Business

By Richard Breslow, a former FX trader and fund manager who writes for Bloomberg

Mood swings have been fluctuating so quickly they resemble rapid-eye-movement rather than the expected ebb and flow of a normal market, such as it is in a QE world.

On Monday S&P 500 futures made a year-to-date high. On Tuesday we were told the market was in full “risk-off” mode. You guessed it, they surged Wednesday. This makes it, perhaps, worth taking a moment to try for some perspective from a technical point of view.

Submitted by Mike "Mish" Shedlock of MishTalk

Department of Education Wonders “Why 40% of Student Borrowers Don’t Make Payments”; Blame Bush (Seriously)!

Over 40 percent of those in student loan programs have stopped making payments. Many borrowers have never made any payments.

The department of education (a useless body that I would eliminate in one second if given the chance), cannot figure out why this is happening.

Ignore the bounce in stocks, something much larger is playing out beneath the surface.

That “something” is key admissions from Central Banks that they have lost their ability to generate anything resembling a recovery. In particular the Bank of Japan has finally come clean in an admission so startling that it took three months for the media to even catch on.

In January 2016, the head of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda stated that Japan has a “potential growth rate of 0.5% or lower.”

Three days ago, the latest catalyst to weigh down Valeant stock was news that the company's lenders were pushing back on its demands to obtain a default waiver and to loosen restrictions on its negative debt covenants.  It appears, however, that that issue has been resolved, and as the company reported moments ago in a press release on its website, VEX "has obtained the requisite lender approval for the amendment and waiver to its credit facility.  The Company expects to close the amendment and waiver next week."

• U.S. readies bank rule on shell companies amid 'Panama Papers' fury (Reuters)
• Co-Founder of Mossack Fonseca Defends Law Firm at Center of ‘Panama Papers’ (WSJ)
• Fed's Cautious Approach on April Rate Hike Raises Stakes for June (BBG)
• Dollar sinks again after Fed remains cautious (Reuters)
• New Tax Rules on Inversion Deals Are Met With Protest (WSJ)
• Fed Chairs Since 1979 Offer Peek Into Central-Bank Philosophy (BBG)
• Election stirs debate about Fed's handling of political pressure (Reuters)