Submitted by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,
“What are the odds that people will make smart decisions about money if they don’t need to make smart decisions–if they can get rich making dumb decisions? The incentives on Wall Street were all wrong; they’re still all wrong.” ? Michael Lewis, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
It had been a volatile day for nat gas traders.
As we reported this morning citing Bloomberg, "it’s almost time to put that snow shovel away and get out the gardening tools", because as the following weather forecast shows, March temperatures are expected to be considerably higher than expected across the entire US.
This led to some abnormal moves in natgas this morning:
The moves even prompted rumors that another commodity hedge fund had blown up:
Many are trying to put their finger on what has precipitated today's breakout rally.
On one hand you have Reuters, saying that it is due to economic data which was so poor it "spurred stimulus hopes"...
... on the other you have, well, Reuters again which said the data was so strong it "points to economic recovery"...
Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
It appears the music may have finally stopped for one of the world’s largest luxury real estate bubbles: London.
It’s well known that foreign oligarchs love London real estate as a means to launder funds, typically “earned” by soaking their host countries dry via corruption and fraud. This has caused absurd and irrational spikes in high-end residential real estate in the English capital, as well as a flood of new construction.
Mario Draghi better put up or shut up at the next ECB meeting as the market is more-than-pricing-in a very significant deposit rate cut (deeper into NIRP). In fact, at -56bps, 2Y German bond yields are the most "priced in" since 2011 (and bear in mind he disappointed in December).
And in close up - Draghi "disappointed" in December
Though ironically that surge in yields in December enabled more Bunds to be eligible (albeit briefly) for Draghi's mass purchase scheme.