Baltic Dry Index. 504 -15 Brent Crude 44.34
LIR Gold Target in 2019: $30,000. Revised due to QE programs.
"When it becomes serious, you have to lie"
Jean-Claude Juncker. Failed Luxembourg Prime Minister and ex-president of the Euro Group of Finance Ministers. Confessed liar. EC President.
Jean-Claude Juncker. Failed Luxembourg Prime Minister and ex-president of the Euro Group of Finance Ministers. Confessed liar. EC President.
We open today with the Baltic Dry Index sinking lower than 1985 when the index was started. Take to the lifeboats immediately! In the words of the Great Immortal G. W. Bush, “this sucker could go down.” The Greatest Disconnect in history has long since left the control of the lying, cheating, stealing, central banksters and Great Vampire Squids. The Greatest Malinvestment Binge ever, is ending in a Great Commodity Wreck. We are about to lose a whole slew of Caterpillars and Glencore’s in 2016, if they can stay afloat that long. As for the oil industry and US frackers, the jig is up. As Homer Simpson might say, Frackers, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never borrow heavily if you can’t ever make a profit.
'To Start Press Any Key'. Where's the ANY key?
Yellen, with apologies to Homer Simpson.
Baltic Dry Shipping Index Drops to All-Time Low
November 19,
2015 — 1:08 PM GMT Updated on November 19, 2015 — 2:39 PM GMT
The cost of shipping commodities fell to a record, amid signs that
Chinese demand growth for iron ore and coal is slowing, hurting the
industry’s biggest source of cargoes.
The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping rates for everything from
coal to ore to grains, fell to 504 points on Thursday, the lowest data from the
London-based Baltic Exchange going back to 1985. Among the causes of
shipowners’ pain is slowing economic growth in China, which is translating into
weakening demand for imported iron ore that’s used to make the steel.
“The main issue is the lack of demand for iron ore from China,” Eirik
Haavaldsen, a shipping analyst at Pareto Securities AS in Oslo, said by phone.
“This market is looking like a disaster and the rates are a reflection of that.
It is looking scary for the market and it doesn’t look like there is going to
be any life in the market in the near term.”Just as China’s surging imports of iron ore and other commodities led a surge in the Baltic Dry Index to a record in the last decade, now rates are sliding ever lower as that growth stalls. The nation’s ore purchases will expand by just 1 percent in 2016, about half this year’s expansion and the weakest pace in six years, according to data from Clarkson Plc, the world’s biggest shipbroker.
----The Baltic Dry fell 2.9 percent Thursday, taking its decline this year to 36 percent. Day rates for Capesize vessels, so called because they can’t get through the Panama Canal’s locks, slumped 7.2 percent to $4,015. All of the five ship types tracked by the Baltic Exchange retreated. Panamaxes, the biggest to go through the Panama Canal, fell 1.9 percent to $3,737 a day.
More
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-19/baltic-dry-ship-index-drops-to-record-as-iron-ore-growth-slump
BHP Billiton deflects dividend talk as it opens probe into Samarco dam burst
Progressive dividend of Australia-based miner under scrutiny as it battles low commodities prices and Brazilian dam disaster
BHP Billiton has refused to rule out a cut in its dividend in the future as it battles the fallout from tumbling commodity prices and the burst dam at its Samarco joint venture in Brazil.The London-listed miner, which is headquartered in Australia, has long held a progressive dividend policy, which means it is committed to increasing or maintaining its twice-yearly pay-out to shareholders.
Speaking after the company’s AGM in Perth, Western Australia, chairman Jac Nasser said the company was committed to the policy at least until the next review in February, when it announces its interim results. “The first principle is a strong balance sheet and everything else follows on from that,” he said.
BHP paid out $6.6m in dividends last year, which Mr Nasser attributed to increasing production, lower costs and higher productivity.
BHP, in common with its peers in the mining sector, has seen the value of commodities slump on the back of slowing demand in China.
Its share price has tumbled almost 20pc since November 5, when a dam burst at an iron mine run by Samarco in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The resulting waste water flood flattened a village and killed at least eleven people. Mr Nasser confirmed at BHP’s AGM that a further eight people were still missing.
BHP and its Brazilian partner Vale each have a 50pc interest in Samarco. The three companies have now commissioned an external investigation into the causes of the dam burst.
---- BHP’s AGM was the target of a demonstration by Greenpeace activists, who held up banners reading “BHP: Mud and Profit” and “#justiceforMariana” - a reference to the Brazilian town that was swept away in the flood water.
Around 600 people have been moved into temporary accommodation following the flood. Earlier this week Samarco agreed to pay $260m towards clean-up costs in Minas Gerais. The full cost of the accident is likely to be much higher.
Separately Samarco said it was conducting emergency works to shore up the stability of the other two dams at the Minas Gerais site, which, while “stable”, had safety readings that are below those required under Brazilian law. (Emphasis added. Why are safety readings below those required under Brazilian law? Who allowed that to happen? Why? Ed.)
More
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/12005286/BHP-Billiton-deflects-dividend-talk-as-it-opens-probe-into-Samarco-dam-burst.html
We close with more on the ever growing Volkswagen fraud. Who’s getting ready to cut a deal? Who will face a US “perp walk” and a lifetime in a US jail?
Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!
Volkswagen with apologies to Sir Walter Scott.
Exclusive: U.S. probes Bosch in VW cheating scandal - sources
Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice are examining whether Bosch, the world's largest auto supplier, knew or participated in Volkswagen's years-long efforts to circumvent U.S. diesel emissions tests, the people said. Bosch built key components in the diesel engine used in six Volkswagen models and one Audi model that the automaker has admitted to rigging to defeat emissions tests. Federal authorities are also investigating how deeply the scheme permeated VW’s hierarchy, according to people familiar with the matter.
The probe is at an early stage and there is no indication that U.S. prosecutors have found evidence of wrongdoing at Bosch, the people added, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.
Volkswagen has admitted to installing software that allowed its 2.0 liter diesel models to pass U.S. clean air tests, while shutting off emissions control systems when its diesel cars are actually on the road. VW said in September that around 11 million diesel powered cars were affected worldwide, including 482,000 in the United States. A Bosch spokeswoman declined to comment. A Department of Justice spokesman also declined to comment.
Bosch provides the engine control module, called EDC17, and basic software for nearly all the four-cylinder diesel cars sold in North America, including by Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), BMW AG (BMWG.DE) and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz (DAIGn.DE). Those systems regulate how a vehicle cleans burned-up fuel before it is expelled as exhaust.
More
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/19/us-volkswagen-emissions-probe-exclusive-idUSKCN0T82Q320151119
Volkswagen faces pressure in U.S. to buy back older diesel cars
A California Air Resources Board spokesman said officials at the automaker are scheduled to meet Friday with CARB and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to present detailed proposals for recalling and fixing about 482,000 vehicles sold in the United States with diesel engines that emit more smog-forming pollutants than allowed by law.
California has set a Nov. 20 deadline for Volkswagen to come up with a plan to fix the diesel cars affected by its rigging of emissions tests. The carmaker said in September that around 11 million diesel powered cars were affected worldwide, including 482,000 in the United States.
"I am personally hopeful we will be able to announce something soon about the remedies ... and which we are discussing with the agencies in upcoming days," Michael Horn, head of Volkswagen's U.S. operations, said at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday.
The CARB spokesman also confirmed that the agency's head, Mary Nichols, told the German daily Handelsblatt that Volkswagen might have to buy back some of the older diesel models. "I think it is quite likely that they will end up buying back at least some portion of the fleet from the current owners," the paper quoted Nichols as saying in an interview to be published on Friday. Newer cars might get easy software fixes and medium generation ones might need software and hardware components to fix the issue, Nichols said, according to the paper. But older cars might have to be repurchased rather than fitted with new pollution control devices.
More
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/19/us-volkswagen-emissions-regulators-idUSKCN0T831M20151119
“The boom can last only as long as the
credit expansion progresses at an ever-accelerated pace. The boom comes to an
end as soon as additional quantities of fiduciary media are no longer thrown
upon the loan market.”
Ludwig
von Mises.
At the Comex silver depositories Thursday
final figures were: Registered 43.54 Moz, Eligible 116.40 Moz, Total 159.94
Moz.
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally
doubled over.
Today we focus on resurgent Russia. Seemingly the
only sane nation in continental Europe.
Russia Assets Surmount Sanctions as Putin Comes in From the Cold
Updated on
November 18, 2015 — 12:50 PM GMT
An easing of tensions between Vladimir Putin, Europe and the U.S. is
prompting investors to take a fresh look at Russian assets.
Swedbank Robur in Stockholm bought shares in state-owned Russian
companies and NN Investment Partners in The Hague said it was
reconsidering its underweight stance on stocks after the Group of 20
summit brought Russia closer to an alliance with the U.S. in the fight against
terrorism. Russian stocks rallied the most worldwide on Tuesday after Zambia
and bonds gained on speculation the rapprochement would lead to an easing of
sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
“Russia is no longer seen as a villain like a year ago,"
said Elena Loven, who is adding "liquid and cheap" stocks to the
1 billion-euro ($1.07 billion) portfolio she helps manage at Swedbank Robur.
"The political risk that was priced into Russian assets is declining.
Foreigners, who were mostly underweight Russia, are now buying Russian blue
chips in a panic."
Finding common ground with U.S. has the potential to change the stakes
for investors who until now have been pricing in the risk that separatist
turmoil in Ukraine’s easternmost region could flare up again and prolong
sanctions. Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that an easing of Russia’s
isolation would warrant a reconsideration of its junk rating for the country if
penalties that have contributed to Russia’s economic slump are lifted.
MoreRussia, China sign contract worth over $2 billion for Su-35 fighter jets
China is to buy a batch of 24 Sukhoi-35 fighter jets from Russia in a
deal worth more than $2 billion, an industry source told Reuters on Thursday,
in a move that may help the Kremlin's strained finances.
A spokeswoman for Russian state holding Rostec confirmed a deal between
the two countries had been signed involving Su-35 fighter jets, but declined to
provide details.
The deal makes China the first foreign buyer of the Su-35, one of
Russia's most advanced military aircraft, and is one of the largest contracts
for military jets to have ever been signed between the two countries.
Russia and China have been in talks for several years over the Su-35s,
and in 2012 the two sides signed a preliminary agreement for Beijing to buy
some of the jets, the Kommersant newspaper reported.
Arms sales are a rare bright spot in an otherwise gloomy economic
picture for Russia, whose economy is suffering from weak oil prices and Western
sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
Moscow has sought to deepen trade and financial ties with Beijing
following the chill in relations with the West over Ukraine, but some analysts
are skeptical as to whether the drive has yielded much in the way of early
results.
It is not clear when China will pay Russia the more than $2 billion fee
for the Su-35 jets.
Finally John Bull
gets his just reward for the insane Russian sanctions over Uncle Scam’s botched
coup in Kiev. Sanctions that harm the EUSSR more than they hurt Russia or
America.
Belgravia Mansion Sales Slump as Russians Vanish From London
November 19, 2015 — 11:08 AM GMT Updated on November 19, 2015 — 11:47 AM
GMT
Home sales in Belgravia, the London district favored by Russian
oligarchs for its large Regency-style houses, are slumping after the collapse
of the ruble against the pound.
Transactions dropped 25 percent in the neighborhood in the 10
months through October from a year earlier, compared with a decline of
almost 20 percent in the rest of central London’s best districts, according to
researcher Lonres. The ruble has fallen 26 percent in the past year against the
U.K. currency amid international sanctions over Ukraine and the collapse of oil
prices.
“The share of Russian buyers in the prime central London market is down due largely to the currency weakness and difficulty in getting money out of the country,” said Charles McDowell, who advises wealthy clients on buying luxury homes in London. “This has affected Belgravia and Knightsbridge in particular, which is very much the Russian heartland.”
Sales of luxury homes in the capital have also been damped by an increase in the stamp duty sales tax and falling commodity values. That’s prompted broker W.A. Ellis LLP to warn that “the bubble may already have burst” for the most expensive properties.
Russian buyers acquired 4.2 percent of homes sold in central London’s best districts in the third quarter, compared with 10 percent a year earlier, according to broker Knight Frank LLP.
Belgravia’s Russian residents have included Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich and investor Boris Berezovsky, who died in 2013. Billionaire Oleg Deripaska paid 25 million pounds ($38 million) for a home in the district.
More
America's
health care system is second only to Japan... Canada, Sweden, Great Britain...
well, all of Europe. But you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in
Paraguay!
Homer
Simpson
Solar & Related Update.
With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this new section. Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC energy mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards? DC? A quantum computer next?University of Glasgow researchers make graphene production breakthrough
Issued: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 10:01:00 GMT
Graphene has been hailed as a wonder material since it was first
isolated from graphite in 2004. Graphene is just a single atom thick but it is
flexible, stronger than steel, and capable of efficiently conducting heat and
electricity.
However, widespread industrial adoption of graphene has so
far been limited by the expense of producing it. Affordable graphene production
could lead to a wide range of new technologies reaching the market, including
synthetic skin capable of providing sensory feedback to people with limb
prostheses.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow have now found a way to produce large sheets of graphene using the same cheap type of copper used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries found in many household devices.
In a new paper published today (Wednesday 18 November) in the journal Scientific Reports, a team led by Dr Ravinder Dahiya explain how they have been able to produce large-area graphene around 100 times cheaper than ever before.
Graphene is often produced by a process known as chemical vapour deposition, or CVD, which turns gaseous reactants into a film of graphene on a special surface known as a substrate.
The research team used a similar process to create high-quality graphene across the surface of commercially-available copper foils of the type often used as the negative electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. The ultra-smooth surface of the copper provided an excellent bed for the graphene to form upon.
They found that the graphene they produced offered a stark improvement in the electrical and optical performance of transistors which they made compared to similar materials produced from the older process.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow have now found a way to produce large sheets of graphene using the same cheap type of copper used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries found in many household devices.
In a new paper published today (Wednesday 18 November) in the journal Scientific Reports, a team led by Dr Ravinder Dahiya explain how they have been able to produce large-area graphene around 100 times cheaper than ever before.
Graphene is often produced by a process known as chemical vapour deposition, or CVD, which turns gaseous reactants into a film of graphene on a special surface known as a substrate.
The research team used a similar process to create high-quality graphene across the surface of commercially-available copper foils of the type often used as the negative electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. The ultra-smooth surface of the copper provided an excellent bed for the graphene to form upon.
They found that the graphene they produced offered a stark improvement in the electrical and optical performance of transistors which they made compared to similar materials produced from the older process.
Dr Dahiya, of the University of Glasgow’s School of
Engineering, said: “The commercially-available copper we used in our process
retails for around one dollar per square metre, compared to around $115 for a
similar amount of the copper currently used in graphene production. This more
expensive form of copper often required preparation before it can be used,
adding further to the cost of the process.
“Our process produces high-quality graphene at low cost, taking us one step closer to creating affordable new electronic devices with a wide range of applications, from the smart cities of the future to mobile healthcare.
“Our process produces high-quality graphene at low cost, taking us one step closer to creating affordable new electronic devices with a wide range of applications, from the smart cities of the future to mobile healthcare.
More
Another weekend,
with Europe still coming to terms with last Friday’s moslem atrocity. If
commodities and shipping are any guide, we are on the cusp of a great
contraction. Have a great weekend every one. Check with the weekend update on
the LIR blog.
Facts
are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely
true!
Juncker,
with apologies to Homer Simpson
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished October
DJIA: +31 Down. NASDAQ:
+125 Down. SP500: +53 Down.
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