Thursday 21 May 2020

Greed Rules OK. Insanity.


Baltic Dry Index. 477 +24   Brent Crude 36.21
Spot Gold 1742

Coronavirus Cases 21/5/20 World 5,090,061
Deaths 329,732


Joseph J. Cassano, a former A.I.G. executive, August 2007, on Credit Default Swaps that wiped out A.I.G in 2008.

Another Thursday, and another report on new unemployment fillings in the USA. Today’s figure of an expected 2.5 million increase will take America’s provisional figure up to 38 to 39 million unemployment filers in just about 2 months.

If the recent past is any guide, it will be yet another signal for Wall Street’s Fed funded gamblers to yet again barrel in to buy up stocks.

38 million unemployed is anything but a reason to buy up stocks, it’s a very strong reason to exit stocks and let greater fool buyers take on the risk. Take on the gamble that one day the Fed will buy up stocks and give them a profit.

Below, more on the great disconnect as greed triumphs, for now over sanity.

Asian markets little changed as Japan reports plunge in exports

Published: May 20, 2020 at 11:48 p.m. ET
Asian markets were little changed in early trading Thursday, after Wall Street bounced back and Japan reported miserable exports data.

Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -0.16% inched down slightly, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.02% eked up a bit. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.05% rose 0.1% while the Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.09% slid 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.41% gained 0.5%, and benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +0.82% , Singapore STI, +0.18% and Malaysia FBMKLCI, +0.96% rose. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.04% was about flat.

On Wednesday, Japan reported its April exports plummeted nearly 22% while imports fell 7%, the worst monthly readings in more than a decade. Japan is the world’s third-largest economy, and fell into recession in the first quarter due to coronavirus-related shutdowns.

China, meanwhile, is pushing to jump-start jobs lost to pandemic closures. As many as 30% of China’s urban workers are estimated to have lost their jobs, Fitch Ratings said, and the Associated Press reported the government is being pressured to get the economy going again as the country’s National People’s Congress is set to meet.
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Japan exports fall most since 2009 as pandemic wipes out global demand

May 21, 2020 / 1:01 AM
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s exports fell the most since the 2009 global financial crisis in April as the coronavirus pandemic slammed world demand for cars, industrial materials and other goods, likely pushing the world’s third-largest economy deeper into recession.

The ugly trade numbers come as policymakers seek to balance virus containment measures against the need to revive battered parts of the economy, with the risk of a second wave of infections only complicating this challenge. 

The central bank will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to work out a scheme that would encourage financial institutions to lend to smaller, struggling firms. Policymakers are also considering cash injections for companies of all sizes.

Ministry of Finance (MOF) data on Thursday showed Japan’s exports fell 21.9% in April year-on-year as U.S.-bound shipments slumped 37.8%, the fastest decline since 2009, with car exports there plunging 65.8%.

Global automakers are struggling to cope with the health crisis, which has pummelled car sales due to lockdowns in many countries. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) expects an 80% drop in full-year operating profit while Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) has reported an 89% drop in annual profit.

The fall in overall shipments was the biggest since October 2009 during the global financial crisis, but slightly less than a 22.7% decrease seen by economists in a Reuters poll. Exports fell 11.7% in March.
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Dow futures head lower ahead of final flourish of earnings for the week, jobless claims and a fresh dose of Powell

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