Business

In Wilbur Ross' first public announcement, the former hedge fund manger and current Trump commerce secretary announced that China's telecommunications giant ZTE has agreed to pay a total of $1.2 billion in penalties and plead guilty to violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, selling US technology to Tehran, and obstructing a federal investigation, ending a five-year probe that has raised trade tensions between the U.S. and China. The penalty was among the largest ever in a sanctions case.

One week ago, we pointed out a curious bifurcation: the Fed was telegraphing an imminent rate hike - one which following Yellen's Friday conference is now virtually assured - even though it appears the FOMC would be hiking in a quarter in which GDP comes in in the mid 1%-range, or lower. The reason: while "soft data" - which is important to animal spirits if not actual economic output - continues to surge, the "hard data", that which actually matters to the economy, is still disappointing.

In a report released this morning by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development titled "Will risks derail the modest recovery? Financial vulnerabilities and policy risks" the OECD warns the global economy may not be strong enough to withstand risks from increased trade barriers, overblown stock markets or potential currency volatility, and adds that the "disconnect between financial markets and fundamentals, potential market volatility, financial vulnerabilities and policy uncertainties could derail the modest recovery."

Seriously - every day!!

VIX crushed at the open to ignte equity market momentum higher...

12 days in a row...

Buy The Fucking Nuclear Threat?

Via Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,

Unless the Federal Reserve intends to buy up every dead and dying mall in America, this is one crisis that the Fed can't bail out with a few digital keystrokes.

Just as generals prepare to fight the last war, central banks prepare to battle the last financial crisis--which in the present context means a big-bank liquidity meltdown like the one that nearly toppled thr global financial system in 2008-09.