Overnight China's finance ministry reported the latest data on state-owned firms profitability. At a cumulative CNY 2.04 trillion (or $316 billion) for the January-November period, this was another nearly double digit decline, or -9.5% from the year ago period, following a -9.8% drop for the 10 month period the month before.
Authored by David Swensen (Yale CIO) and Jonathan Macey, Op-Ed via NYTimes.com,
America's equity markets are broken. Individuals and institutions make transactions in rigged markets favoring short-term players. The root cause of the problem is that stocks trade on numerous venues, including 11 traditional exchanges and dozens of so-called dark pools that allow buyers and sellers to work out of the public eye. This market fragmentation allows high-frequency traders and exchanges to profit at the expense of long-term investors.
“Two things become clear in an analysis of the financial health of US hydrocarbon production: 1) the sector is not at all homogenous, exhibiting a range of financial health; 2) some of the sector indeed looks exposed to distress [and] lifelines for distressed producers could include public equity markets, asset sales, private equity, or consolidation. If all else fails, Chapter 11 may be necessary.” That’s Citi’s assessment of America’s “shale revolution”, which the Saudis have been desperately trying to crush for more than a year now.
Switzerland are going to hold a referendum to allow citizens to decide whether or not they will ban the practise of fractional reserve banking. The decision to hold the referendum comes after a petition receives more than 110,000 signatures calling for the central bank to be given the sole power to create money.
Actor Mark Ruffalo has spoken out against the dangers of Monsanto to people’s health and to the farming community. Shortly before confronting Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant on television, Ruffalo was in the green room watching Grant on screen evading all the questions he was asked by the host. Ruffalo commented that he was disgusted whilst he sat watching the “guy who is responsible for so much misery and sickness throughout the world slime his way through his interview.” When Grant came into the green room, Ruffalo told him this: “You are wrong. You are engaged in monopolizing food.