Business

When yesterday Bank of America presented "Another Sign That Wall Street Doesn’t Believe The Rally" noting that its "Sell Side Indicator, a measure of Wall Street’s bullishness on stocks, fell by 1ppt to 51.9, its lowest level in over a year" it tried to spin this "pervasive bearishness as a 'reliable contrarian indicator'." Alas, for now it is merely an indicator of precisely what it is: that the smart money still refuses to believe the rally, and following a record 13 weeks of smart money selling, overnight BofA reported what is now becoming painfully farcical:

• Global stocks slide as yen, euro gains question policy potency (Reuters)
• U.S. Index Futures Signal Stock Losses as AIG Drops on Earnings (BBG)
• EU Sees Weaker Growth in Eurozone and Wider EU as China Slowdown Weighs (WSJ)
• Euro Set for Longest Run of Gains Since 2013 as Fed Focus Fades (BBG)
• German Bonds Advance as EU Cuts Euro-Area Inflation Outlook (BBG)
• Trump hopes to land decisive blow in Indiana showdown with Cruz (Reuters)
• Hedge Funds Under Attack as Cohen Says Skilled People Are Scarce (BBG)

We just posted a comment on the situation in the EU, where financial repression is still increasing.  Big concern from my perspective is that negative rates and central bank market intervention seem to be frightening investors and convincing savers to abandon the financial system.  Look at the earnings reports from UBS and the other large EU banks.  Banks are 80% of the EU balance sheet and virtually all are shrinking.  It is hard to envision how this situation does not end in tears for the nations of Europe given the policy mix.

Three months ago, when Australia unexpectedly revealed that its recent "stellar" job numbers had in fact been cooked we asked, rhetorically, why the sudden admission it was all a lie? Simple: weakness in commodity prices "is far greater than people had been expecting,” the nation's top economist said. Australia is now "swimming against the tide" because of uncertainties in the global economy, he added.

Quaker Oats are facing a lawsuit following lab tests that found traces of the Monsanto herbicide glyphosate in its products.  The lawsuit, seeking class-action status, says that the company uses false marketing tactics in claiming that their products are “100% natural”. RT.com reports: “Defendant aggressively advertises and promotes its oatmeal products as ‘100% Natural,’ and claims its oats are grown using ‘eco-friendly’ methods that pose ‘less risk of pollutants and groundwater pollution,'” the lawsuit says.