Business

The FANGs are beginning to break down.

FANG is an acronym that stands for Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google.

These are four of the top performing stocks of 2015. Netflix was the top stock for the S&P 500 returning 134% in 2015. Amazon was #2, returning 118%.  Google returned 44% and Facebook returned 34%.

In very simple terms, these are the big market leaders. And now all of them are beginning to break down.

Facebook (FB) is testing critical support. Below this the long-term bull market trendline at sub-100.

• Obama, wiping tears, makes new push to tighten gun rules (Reuters)
• Global stocks hit by China worries, North Korea nuclear test (Reuters)
• Oil hits 11-year low, Saudi-Iran row cuts chances of output restraint (Reuters)
• North Korea says successfully conducts first H-bomb test (Reuters)
• Valeant Planning to Appoint New Leader as CEO Remains Hospitalized (WSJ)
• Treasuries Extend 2016 Winning Start With Growth Outlook Clouded (BBG)
• Apple Scales Back Orders for Its iPhones (WSJ)

On the first trading day of the year, stocks crashed after China shocked the world with a circuit-breaking market slide that was not contained by the government. On the second trading day, after the Chinese government intervened drastically, global equities stabilized if just barely.

by Keith Weiner

There is a populist idea of money printing. The idea is that banks can just print what they want, enriching themselves in a massive fraud. But, does it really work this way?

Let’s start with a simple case, which is clearly not money printing. We will build a series of examples by adding one element at a time, working our way up to banks, and the central bank. Then we can examine this idea of printing.

Standard & Poor’s slashed the credit ratings of 112 corporations around the globe to default (D) or selective default (SD) in 2015, according to S&P Capital IQ Global Credit. The highest number of global defaults since nightmare-year 2009, when a previously unthinkable 268 companies defaulted, and not far behind the second highest default tally of 125, in 2008.