Business

In its latest Global Stability Financial Report, the IMF issued a stark warning, bringing attention to the troubling and seemingly unstoppable growth in global corporate debt and the threat that could be unleashed by a sharp move higher in rates, one which the IMF estimates could result in as many as 22% of total corporations - amounting to almost $4 trillion in assets - being unable to cover their interest payments, leading to an avalanche of defaults.

As pressure mounts on Trump to post some victories within the totally arbitrary window of the "First 100 Days" of his administration, the President is expected to join Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later this afternoon to sign a combination of executive orders and memos targeting the reduction of tax regulations and certain components of Dodd-Frank. 

With WTI prices back below $50, it appears stocks and NOPEC production are trumping any OPEC hype/hope and today's Baker Hughes' rig count merely adds to those concerns. For the 13th week in a row, the number of US oil rigs rose (up 5 to 688, the highest since April 2015).

• *U.S. GAS RIG COUNT UP 5 TO 167 , BAKER HUGHES SAYS :BHI US
• *U.S. OIL RIG COUNT UP 5 TO 688 , BAKER HUGHES SAYS :BHI US

Though the rig count iuncreased, it is the smallest rise in 3 months...

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,

Last week, U.S. banks boosted the borrowing bases for several independent energy companies, lifting spirits in the industry. The move was taken as a sign that lenders are beginning to share in the optimism that oil and gas producers have been enjoying since the beginning of the year, with prices staying above $50.

By now everyone is familiar with the charts showing the tremendous growth of passive investing in general, and ETFs in particular, shown most recently in our discussion of how ETFs make markets dumber.

To be sure, everyone is also quite familiar with the mutant permutations of the above assets, such as inverse and 2x or 3x levered ETFs, whose only function is to fleece retail investors with unprecedented theta, including ETFs on VIX, essentially making them the modern day equivalent of Synthetic CDOs so familiar from the peak of the last financial crisis.