Japan

Many people online are engaging in heated debate over a bible verse that some argue is a direct reference to the recent string of violent earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador, the subsequent volcano eruption, and even the mysterious “earthquake foam” flooding Japanese streets. The bible verse in question is Psalm 46:3, and reads as follows: …Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

Earlier today Toyota was one of many Japanese companies to announce that it will suspend most car production across Japan as a result of critical supply chain disruptions caused by the recent destructive earthquake and numerous aftershocks. All of the major assembly lines will be shut down across its four directly-run plants, and Toyota will be halting production in stages at other group companies as well.

After this week's spike in destructive Japanese earthquakes, which in addition to the two strongest tremors since 2011 has also unleashed several hundred smaller aftershocks and led to over 40 deaths, thousands injured, landslides, collapsed buildings and extensive damage, the most surprising aftereffect appeared yesterday on the streets of the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka which became blanketed in "mysterious foam" leaving residents baffled by the phenomenon which the authorities, busy with the disaster’s aftermath, found no time to explain.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered "government's full capacity" for a search and rescue effort after a second powerful earthquake hit southern Japan.

As USA Today reports, at least 41 people were killed and some 1,500 injured in the two quakes that struck Kumamoto Prefecture late Thursday and early Saturday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-L7U-Sjl1E

Excerpted from Doug Noland's Credit Bubble Bulletin,

Another unsettled week for global markets. Japan’s Nikkei equities index rallied 6.5%. Italian bank stocks surged 10%, with the Europe STOXX 600 Bank Index up 8.1%. Germany’s DAX equities index rallied 4.5%, with Spanish stocks up 5.0% and Italian 4.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Financials index surged 5.9%. The EM market rally continued. U.S. bank stocks jumped 7.0%. A Friday evening Bloomberg headline: “Rough Week for Shorts as Banks Send S&P 500 to Four-Month High.”