INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 12:30 pm

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Post n°751

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 12:30 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuGBwHUPDVo
03.30.2016 / Dr. Jim Willie ZIRP / QE Destruction, Police State, more...

Published on Mar 30, 2016
ZIRP/QE monetary policy as a USDollar death warrant in a destructive end game, a general review of the Gold market with Sandhu's observations about the gold-bank investment policy to use gold kept out of the system like in temples, some events surrounding Turkey & Syria with respect to Russia with large scale black market oil and narcotics movement, the new extreme phenomenon of
Pentagon fighting hot war versus Langley mercenaries with implications, the staged terrorist events in Paris and Belgium with official security agency involvement, and the secretive shipments of Arab refugees into the United States using UPS aircraft (middle of night flights)

Once the price setting goes live in a truly physical commodity exchange, will we see the rise of gold and silver to their proper historic levels? What producer of metals will want to deal with the US COMEX? They will go to where the price fixing is better.

Will we then begin to see true price discovery of gold and silver once the price setting is out of the western criminal price setting system?

“It is likely that the 10 banks that are official market makers in the system set up by the SGE in January to facilitate interbank gold trading will participate in the yuan-denominated fixing, one source said…. more …

http://www.bulliondesk.com/gold-news/update-china-plans-to-launch-yuan-denominated-gold-fix-april-19-sources-109581/#sthash.GJ7srrEV.dpuf“

http://investmentwatchblog.com/end-of-the-us-dollar-april-19-china-plans-to-launch-yuan-denominated-gold-fix-on-april-19-sge-the-shanghai-gold-exchange-is-going-live-april-19/

Last edited by Carol on Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:27 pm

Carol

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Post n°752

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:27 pm

America's superrich are hiding trillions of dollars in plain sight - What you need to know!

Forget Panama.

America’s superrich are hiding their wealth from taxes quite legally here in the U.S., without having to send it to Panama, or the British Virgin Islands, or any other sunny place for shady people.

The big news this week in finance has been the so-called Panama Papers, the massive leak of documents from dubious Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, an expert in offshore shell companies and tax-avoidance maneuvers.

All sorts of famous foreign names have been caught up in the ongoing dump of documents online. British, Russian and Chinese politicians have been named. The prime minister of Iceland has resigned. Police have launched investigations in multiple countries
.
But if you’re American, it’s all a distraction.

A country’s laws express its values. Our tax laws place people who work for a living at the bottom of the pile — and those who inherit money at the top.

Here in the U.S., the oligarchs are hiding trillions of dollars in plain sight, and it can hardly be touched — thanks to the generous provisions of the U.S. tax code.

Say what you like about our Congress, but it’s the best legislature money can buy.

The furor over the Panama Papers is obscuring this much greater scandal.
In a nutshell: Working stiffs are actually taxed, proportionately, much more heavily than the superrich.

Income is taxed, but wealth isn’t. Someone earning $50,000 a year must pay payroll, state and federal taxes. Someone with $10 billion in assets needn’t pay any taxes at all. Indeed, many of the super-rich successfully tap into their wealth tax-free by just borrowing against it.
Even if they decide to cash in some of their capital gains, the tax rates are generous.

The top rate of long-term capital gains is 20%. Meanwhile, a kid busing tables on minimum wage is paying at least that in payroll, state and federal income taxes. (Payroll taxes are 15.3%, but they hide half of it from the wage earner by saying the “employer” pays it — which is like saying we’re only draining that water from the other end of the swimming pool.)

The rich can shelter fortunes by making “charitable donations” to their own foundations.
The most obscene of our onshore Panama-style capers, of course, is the “carried interest” loophole. Someone makes $10 million a year running a hedge fund or private equity fund; you’d think he’d pay 39.6% in income tax, right? Wrong. He pays nothing, so long as the salary is paid into the fund he’s running.

And he can roll that up, year after year, like a massive, free 401(k). And when he cashes it out, eventually, he doesn’t pay 39.6% either. He pays 20% because it’s not “income”; it’s “capital gains.”

You couldn’t make it up. It’s one of those laws they get away with because when you try explaining it to the average voter, they refuse to believe you.

Why would anyone go to Panama when you’ve got this here in the USA? Why go out for hamburger when you can eat steak at home?

It doesn’t stop there, either. Pulitzer-winning writer David Cay Johnston’s “Perfectly Legal” is a must-read guide to the shenanigans. As Johnston has pointed out, a rich property tycoon like Donald Trump could pretty much avoid taxes altogether by taking non-cash “depreciation” charges against his cash income each year.

You? Not so much.

When it comes time to die, the super-wealthy have ways and means of making sure their kids don’t have to pay too much tax on the vast amounts they inherit. These include the creative use of estate and gift tax exemptions, life insurance and limited liability corporations. The top rate of estate tax is theoretically 40%, but in reality the children of the super-rich can pay a fraction of that.

A country’s laws express its values. Our tax laws place people who work for a living at the bottom of the pile — and those who inherit money at the top.

According to the IRS, the average person in the top 400 taxpayers earned $264 million but paid just 22% in taxes. That was actually higher than in previous years. And it still grossly misrepresents the picture, because many of the super-, super-rich don’t even feature in the top 400 for reasons just explained.

The entire discussion of taxes here in the U.S. is a bait-and-switch. Working people — particularly the upper-middle class — get whacked fairly hard with taxes. For them, the overall tax burden is lower than in Europe but not enormously so.

It’s the rich, especially the parasitic rich, who get the biggest breaks. For them, America is “Panama North.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/americas-superrich-are-hiding-trillions-of-dollars-in-plain-sight/ar-BBrtZVo?li=BBnbfcL

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:31 pm

Carol

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Post n°753

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:31 pm

Fingerprints to be tested as ‘currency’
8:34 pm, April 08, 2016
The Yomiuri Shimbun

Starting this summer, the government will test a system in which foreign tourists will be able to verify their identities and buy things at stores using only their fingerprints.

The government hopes to increase the number of foreign tourists by using the system to prevent crime and relieve users from the necessity of carrying cash or credit cards. It aims to realize the system by the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The experiment will have inbound tourists register their fingerprints and other data, such as credit card information, at airports and elsewhere.

Tourists would then be able to conduct tax exemption procedures and make purchases after verifying their identities by placing two fingers on special devices installed at stores.

The Inns and Hotels Law requires foreign tourists to show their passports when they check into ryokan inns or hotels.

The government plans to substitute fingerprint authentication for that requirement.

A total of 300 souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels and other establishments will participate in the experiment. They are located in areas that are popular among foreign tourists such as Hakone, Kamakura, Yugawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, and Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The government plans to gradually expand the experiment by next spring, to cover areas including tourist sites in the Tohoku region and urban districts in Nagoya.

It hopes to realize the system throughout the country, including Tokyo, by 2020.

Introducing the system is part of the government’s efforts to increase the annual number of foreign tourists to 40 million by 2020.

It is also aiming to demonstrate the country’s advanced technology by having tourists use the system when they visit Japan for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Data concerning how and where foreign tourists use the system will be managed by a consultative body led by the government, after the data is converted to anonymous big data.

After analyzing tourists’ movements and their spending habits, the data is expected to be utilized to devise policies on tourism and management strategies for the tourism industry.

However, there are concerns that tourists will be uneasy about providing personal information such as fingerprints.

The experiment will examine issues including how to protect one’s privacy and information management.

Attempts to put similar systems into practical use are under way at a bank and a theme park in Japan.

In October last year, the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, introduced on a trial basis a similar system in which visitors can make payments with just their fingerprints at about 30 stores and restaurants.

An official from the theme park said, “The system has been well received by customers, including those with children, since it saves them the trouble of taking their wallets out.”

By the end of this month at the earliest, Tokyo-based Aeon Bank will become the first bank in Japan to test a system in which customers will be able to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines using only fingerprints for identification and omitting the use of cash cards.

“The system is also superior in the area of security, such as preventing people from impersonating our customers,” an official from the bank said.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002859676

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:58 pm

Carol

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Post n°754

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:58 pm

Cover-up? Germans refuse to release full Panama Papers
APRIL 7, 2016

The so-called “Panama Papers” revealed the offshore dealings of powerful and dangerous figures with a history of retaliating against their enemies — including Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of organized crime groups.

Now the German newspaper that first obtained the Panama Papers, a vast trove of documents on offshore companies, suddenly announced today that it will not publish all the files — and it’s left many wondering why.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung received the documents from an unidentified source more than a year ago and shared at least parts of them with dozens of other media outlets around the world. Since the first reports were published Sunday, prominent politicians, celebrities and business people have had their offshore business dealings dragged into the spotlight, prompting a flurry of public outrage, official investigations and fierce denials from some of those named.

At a press conference Thursday, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the complete set of 11.5 million documents “won’t be made available to the public or to law enforcement agencies.”

The newspaper said it doesn’t want to act as an “extended arm” for prosecutors or tax investigators. But reporters and editors at the paper have long known they were playing a dangerous game of chicken with some of the most powerful people in the world — and it looks like they’re finally tapping out.

The documents relate to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which helps create shell companies for the world’s rich and famous. The firm said it has filed a criminal complaint alleging that the data was stolen in a hacking attack.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it didn’t know how the anonymous source obtained the data, but that he or she had expressed “a very strong moral impulse” and wanted to make “these crimes public.”

Panama’s government on Wednesday accused wealthy nations of unfairly attacking the Central American country while ignoring their own failings.

President Juan Carlos Varela said an international committee of experts would be created to recommend ways to boost transparency in the Central American country’s offshore financial industry. Experts say that while offshore companies can be used for tax evasion and money laundering, there are also legitimate and legal grounds for creating them.

German lawmakers said Thursday they plan to hold an urgent debate on the offshore leaks next week.

“The revelations in the Panama Papers have triggered a broad discussion among politicians and the public about necessary consequences,” said Christine Lambrecht, a lawmaker for the Social Democratic Party that is part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition.

Responding to readers’ queries about the absence of prominent German or American politicians in the reports, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said such names haven’t yet been found in the documents.

It said the documents include copies of the passports of 200 Americans, and about 3,500 shareholders in offshore companies listed addresses in the United States.

“One possible reason why comparatively few Americans appear in the documents could be that U.S. citizens have no reason to contact a law firm in Panama,” the paper said. “That’s because offshore companies can easily be created in U.S. states such as Wyoming, Delaware or Nevada.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.
https://thehornnews.com/cover-germans-refuse-release-full-panama-papers/

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:15 pm

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Post n°755

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:15 pm

European Banks Crash For 4th Straight Week

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016 - 12:18

Even with today's 3% surge - the most in a month - on the heels of Unicredit's CEO proclaiming that EU banks are "intensely" looking for fundin solutions, European banking stocks have collapsed for a 4th straight week for the worst losses since 2012.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-08/european-banks-crash-4th-straight-week

Last edited by Carol on Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:16 pm

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Post n°756

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:16 pm

FX Volatility Soars To 4-Year Highs As Central Bankers Lose Control

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016 - 12:06

Since The Fed ended QE3, the world's FX markets have become increasingly turmoily as the loss of Janet's foot on the throat of volatility sends chaotic sprres through carry traders' P&L. In fact, after rising 6 days in a row amid Japanese Yen strength, Global FX rates are the most turbulent since January 2012.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-08/fx-volatility-soars-4-year-highs-central-bankers-lose-control

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:18 pm

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Post n°757

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:18 pm

Consumer Spending Falls Again In March According To Latest Credit Card Data

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016 - 09:37

While big banks blame the collapse in Q1 GDP on "residual seasonality" (more on that later), with BofA recently slashing its Q1 estimate from as much as 2.7% to just 0.2%, the reality is that something is not well with the US consumer. The latest proof of this comes from the most recent Bank of America credit and debt card spending data, which reveals that sales were once again down 0.1% yoy.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-08/bad-news-rebound-hopes-consumer-spending-fails-rise-according-card-spending-data

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 5:51 pm

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Post n°758

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 5:51 pm

Frontrunning: April 8
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016

Stocks up as investors look to end bruising week on a high (Reuters)
Treasuries Set for Two-Week Gain; Greenspan Warns of Global Risk (BBG)
Yellen, alongside Fed alum, says rate hikes on track (Reuters)
Oil Prices Lifted by Fed Comments on U.S. Economy (WSJ)
China says G20 summit should be about economics, not politics (Reuters)
Cameron Accused of Hypocrisy for Stake in Father's Offshore Fund (BBG)
US government to challenge MetLife ‘too big to fail’ decision (FT)
Kerry visits Iraq, showing support for embattled PM (Reuters)
The Unraveling of a Wall Street Scion (WSJ)
How Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen has made al Qaeda stronger – and richer (Reuters)
Pope calls for compassionate Church open to 'imperfect' Catholics (Reuters)
The Art of Calling Brazil's Currency Rally From 6,700 Miles Away (BBG)
War of Words Escalates in Democratic Race (WSJ)
Travails of the active fund manager may only just be beginning (FT)
For NATO trainers, race against time to prepare Afghan troops to go it alone (Reuters)
No Love for Swiss Stocks Despite Record Payouts Versus Bonds (BBG)
ExIm Bank political stand-off robs Boeing of aircraft deals (FT)
Damage Extensive for Crippled U.S. Littoral Ship in Singapore (BBG)
Trump, under fire on many fronts, expands campaign team (Reuters)
Fed's Williams eyes two 2016 rate hikes: Fox Business Network (Reuters)
‘Batman v Superman’ Seen Earning Less Profit Than Superman Alone (BBG)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ
- After losing a boardroom clash that pitted him against one of America's best-known hedge-fund investors, the 83-year-old chief of the Seven & i Holdings Co, Toshifumi Suzuki, said he would step down. (http://on.wsj.com/1RTKaiP)
- Compensation for chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies fell more sharply last year than any year since the financial crisis, as weaker corporate performance slowed cash bonuses and accounting rules pared back pension growth. (http://on.wsj.com/22grTRO)
- Uber Technologies Inc agreed to pay up to $25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2014. (http://on.wsj.com/1STYH0n)
- Federal regulators said they would seek to revamp their oversight of an obscure but important part of the telecommunications market - the bulk data service - that telecom companies provide to businesses, including each other. (http://on.wsj.com/25OxCTm)
- With Wednesday's agreement to amend terms with its loan holders, Valeant Inc has staved off the prospect of default in the near term. Valeant has to now pay a higher interest rate on its $11.6 billion in loans, as well as a fee. (http://on.wsj.com/22gSJt4)
- General Motors Co's design chief, Ed Welburn, is retiring after more than four decades with the Detroit auto maker, handing the reins to a company insider, who is currently leading vehicle-styling efforts for international markets. (http://on.wsj.com/25OyOWS)

FT
Prime Minister David Cameron has disclosed that he had a stake in a fund set up in Panama by his father. (http://on.ft.com/1SDDvsP)
Former chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata defended the decision to sell its UK steel operations calling them "underinvested and overmanned". (http://on.ft.com/1SDDDss)
A former Barclays banker has tried to implicate three senior Barclays executives, claiming they were aware of the practice. (http://on.ft.com/1SDDLbn)
A British vote to leave the EU would "gravely weaken" Europe and could trigger the end of the continent's influence as a superpower, former prime minister John Major said. (http://on.ft.com/1SDE2es)

NYT
- Investment firm Starboard Value disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it planned to fight for a presence on the board of DepoMed Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company. The hedge fund said it had built up a 9.8 percent stake in the drug maker. (http://nyti.ms/1NcytBP)
- Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said that she did not regret the decision to start raising interest rates in December. "I certainly don't regard it as a mistake," Yellen said. (http://nyti.ms/23gNE9Z)
- Last month, the Indian government had issued additional rules governing foreign ownership of e-commerce companies operating in the country. The government added regulations related to pricing and the sourcing of sales on sites that Amazon.com Inc and several rivals appear to violate. (http://nyti.ms/1qxUwi3)
- General Motors Co on Thursday said it had settled a wrongful death case that was set to go to trial next month as part of ongoing litigation over the company's defective ignition switches. (http://nyti.ms/1oHxinx)

Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Ottawa and Quebec face a possible new hurdle in their efforts to help Bombardier Inc and its troubled C Series aircraft - the U.S. government. The Obama administration has put the federal and provincial governments on notice that it considers the planned bailout of the Montreal-based company a worrisome barrier to trade, according to an annual compendium of dubious foreign practices by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. (http://bit.ly/1Vctn03)
** Alberta can no longer fuel the growth of Canada's economy without the federal government's help building a new pipeline, Premier Rachel Notley warned in a televised address on Thursday. (http://bit.ly/23ojtu6)

NATIONAL POST
** Postmedia Network Canada Corp has formed a special committee of independent directors to help "explore and review alternatives" aimed at improving its capital structure and liquidity as steep debt repayments weigh on the media company despite significant cost-cutting. (http://bit.ly/23ojZbx)
** Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd has attracted a powerful opponent to its proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern Corp - the U.S. Army. In a letter to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which must give its approval before any merger can go ahead, the army argues the proposed takeover raises national security concerns since both railroads own "hundreds of miles" of strategic rail lines and serve major military installations. (http://bit.ly/1S18xxg)

Britain
The Times
The average price of a house in the UK has jumped 10.1 per cent over the year to March, the fastest price growth since July 2014, according to Halifax house price index. (http://bit.ly/23mlPJL)
The yen rose to its highest level in 17 months on Thursday, squeezing Japanese exports as Tokyo authorities and independent economists struggled to understand the continuing failure of negative interest rates to tame the surging currency. (http://bit.ly/1ULPpab)

The Guardian
A sharp drop in British productivity has cast further doubt over the country's economic prospects and will add to pressure on the government to prove its productivity plan can bear fruit. (http://bit.ly/1PW9brm)
Engineers working in France's nuclear power industry have issued an impassioned defence of EDF's 18 billion pound plan to build two reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. (http://bit.ly/1S04nWs)

The Telegraph
Steve Rowe, the new chief executive of Marks & Spencer , has branded the retailer's long-suffering clothing division "unsatisfactory" after posting another slump in sales. (http://bit.ly/1MTPw0C)
European nations could launch a trade war against Britain if it votes to leave the EU, according to JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. (http://bit.ly/1S62ISp)

Sky News
Pinewood, the film studio that is home to James Bond and Harry Potter, is drawing up proposals to enter the cinema industry by buying a stake in one of the UK's boutique chains. (http://bit.ly/1V0ctlQ)
Mark Yallop, former Deutsche Bank and UBS executive, is in the frame to become the next chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). (http://bit.ly/1SgdqiU)

The Independent
Banks and other financial firms have been told they have a week to check if they are linked to Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers leaks, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Thursday. (http://ind.pn/23kW3FO)
The controversial offshore fund founded by the Prime Minister's late father is failing to pay off for its wealthy backers after losing thousands of dollars in value this year due to a string of bad bets. (http://ind.pn/1qxi0DN)

Last edited by Carol on Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:57 pm; edited 3 times in total

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 8:55 pm

Carol

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Post n°759

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 8:55 pm

"The Greater Depression Has Started" - Comparing 1930s & Today

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016

The Greater Depression has started. Most people don't know itbecause they can neither confront the thought nor understand the differences between this one and the last. As a climax approaches, many of the things that you've built your life around in the past are going to change and change radically.

Read more: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-08/greater-depression-has-started-comparing-1930s-today

Last edited by Carol on Sat Apr 09, 2016 2:20 pm; edited 2 times in total

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:03 pm

Carol

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Post n°760

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:03 pm

WTF Chart Of The Weekend: Down Is The New Up
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016 20:40 -0400
Does anyone really believe this is sustainable?

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 20160408_WTF_0

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 20160408_WTF_0

Chart: Bloomberg
The longer the 'visible' hand of stabilization maintains the mirage, the bigger the inevitable collapse. Simply put, anything that can end, will! And in this case, badly...

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

B.B.Baghor Sat Apr 09, 2016 1:12 pm

B.B.Baghor

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Post n°761

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

B.B.Baghor Sat Apr 09, 2016 1:12 pm

"Prime Minister David Cameron has disclosed that he had a stake in a fund set up in Panama by his father".
(http://on.ft.com/1SDDvsP)

Would this cause voters to jump off the fence on the Brexit side? I do hope so, for I'm looking forward to
become a UK resident and be free from the EU. I haven't heard anyone here in the UK yet, in praise of the
prime minister. Mostly there's scepticism and indifference, a shrugging of shoulders. UK residents live in a
small world often, not much interests other than the cake recipe, the work in the garden, the cows being
milked and the telly. British sitcoms with preprogrammed-laughs, at night Hypnotize

**Carol** Sat Apr 09, 2016 1:32 pm

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Post n°762

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Sat Apr 09, 2016 1:32 pm

The Salary Needed to Buy A Home in 27 Different U.S. Cities
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016
The popping of the Greenspan-era housing bubble took about six years in total to fully “deflate”.
Most U.S. housing markets peaked sometime in 2006, and it wouldn’t be until just before the third-round of quantitative easing in 2012 that this fall would finally be cushioned. Since then, as VisualCapitalist's Jeff Desjardins details, the combination of QE and record-low interest rates have helped re-inflate the housing market. For better or worse, real estate in many U.S. cities are now approaching or passing their 2006 housing highs, but with a growing disparity between individual metropolitan areas.
Today’s 3D map comes to us from HowMuch.net, and it shows the very different salaries needed to buy a median home in 27 different U.S. metropolitan areas. The salaries range between $31,134 to $147,996, which is a discrepancy of over $100,000.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 Salary-needed-to-buy-home-in-us-cities

Courtesy of: Visual Capitalist

At the low end of the spectrum, it takes a salary of between $30,000 to $40,000 to buy a home in most metropolitan areas in the Midwest. In St. Louis, for example, the salary needed to buy a home is $34,778. Pittsburgh was the least expensive city analyzed, where a salary of $31,135 could buy the median house in the city.
At the high end is any metropolitan area in California, for which closer to six figures is now needed. San Francisco has the most expensive housing in the country, where residents must make $147,996 a year to be an average homeowner. However, Southern California is not far behind the Bay Area, where salaries of $95,040 and $103,165 are required to buy in Los Angeles and San Diego respectively.
See the full data set, including mortgage rates, monthly payments, and median house prices here.

West Coast Envy

Which cities have rebounded the most since the popping of the housing bubble?
According to The Economist’s interactive chart on U.S. housing price indices, the average U.S. market recovery between 2006 peak and 2012 trough has been about 63.9%.
The Eastern half of the country has struggled to rebound to 2006 housing highs, with New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Tampa, Miami, and St. Louis all recovering below the above average mark.
In contrast, prices in the West are soaring: San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Denver, and Portland have all met or exceeded their 2006 highs. Meanwhile, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Diego have recovered better than average

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Sat Apr 09, 2016 1:34 pm

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Post n°763

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Sat Apr 09, 2016 1:34 pm

For Albert Edwards, This Is The "One Failsafe Indicator" Of An Inevitable Recession

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/08/2016 - 17:49

Despite risk assets enjoying a few weeks in the sun our failsafe recession indicator has stopped flashing amber and turned to red. Newly released US whole economy profits data show a gut wrenching slump. Whole economy profits never normally fall this deeply without a recession unfolding. Historically all recessions are effectively caused by slumps in business investment driven by a profits downturn.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-08/albert-edwards-one-failsafe-indicator-inevitable-recession

Last edited by Carol on Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:56 pm; edited 1 time in total

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What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:42 pm

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Post n°764

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:42 pm

End of the US Dollar April 19? China plans to launch yuan-denominated gold fix on April 19 –SGE, the Shanghai Gold Exchange

London 25/02/2016 – China plans to launch its new yuan-denominated gold pricing fix on April 19 this year, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The launch date has been officially settled and draft trading rules have been sent out to those banks that will be involved in the Shanghai fixing, FastMarkets understands.

The banks that will participate in the planned launch are predominently Chinese but FastMarkets understands that foreign banks could also be involved, according to sources.

It is likely that the 10 banks that are official market makers in the system set up by the SGE in January to facilitate interbank gold trading will participate in the yuan-denominated fixing, one source said.

Most Chinese banks in the list of ‘official’ market makers probably will be involved in the fix, the source noted, alongside one foreign bank.

The 10 ‘official’ market makers are ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China CITIC Bank, China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank Co, Bank of Ningbo and ANZ (China).

The SGE is looking to bring more foreign banks on broad, a well-informed source said.
The new benchmark will be run through the state-owned Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), the world’s largest physical gold exchange.

- See more at: http://www.bulliondesk.com/gold-news/update-china-plans-to-launch-yuan-denominated-gold-fix-april-19-sources-109581/#sthash.m1GTrTdu.dpuf

http://www.bulliondesk.com/gold-news/update-china-plans-to-launch-yuan-denominated-gold-fix-april-19-sources-109581/

Last edited by Carol on Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:54 pm; edited 1 time in total

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What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:41 pm

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Post n°765

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:41 pm

SWIFT and CIPS sign memorandum of understanding on cross-border interbank payment system cooperation

Brussels, 25 March 2016 – SWIFT has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China International Payment Service Corp., (CIPS Co.).

The MOU sets out plans for a strategic collaboration to develop China’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) using SWIFT as the secure, efficient and reliable channel to connect CIPS with SWIFT’s global user community. SWIFT Chief Executive of Asia Pacific and EMEA, Alain Raes and CIPS Executive Director, Li Wei signed the MOU in Beijing on 25th March 2016.

“China International Payment Service Corp. is looking forward to benefitting from SWIFT’s platform and services to provide an efficient and convenient channel to the global financial community. We aim to provide an inclusive platform to capture cross-border RMB flows to all types of participants which will significantly extend the reach of RMB internationalisation”, Li said.

Raes said, “SWIFT is a global messaging provider supporting more than 150 payment and settlement systems, and CIPS is a payment system. There are natural synergies between global financial messaging services, such those provided by SWIFT, and payment systems. Working with such market infrastructures is at the heart of our business”.
SWIFT is a member-owned cooperative with more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries. To attain RMB internationalisation worldwide requires the global reach and connectedness of a network such as SWIFT’s. To date, 1,700 financial institutions have made RMB transactions using the SWIFT network. SWIFT has operated in China for over 30 years and nearly 400 Chinese financial institutions and corporations are connected to SWIFT today.

About China International Payment Service Corp.
China International Payment Service Corp. is a clearing institution established within the territory of the People’s Republic of China, which is approved by People’s Bank of China (PBC) and subjected to PBC’s supervision. China International Payment Service Corp is responsible for the operations and maintenance of CIPS, including the management of its participants and business promotions etc.

About SWIFT
SWIFT is a global member-owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services.

We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and financial crime compliance.

Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories, enabling them to communicate securely and exchange standardised financial messages in a reliable way. As their trusted provider, we facilitate global and local financial flows, support trade and commerce all around the world; we relentlessly pursue operational excellence and continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies.

Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFT’s international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. SWIFT’s global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.
https://www.swift.com/insights/press-releases/swift-and-cips-co_sign-memorandum-of-understanding-on-cross-border-interbank-payment-system-cooperation

Last edited by Carol on Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:48 pm; edited 1 time in total

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:47 pm

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Post n°766

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:47 pm

Wells Fargo pays $1.2 bn for mortgage fraud

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) admitted to deceiving the U.S. government into insuring thousands of risky mortgages, as it formally reached a record $1.2 billion settlement of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit.

The settlement with Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. mortgage lender and third-largest U.S. bank by assets, was filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court. It also resolves claims against Kurt Lofrano, a former Wells Fargo vice president.

According to the settlement, Wells Fargo “admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility” for having from 2001 to 2008 falsely certified that many of its home loans qualified for Federal Housing Administration insurance.

The San Francisco-based lender also admitted to having from 2002 to 2010 failed to file timely reports on several thousand loans that had material defects or were badly underwritten, a process that Lofrano was responsible for supervising.

According to the Justice Department, the shortfalls led to substantial losses for taxpayers when the FHA was forced to pay insurance claims as defective loans soured.

Several lenders, including Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N), Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), previously settled similar federal lawsuits.

But Wells Fargo held out, and its payment is the largest in FHA history over loan origination violations.

Friday’s settlement is a reproach for “years of reckless underwriting” at Wells Fargo, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said in a statement.

“While Wells Fargo enjoyed huge profits from its FHA loan business, the government was left holding the bag when the bad loans went bust,” Bharara added.

The accord also resolved a probe by federal prosecutors in California of alleged false loan certifications by American Mortgage Network LLC, which Wells Fargo bought in 2009.

No one has been criminally charged in the probes, and the Justice Department reserved the right to pursue criminal charges if it wishes, according to the settlement.

Franklin Codel, president of Wells Fargo Home Lending, in a statement said the settlement “allows us to put the legal process behind us, and to focus our resources and energy on what we do best — serving the needs of the nation’s homeowners.”

Lewis Liman, a lawyer for Lofrano, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Wells Fargo on Feb. 3 said the settlement would reduce its previously reported 2015 profit by $134 million, to account for extra legal expenses.

The case is U.S. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-07527.

http://www.trunews.com/wells-fargo-pays-1-2-bn-for-mortgage-fraud/

Last edited by Carol on Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:53 pm; edited 1 time in total

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:51 pm

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Post n°767

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:51 pm

Austria Just Announced A 54% Haircut Of Senior Creditors In First "Bail In" Under New European Rules
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/10/2016 - 12:58

Following a decision by the Austrian Banking Regulator, the Finanzmarktaufsicht or Financial Market Authority, Austria officially became the first European country to use a new law under the framework imposed by Bank the European Recovery and Resolution Directive to share losses of a failed bank with senior creditors as it slashed the value of debt owed by Heta Asset Resolution AG.

Today, the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) in its function as the resolution authority pursuant to the Bank Recovery and Resolution Act (BaSAG - Bundesgesetz über die Sanierung und Abwicklung von Banken) has issued the key features for the further steps for the resolution of HETA ASSET RESOLUTION AG. The most significant measures are:

a 100% bail-in for all subordinated liabilities,

a 53.98% bail-in, resulting in a 46.02% quota, for all eligible preferential liabilities,

the cancellation of all interest payments from 01.03.2015, when HETA was placed into resolution pursuant to BaSAG,

as well as a harmonisation of the maturities of all eligible liabilities to 31.12.2023.

According to the current resolution plan for HETA, the wind-down process should be concluded by 2020, although the repayment of all claims as well as the legally binding conclusion of all currently outstanding legal disputes will realistically only be concluded by the end of 2023. Only at that point will it be possible to finally distribute the assets and to liquidate the company.

As part of the announcement, Austria has cut Heta’s senior liabilities by 54 percent and extended the maturities of all eligible debt to Dec. 31, 2023 to help cover an 8 billion-euro ($9.1 billion) hole in Heta’s balance sheet. It also wiped out any residual equity and the junior liabilities as well as any supplementary capital. The Finanzmarktaufsicht took control of Heta last year in the first application of European Union rules designed to end taxpayer-funded bank rescues.

"While the application of the new European recovery and resolution framework for banks is uncharted territory in both legal and practical terms, we are on target with the resolution of Heta," the FMA’s co-chiefs, Helmut Ettl and Klaus Kumpfmueller, said in the statement. "Orderly resolution is more advantageous than insolvency proceedings."

More: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-10/austria-just-announced-54-haircut-senior-creditors-first-bail-under-new-european-rul

_________________
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It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:34 am

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Post n°768

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:34 am

IMF supports move to negative rates by some central banks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday that a move to negative rates by some of the world's central banks would help deliver extra monetary stimulus and ease lending conditions.

Six of the world's central banks have introduced negative rates, most notably the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, and around a quarter of the world economy by output is now experiencing official rates that are less than zero.

They have achieved this by cutting deposit rates into negative territory, ranging from minus five basis points in Hungary to minus 125 basis points in Sweden - essentially a "tax" on deposits.

"Although the experience with negative nominal interest rates is limited, we tentatively conclude that overall, they help deliver additional monetary stimulus and easier financial conditions, which support demand and price stability," the IMF’s financial counselor and director of monetary and capital markets, Jose Vinals, wrote in a research paper.

The report was published ahead of next week's International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington.

Negative interest rates were first adopted in Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland in a bid to halt currency appreciation against the euro and Hungary’s central bank has also joined the move.

Critics argue that the move to negative rates, especially in Japan where the central bank has failed to ignite growth or shift inflation upwards, are a sign of desperation. What is needed they say is additional government spending instead of more loose monetary policy.

In addition, they charge that the move may damage the economy by inflating financial market asset bubbles and squeezing bank profit margins.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/imf-supports-move-negative-rates-central-banks-190126848--business.html

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 12:57 pm

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Post n°769

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 12:57 pm

Economic Collapse Is Erupting All Over The Planet As Global Leaders Begin To Panic
Mainstream news outlets are already starting to use the phrase “economic collapse” to describe what is going on in some areas of our world right now. For many Americans this may seem a bit strange, but the truth is that the worldwide economic slowdown that began during the second half of last year is starting to get a lot worse.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/economic-collapse-is-erupting-all-over-the-planet-as-global-leaders-begin-to-panic

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**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:08 pm

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Post n°770

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:08 pm

Here Is The "Front Page" The Boston Globe Should Have Used
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016

[url=http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2016/04/09/boston globe trump front page.jpg] INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 Trump%20president%20globe_0

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 Trump%20president%20globe_0

[/url]

While it remains debatable if this attempt to change the opinions of any of its already left-leaning readers succeeded or was even necessary, some have justifiably wondered whether instead of contemplating a hypotehtical future, it would not have been more prudent to pay closer attention to the just as deplorable present.

Courtesy of ThePeople'sCube, here is the Boston Globe front page that would have been far more appropriate. On Sunday, in its best attempt to immitate The Onion, the Boston Globe released an issue whose front page was a satirical look at what life under president Obama one year from now would look like.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 Boston_Globe_Trump_Parody_Obama

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It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
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**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:16 pm

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Post n°771

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:16 pm

Silver Surges Most In 6 Months As Hedgers Cover

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016 - 12:38

The last 3 days have seen silver prices surge over 6%, testing back towards the psychologically important $16 level. Having been pressured lower after the ECB bounce, the precious metal jumped perfectly off its critical 200-day moving-average, nearing the highs of the year once again.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-11/silver-surges-most-6-months

Earnings Implosion Looms Amid The Illusion Of "Permanent Liquidity"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016 - 12:26

The problem with forward earnings estimates is that they consistently overestimate reality by roughly 33% historically. The illusion of“permanent liquidity,” and the belief of sustained economic growth, despite slowing in China, Japan, and the Eurozone, has emboldened analysts to continue push estimates of corporate profit growth higher. Even now, as the earnings recession deepens, hopes of a sharp rebound in profitability remains ebullient despite the lack of any signs of economic re-acceleration.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-11/earnings-implosion-looms-amid-illusion-permanent-liquidity

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:17 pm

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Post n°772

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:17 pm

Supply Chain Slump "Worse Than The Great Recession"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016 11:38 -0400

Submitted by Jeffrey Snider via Alhambra Investment Partners,
Not to continue beating a dead horse, but I have a stick and the carcass is right in front of me. The entire supply chain inside the US economy is full agreement both on where the economy is right now and, perhaps more importantly, how it came to be that way. Such harmony is not atypical, as synchronicity usually defines the hard edges of any cycle. This, however, is something else entirely, especially as it stretches back years and confirms we are witnessing nothing like the usual.
As it is, this latest part or phase or whatever has already taken up nearly two years. In terms of wholesale sales, as noted this morning, overall sales peaked in July 2014 – meaning nineteen months (thru Feb 2016) of deceleration into sustained contraction. Worse and what is probably the most concerning is that after those nineteen months inventory is only just now starting to correct, and it is doing so ever so gently. That suggests again slowdown without yet any visible end. In that sense, recession might actually be the best case since it would greatly speed up the affair in at least the convergence and reversion of inventory to sales (though that would still leave questions about the economic trend after it).
By comparison, the Great Recession featured just nine months of contraction; the whole of the dot-com recession twelve. Those were both top to bottom, peak to trough, over and done with. In 2016, we are very likely facing two years and still only the beginning of reconciliation or balance, and no idea what that might mean further down in wider economic feedbacks and negative multipliers.
The supply chain, top to bottom:
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 ABOOK-Apr-2016-Boiling-Frog-Retail-Sales

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 ABOOK-Apr-2016-Boiling-Frog-Retail-Sales

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 ABOOK-Apr-2016-Slowdown-Wholesale-Sales

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1 - Page 31 ABOOK-Apr-2016-Boiling-Frog-Factory-Orders

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It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:19 pm

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Post n°773

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:19 pm

Goldman Slammed With $5.1 Billion Fine For "Serious Misconduct" In Mortgage Selling

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016 - 11:13

Hot on the heels of Wells Fargo's $1.2 billion settlement, Bloomberg reports that Goldman Sachs will pay $5.1 billion to settle a U.S. probe into its handling of mortgage-backed securities involving allegations that loans weren’t properly vetted before being sold to investors as high-quality bonds. “This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-11/goldman-slammed-51-billion-fine-serious-misconduct-mortgage-selling

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:21 pm

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Post n°774

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:21 pm

Bill Gross : "Negative Rates Destroy Savers, The Bedrock Of Capitalism", Larry Fink Agrees

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016 - 08:01

... consider mom and pop and other people who read Barron’s. They are saving for retirement and to put their kids through college. They might have depended on a historic 8%-like return from stocks and bonds. Well, sorry. When interest rates get to zero—and that isn’t the endpoint; they could go negative—savers are destroyed. And savers are the bedrock of capitalism. Savers allow investment, and investment produces growth.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-11/bill-gross-negative-rates-destroy-savers-bedrock-capitalism-larry-fink-agrees

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

**Carol** Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:25 pm

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Post n°775

Re: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT - part 1

Carol Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:25 pm

Deutsche Bank Says World "Past The Point Of No Return" In The Default Cycle

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016 - 07:57

"We continue to live in a low default world for now though. Even though defaults picked up in 2015, B/BB default rates were still comfortably below their long-term average which they have been for well over a decade now with 2009 being the only exception. Indeed last year’s default rate for global Bs (up from 0.9% to 2.7%) was still lower than all of the first two decades of the modern era of leveraged finance up to 2003. So in spite of all the challenges we face this era has been characterized by astonishingly low default rates. There are clear signs the cycle is turning though, especially in the US."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-11/deutsche-bank-says-world-past-point-no-return-default-cycle

Frontrunning: April 11
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/11/2016 07:35 -0400

Italian Bank Stocks are Surging on the Back of Rescue Reports (WSJ)
European Stocks Rise Led by Italian Banks; Emerging Markets Gain (BBG)
Oil price dips on prospects for producers' meeting (Reuters)
U.S. shale oil firms feel credit squeeze as banks grow cautious (Reuters)
U.S. banks' dismal first quarter may spell trouble for 2016 (Reuters)
Miserable Year for Banks: Stocks Suffer as Rates Stay Low (WSJ)
Whipsawed Wall Street Traders Find Bullish Signal in Bad Profits (BBG)
Sales of Short-Term Health Policies Surge (WSJ)
Panama Furor Rumbles Into Week Two as Global Pressure Mounts (BBG)
Daily Mail parent in talks with private equity for Yahoo bid (Reuters)
As Puerto Rico Nears Record Default, Insured Investors Rest Easy (BBG)
Wall Street Wages Double in 25 Years as Everyone Else’s Languish (BBG)
U.S. Navy officer charged with spying, possibly for China, Taiwan (reuters)
The Invisible Money Makers Who Thrived During 2015's Oil Slump (BBG)
Audio recording reveals Brussels Attacks were coordinated from Syria (RTBE)
Tale of Two Chinas Is Emerging as Economy Slows, Fidelity Says (BBG)
China internet regulator says web censorship not a trade barrier (Reuters)
Kerry says Hiroshima 'gut-wrenching' reminder world should abandon nuclear weapons (Reuters)... just not the US

Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- The UK's Daily Mail has emerged as a suitor for Yahoo Inc's assets, joining a wide group of interested companies that includes telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc as an April 18 deadline for preliminary offers nears, according to people familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/1XpCSXL)
- Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Sunday he would resign from his post, opening the way for the formation of a new government and the potential for urgently needed reforms to be passed in parliament. (http://on.wsj.com/25SUmBC)
- The Brussels suicide attacks that killed 32 people were the result of a last-minute scramble by terrorists after the capture of a comrade days earlier persuaded them to ditch plans for a fresh strike in France, Belgian prosecutors said. (http://on.wsj.com/1VJsKKp)
- UK Prime Minister David Cameron faced further questions about his financial affairs on Sunday, including a cash gift from his mother, despite taking the unprecedented step of publishing information about his income tax for the past six years following a week of scrutiny sparked by the Panama leaks. (http://on.wsj.com/1N2C0rx)
- TransCanada Corp said its Keystone oil pipeline resumed pumping Sunday after a nearly week-long shutdown due to a leak discovered in South Dakota. The Canadian company said it has completed repairs to the leak, which caused a spill of about 400 barrels, or 16,800 gallons near the company's Freeman pump station in Hutchinson County. (http://on.wsj.com/20tHPkl)

FT
Prime Minister David Cameron will promise to create a new criminal offence for companies that fail to stop their staff assisting in tax evasion. (http://on.ft.com/25TznyJ)
Ukraine's prime minister Arseniy Yatseniuk stepped down late on Sunday afternoon, accusing the president's party of plunging the country into an "artificially created" crisis. (http://on.ft.com/25Tzz0V)
Opposition is growing in Germany to Deutsche Boerse AG's merger with London Stock Exchange, as concern mounts about the consequences for the combined company if Britain votes to leave the European Union. (http://on.ft.com/25TzQ3R)
NYT
- After two years of heavy legal and financial consequences, General Motors has finally turned the tide and started winning lawsuits related to the gravest safety crisis in its history. So far this year, General Motors has prevailed in three injury lawsuits, including a case dismissed on Friday, in ongoing litigation to resolve hundreds of remaining claims linked to its recall of 2.6 million small cars with faulty ignition switches. (http://nyti.ms/1qCKrA7)
- Panama leak signaled something that was a big deal but went unheralded: The official WikiLeaks-ization of mainstream journalism; the next step in the tentative merger between the Fourth Estate, with its relatively restrained conventional journalists, and the Fifth Estate, with the push-the-limits ethos of its blogger, hacker and journo-activist cohort. (http://nyti.ms/23nKJwf).
- In the year since Pakistani investigators raided Axact, a Karachi-based software company accused of raking in hundreds of millions of dollars with a vast Internet degree scam, Pakistani and American investigators have uncovered a tangled web of corporate entities - dozens of shell companies and associates, from Caribbean tax havens to others in Delaware, Dubai and Singapore - used to funnel illicit earnings back to Pakistan.(http://nyti.ms/1WmFirO)
- Intuit, a Silicon Valley company, is now focusing on its TurboTax software, which tens of millions of Americans use to file their tax returns, and on QuickBooks Online, an Internet-based version of the company's flagship book-keeping software for small businesses and their accounting firms. (http://nyti.ms/1Vh9JRp)
Britain
The Times
* The owner of the Three mobile phone network has complained to the European Commission that Vodafone Group PLC, its rival, is seeking to bully it into coughing up 1 billion pounds to drop objections to its takeover of O2. (http://bit.ly/1qI5aCF)
* Thousands of patients are dying because the NHS cuts corners on operations for the critically ill, the Royal College of Surgeons has warned. (http://bit.ly/1RNq9xS)
The Guardian
* The boss of Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the UK's government department overseeing a 10 million pound inquiry into the Panama Papers, was a partner at a top city law firm that acted for Blairmore Holdings and other offshore companies named in the leak. (http://bit.ly/1Xpy5Wt)
* Companies will be held criminally liable if they fail to stop their employees from facilitating tax evasion, UK Prime Minister David Cameron will tell MPs, as he uses a parliamentary statement to defend himself after one of the most difficult weeks of his premiership. (http://bit.ly/23m9OaH)
The Telegraph
* Tesco PLC will unveil a return to full-year profits and the first quarter of UK sales growth in three years on Wednesday as chief executive Dave Lewis tries to prove to investors his turn-around plan is working. (http://bit.ly/1Yo9cue)
* David Cameron will launch a robust defence of the right of parents to give money to their children after Labour said it will review inheritance tax rules. In an unprecedented Commons appearance, the prime minister will reject suggestions that he has avoided tax after he disclosed that he had personally profited from his stake in an offshore investment fund. (http://bit.ly/1oOFnXQ)
Sky News
* Chancellor George Osborne has "never had any offshore shareholdings or other interests", a Treasury source has told Sky News. The comments come after members of David Cameron's Cabinet were urged to follow the prime minister's lead and publish any links they have with tax havens. (http://bit.ly/1SInrGc)
* The bosses of some of Britain's biggest companies are warning that they may refrain from further interventions in the debate about Europe amid concerns that they risk falling foul of strict campaign rules. Sky News understands that the Electoral Commission will publish new guidance on Monday setting out the scope of activities permissible for businesses once the referendum period formally begins on Friday. (http://bit.ly/1UT5VFn)
The Independent
* Dozens of London Underground stations are at "high risk" of flooding, with London "fortunate to have escaped" the worst consequences so far. An unpublished report seen by The Independent reveals Transport for London has identified 85 sites across its network which are at high risk of flooding. (http://ind.pn/1RMW816)
* Lobbying companies working at the heart of Whitehall are exploiting loopholes in transparency legislation that allow them to avoid declaring clients who pay them thousands of pounds to help influence Government policy, The Independent can reveal. (http://ind.pn/1VLccBU)

_________________
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol

tMoA

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