Business

"Did the Fed have an advance glimpse at Q1 GDP?"

That was a question everyone was asking yesterday when the Fed came out with another not too hawkish statement. The answer may have been yes because moments ago the BEA reported that the US economy grew at just a 0.5% annualized rate in the first quarter, missing expectations of a 0.7% growth rate, growing at half the rate recorded in the 4th quarter, and the lowest quarterly growth rate since Q1 2014 (when the winter was blamed for a negative print). It was also the third consecutive quarter of GDP declines.

Every several years, a CEO is forced to "resign" after an "inappropriate personal relationship" with a coworker is uncovered (usually at the behest of the coworker). Three years ago it cost the job of Lockheed Martin's income CEO. Moments ago it took down Darren Huston, the CEO of Priceline who has resigned from the Company, effective immediately.

This was the reason for the resignation, according to the press release:

It's official: as of today the bull market that has been mocked as fake, doomed and history’s most-hated just earned a new title: the second-longest ever. And it only took $14 trillion in central bank liquidity, a global, coordinated central bank "put", central banks purchases of Treasuries, MBS, ETFs and corporate bonds,  and nearly 700 rate cuts in the past 7 years to achieve it.

• Markets Get the Worst Kind of Kuroda Surprise as BOJ Stands Pat (BBG)
• Bank of Japan brushes aside calls for more easing despite price falls (WSJ)
• Ford Profit Surges to Record as Sales of SUVs, F-150 Gain Speed (BBG)
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals to Make Sweeping Changes to Board (WSJ)
• Trump breaks taboos, attacks Clinton on gender issue (Reuters)
• Donald Trump Mocks Cruz: ‘What’s He Doing Picking Vice Presidents? (WSJ)
• Wealthy, educated voters fuel Trump's East Coast sweep (Reuters)

As China's credit fueled craziness rages on, individual "investors" have been tripping over themselves trying to get in on a piece of the action, opening up enough brokerage accounts for every man, woman, and child in LA and pouring hard earned money into "investment" opportunities such as P2P funds.