Business

It must have been scary for Boeing for those few months in which the all important Ex-Im bank was taken offline. The result: moments ago BA announced Q4 earnings which while beating expectations (which were sharply lowered in recent months) of $1.27, were still a 31% drop compared to Q4 of last year, driven by a 4% drop in the top line, leading to a substantial decline in gross profit from $3.8 billion to just 2.9 billion, and a whopping 38% plunge in operating cash flow to just $3.1 billion (and $2.5 biliion in FCF).

• Global stocks, dollar struggle ahead of Fed as oil falters (Reuters)
• Bond Bulls Bank on Fed Mention of Market Chaos as Drag on Growth (BBG)
• Fees on Mutual Funds and ETFs Tumble Toward Zero (WSJ)
• China Climbs Back Up Janet Yellen's Worry List (BBG)
• The World’s Favorite New Tax Haven Is the United States (BBG)
• New Jersey Gov. Christie backs Atlantic City takeover plan (Reuters)
• U.S. Universities Raised a Record $40.3 Billion Last Year (BBG)
• With China weakening, Apple turns to India (Reuters)

There were many excuses in Bill Ackman's annual letter to shareholders, in fact some 13 pages worth, which sought to explain how "Pershing Square funds suffered their greatest peak-to-trough decline and worst annual performance ever."

To be sure, Ackman is quick to point out that the 21% plunge in P&L in 2015 was not just due to his infamous tryst with Valeant, although that's where it started:

While the focus in the overnight session has traditionally been about two things, namely oil and China, today one can also throw in AAPL which is down 4% in the pre-market after its disappointing earnings yesterday in which it confirmed our channel-checked warnings about China from last summer, and the Fed which is set to release the January FOMC statement this afternoon.

The “Big Four” retail banks in the United States collectively hold 45% of all customer bank deposits for a total of $4.6 trillion.

The fifth biggest retail bank, U.S. Bancorp, is nothing to sneeze at, either. It’s got 3,151 banking offices and employs 65,000 people. However, it still pales in comparison with the Big Four, holding only a mere $271 billion in deposits.