Happy New Year Californians - behold the power of monopoly and regulatory capture.

Submitted by Wolf Richter via WolfStreet.com,

“We want our customers and their families to know that we are here to help them make smart energy choices and save money whenever possible,” cooed Laurie Giammona, senior VP and chief customer officer of Pacific Gas and Electric, on Wednesday between Christmas and New Year’s, when no one was supposed to pay attention.

Full scale replicas of the ancient 15-metre Temple of Bel entrance in Syria are to be built in Trafalgar Square and Times Square. Some believe that the structure is one of the few remaining parts of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel in the Syrian city of Palmyra. It is apparently unknown if the Palmyra Arch was fully destroyed by ISIS over the past year.

Some 'aches and pains' are constraining the global economy, with JPMorgan warning of more severe strains occurring in the emerging world. These aggravating but generally not life-threatening conditions are meant to convey a slow growth world, but, JPM is careful to note, not one on the immediate precipice of collapse or recession. 

(click image for large legible version)

Source: JPMorgan

By Simon Jacques

Noble Group’s "Collateral Margin Call"

The downgrade of Noble Group by Moody’s depicts an aggressive financial risk and a vulnerable business risk profile

I) the first-order problem is Macro.

Preface: One of our pet peeves is when erroneous groupthink persists even in the face of contradictory evidence.

As shown below, water fluoridation is based on very shaky science.  And yet – despite the science – the big dental associations in the U.S. and other countries continue to push it as safe and effective.

The Guardian reported last week: