Submitted by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,
On Friday March 15, 2013–just over three years ago–people across the entire nation of Cyprus went to bed believing that everything was OK.
The next morning they woke up to a different reality.
It turned out that their banking system was totally broke. After suffering enormous losses, banks no longer had sufficient liquidity or capital to maintain customer account balances.
In case you missed it, DM central banks are locked in a truly epic FX deathmatch.
Sluggish growth and trade and the attendant global deflationary supply glut have left the world stuck in a nauseating, perpetual hangover from the financial crisis. Subpar inflation and disappointing growth have become the norm in developed markets and that’s lured central bankers into a mad Keynesian dash for the bottom.
A group of Anonymous hackers who call themselves ‘KarmaSec’ have leaked data from a Japanese zoo in protest against animal abuse and brutality in Japan. In a tweet, the group claim they had hacked into the server of Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture Tourism Promotion Division’s website. AnonHQ reports: The group targeted the Akiyoshidai Safari Land Natural Zoo located in Yamaguchi, and threatened to release even more data if the zoo did not release all of its animals. They appear to have even more incriminating data. Release ALL of the animals! Warning you is too late.
A Texas demolition team tore down the wrong building and blamed their mistake on Google Maps. The company said the demolition mistake was “not a big deal” Oregon Live reports: The owners of a tornado-damaged duplex in Rowlett, a suburb of Dallas, arrived at their homes on Tuesday to find they had been demolished, according to the local ABC News affiliate WFAA. But the demolition was a mistake. The contractor, Billy L. Nabors Demolition, actually had a demolition permit for a home on the next block, WFAA reported.
While the final revision to Q4 2015 GDP was so irrelevant it was released on a holiday when every US-based market is closed, even the futures, it is nonetheless notable that according to the BEA in the final quarter of 2015 US GDP grew 1.4%, up from the 1.0% previously reported, and higher than the 1.0% consensus estimate matching the highest Q4 GDP forecast. The final Q4 GDP print was still well below the 2.0% annualized GDP growth reported in Q3.