Business

"Subprime lending is a calculated risk - we know that some of the customers won't pay, we just don't know which at the time the loan is made. With higher default rates come higher expenses, and higher interest rates are necessitated to remain solvent." That's a quote made in a statement by Midwest Acceptance corporation, who specializes in high interest car loans for subprime borrowers in the St. Louis area.

Following a brief surge of hedge fund closure announcements in late 2015 and early 2016, there had been a lull in hedge fund shutterings in recent months, as the smart money community had benefited by the dramatic jump in the S&P500 to just shy of all time highs. That changed moments ago when Reuters reported that hedge fund Pine River Capital Management is closing its Pine River Fixed Income fund and returning roughly $1.6 billion in assets to investors just two months after Steve Kuhn, one of the fund's co-managers, left the firm.

Shrugging off the weakness in jobs as 'transitory' one can't help but get a hawkish feeling from Yellen's speech, but it appears the FX market disagrees (as the US Dollar is leaking lower). Bond yields are also fading back lower and so are stocks... Once again Fed communications policy wins - baffle e'm with bullshit.

Bonds and Bullion are bid as the USD slides with stocks...

Confused? Then 'Mission Accomplished'.

Submitted by Rakesh Upadhyay via OilPrice.com,

Traditional rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran, continue to fight to prove their supremacy in OPEC. Neither gives up an opportunity to hurt the other, whenever and wherever they can, and oil seems to be their favourite playground.

With Saudi Arabia scuttling any chances of a production freeze in Doha in April, Iran has followed suit by thwarting attempts by Saudi Arabia to introduce a production ceiling on OPEC production in Thursday’s meeting held in Vienna.

Will she or won't she? With an increasing number of market participants entirely confused by the Fed's utterly failed communications policy - as it constantly changes its focus from one meeting to another - Janet Yellen's speech today on the economic outlook and monetary policy at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia seems critical just one week out from a supposedly "live" June meeting (who market-implied rate-hike odds are now just 4%).

Credibility crushed...

Headlines from prepared remarks: