Business

As we said two days ago when looking at the paltry recoveries on their total debt that bankrupt energy debtors are generating in liquidation and bankruptcy asset sales, "the energy bankruptcy party is only just starting." And sure enough, overnight we learned that another company is preparing to throw in the towel following a Reuters report that SandRidge Energy - a shale oil and gas producer in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. - is exploring debt restructuring options, "as the heavily indebted U.S.

Traders on the NYSE clapped and cheered when the closing bell sounded on Friday as though a couple of green closes somehow made up for the outright chaos that’s reigned throughout the month.

Oil may technically have entered a new “bull” market and the yuan may have momentarily stabilized, but a quick look at the fundamentals for crude and the backdrop for the global economy suggests any respite will be fleeting.

• Oil Drops as Saudis to Maintain Spending, China Diesel Use Falls (BBG)
• Saudi Arabia is able to withstand low prices says Saudi Aramco Chairman (WSJ)
• Recession Warnings May Not Come to Pass (WSJ)... or they May
• Problems Found at Theranos Lab (WSJ)
• New York rebounds after blizzard, Washington shuts down government (Reuters)
• China business confidence, recruitment hit record lows in January - SMI survey (Reuters)
• Twitter to Revamp Leadership Under CEO Jack Dorsey (WSJ)

After the biggest two-day surge in oil in seven years, early in the overnight session both Brent and WTI continued their run for a third day, entering a bull market, 20% up from recent lows hit just last week (yet still 15% down on the year) when Saudi Arabia spoiled the momentum party after  the world’s biggest crude exporter said it’s keeping up investments in energy projects while diesel consumption in China dropped for a fourth consecutive month, signaling an industrial slowdown.

Submitted by $hane Obata via Tha Business blog,

It seems like every day we are inundated with news out of China. Investors are already concerned. The offshore renminbi (CNH) is more international than the onshore one (CNY), which is tightly managed by the government. As such, the rising spread (CNH-CNY) between the two may be indicative of mounting skepticism about China’s economy and its markets. Likewise, capital is fleeing the country as hot money flows have accelerated:

source: @vikramreuters