Business

Since 2008 the financial media has been proclaiming that the US was in a “recovery.” This argument was used to justify the insane monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, which maintained ZIRP for seven years and spent over $3 trillion in QE.

Well, it turns out there was no recovery to speak of when it comes to jobs. According to a report posted on Friday, an incredible 93% of ALL jobs created since 2008 were in fact… based on accounting gimmicks.

Yes, 93%... as in more than 9 out of 10.

Source: Morningside Hill Capital Management.

Despite weaker growth than the preliminary 3.0% print, Unit Labor Costs rebounded in Q1 (from Q4 -4.6% QoQ to +2.2% QoQ in Q1), but we note that for the second consecutive quarter real compensation fell (-0.3% QoQ).

Producitivty very modestly beat expectations in Q1 but remains unchanged from Q4...

Unit Labor Costs rose 2.2% (below expectations of a 2.4% jump and well below the preliminary print of +3.0%).

However, in real terms the average american in suffering for the second quarter in a row...

• Saudis, U.A.E., Bahrain and Egypt Cut Ties With Qatar (WSJ)
• Saudi-Led Alliance Cuts Ties With Qatar (BBG)
• Saudi, Egypt lead Arab states cutting Qatar ties, Iran blames Trump (Reuters); Qatar asks citizens to leave UAE within 14 days: embassy (Reuters)
• London Fortifies Bridges to Protect Pedestrians From Attack (BBG)
• Bank at Center of U.S. Inquiry Projects Russian ‘Soft Power’ (NYT)
• Democrat Questions Russia Link as Comey Heads to Hill (WSJ)
• Chats by Metals Trader Reveal Spoofing ‘Tricks from the Master’ (BBG)

In a rare negative move on Apple, Pacific Crest downgraded the tech giant from Overweight to Sector Weight. As StreetInsider notes, analyst Andy Hargreaves says the upside from the iPhone 8 appears to be priced in to the stock. He tells clients in a Monday research note that the risks to Apple might not be priced in, referring to the risk that iPhone sales could potentially decline in FY 2019.

Nigerian Banks!

"No Brainer" US bank stocks languish unchanged in 2017 and even the unstoppable FANG stocks are lagging badly behind Nigerian banks.

It appears all those emails from Nigerian princes are paying off?

Or, as Bloomberg notes, since the Nigerian central bank eased a dollar shortage by opening a currency-trading window for foreign investors in April, lenders in Africa’s biggest economy have soared.