Some 'aches and pains' are constraining the global economy, with JPMorgan warning of more severe strains occurring in the emerging world. These aggravating but generally not life-threatening conditions are meant to convey a slow growth world, but, JPM is careful to note, not one on the immediate precipice of collapse or recession. 

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Source: JPMorgan

By Simon Jacques

Noble Group’s "Collateral Margin Call"

The downgrade of Noble Group by Moody’s depicts an aggressive financial risk and a vulnerable business risk profile

I) the first-order problem is Macro.

Preface: One of our pet peeves is when erroneous groupthink persists even in the face of contradictory evidence.

As shown below, water fluoridation is based on very shaky science.  And yet – despite the science – the big dental associations in the U.S. and other countries continue to push it as safe and effective.

The Guardian reported last week:

The body of the former Ivory Coast footballer Steve Gohouri has been found in the River Rhine after he went missing before Christmas. The BBC reports: Gohouri made 42 appearances for Wigan between 2010 and 2012 and also won 12 caps for Ivory Coast. On 16 December, Gohouri was reported missing after attending the Christmas party of his German club TSV Steinbach. He was meant to visit his family in Paris but never arrived. German police confirmed his body had been found in the River Rhine in the western city of Krefeld.

US police officer shot and killed a man who was holding a cell phone that they mistook to be a gun. The fatal shooting occurred on Thursday in Las Vegas as the officers were helping US marshals to arrest the man who had been accused of attempted murder. Las Vegas authorities have released the name of the suspect they shot dead as Keith Childress, 23. This incident marks the 16th officer-involved shooting in Las Vegas in 2015.