Thursday, September 10, 2015

Morning Market Internals

Posted by Gary .....at 11:23 AM
NYSE Composite Index:
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Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Thursday Watch

Posted by Gary .....at 11:16 PM
Evening Headlines 
Bloomberg: 
  • Brazil Credit Rating Cut to Junk by S&P Amid Budget Strain. Brazil’s sovereign rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor’s, eliminating the investment grade the country enjoyed for seven years, as President Dilma Rousseff’s struggles to shore up fiscal accounts amid a faltering economy. The country’s rating was reduced one step to BB+, with a negative outlook, S&P said in a statement. The ratings company first increased Brazil’s classification to investment grade in April 2008. The downgrade puts pressure on the economic team led by Finance Minister Joaquim Levy to win passage of measures that would shore up the country’s fiscal situation by cutting spending or raising taxes. Rousseff has struggled to win support for her initiatives amid an investigation into corruption at the state-controlled oil company that allegedly occurred while she was its chairman, sending her popularity to a record low and generating calls for her impeachment. 
  • Rio de Janeiro's Bursting Real-Estate Bubble. While real-estate markets are faltering all across this recession-plagued country, nowhere is the toll from a sweeping national corruption scandal and commodities collapse more apparent than in Rio. To make matters worse, a flood of new units that were planned during the boom years of the past decade are now hitting the market, pushing Rio’s vacancies to the highest in Latin America. Rents that were once on par with New York and Paris are tumbling. “Rio is going through a very delicate moment,” said Ricardo Raoul, a managing director at Paladin Realty Partners LLC, a property fund with about 12 billion reais ($3.2 billion) in projects in Brazil. “There’s an increase of inventories together with a lack of demand.”
  • What Japan's Next Stimulus May Look Like as Abe Runs on Fumes. Japan’s anemic economy is prompting calls for another fiscal boost. If history -- and the government’s strained finances -- are any guide, any package is likely to redirect cash already on the books. With 1.6 trillion yen ($13 billion) leftover from last year and rising tax revenue bolstering the public coffers, the Ministry of Finance has leeway to fund stimulus without adding to the world’s heaviest debt load. As much as 3.5 trillion yen is needed to jump start growth, an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after data showed the world’s third-biggest economy contracted last quarter. 
  • Kiwi Drops More Than 2% After RBNZ Signals Further Rate Cuts. New Zealand’s dollar declined more than 2 percent against the U.S. currency after the central bank signaled more interest rate cuts may be needed to boost inflation as economic growth slows. The kiwi tumbled against all its major peers, approaching a six-year low reached last month versus the greenback, after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler cut the official cash rate a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent Thursday and said “further easing in the OCR seems likely.” All 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg correctly predicted the decision and swaps indicated a more than 90 percent chance of a reduction. 
  • Ringgit Declines to New 1998 Low on Heightened Risk Aversion. Malaysia’s ringgit led losses early in Asia as a renewed decline in stocks and a downgrade in Brazil’s credit rating reignited concerns capital will flow out of emerging markets as the U.S. prepares to raise interest rates. The currency fell 1.1 percent to 4.3770 a dollar as of 8:13 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, the lowest level since January 1998, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. 
  • China's Stocks Decline as Producer Prices Sink Most Since 2009. China’s stocks dropped for the first time in three days after producers prices tumbled the most in six years. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.1 percent to 3,206.16 at 9:35 a.m. local time, snapping a 5.3 percent, two-day advance. About 10 stocks fell for each that rose. The producer-price index declined 5.9 percent in August, extending declines to 42 straight months, while consumer prices increased 2 percent, the fastest pace in a year.Factory deflation is pushing up real borrowing costs for the industrial sector, compounding challenges as the growth outlook dims. The Hang Seng Index slumped 2.3 percent in Hong Kong, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index retreated 2.7 percent. The CSI 300 Index fell 1.1 percent, led by technology and industrial companies.
  • Asian Stocks Follow U.S. Lower as Jobs Data Fuel Rate-Rise Bets. Asian stocks dropped, after the regional benchmark index surged by the most in six years on Wednesday, as data on American job openings bolstered the case for higher U.S. interest rates. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.2 percent to 127.87 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo after jumping 4.2 percent on Wednesday. Japan’s Topix index lost 2.7 percent as the yen halted three days of declines.
  • Seven Reasons the Fed Won't Raise Rates Next Week: Deutsche Bank. Joseph LaVorgna, Deutsche Bank AG’s chief U.S. economist, has had a change of heart about the Federal Reserve. In a report Wednesday, he pushed out his forecast for the Fed’s first interest-rate increase in nearly a decade until October. That’s a change from two weeks ago, when he and his team predicted that steady growth in the economy would lead the Fed to raise rates this month. International market turmoil and persistently low inflation have led bond futures traders and strategists to trim bets on a September rate rise.  "I’m totally convinced they don’t need to move" this month, he said in a phone interview. "October seems to work really well." Here are the seven reasons LaVorgna gives for changing his view:
Wall Street Journal:
  • EU Presents Plan to Distribute Refugees Across Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls proposal a good first step, but says it doesn’t go far enough. Faced with the largest migration of displaced people since the end of World War II, the European Union proposed to redistribute 160,000 refugees across the bloc, in a move bound to challenge countries with scant experience of accommodating newcomers. 
  • GOP Lawmakers Are Divided on Iran Vote. The jockeying reflects their struggle with how to stop a deal that looks almost certain to be implemented. Republicans united in their opposition to President Barack Obama’s nuclear accord with Iran fractured Wednesday about how to cast their votes.
  • Fed Wavers on September Rate Rise. While some officials are ready to move, China slowdown, market turbulence make others pause. Federal Reserve officials aren’t near an agreement to begin raising short-term interest rates heading into a crucial week of private discussions before their Sept. 16-17 policy meeting, according to their recent comments.
  • The Rewards of the Obama Doctrine. Offering a helping hand to America’s enemies in Iran, Russia and Cuba will ruin lives and many more will die. A quick glance at the latest headlines suggests a jarring disconnect from the stream of foreign-policy successes touted by the Obama White House and its allies. President Obama has been hailed by many as a peacemaker for eschewing the use of military force and for signing accords with several of America’s worst enemies. The idea that things will work out better if the U.S. declines to act in the world also obeys Mr. Obama’s keen
Fox News:
  • Russian military build-up in Syria ‘unprecedented,’ officials say. U.S. officials are expressing growing concern about Russia's military build-up in Assad-controlled Syria, calling it "unprecedented" -- with one telling Fox News it compares in scope to Vladimir Putin's incursion into Crimea. "It's beginning to look like Crimyria," the official told Fox News. Two U.S. officials who have reviewed the latest intelligence told Fox News that satellite imagery reveals more flights of massive Russian An-124 "condor" military cargo planes landing in Syria. They are offloading troops, including just under 50 Russian marines, and armored vehicles. U.S. officials said the Russian activity in Syria is unlike any they've seen since the start of the Syrian civil war four years ago. "This is definitely a build-up straight out of Russia's military doctrine," said one official. 
MarketWatch.com:
  • Yet another measure of risk in junk-bond market flashing red. Yet another measure of risk in the U.S. junk-bond market is flashing an alarming signal. Moody’s Investors Service said its Covenant Quality Index deteriorated to its worst level on record in August from July, blowing past the previous record low set in November 2014. The index measures the degree of protection afforded to holders of junk, or high-yield, bonds sold by North American issuers. The index rose to 4.53 in August from 4.37 in July and 4.42 in November 2014. It is now a full 116 basis points weaker than its best-ever score of 3.37 set in April 2011. “Single-month record weak scores in June and July drove the CQI to 4.53 in August for its worst score to date,” Moody’s analysts wrote in a report.
CNBC:
  • Al-Qaeda calls for assassination of US business figures. Al-Qaeda called for lone wolf-style attacks on several prominent U.S. business and economic figures on Wednesday. The terror group did so in the latest issue of Inspire, its in-house, English-language magazine, the same magazine that reportedly inspired Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, to conduct the deadly attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
  • Another death cross forms, and it's a doozy. The Shanghai Composite, the epicenter of the plunge in global markets over the last month, flashed a death cross Wednesday when its shorter-term moving average fell below its longer-term moving average.
Business Insider:
  • Siri is always listening. Are you OK with that? The virtual assistant will always have an ear open, listening for users to summon it, ever ready to answer questions or to assist with certain tasks. This always-on, passive-listening technology has also raised alarms among privacy watchdogs. 
Telegraph:
Financial News:
  • China Doesn't Need Massive Economic Stimulus. China should cut lending costs instead amid low economic growth, Li Daokui, former PBOC adviser, said at the World Economic Forum in Dalian yesterday.
Evening Recommendations 
  • None of note
Night Trading
  • Asian equity indices are -2.25% to -.75% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 137.75 +1.5 basis points.
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 83.5 -1.0 basis point.
  • S&P 500 futures -.13%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures -.19%.

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
  • (CBK)/-.04
  • (LULU)/.33
  • (FNSR)/.26
  • (RH)/.84
  • (ZUMZ)/.12 
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
  • Import Price Index for August is estimated to fall -1.6% versus a -.9% decline in July.
  • Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to fall to 275K versus 282K the prior week.
  • Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 2253K versus 2257K prior.
10:00 am EST
  • Wholesale Inventories for July are estimated to rise +.3% versus a +.9% gain in June.
  • Wholesale Trade Sales for July are estimated to rise +.1% versus a +.1% gain in June.
11:00 am EST
  • Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory build of +872,730 barrels versus a +4,667,000 barrel increase the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -259,270 barrels versus a -271,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to rise by +881,910 barrels versus a +115,000 barrel gain prior. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to fall by -.34% versus a -1.7% decline prior.
Upcoming Splits
  • None of note
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The BoE rate, $21B 30Y T-Note auction, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, BMO Education conference, DA Davidson Construction conference, CL King Best Ideas conference and the (CLI) analyst day could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by industrial and commodity shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.
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Stocks Reversing Lower into Afternoon on Fed Rate Hike Fears, Oil Decline, Technical Selling, Commodity/Biotech Sector Weakness

Posted by Gary .....at 2:44 PM
Broad Equity Market Tone:
  • Advance/Decline Line: Lower
  • Sector Performance: Most Sectors Declining
  • Volume: Below Average
  • Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
Equity Investor Angst:
  • Volatility(VIX) 24.55 -1.29%
  • Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 140.99 +.56%
  • Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 12.37 -.55%
  • S&P 500 Implied Correlation 64.54 +1.78%
  • ISE Sentiment Index 72.0 +4.0%
  • Total Put/Call .94 +1.08%
  • NYSE Arms 1.53 +300.77% 
Credit Investor Angst:
  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 80.33 +1.32%
  • America Energy Sector High-Yield CDS Index 1,908.0 -.83%
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 79.55 -3.51%
  • Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 20.85 -4.66%
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt CDS Index 82.50 -2.50%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 351.0 -.45%
  • iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporates High Yield Index 116.94 +.19%
  • 2-Year Swap Spread 11.75 -1.0 basis point
  • TED Spread 28.25 -2.0 basis points
  • 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -24.0 unch.
Economic Gauges:
  • 3-Month T-Bill Yield .02% -1.0 basis point
  • Yield Curve 144.0 -1.0 basis point
  • China Import Iron Ore Spot $58.18/Metric Tonne +1.32%
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index -16.9 -.3 point
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 22.7 -.1 point
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -25.6 unch.
  • 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.55 +2.0 basis points
  • # of Months to 1st Fed Rate Hike(Morgan Stanley) 4.04 -.28
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating -380 open in Japan 
  • China A50 Futures: Indicating -339 open in China
  • DAX Futures: Indicating -61 open in Germany
Portfolio: 
  • Slightly Higher: On gains in my index hedges
  • Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges 
  • Market Exposure: Moved to 25% Net Long
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Today's Headlines

Posted by Gary .....at 2:25 PM
Bloomberg: 
  • Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei Says Israel Won't Exist in 25 Years. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran won’t engage the U.S. in any issue beyond the nuclear program and renewed his attacks on Israel, saying the “Zionist regime” won’t exist in 25 years. “We only agreed, for specific reasons, to negotiations with the U.S. on the nuclear matter,” Khamenei told a gathering of Iranian citizens, according to his website. “We have not allowed talks in other areas and we won’t negotiate with them.” While a reiteration of earlier comments, the timing of Khamenei’s remarks creates an opportunity for critics of the country’s July nuclear accord in the U.S. and Israel to question any attempts to mend ties with Iran. The speech may also temper speculation that the Islamic Republic may seek to change its policy in the Middle East.
  • Russia Weighs Deeper Military Role in Syria, Defying U.S. Russia said it’s ready to look at measures to fight Islamist insurgents in Syria if the conflict worsens, rejecting U.S. criticism of its deepening military involvement in the Middle Eastern country. “If additional measures to step up the anti-terrorist fight are required, Russia is ready to consider them, but only in strict compliance with international and Russian law,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters Wednesday in Moscow. “The situation now doesn’t require it.” The U.S. administration has criticized Russia for suspected deployment of additional military personnel and aircraft in Syria, saying the move could trigger an escalation of the four-year conflict. France is preparing for air strikes against Islamic State as refugees flee to Europe. 
  • For China Brokerages, the Market Rescue Hurts More Than It Helps. China’s campaign to end its $5 trillion equity rout is driving investors away from an unlikely corner of the stock market: the brokerage industry. Instead of benefiting from government efforts to shore up the market, the Hong Kong-listed shares of Citic Securities Co., Haitong Securities Co. and China Galaxy Securities Co. have tumbled twice as fast as benchmark indexes since the beginning of July. Not only are brokerages being compelled to foot a portion of the rescue bill, they’re also getting hit by a plunge in volumes as policy makers restrict speculative trading.
  • S&P Follows Moody's in Cutting Asian Forecasts on China Fears. Standard & Poor’s cut its growth forecasts for Asian economies, citing “abysmal” trade data and fears about China’s market stability, a day after Moody’s Investors Service made a similar reduction. S&P now sees the region growing 5.4 percent in 2015 instead of 5.5 percent, dragged down by Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. It also predicts that currencies will weaken. “Although market fears that the sky is falling are almost certainly overblown, in our view, they have been enough to move the needle,” Paul Gruenwald, S&P’s Asia-Pacific chief economist, wrote in a report on Wednesday. The company sees “slower growth, higher volatility, and more risks” compared with its previous report published in July.
  • Citigroup Sees 55% Risk of a Global Recession Made in China. Citigroup Inc. is sounding the alarm bells for the world economy. In an analysis published late on Tuesday, the New York-based bank’s chief economist, Willem Buiter, said there is a 55 percent chance of some form of global recession in the next couple of years, most likely one of moderate depth and length. Unlike the U.S.-driven international slumps of the past two decades, this one will be generated by sliding demand from emerging markets, especially China, which has surged in size to become the world’s No. 2 economy. “The world appears to be at material and rising risk of entering a recession, led by EMs and in particular by China,” wrote Buiter, a former U.K. policy maker.
  • Flowers Hands Back Most of $3.2 Billion China Investment Unspent. On the eve of the credit crunch, J. Christopher Flowers received $3.2 billion from China’s newly formed sovereign wealth fund to invest in distressed financial companies. Seven years later, his firm disclosed that the bulk of the money never got invested. J.C. Flowers & Co., a New York-based private equity firm that specializes in financial institutions, in a June filing adjusted its gross assets under management to $8.5 billion from $11.1 billion. The $2.6 billion decrease primarily reflects the firm’s view that it won’t be using the remaining commitment it received from China Investment Corp. in 2008, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the fund is private. The inability to deploy such a large chunk of investor capital is unusual because private equity firms typically only raise money if they’re confident they can invest it.
  • GM(GM), Ford(F) Open Factories in China Just in Time for Slowing Growth. Auto sales in China are slowing and may fall for the first time in more than a decade, undercutting one of the few growth markets for carmakers like General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., according to consulting firm Alix Partners. The U.S. automakers expanded last year to capitalize on long-term growth and are now wrestling with a softer market, AlixPartners said in a study released Wednesday. Carmakers won’t get much relief in China until sales rebound because, even if the market grows this year, prices are under pressure, according to the study.
  • U.K. Manufacturing, Export Slump Give BOE Reason for Caution. U.K. industrial production unexpectedly declined and goods exports plunged the most in nine years, indicating a loss of economic momentum that may keep the Bank of England on a cautious policy footing. Total production fell 0.4 percent in July, the Office for National Statistics said in London on Wednesday, missing economists’ forecasts for a 0.1 percent increase. Sales of British goods abroad fell 9.2 percent, contributing to the biggest drop in factory output since January.
  • Ruble Drops on Russia Rate-Cut Risk as RBS Reopens Bearish Bet. The ruble weakened as crude oil fell and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc warned that traders are underestimating the chances of the Bank of Russia cutting rates on Friday. The Russian currency slid 0.2 percent to 68.0980 against the dollar by 5:48 p.m. in Moscow. Oil, Russia’s main export earner, fell 1.1 percent to $49 a barrel in London. Government bonds advanced as the Finance Ministry placed 8.56 billion rubles ($126 million) of 10 billion rubles of bonds it offered in auctions today.
  • Banks Pine for Fees as Junk-Bond Lull Hobbles Emerging Markets. Life’s getting tougher for global investment banks as some of the highest-paying deals in the world of bonds become scarce. Sub-investment grade companies in emerging markets globally have issued $5.5 billion of U.S. currency notes so far this quarter, on track for the least since the last three months of 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.. That reduction may trim gains from debt underwriting, which at Credit Suisse Group AG -- 2015’s top arranger of emerging market high-yield debt -- dropped 16 percent in the first half. Companies from China to Brazil, Russia and Mexico are shying away from offshore markets amid risk aversion and political wrangling that pushed some coupons into the double digits. The mostly blue chips left selling international securities are far less lucrative to service, with bond underwriting fees for investment-grade companies averaging 0.433 percent compared with the 0.865 percent high-yield corporates pay. “I can imagine fewer high-yield bankers are required,” said Florian Schmidt, the head of debt capital markets at SC Lowy Financial (HK) Ltd. in Hong Kong. It’ll mean “less work on ratings advisory, it will impact lawyers, it will impact pretty much all professional parties. Anybody involved in primary activity will see pretty tough times ahead.”
  • Russian Fashion Market's Plunge Turns Heat on Global Brands. Russia’s 2.25 trillion-ruble ($33 billion) fashion market is set to shrink at least 20 percent this year, adding to pressure that’s causing some global brands to quit the country, according to researcher Fashion Consulting Group. Consumer incomes have been sapped by the depreciation of the ruble against foreign currencies, Moscow-based Fashion Consulting said in an e-mailed report. Many Russians now spend half their budget on food, leaving less money for clothes, it said. Amid the slowdown, retailers including the U.K.’s New Look and River Island have quit Russia in the past year. Marks & Spencer Group Plc, Sweden’s Stockmann OYJ and Spain’s Mango have reduced the number of stores in the country, while brands such as Supergroup Plc’s Superdry are delaying opening plans.
  • Refugee Flow May Mask Terrorist Infiltration, Spy Chief Says. The Obama administration is concerned that terrorists may use the flow of refugees from Syria to infiltrate Europe or the U.S., spurring more careful screening, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said. “We don’t put it past the likes of ISIL to infiltrate operatives among these refugees,” Clapper said Wednesday in Washington, using the acronym for the self-described Islamic State. “That is a huge concern of ours.”
  • Puerto Rico Plan Shows $13 Billion Debt Gap in Next Five Years. (video) Puerto Rico said it faces a $13 billion funding shortfall for debt payments over the next five years even after taking into account proposed spending cuts and revenue enhancement measures outlined in a long-awaited fiscal and economic growth plan. The report by Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla’s administration said Puerto Rico will seek to restructure its debt in talks with creditors to avoid a legal morass that could further weaken the economy. No estimates were provided of potential losses for the owners of Puerto Rico’s $72 billion in debt. Prices of some of the commonwealth’s most actively traded bonds fell after the plan was released. 
  • Oil Default Wave Seen Spreading to China With 40-Cent Bonds. The wave of defaults and debt restructuring hurting oil bonds around the world looks set to reach China. Notes of oil services firms are the nation’s worst performers this quarter with a 5.9 percent slide amid record industry debt and slumping crude prices, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index of foreign-currency notes. Explorers have lost 1.4 percent. Some private-sector companies have dropped to distressed levels with the 2019 notes of Honghua Group Ltd. at 38.8 cents on the dollar and Anton Oilfield Services Group’s 2018 paper at 43.8 cents. China’s quest to secure resources for the world’s second-biggest economy has sparked a fourfold expansion in petroleum industry debt in the past decade to 1.3 trillion yuan ($205 billion). Crude’s 13.5 percent slide this year is adding to stress on energy firms’ finances. Standard & Poor’s says oil and gas companies account for 28 percent of all corporate defaults globally this year, and that they are among the most vulnerable to failures in coming months.
  • Investors Flee Biggest U.S. Crude Oil Fund as Volatility Surges. Investors bailed out of the United States Oil Fund last week as volatility surged. A net 19.3 million shares of the biggest exchange-traded fund that tracks oil were sold back, a weekly record since the ETF’s inception in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Total shares outstanding dropped to 176 million on Sept. 4, the lowest since Aug. 11.
  • India Proposes 20% Steel Import Duty as Surge Hurts Local Mills. A unit of India’s finance ministry recommended imposing a temporary 20 percent duty on certain steel products to arrest a surge in lower-priced imports. The Director General of Safeguards Wednesday recommended levying the duty for 200 days on certain flat steel products, including hot-rolled coil used in making cars and appliances, after probing claims that cheaper imports are hurting local mills. The proposal now needs approval from the government’s Board of Safeguards, and the finance ministry then will take a final decision.
  • Fed Funds Glued to Stocks as September Odds Creep Back From Low. The probability of an increase in the fed funds target by the September meeting reached a high of 54 percent on Aug. 7, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That figure slid to 24 percent by Aug. 26, one day after the S&P 500 fell to 1,867.61, the lowest level since October. Since then, odds of a September liftoff have risen as high as 32 percent while the S&P 500’s halting rebound has pushed the index about 5 percent higher. The connection wavered on Tuesday, as the S&P 500 jumped 2.5 percent in its second-biggest rally of 2015. Odds the Fed will hike next week slipped to 28 percent, from 30 percent the day before.
CNBC:
  • Jim Chanos: New short position in Cheniere Energy(LNG). (video) Short-seller Jim Chanos announced on CNBC on Wednesday a new short position in liquefied natural gas player Cheniere Energy, a company in which billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn has recently taken a sizable long position. "We've been pretty negative for the past six months on this LNG space. We think it's a looming disaster," the founder and president of Kynikos Associates said on "Squawk Box." "It's a little bit tied into Asia," Chanos said of his latest short. "LNG was seen as a savior of a lot of natural gas plays, a way to basically satiate the incredible demand for energy out of Asia. The problem is ... everybody figured it out ... at the same time."
Sydney Morning Herald:
  • William Ackman foresees bigger yuan devaluation, sees recession risk in China. Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose investments include companies tied to China's growth, said the world's second-largest economy may be on the verge of a bigger currency devaluation and could face a major recession. "I think their recent small devaluation could be the beginning of a larger one," Ackman, who runs Pershing Square Capital Management, told Fox Business Network in an interview. "I think they could solve a lot of their problems by letting their currency depreciate. And I think ultimately that's where they're going to end up," the activist investor said, according to excerpts of the interview.
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Bear Radar

Posted by Gary .....at 1:43 PM
Style Underperformer:
  • Mid-Cap Value -.35%
Sector Underperformers:
  • 1) Gold & Silver -2.92% 2) Coal -2.83% 3) Oil Service -2.47%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
  • FLXN, MW, TDF, BKS, KLIC, VIVO, HTWR, THRX, HMHC, CLW, WCIC, MBLY, COLL, COR, LNG, FRAN, EXAM, SRCL, DFRG, MRO, CME, AEM, ARDX, PBY and GPRO
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
  • 1) FTR 2) WHR 3) FXI 4) XME 5) MW
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
  • 1) TTPH 2) FLXN 3) GPRO 4) MBLY 5) WLL
Charts:
0 comments

Bull Radar

Posted by Gary .....at 1:31 PM
Style Outperformer:
  • Large-Cap Growth +.15%
Sector Outperformers:
  • 1) Airlines +1.08% 2) Internet +.83% 3) Defense +.78%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
  • VTAE, AKBA, PLAY, CLVS, DPM, AERI, BABA and NX
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
  • 1) SWFT 2) SSYS 3) RDN 4) WETF 5) SGMS
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
  • 1) CE 2) LMT 3) CIEN 4) LUV 5) NFLX
Charts:
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