, Cronyist Democratic Party Is Imploding Too
Anyone who thinks the Democratic Party isn't imploding for the exact same reasons the Republican party is imploding is purposefully ignoring reality. Legions of pundits are crawling out of the woodwork to gloat over the implosion of the Republican Party. Corrupt, crony-capitalist, Imperial over-reach--good riddance.
Why 1980 Matters
The trend is still your friend (for now)... S&P futures bounced perfectly off the short-squeeze ramp trendline today...at 1980 The question is, can it hold for the rest of the day, as bond yields collapse to the day's lows, credit decouples and oil is weak? Average: Your rating: None Average: 5 (2 votes)
Iron Ore 'Frenzy' Sends Dry Bulk Shipper Stock Up 340% In 2 Days
The "berserk" iron ore market has created a tsunami of utter idiocy and short-covering across many sectors, most egregiously - dry bulk shippers. DRYS is up 18%, DSX up 20%, and NM up 25%, but Eagle Bulk (EGLE) is the big winner as the mania underlying iron ore combined with an earlier filing said to amend forebearance as the company tries to find financing alternatives, spiked the stock up 340% in 2 days. Up 340% in 2 days... back to unchanged on the year... Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc.
Iran Pivots Toward Democracy As Moderates Sweep Elections
In what amounts to a referendum on President Hassan Rouhani’s leadership, voters in Tehran turned out overwhelmingly for moderates in closely watched parliamentary elections that may serve as an important signal for where Iran is headed. Pro-Rouhani candidates are set to sweep all 30 of Tehran’s parliamentary seats.
Keynesian Skeptics Ask "Can Binge Drinking Really Cure Alcoholism?"
Have you ever wondered who these people are? The people who decide how much capital should cost, how much credit and cash should be issued. You know, the twits who dream up QE, ZIRP and NIRP. Where do they come from? Who pays their wages? Where do they get these hair-brained ideas? Are they on medication? Sadly we probably know most of the answers... Central bankers are like alcoholics – drunk on stupidity and arrogance; and, like a suffering alcoholic, reticent to address the real problem.
Japan Hits Demographic Tipping Point With First Official Population Decline In History
As troubling as Japan's deflationary, and now negative interest rate, economic quagmire is, the biggest threat facing Japan has little to do with its balance sheet and everything to do with its demographics, for the simple reason that not only is Japan's population the oldest it has ever been, as well as the oldest on average in the entire world, but is now also officially shrinking.
And It's Gone: Chinese CFO Corzines 1 Billion Yuan From His Own Company
At the end of 2015 we wrote about what may have been the most amusing incident of Chinese corporate fraud in recent years, one in which China Animal Healthcare, whose stock was suspended nearly a year prior and which, was just waiting for its delayed audited financials to be released so its stock can resume trading.
Here Is The Reason For The Sudden Buying Spree
Deja vu all over again. Just as we saw after yesterday's "glitch" in POMO unleashed a huge short-squeeze buying rampage, so today's "technical issue"-delayed 7Y Auction has sparked panic-buying in stocks.
Consumer Confidence Crashes To 23-Year Low In Norway As Growth Grinds To A Halt
When last we checked in on Norway, we outlined what we called the country’s “currency conundrum.” The economy desperately needs stimulus in the face of the inexorable decline in crude, but here's the rub as we described it last month: In order to fund the fiscal stimulus the economy needs to stay on its feet, Norway is tapping into its sovereign wealth fund.
China Created More Debt In January Than The GDP Of Norway, Austria Or The UAE
The world let out a collective gasp of shock last night when the PBOC announced that in January, China had created an absolutely gargantuan CNY3.4 trillion in new total debt (Total Social Financing) - or about $520 billion - more than 50% higher than expected, of which CNY2.1 trillion was in the form of new loans. The breakdown of that massive number is shown in the table below: What happened? Here is Goldman's explanation: January's credit data was exceedingly strong.
Why Aren't Presidential Candidates Discussing Who They Would Pick For Fed Chairman?
The large and eclectic field of presidential contenders is in full-out campaign-promise mode, as voters demand positions on everything from ISIS to ethanol. With the economy so fragile, now might be a good time to seek commitments on who our next president will appoint to the Federal Reserve, and statements on what the proper role of the Fed should be. Recent history is too important to ignore.
Oil Commentary 2 16 2016 (Video)
Copyright ©2009-2016 ZeroHedge.com/ABC Media, LTD; All Rights Reserved. Zero Hedge is intended for Mature Audiences. Familiarize yourself with our legal and use policies every time you engage the site: they're updated constantly without notice. Don't poke around on the site without reviewing our Cookie Policy; you expressly agree to our serving cookies unless they're disabled on your browser (instructions included). Happy surfing. Review our notice on Racial Discrimination.
Deutsche Bank Is Back: 5 Year CDS Soar To Record High
"Worse than Lehman" is how one European bond market trader described the carnage this week as the brief respite that ECB monetization and debt-buyback rumors provided yesterday have morphed into utter destruction this morning. European (and US) banks are a sea of contagious red with Deutsche Bank the tip of the collapse spear. Credit risk on Deutsche has exploded this morning with Sub CDS trading up 85bps to a record high 540bps... eerily reminiscent of the pre-Lehman bankruptcy week in 2008.
JPMorgan: "It's Hard To Imagine An Uglier Morning"
Here is this morning's market update from JPM's Adam Crisafulli It's hard to imagine an uglier morning. The two things markets hate most right now (neg. central bank rates and bad bank headlines) occurred overnight as the Riksbank dropped its rate further into neg. territory and SocGen put up bad earnings/guidance.
Another Data Point To Ignore: Dividend Cuts Have Surpassed 2008
Being "paid to wait" in high-yielding stocks last year was a death by 394 cuts. As Bloomberg reports, the number of dividend reductions far surpassed 2008, almost 100 more than at the outset of the Great Recession - a time when the implosion of Lehman caused equity markets to plummet in the later stages of the third quarter.
The End Of Plan A: The Big Reset & $8000 Gold
Willem Middlekoop, author of The Big Reset – The War On Gold And The Financial Endgame, believes the current international monetary system has entered its last term and is up for a reset. Having predicted the collapse of the real estate market in 2006, (while Ben Bernanke didn't), Middlekoop asks (rhetorically) -can the global credit expansion 'experiment' from 2002 – 2008, which Bernanke completely underestimated, be compared to the global QE 'experiment' from 2008 – present?
What If Obama Believed In Individual Liberty & Free Markets?
President Barack Obama delivered his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016, and devoted most of the time to defending his “legacy” of bigger and more intrusive government, with an emphasis on the other aspects of personal and social life he wished could come under the blanket of more political paternalism, if only there was enough time before he leaves office on January 20, 2017.
BoJ Preview: "The Need For A Kuroda Bazooka Is Growing"
With The Fed definitely off the table, China promising nothing but daily liquidity drips, and Europe unable to do anything but jawbone, the world's bullish equity market investors are anxiously trawling for a central bank to save the world. Tonight's BoJ meeting could well be it - though judging by their past epic failures - it will be anything but successful as QE23 looms in Japan.
Gold Soars Above Key Technical Level Near 2-Month Highs
Gold futures just broke out of their recent range, pushing well above the key 100-day moving average and testing towards $1120 - the highest since early November. It appears precious metals are signaling - as they have done since mid-December - that The Fed will be forced to admit it is wrong - just as Jeffrey Gundlach warned. Is gold pricing in a policy error? Breaking the crucial 100-day moving average (after testing its 3 times) Because the money markets are...
Why A Former Fed Official Fears A Global Meltdown
Authored by Gerald O'Driscoll, former vice president at The Dallas Fed, posteed op-ed at The Wall Street Journal, Are we headed for another global financial crisis? The market convulsions of the past week reflected a continuation of a market selloff that began on the first trading day of 2016. Investors have reasons to be fearful—but not terrified. This year is likely to be one of financial crises in industries and countries around the world.
How The Current Sell-Off Stacks Up To All Previous Bear Markets
Based on 43 large sell-offs in the world's major equity markets, Morgan Stanley gauges how the current market slide compares to bear markets and bull corrections through history. While they have tended to last about 190 business days, with drawdowns around 30%, the current environment is considerably weaker than the typical bear market beginning...
The Secret Behind The Next Global Crash
The World Economic Forum in Davos is submerged by a tsunami of denials, and even non-denial denials, stating there won’t be a follow-up to the Crash of 2008. Yet there will be. And the stage is already set for it. Selected Persian Gulf traders, and that includes Westerners working in the Gulf confirm that Saudi Arabia is unloading at least $1 trillion in securities and crashing global markets under orders from the Masters of the Universe – those above the lame presidency of Barack Obama.
A Simple Warning
We like to consider the longest time periods available to find reliable historical trends in data series. Of these, the price/earnings ratio (p/e ratio) of the S&P 500 index is instructive to study. Major bull markets in equities tend to start from heavily disfavored markets; those with earnings multiples (p/e ratios) in the single digits. In a sense, investors have to give up hope in the stock market before it can regain popularity.
The Fed's Stunning Admission Of What Happens Next
Following an epic global stock rout, one which has wiped out trillions in market capitalization, it has rapidly become a consensus view (even by staunch Fed supporters such as the Nikkei Times) that the Fed committed a gross policy mistake by hiking rates on December 16, so much so that this week none other than former Fed president Kocherlakota openly mocked the Fed's credibility when he pointed out the near record plunge in forward breakevens suggesting the market has called the Fed's bluff...
"China Banks Seem To Be Doing Whatever They Can To Avoid Paying Anyone In Dollars"
Getting Money Out of China: What The Heck is Happening? Regular readers of our blog probably know that our basic mantra about getting money out of China is that if you have consistently follow all of China’s laws, it ought to be no problem. Not true lately. In the last week or so, our China lawyers have probably received more “money problem” calls than in the year before that. And unlike most of these sorts of calls, the problems are brand new to us.
The Map That Will Change The Way You See The World
How do you view your country relative to others? Chances are if it’s based on most world maps, your view is distorted. As the world turns its gaze to the rich and pretty people in Davos this coming week, The World Economic Forum unleashed the following cartogram, created by Reddit user TeaDranks, that could change your entire perception of the world. Cartograms scale a region’s geographic space according to a particular attribute and in this case each square now represents 500,000 people.
How Did Americans Get So Fat, In Seven Charts
Americans are fat. They are so fat very few would even bother to click on a hyperlink in this article explaining how fat they are, so instead we will present an animated chart showing the severity of the US obesity problem over the past 30 years. Cartoons aside, here are the facts: today two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
Complacent Correction Cause For Concern?
Despite recent stock market carnage, the reaction by the VIX has been a relative yawner. Well, the New Year hangover continues. Another day, another drubbing in the stock market. With indices pushing double digit losses just 8 days into the new year, it certainly seems reasonable to expect some panic on the part of investors. However, at least based on one metric, market participants have remained relatively calm – even unprecedentedly so.
Frontrunning: January 12
Drugmaker Shire Plc agreed to a $32 billion takeover of Baxalta International Inc on Monday, catapulting it to a leading position in treating rare diseases. European commissioner for digital economy, Gunther Oettinger, has called on a meeting with Europe's 10 largest telecoms groups to speed up and implement a strategy to deploy next generation 5G mobile services.
Albert Edwards Hits Peak Pessimism: "S&P Will Fall 75%", Global Recession Looms
2016 has thus far been a year characterized by remarkable bouts of harrowing volatility as the ongoing devaluation of the yuan, plunging crude prices, and geopolitical uncertainty wreak havoc on fragile, inflated markets. With asset prices still sitting near nosebleed levels after seven years of bubble blowing by a global cabal of overzealous central planners with delusions of Keynesian grandeur, some fear a dramatic unwind is in the cards and that this one will be the big one, so to speak.
Suicide Bomber Detonates In Central Istanbul Square: At Least 10 Dead
From the time AKP lost its absolute majority in parliament in June of last year, Turkey has been a hotbed for violence. A suicide bomber killed more than two dozen people in Suruc the month after the elections, setting the stage for six months of turmoil including a deadly blast in Ankara that left more than 100 dead in October. Some have suggested the Erdogan regime staged the attacks in an effort to show Turks why a “strong” AKP government is necessary to keep the "peace".
Protesters Set The Streets On Fire In Bahrain After Saudis Kill Top Shiite Cleric
In what was billed as an effort to rid the world of 47 “terrorists”, the Saudis killed dozens of al-Qaeda affiliates and four Shiites who stood accused of shooting policemen in the anti-government protests which broke out during the Arab Spring. Among the Shiites killed was prominent cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The Sheikh was an outspoken supporter of the anti-government movement and his death drew sharp condemnation from Iran, Hezbollah, and the Houthis on Saturday.
"New Research Suggests [Fluoridating Water] Is Dramatically Misguided"
Preface: One of our pet peeves is when erroneous groupthink persists even in the face of contradictory evidence. As shown below, water fluoridation is based on very shaky science. And yet – despite the science – the big dental associations in the U.S. and other countries continue to push it as safe and effective.
S&P 500 Opens In The Red For 2015 - Why 2058.90 Is The Most Important Number In The World
The S&P 500 closed 2014 at 2058.90 and is currently trading below that level as the market opens. For the sake of faith in The Fed's "control" and trust in central planners ability to do "whatever it takes," it appears NYFed better "get back to work" soon to save the world. Never mind that almost everything else is lower for 2015. Average: Your rating: None Average: 5 (2 votes)
15 News Stories From 2015 You Should Have Heard About But Probably Didn't
Submitted by Carey Wedler via TheAntiMedia.org, In 2015, the iron fist of power clamped down on humanity, from warfare to terrorism (I repeat myself) to surveillance, police brutality, and corporate hegemony. The environment was repeatedly decimated, the health of citizens was constantly put at risk, and the justice system and media alike were perverted to serve the interests of the powers that be.
Frontrunning: December 30
- DuPont Co plans to cut 1,700 jobs in its home state of Delaware as it pursues $700 million in cost savings ahead of its planned merger with Dow Chemical Co. (http://on.wsj.com/1RQ3HVv) - Palantir Technologies Inc has no interest in going public. Some of its earliest investors, employees and even Palantir co-founders are trying to cash in anyway.
Turkey Foils New Year's Eve ISIS Suicide Plot
Suruc is a mere stone’s throw away from the Syrian border and from Kobani, where many of those killed were planning on assisting in a rebuilding effort. The attack was quickly attributed to Islamic State. Two days later, two Turkish police officers were killed by the PKK in Ceylanpinar. Kurdish militants said the men had cooperated with ISIS.
Why Energy Investors Are Hoping Saudi Arabia And Iran's Oil Price Forecasts Are Dead Wrong
Yesterday, when Saudi Arabia revealed its "draconian" 2016 budget, boosting gasoline prices by 40%, while trimming welfare programs after forecasting a collapse in oil revenue (even while allocating the biggest part of government spending in next year’s budget to defense and security) Bloomberg reported that "the kingdom’s 2016 budget is probably based on crude prices of about $29 a barrel, according Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment Co." Shortly thereafter Iran's Petroleum Minister Bijan...
Caught On Tape: Russian Fighter Jets Destroy Huge ISIS Oil Convoy In Transit To Turkey
One month ago, after a farcial year-long campaign to "destroy" ISIS, which achieved absolutely nothing but made the Islamic State grow bigger and stronger, culminating with the numerous terrorist attacks in the month of November, former CIA deputy director Michael Morell told Charlie Rose on PBS that the reason the US had never actually gone after the lifeblood of the ISIS regime, its oil supply chain, infrastructure and products, was because "we didn’t want to do environmental damage, and we...
These Are The Top 20 Companies By Market Cap Over The Past Decade
There are many observations to be made about the dramatic shifts shown in the chart below which demonstrates the top 20 companies by market cap over the past decade, but what, to us, stands out the most are two things: after a decade of being either the world's biggest or second largest market capitalized company, Exxon has tumbled to 5th spot, something it did not do even during the peak of the financial crisis; and after five years of being in the top spot, it is time for someone to finally...
Atlanta Fed Q4 GDP Forecast Tumbles To Lowest Yet, Sliding To 1.3%
Moments ago, after the latest disappointing durable goods report, the Goldman economist team was the first to cut its Q4 GDP forecast from 2.2% to 1.9% (and down from 2.4% yesterday), saying "the durable goods report implied weaker capital spending and inventory accumulation for the quarter; details on November consumer spending were also slightly weaker than we had projected." But even with this downward revision by the traditionally optimistic sellside, it was clear the real number would be...
Mapping The Ongoing 'World War' In Syria & Iraq
Copyright ©2009-2015 ZeroHedge.com/ABC Media, LTD; All Rights Reserved. Zero Hedge is intended for Mature Audiences. Familiarize yourself with our legal and use policies every time you engage the site: they're updated constantly without notice. Don't poke around on the site without reviewing our Cookie Policy; you expressly agree to our serving cookies unless they're disabled on your browser (instructions included). Happy surfing. Review our notice on Racial Discrimination.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Baby
Contact Baby, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack