Business

Authored by Charles Hugh-Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Everyone wants an abundance of "good paying" jobs, but employers can only afford to pay employees if the work being done is profitable.

What's abundant and what's scarce? The question matters because as economist Michael Spence (among others) has noted, value and profits flow to what's scarce. What's in over-supply has little to no scarcity value and hence little to no profitability.

As Nasdaq melts up faster than Bitcoin, perceived equity market risk has utterly collapsed.

VIX just hit 9.92 as Nasdaq hit 6,100 (note the most recent low is 9.39 from 12/15/06 and all-time low at 8.89 on 12/27/93)

VIX just traded with a 9-handle for the first time since Feb 2007...

And maybe there's further to run...

Despite Goldman recently warning, policy risk remains under-priced...

Treasury Vol is rising as Equity Vol tumbles today...

Authored by Mark Melin via ValueWalk.com,

Bullish on oil, Andurand Commodity Fund Manager Pierre Andurand looks around the world for justification of his long exposure. Since the start of 2017, patience has been emphasized by the famous French oil trader, perhaps best known for his previous BlueGold Global Fund management, who is now struggling with an -11.6% loss year to date as of March and is in the middle of the worst drawdown in the life of the fund, a March investor letter reviewed by ValueWalk reveals.

What Treasury Secretary Mnuchin giveth, President Trump taketh away...

0810ET: *MNUCHIN SAYS `THANK ME' FOR RECENT RISE IN BANK STOCKS

 

0951ET: *TRUMP SAYS HE'S ACTIVELY CONSIDERING BREAKING UP BIG BANKS

As Bloomberg reports, President Donald Trump said he is actively considering breaking up giant Wall Street banks, giving a push to efforts to revive a Depression-era law separating consumer lending and investment banking.

In a surprising foreign policy pivot, President Trump told Bloomberg during an Oval Office interview that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "if the circumstances were right."

“If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg News. “If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.” It was not immediately clear what circumstances Trump considers "right."