Business

Following The Bank of Japan's voyage into NIRP never-never-land, the market has sent a clear signal of its displeasure and now a growing number of Japanese officials (and former officials) are questioning Kuroda and Abe's Peter-Pan-ic dream that 'they' can fly. Having called for sub-zero rates more than two decades ago, Takeshi Fujimaki, the Japanese banker turned opposition lawmaker, warns "The BOJ is trapped," now that QQE efforts have flattened the yield curve, since "if the curve is steep, banks can make profits even at negative rates.

By Keith Dicker of IceCap Asset Management

Journey to the Center of the Earth 

Question: Why is the world in an economic funk?

Answer: Private Capital is running away from trouble

Chart 2 shows two variables. The BLUE line shows the amount of quantitative easing or money printing in the USA. Up until September 2008, the amount of money made available to the economy increased in a gradual manner. Thereafter it became a gong show.

The last time we hosted a video by RealVision's Raoul Pal, he laid out what indicators he looks at to decide if the next crisis has arrived, of which global ISM was notable but global trade was the key one, and explained that while the Fed is clearly aware of the economy's deteriorating condition, it is Yellen's job to preserve a sense of confidence and security until the bitter end.

In his latest video released this past week, we are that much closer to the end as the title of his interview with Grant Williams makes clear: The Reset Part 2.

Submitted by Adam Taggart via PeakProsperity.com,

As we've been watching closely, something is wrong with the big banks. Their shares have lost 25-33% of their market value since the beginning of the year. What's going on?

The turmoil seems greatest in Europe, where bank shares have fallen the hardest, and negative interest rates have appeared with increasingly frequency across member countries.

When the Fed unveiled its reverse repo program several years ago, it was meant to be a means for the Federal Reserve to soak up excess liquidity from domestic financial institutions when the Fed eventually proceeded to hike interest rates, as it did in mid-December.