financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

: Brutal.— Brian Sozzi February 9, 2016 Crude was up, but that faded as soon as New York rolled out of bed, according to Market Watch. The International Energy Agency warned earlier a global oil surplus may be bigger than expected as Iran begins to pump again, which will hit prices. The U.S. gloom didn’t go unnoticed in Asia, where the Nikkei cratered more than 5%. And there are plenty of grim stats to toss around: 31% of the stocks in the S&P 500 are down 30% or more from their 52-week highs. This market has been in the pits, but some say, sorry, still no bottom. Implied volatility, as evidenced by the CBOE Volatility index VIX, +2.08% , is still below panic levels . If you want a relief rally, then true panic needs to set in, he concludes. Greg Guenthner of the Daily Reckoning blog, says for that to happen we need a widespread cry Uncle!’ from investors. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

company earnings: He sees the company earnings taking a bigger hit from the BOJ action than the nation three so-called megabanks, which unlike Japan Post have been expanding abroad and diversifying into fee businesses, according to The Japan Times. Domestic yields will deteriorate due to the introduction of negative interest rates, Nakamura said by phone. The postal bank, one of the biggest holders of Japanese government bonds, gets more than 90 percent of its profit from interest income, according to Shinichiro Nakamura, a Tokyo-based senior analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. And the larger the proportion of domestic interest income in profit, the larger the negative impact. Japan Post Bank, which went public as part of a ¥1.4 trillion initial public offering in November, has also parked almost a fifth of its assets at the BOJ. Central bank Gov. Yields on Japan benchmark 10-year sovereign notes fell below zero for the first time, touching a low of minus 0.035 percent Tuesday in Tokyo. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

: As fear overwhelmed greed, yields on longer-term Japanese bonds went into negative territory, the yen surged to a 15-month peak and gold reached its most precious point since June, according to The Japan Times. Uncertainty in Europe eurozone helped to fuel the unease. Stocks tumbled in Tokyo and elsewhere in Asia as stability concerns sent investors stampeding to only the safest of safe-haven assets. Finance Minister Taro Aso characterized recent movements as rough, something of an understatement as the Nikkei 225 average nosedived 5.4 percent to close at 16,085.44. Australian shares hit a 2½-year closing low. There was turmoil on other stock markets that were not closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group: In Germany for instance, the blue-chip DAX index had ended below the 9,000-point threshold for the first time since October 2014, according to Deutsche Welle. The benchmark Nikkei-225 dropped 5.4 percent at the Tokyo Stock Exchange to close at 16,085.44 points, marking a 20-percent fall from its highs in the summer of last year. But in Japan, traders on Tuesday took their lead from New York and Europe where banking shares were hit hard a day earlier. The eye-watering fall was the steepest in percentage terms since June 2013. Financial giant Mitsubishi UFJ and rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were among the stocks hit hardest by the latest rout in Tokyo. "Investors are pricing in that central banks can no longer control markets," Daiwa SB Investments strategist Soichiro Monji told Bloomberg News. "We had a bubble in people expectations of the power of central banks, and now we're seeing that bubble burst." Underscoring a flight to safety, Japanese government bond yields dived below zero, extending a downtrend sparked by the Bank of Japan surprise move last month to slap a negative interest rate on some commercial lenders' deposits. hg/pad Banking worries Financials led the plunge as a slowdown in the world economy raised the prospect of loan defaults and lower interest rates eating into lenders' bottom lines. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

record lows: The stock hasn’t just tumbled 38% year to date, compared with an 9.4% decline in the S&P 500, it has closed at record lows that past three sessions, and in 14 of the 26 sessions so far this year, according to Market Watch. There was reason for further pessimism ahead of fourth-quarter results, as the stock has dropped by an average of 8.3% the day after Twitter last three quarterly results. Twitter stock TWTR, -3.36% has spiraled lower since the start of the year. Don’t miss:Twitter revenue could go big, but Wall Street won’t care. The rate-of-change momentum indicator, which measures the change in price over a predetermined time period, has climbed from a low of -24.92 on Jan. 19 to -18.33 on Tuesday. Fact Set Caption outside of wrapper for normal article images But since mid-January, the stock technical outlook has started showing signs of improvement. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Michael Jackson: A bunch of people bouncing around and all strange things, according to CNN. It was terrible," Giuliani said. I don't know what the heck it was. Beyoncé back-up dancers were dressed in all black, with black berets and afros — reminiscent of the way members of the Black Panther Party dressed in the 1960s. A photo posted by Beyoncé on Feb 7, 2016 at 5:50pm PST Read More One day before taking the stage with Coldplay and Bruno Mars at Super Bowl 50, Beyoncé dropped "Formation" — her first new single since 2014. A photo posted by Beyoncé on Feb 7, 2016 at 7:11pm PST And Beyoncé donned a bandolier of bullets, similar to one famously worn by Michael Jackson during his 1993 world tour. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Skolkovo Institute of Science Technology: Standing beside one of Skolkovo futuristic buildings is American engineer Brendan Smith, according to The Moscow Times. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith heads Skoltech student research laboratory. A series of giant wooden pencils emerge, bearing the insignia "Skoltech." The curious art installation signals arrival at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, brainchild of former President Dmitry Medvedev, and Russia much-hyped entry into the 21st century innovation race. Smith decided to come to Russia five years ago, after a period working in the U.S. aerospace industry. In recent years, the Russian government has worked hard to attract foreign researchers to the country. He had offers for other work — one from Australia springs to mind — but a longstanding curiosity about Russia brought him east. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

gold sector: But those losses were mitigated by the gold sector, which was the biggest gainer on the TSX, rising 4.25 per cent, according to The Toronto Star. The price of April gold soared $40.20 to close at US$1,197.90 a troy ounce. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 228.59 points to end the day at 12,535.40. Craig Fehr, a Canadian market strategist at Edward Jones in St. Gold has been the ball and chain around the TSX ankle for some time, said Fehr. Louis, said past declines in the TSX have been brought on by volatile commodity prices, but the gains in bullion helped offset that Monday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

unregulated money: However, his campaign quickly clarified that Bush was only reiterating an existing position, creating confusion over the remarks, according to MSNBC. The ideal situation would be to overturn the Supreme Court ruling that allows for…unregulated money for the independent and regulated for the campaign, Bush said at a town hall in Nashua. Jeb Bush turned heads on Monday when he issued a call for a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court 2010 *Citizens United* decision, which opened the floodgates to unlimited money groups like the pro-Bush powerhouse Right to Rise. I would turn that on its head if I could. Then a candidate will be held accountable for whatever, whatever comes to the voters through the campaign, Bush explained. Bush repeated his longtime plan to replace the current campaign finance system with new rules that allowed unlimited campaign donations but required candidates to disclose their donors within 48 hours. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

ruling coalition: These questions should be answered first, according to Asahi Shimbun. Expectations about the construction of a Tsuruga-Osaka section are growing within the local political and business communities because the ruling coalition, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, is working to narrow the route options by around May. But the proposal to extend the new Shinkansen route beyond Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture to Osaka raises serious questions about the need to expand the network of high-speed railway lines in this debt-ridden country, which has a shrinking population. But the ruling camp should stop to answer this question: How is it possible to secure financing of the huge construction cost Given the government fiscal crunch and the contraction of the nation population, it is difficult to make a strong case for extending the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Osaka as an urgent policy priority. Policymakers should recognize the fact that it is no longer possible to aggressively expand the Shinkansen network in response to requests from local communities as in the past. There are numerous questions about the wisdom of pushing through this proposal. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

: Implied volatility, as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index VIX, +11.21% also known as the Wall Street fear gauge, was up by nearly 12% on Monday to a reading of 26, only slightly above the long-term average of 20, according to Market Watch. That even as 2016 stock losses have mounted. Moves of 1% or greater—instead of being occasions for panic—have a become a new paradigm for investors that, lately, has been met with relative calm. Through Monday, the year-to-date losses of both the S&P 500 SPX, -1.42% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.10% verge on 10%. During last summer dramatic selloff, the VIX saw an intraday spike to above 50, closing at 40 on Aug. 24, the day the Dow was off by a stunning 1,000 points intraday. After seven straight weeks of volatile action in the market, there is panic exhaustion. But after weeks of turmoil, highlighted by the worst start to a year for U.S. stocks on record, investors may have grown inured to the roller-coaster ride. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

currencies: Given the difficulties that big emerging market countries are having, there a risk that their currencies will keep weakening, he said, according to Euro News. That an issue for global coordination, and will be discussed in Shanghai in 10 days, Coeure added. Speaking on French TV BFM Business, Coeure the issue would be up for discussion when finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 economic powers meet in Shanghai on Feb. 26-27. Despite the appreciation of the dollar, the euro zone trade-weighted exchange rate has risen by about six percent since reaching lows in April 2015 largely as emerging market currencies have weakened. European stock markets fell to 16-month lows on Monday with concerns about global growth and the impact of negative interest rates stressing financial sector shares. Coeure said the ECB would not let market pressures dictate monetary policy with financial markets anticipating that it will enlarge monetary easing next month, possibly by cutting the deposit rate deeper into negative territory. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

investors: The Bothwell distillery is facing questions over a scheme that allows investors to buy two barrels of whisky, and on maturation either sell them back to Nant with a 9.55 per cent return or keep them, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. At least two investors have claimed they had sought a return on their barrels and been turned away. Related Story: Tasmanian whisky given high praise by critic Map: Bothwell 7030 The bankrupt founder of an expanding Tasmanian whisky brand has rejected claims some investors in a barrel scheme have been "conned". Keith Batt cut ties with Nant Distillery last year before declaring bankruptcy, owing millions on a separate failed business. Bothwell farmer Pip Allright said she invested in the scheme in 2010, but five years later when she sought her return she was rejected. "I think a lot of people feel conned... you invest in something and you've been taken for a complete ride," she said. "A friend of ours actually did say, 'look, if you want your whisky, you're going to have to fight quite hard for it'." But Mr Batt said in some cases the whisky had not matured. "They are not the whisky experts, we are the ones putting our name on the bottle," he said. Nant Distillery said it had never refused to redeem a barrel on maturity and it has paid out all others. company-news, bothwell-7030 First posted February 09, 2016 07:05:28 More stories from Tasmania noindex Mr Batt said some investors wanted to on-sell the whisky, mixed with inferior product. "We just cannot let that happen," he said. "I believe there are six or seven investors out of several hundred who are trying to do this. "We had over 200 investors who we redeemed the barrels with, no concern, no problem whatsoever." Mr Batt said the issue of his solvency has no impact on the Nant Distillery at all. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Scott Morrison: The debate over a possible increase in the GST from 10 per cent to 15 per cent has also been seen by economists as harming confidence, according to Nine News Australia. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appeared to walk away from endorsing a GST increase at the weekend, saying he was yet to be convinced it was the way to go to fund income tax cuts and lift economic growth. The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence gauge, due on Tuesday, has been in decline since the beginning of the year against the backdrop of an uncertain outlook for the global economy and volatile financial markets. But neither he nor Treasurer Scott Morrison has been willing to rule out pursuing an increase since, saying all options are still being considered. The departments of finance and treasury are likely to be quizzed on how far the government has gone down the path of considering an increase in the GST when they face senators in hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday.© AAP 2016Politics Send your photos, videos and stories to can remain anonymous. Westpac will release its monthly consumer confidence survey on Wednesday, while National Australia Bank will also issue its monthly business survey on Tuesday."In view of ongoing financial market volatility and heightened talk of an increase to the goods and services tax, chances are that both the Westpac and NAB measures ... will take a tumble this week," Beta Shares chief economist David Bassanese said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Scott Morrison: The day before, Mr Turnbull had said he had yet to be convinced that raising the GST to make cuts to personal income taxes was the right way to go, according to Nine News Australia. But quizzed on the issue by Labor in parliament, Mr Turnbull said the design of such a move was a question of balance, whether it was fair and provided additional impetus to economic growth."I believe that all Australians expect this government to approach this issue not with slogans or with scare campaigns, but with careful analysis," he said. Neither the prime minister nor Treasurer Scott Morrison ruled it out as part of the government tax reform agenda, despite having plenty of opportunities to do so on Monday. Mr Morrison also left the door ajar to an increase in the GST from 10 per cent."You just don't write things off carelessly and politically," he said. Mr Morrison also appeared to rule out suggestions the government was considering making changes to negative gearing, saying it provided a real opportunity for middle-income-earning Australians. The treasurer wants to deliver personal tax cuts - if the GST is increased to 15 per cent - rather than use an estimated $30 billion in extra revenue for spending on hospitals and schools, as the states want."If that not possible by that method, we are just going to go the long road," he said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Saudi-Venezuela: The S&P 500 slid 26.61 points, or 1.42 percent, to 1,853.44, according to Xinhua China. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 79.39 points, or 1.82 percent, to 4,283.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 177.92 points, or 1.10 percent, to 16,027.05. Oil prices plunged on Monday, with the U.S. crude settled bellow 30 U.S. dollars a barrel again, as oversupply concerns dominated the market after a Saudi-Venezuela meeting during weekend failed to reach an agreement on actions to boost oil prices. Many analysts do not expect oil prices will recovery soon amid concerns about a slowdown in global growth. Oil prices have been traded near multi-year lows recently. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Lyndon Johnson: When New Hampshire residents cast their votes in the primary this week, we will start to see if that true -- and how much of the turbulence from Iowa gets solidified as the competition heads into the bigger states, according to CNN. As with Iowa, the victor in New Hampshire does not always go on to win the nomination, and the delegate total is meager. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. "The political revolution continues next Tuesday here in New Hampshire," Bernie Sanders told a rally of supporters at the Claremont Opera House. The most important fact is that every winning president in the last 40 years -- with the exception of Bill Clinton -- has won either Iowa or New Hampshire, so the losers from last week feel a particularly acute sense of urgency to be victorious. We'll find out if the Granite State has been oversold as a place that can make or break political candidates. But that Clinton exception and the changing dynamics of presidential campaigns in an era of super PACs and click-bait media suggests that this trend might not hold. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

: Eby says the scope of these illegal and illegitimate practices isn’t known, but he has written two letters to the B.C. Real Estate Council following information provided to him by a whistleblower, according to The Toronto Star. He says the council has an obligation to uphold the reputation of other real estate agents by investigating, and that the provincial government must ensure that the oversight body is fulfilling its role. He also alleges real estate agents have been assisting clients to hide foreign origins of money used in transactions by putting the broker address instead of the purchaser address on federal anti-money laundering forms. The call for an investigation comes after media reports allege some realtors and investors are exploiting a clause in contracts that allows for the repeated sale of a home before the closing date, increasing the final price by hundreds of thousands. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

President Bashar al-Assad: Regime forces and their allies on the ground, supported by Russian bombers in the air, are tightening the noose around the eastern half of the city, still held by a coalition of rebel groups, according to CNN. Aleppo is the regime most prized target and such regime gains would have been unimaginable for before Russia entered the war late last year. Now, a defining battle is looming for Aleppo. Since Russia came to President Bashar al-Assad aid at his request, the Syrian battlefield has transformed rapidly. Read More 40,000 fleeing Aleppo as battle for Syrian city intensifies: U.N.1. But what exactly is Russian President Vladimir Putin up to in Syria What does Russia really want Here are five key reasons Russia won't be leaving Syria any time soon. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

: He ignored an appeal from China, its neighbor and important ally, not to proceed, and, in another slap to Beijing, he chose the eve of the Chinese New Year, the country most important holiday, according to Asahi Shimbun. In a reflection of heightened hostilities between the rival Koreas, South Korea Defense Ministry said a South Korean naval vessel fired five shots into the water as a warning Monday when a North Korean patrol boat briefly moved south of the countries' disputed boundary line in the Yellow Sea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went ahead with the launch just two hours after an eight-day window opened early Sunday, and a month after the country fourth nuclear test. Since its Jan. 6 nuclear test, which the North claimed was a powerful hydrogen bomb, despite outside skepticism, China and the United States have been negotiating the text of a new Security Council sanctions resolution. At the U.N., the United States, backed by its allies Japan and South Korea, wants tough sanctions reflecting Kim defiance of the Security Council. North Korean rocket launches and nuclear tests are seen as crucial steps toward Pyongyang ultimate goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could hit the U.S. mainland. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Ochanomizu University: Here where foreign technical trainees filled a vacuum, according to Asahi Shimbun. Satogoken Co., which specializes in assembling scaffolding for construction projects and is based in the city of Iwaki in southern Fukushima Prefecture, has already accepted three technical trainees from Myanmar. Japan thirst for cheap labor using foreign technical trainees has led to charges that it is exploiting overseas nationals, an issue about which Takashi Miyajima, professor emeritus of sociology at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, has a lot to say. "Although technical trainees are allowed into Japan as 'laborers,' they cannot change jobs if they become dissatisfied with their pay," he said. "Changes should be made to provide the technical trainees with the same wages received by Japanese doing the same work and to give them the freedom to change jobs." The 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that triggered a nuclear crisis created massive public works projects as affected areas sought to rebuild. Reconstruction work in the aftermath of the triple disaster in 2011, coupled with a dire labor shortage, led to a sharp increase in daily wages for those in the construction industry. Satogoken accepted the technical trainees because they can be hired at pre-disaster wage levels. Workers now receive about 15,000 yen a day, when in the past they were lucky to get even 7,000 yen to 8,000 yen. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

precious metal: The U.S. stocks dropped Monday as crude prices extended the loss, according to Xinhua China. Analysts noted that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains. The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 40.2 U.S. dollars, or 3.47 percent, to settle at 1,197.90 dollars per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index also fell Monday. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

enthusiastic support: The third arrow of Abenomics — reforms to make the economy more productive — is barely a work in progress, but Abe got straight to work on the first two, fiscal expansion and monetary stimulus, with the enthusiastic support of a new governor at the Bank of Japan , Haruhiko Kuroda, according to Euro News. In the first year of the programme, the Nikkei index jumped nearly 60 percent, drawing in a net 15 trillion yen of foreign cash. Not any more. Enthusiasm for Kuroda bold stimulus, in particular, was strong, with each of his first two money-printing announcements prompting a 7 percent weekly surge. The market reaction is getting duller day by day. His decision last week to introduce negative interest rates was equally bold, and quite unexpected, but as Abe arrows have sailed wide of their target, investors have sat on their hands. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Gold futures: The metal also ended at its highest settlement since June 19, 2015, when gold finished at $1,201.90, according to Market Watch. Gold futures have now gained roughly 13% year to date. ‘Gold was like a beach ball that had been pushed too low in the water and is now bouncing higher with a vengeance.’ Mark O’Byrne, Gold Core Gold was like a beach ball that had been pushed too low in the water and is now bouncing higher with a vengeance, Mark O’Byrne, research director at Dublin-based Gold Core, told Market Watch. April gold GCJ6, -0.65% jumped $40.20, or 3.5%, to settle at $1,197.90 an ounce to register its best single-session point and percentage gain since December 2014. But prices have climbed by more than 12% higher in just 5 weeks so a correction is quite possible and may take place when gold reaches $1,200 per ounce. We believe we are and gold fundamentals and technicals look better and better, said O’Byrne. He says a correction is likely on tap, but the more important question is whether gold has bottomed and we are in a new bull market. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Michael James: They fell again on Monday, dragging down the Nasdaq Composite index 2.4 percent to its lowest in nearly 1-1/2 years, according to Euro News. I think we’re in an environment right now of shoot first, ask questions later. Shares of cloud services companies such as Splunk Inc and Salesforce.com Inc had also declined sharply on Friday. That the mentality of technology investors right now, said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. These stocks had high valuations before the selloff on Friday, driven by years of hype that spending from enterprise customers was moving to big-data analytics and cloud computing. Any disappointment is being taken out to the woodshed. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

Honda Motor Co. Toyota Motor Corp.: Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. remain backers of the auto parts supplier, he said, according to The Japan Times. Takata is still generating cash flow and there no incentive for Honda or Toyota to push it into bankruptcy, Tsuchiya said. The company continues to generate cash from products including seat belts, child seats and steering wheels even as air bag recalls widen, according to Taketoshi Tsuchiya, a senior executive in Mizuho fixed-income group in Tokyo. From the technology perspective, the alternative of having to rely on foreign air bag suppliers is totally unacceptable for the carmakers and the Japanese government, he said. Speculation on Takata recall liability has blown its credit spreads to a record high in December in a market that offers near-zero bond yields. Scandals last year in Japan have created a handful of opportunities for distressed-debt traders as companies including Sharp Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. generate losses. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.