Business

We’ve spilled quite a bit of digital ink documenting WalMart’s trials and travails since the world’s largest retailer moved last year to implement an across-the-board wage hike for its lowest-paid employees.

That decision led directly to a series of unfortunate events including a move to squeeze extra savings out of suppliers and an effort to recoup the money spent on the wage hikes by - you guessed it - firing people, including dozens at the home office in Bentonville.

As we noted last night, in what was the second clear example of sheer desperation by the Bank of Japan, the central banker formerly known as Peter Pan for his on the record belief that "he should fly", and as of this morning better known as Peter Panic, desperately tried to pull of his best "Draghi", up to and even stealing the ECB's trademark catch phrase, to wit:

Submitted by Michael McDonald via OilPrice.com,

Submitted by Greg Hunter via USAWatchdog.com,

Former Reagan White House Budget Director David Stockman says retail investors are going to take, yet, another very big hit. Stockman explains,

By former FX trader and current Bloomberg commentator Richard Breslow

The Evil One

An enduring curse of this financial crisis is the inability of markets to disengage from the clutches of the correlation of one. We see it ad seriatim, often day to day: everything is wonderful, all hail the central bank (Friday); the world is crashing, these empty suits are running us over the cliff (Tuesday).