Baltic Dry Index. 2422 -40 Brent
Crude 62.75 Spot Gold 1490
Never ending Brexit now October 31, maybe. 51 days away.
Trump’s Nuclear China Tariffs Now In Effect.
USA v EU trade war postponed to November, maybe.
You
will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big
things badly, does small things badly, too.
John Kenneth Galbraith.
In global stock markets yesterday, it was more of let’s
pretend everything’s never been better. And with the central banks forced to
cut interest rates forever, everything can only get better and better!
Of course they’re having to cut interest rates, because
the global economy is doing a perfect job of faking a manufacturing recession
led by autos, much of Europe and Asia stand on the cusp of a wider recession,
the statistics in the US economy from real estate
and trucking suggest that the
economy there is rolling over.
Toss in Brexit and a new US trade war against the EU due
to kick off in November against German cars and French wines, and what’s not to
like about buying up stocks at the top?
Everything!
Asian markets mixed as investors digest economic data ahead of central bank meetings
By Marketwatch
and Associated
Press Published: Sept 9, 2019 11:01
p.m. ET
Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday,
following a lackluster session on Wall Street.Investors continued to mull recent economic data while they away upcoming meetings by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, both of which are expected to announce monetary stimulus moves.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox Business on Monday that he views the renewed trade talks with China in October as a sign of “good faith,” and claimed the tariff war has had no effect on the U.S. economy.
On Tuesday, data from China showed that consumer inflation rose more than expected in August, although the producer-price index unexpectedly fell 0.8% in August from a year ago.
Japan’s
Nikkei NIK, +0.30%
rose 0.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.08%
was about flat. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -0.36%
retreated 0.4% while the Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.43% slipped 0.5%.
South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.55% gained 0.3%, while
benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, -0.45% , Singapore STI, +0.34%
and Indonesia JAKIDX, +0.07%
were mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.64%
fell 0.5%.
More
China August factory deflation deepens, prices fall most in three years; pork prices soar
September 10,
2019 / 2:52 AM
BEIJING (Reuters)
- China’s factory-gate prices shrank at the sharpest pace in three years in
August, falling deeper into deflationary territory and reinforcing the urgency
for Beijing to step up economic stimulus as the trade war with the United
States intensifies.
Analysts say flagging demand at home and abroad is forcing some Chinese
businesses to slash prices to win new orders or cut output to contain costs,
chipping away at already-lean profits and further dampening business
confidence.
The fall was mainly driven by weakness in raw material prices,
especially for energy and metals.
China’s producer price index (PPI) dropped 0.8% from a year earlier in
August, widening from a 0.3% decline seen in July and the worst year-on-year
contraction since August 2016, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed
on Tuesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the index to have shrunk by
0.9%, the second straight month of outright declines.
“With demand-side pressures on prices increasingly subdued, we think
that further monetary easing is on the horizon,” Capital Economics said in a
note to clients, predicting producer deflation will get worse in coming months.
Share prices in Shanghai fell as the data pointed to growing profit
pressure.
The central bank
on Friday cut banks’ reserve requirements for the seventh time since early 2018
to free up more money for lending, and analysts widely expect it to cut some of
its key lending rates next week to reduce corporate borrowing costs.
More
China’s trade with U.S. tumbles as tariff war escalates
By Associated Press Published: Sept 8, 2019 4:09 p.m. ET
BEIJING — China’s trade with the United States is falling as the two
sides prepare for negotiations with no signs of progress toward ending a tariff
war that threatens global economic growth.
Imports of American goods tumbled 22% in August from a year earlier to
$10.3 billion, customs data showed Sunday. Exports to the United States,
China’s biggest market, sank 16% to $44.4 billion.
Both sides have raised tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s
imports in the fight over complaints about Beijing’s trade surplus and
technology development plans. The United States, Europe, Japan and other
trading partners say those violate Chinese market-opening commitments.
U.S. and Chinese negotiators are preparing for talks in October. Despite
that, the two governments escalated their fight on Sept. 1, imposing or
increasing penalties on billions of dollars of goods. President Donald Trump
plans another increase Oct. 15.
Chinese exporters also face pressure from weakening global consumer
demand. That hurts efforts to find markets to replace the United States.
“The tit-for-tat escalation shows how unlikely a trade deal and
de-escalation have become,” said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report.
“Meanwhile, the global trade weakness looks set to linger, which will continue
to weigh on demand for China’s exports.”
More
Japan's economy grew slower than expected in Q2
By Megumi
Fujikawa Published: Sept 8, 2019
10:05 p.m. ET
TOKYO--Japan's economy grew at a slower pace than initially estimated in
the April-to-June quarter as companies became more cautious about making fixed
investments amid global trade uncertainty, government data showed Monday.
The economy expanded an annualized 1.3% in the second quarter, following
2.2% growth in the previous three months, revised gross domestic product
figures showed. That was lower than the annualized 1.8% growth in a preliminary
estimate from the Cabinet Office last month.
Monday's data showed capital spending rose 0.2% from the previous
quarter, sharply lower than the initial estimate of a 1.5% increase.
Economists say the outlook is getting more cloudy as there is no sign of
the trade dispute between Japan's two biggest trading partners--the U.S. and
China--ending anytime soon.
SMBC Nikko Securities economist Yoshimasa Maruyama expects the Japanese
economy to fall into a mild recession in the October-to-December period. In
October, the Japanese economy is facing another big event--an increase in its consumption
tax to 10% from the current 8%.
Mr. Maruyama said the Japanese government is expected to roll out fiscal
stimulus to prevent any serious downturn.
More
Finally, in other Asian news, it’s change at the top at Alibaba. But is Alibaba
just another giant Ponzi Scheme? Does the balance sheet make sense?
Jack Ma retires from Alibaba as he turns 55. What comes next?
Hong Kong (CNN Business)Jack Ma, the
billionaire who ushered e-commerce into China, is officially stepping down as Alibaba's executive chairman on Tuesday.
He's celebrating his retirement with a big bash at an Olympic-sized stadium in
the company's hometown of Hangzhou.
After
two decades building Alibaba into a $460 billion business, Ma is now pivoting
full time to philanthropy. He started the Jack Ma Foundation in 2014, and has
cited the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as an inspiration for his
charitable endeavors.
"Jack
has been signaling for some time his interests in philanthropy, environment,
women's empowerment, education and development," said Duncan Clark, the
author of "Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built."
"Before I'm
70 years old, I can do something in other fields, in areas like
education," Ma said at an Alibaba event last September.
Ma
announced his intention to resign a year ago. Even after stepping away
from Alibaba's senior management and board, he is expected to continue to shape
the company's future through his lifetime membership with the Alibaba
Partnership, a group of 36 people that can nominate a majority of the directors
to the board. He also retains a 6.22% share of the company.
A Communist Party member, Ma is China's most famous
entrepreneur and — with a fortune of nearly $40 billion — the country's richest
man.
But
he's also a former English teacher, and has often talked about his passion for
education. The date that Ma chose to formally step down, September 10, is
Teachers' Day in China, "so there's some messaging in that," Clark
said. It's also Ma's 55th birthday.
Ma
referenced his previous career to explain why he was stepping down from his
company.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The BABA Investor Call.......Trade War?...What Trade War?
As I've been doing every quarter since the
BABA IPO back in September of 2014, I've taken the time to listen to Thursday
morning's investor call, review the presentation and read the press release and
6K for this financial dumpster fire. For me, like driving past a bad car
accident on the freeway, it's difficult and painful to see, but for some
reason, I can't bring myself to look away.
The relevant links to same are listed directly below for your own personal amusement and/or self-abuse.
The relevant links to same are listed directly below for your own personal amusement and/or self-abuse.
---- What Wasn't
discussed in the Investor Call?
I actually
think this is much more important than the info in the call. Here we go.
1.) Alibaba's
"Core" Revenue (despite reporting 42% YOY combined growth) is
probably in decline
3.) The "Gravy Train" to Communist Party Insiders Continues
More.
Much, much, more
Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.
John Kenneth Galbraith.
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner.
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally doubled
over.
Today, solar panels, the scam. But reader be warned, this is on the BBC.
21st
century adage: Is that true, or did you hear it on the BBC?
Solar panels: Thousands of customers complain
9 September 2019
Thousands of people who bought solar panels have complained to a
financial watchdog that they are not bringing them the returns they were
promised.
Many people took out loans to pay for panels on the promise they would
save thousands of pounds in electricity costs and make money generating power.
They say they have not had the expected savings, and the Financial
Services Ombudsman has had 2,000 complaints.
Barclays Bank has put aside £38m to deal with potential claims.
Brian Thompson from Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, told BBC Inside Out he was
contacted by a salesman for PV Solar UK but told him he did not want to take a
loan on as he was preparing for retirement.
He said he was told the move would provide money towards his pension,
which persuaded him, and he took out a loan with Barclays of more than £10,000
over 10 years.
Mr Thompson said the payments he was getting back from the power his
solar panels sent to the National Grid did not correspond with what he was
told.
"I had to dip into my savings which I was putting away for
retirement to pay the loan off. To me it was lies," he said.
An independent survey of Mr Thompson's system showed even after 20 years
the income from the panels would not cover the cost of the loan.
Barclays offered him some compensation but Mr Thompson said it was not
enough.
PV Solar UK went into liquidation in 2017.
Robert Skillen, who was the director of the firm when Mr Thompson bought
his system, said Mr Thompson's panels would make him money.
Mr Skillen is now in business claiming to help people who have been
missold solar panels. He did not want to be interviewed.
Tony Walch, from Bolton, was told he would be better off by £30,000 over
20 years when he bought solar panels from MyPlanet.
He said: "They were very, very persuasive. Everything they said was
plausible. It was a no-brainer."
He took out a loan of £15,000 but he said the panels did not generate
the amount of electricity he was promised. They also overheated, damaging the
equipment, and he believed they had cost him more than £500 a year.
MyPlanet went into liquidation in 2016.
Former director Mark Bonifacio said all calculations had been made using
strict methodology, and the performance of the systems was impossible to
predict because of different factors affecting performance.
He said MyPlanet installed more than 15,000 systems, and customers would
be getting free electricity.
The BBC, taxing poor people in Britain to pay astronomical sums to rich people, who then insult their Brexit beliefs and views.
Technology Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC
energy mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards?
Frankfurt Auto Show: Electric Cars To Dominate, But Will They Sell?
Sep 4, 2019,
09:24am
High profile car shows have for years pushed not-yet-ready-for-prime-
time electric cars to show how much manufacturers cared about the environment,
but now that battery powered vehicles are street ready and about to hit
showrooms, the industry might be hard pressed to sell them.
The Frankfurt Auto Show marks the start of the long-promised electric
car era. The trouble is, like many products which reach the market because of
government intervention rather than consumer demand, it’s hard to see car
buyers clammering to buy them. Meanwhile, some of the supposed benefits of
electric cars, like environmental friendliness, are coming under scrutiny.
Nevertheless, the industry has committed itself to the project, and experts are
divided on the possibilities of success.
Currently, electric cars are more for the
rich than the mass market, but the big reason that expensive cars like the
Tesla Model S, Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace appealed to first adopters with
money was the halo effect which showed how much the buyer cared about nature
and the climate.
At next week’s Frankfurt Auto show, new
electric cars will include the Volkswagen ID.3, Honda’s little e,
the SmartEQ ForTwo, the electric Mini and the Porsche Taycan.
According to Professor Peter Wells, Professor of Business and
Sustainability at Cardiff Business School, there are not only doubts over
likely sales prospects, but worries are emerging about environmental issues
like mineral extraction and end of life battery disposal, while the role of
renewable energy won’t be enough to bolster electric cars’ green basic
credentials.
“There is a growing realization being raised at the political level that
electrification isn’t the answer to the problems. Will there be enough sales to
make them profitable? There undoubtedly are air quality benefits,” Wells
conceded.
“Companies like Volkswagen have made massive investments, but I’m not
sure if they are going to get the response they want. Markets are contracting
further because of trade disputes between the U.S. and China, and Brexit and
this overall uncertainty is holding up purchasing decisions. It’s not a great
moment to pitch the industry into electrification,” Wells said.
More
The “New Energy Economy”: An Exercise in Magical Thinking
March 2019.
A movement has been growing for decades to
replace hydrocarbons, which collectively supply 84% of the world’s energy. It
began with the fear that we were running out of oil. That fear has since
migrated to the belief that, because of climate change and other environmental
concerns, society can no longer tolerate burning oil, natural gas, and coal—all
of which have turned out to be abundant.
So far, wind, solar, and batteries—the
favored alternatives to hydrocarbons—provide about 2% of the world’s energy and
3% of America’s. Nonetheless, a bold new claim has gained popularity: that
we’re on the cusp of a tech-driven energy revolution that not only can, but
inevitably will, rapidly replace all hydrocarbons.
This “new energy economy” rests on the
belief—a centerpiece of the Green New Deal and other similar proposals both
here and in Europe—that the technologies of wind and solar power and battery
storage are undergoing the kind of disruption experienced in computing and
communications, dramatically lowering costs and increasing efficiency. But this
core analogy glosses over profound differences, grounded in physics, between
systems that produce energy and those that produce information.
In the world of people, cars, planes, and
factories, increases in consumption, speed, or carrying capacity cause hardware
to expand, not shrink. The energy needed to move a ton of people, heat a ton of
steel or silicon, or grow a ton of food is determined by properties of nature
whose boundaries are set by laws of gravity, inertia, friction, mass, and
thermodynamics—not clever software.
This paper highlights the physics of
energy to illustrate why there is no possibility that the world is
undergoing—or can undergo—a near-term transition to a “new energy economy.”
More
"We shouldn't pour cold water on everything. We, the eight or nine players in global investment banking, have a very good future."
Deutsche Bank, CEO Josef Ackermann. Davos, January 2007.
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished August
DJIA: 26,403 +52 Down. NASDAQ: 7,963 +59 Down.
SP500: 2,926 +53 unchanged.
An inconclusive month, but
all three shows signs of weakening.
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