Business

The first quarter earnings season is almost over (91% of companies have reported) and the results, while not quite as dire as forecast just over a month ago, still led to the worst quarterly report since the financial crisis, mostly due to a widely expected collapse in energy revenues and earnings, however the big surprise was the disappointing misses in numerous consumer and retail stocks, the result of which was a plunge in the retail index...

Never before has the Bank of Japan done so much to achieve so little. Even after arranging a record stimulus program and reducing a key interest rate to less than zero, Bloomberg reports that the central bank has failed to boost inflation to its goal of 2 percent. Stocks are trading lower than when Governor Haruhiko Kuroda expanded his package of asset purchases in 2014. Exports are declining. One measure of bank lending is at a 14-year high, though loan growth is slowing compared with a year ago.

By Chris at www.CapitalistExploits.at

A few years ago, when living in Phuket, Thailand, a group of Saudis stayed for a week's holiday in a neighboring villa.

Outside of the religious and social confines of the land of black gold and endless sand, this group made a bunch of spoiled 5-year olds left to run amok in a candy shop without adult supervision look positively angelic.

Some interesting laments from Morgan Stanely's chief cross-asset strategist Andrew Sheets as he explains what appears to be troubling not just Morgan Stanley's traders and researchers, but virtually all of Wall Street.

How Can a Good Year Be Bad?