Google had intentionally slowed down the YouTube loading performance of Firefox and Edge.

Honestly nothing surprises me these days.   https://www.techspot.com/news/79672-google-accused-sabotaging-firefox-again.html Why it matters: It’s no secret that tech companies with competing products aren’t averse to using dirty tricks to get ahead. According to a former Mozilla executive, it’s something Google has been doing for years: intentionally sabotaging Firefox to increase Chrome’s popularity. Jonathan Nightingale, former General Manager and … Read more

Now Two-Thirds of American CFOs Predict Recession by Summer of 2020

via MarketWatch: American CFOs fear a recession by the third quarter of next year, according tothe latest Duke CFO Global Business Outlook Survey, released Wednesday. The survey generated responses from more than 1,500 chief financial officers, including 469 from North America, and showed that 67% of those surveyed predicted the U.S. economy would be in … Read more

Templeton Deepens Short Duration Bet To -2.21 in $34 Billion Bond Fund

by confoundedinterest Negative duration bets? Financial markets are coming undone. (Bloomberg) — Average duration in Templeton Global Bond Fund shortened to -2.21 years by end of first quarter, from – 1.6 years at end of 2018, according to latest filing. Builds up Mexico position to 13% from 12.6% at end of 2018, making the country the biggest portfolio holding Brazil and … Read more

Everything is BULLISH

Impeachment = BULLISHRevising Earnings down 80% = BULLISHPMI collapse = BULLISHISM collapse = BULLISHNuclear Missile = BULLISHTradedeal disinformation = BULLISHBEARISH = BULLISHBULLISH = BULLISHBOJ owning 70% of total equity mkt – BULLISHChina data fabrication = BULLISH — mcm-ct.com (@mcm_ct) April 18, 2019

China GDP upside surprise not so impressive!

via @Schuldensuehner: Just to put things into perspective. DB highlights that China total govt spending rose by 23% in Q1. DB analysts noted that fiscal policy was eased by a fairly eye catching 6ppts of nominal GDP in Q1, so China GDP upside surprise not so impressive!  

Investors Question Possible Credit Trading Fix

by confoundedinterest The Dodd-Frank Wall Street legislation was signed into law back in 2010 by then President Obama. The legislation to limit banks from trading for their own accounts has generated its own conflict: what is the optimal level of transparency? (Bloomberg) — U.S. market regulators are proposing to test whether keeping large corporate bond trades secret for two days … Read more

Mortgages? Big Banks May Be Throwing in the Towel

via MarketWatch: You can kiss George Bailey’s mortgage market goodbye. As the small-town banker in Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Bailey epitomized an old-fashioned world in which bankers know every borrower personally. In the mortgage market of 2019, borrowers can do just about everything online, never meeting the lender behind the process. And as … Read more

Deutsche Bank Still Has $49 Trillion in Derivatives

via wallstreetonparade: Deutsche Bank Headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany On July 21, 2011, when the GAO released its audit of the Federal Reserve’s secret $16.1 trillion in bank loans during the financial crisis, a foreign bank ranked number 9 on the list of the largest borrowers. The loans went not just to the largest banks on Wall Street but … Read more

CLIMATE FACTS

via @OccupyWisdom : 1/the earth is 4,543,000,000 years old 2/the climate is, and has been changing, for all of that time. It is a complex, dynamic & emergent system like financial markets. It is never static 3/the big question is if/to what extent do industrial humans contribute to the climate changing. B/ CLIMATE FACTS 4/this question hasn’t … Read more

After Assange arrest, IMF gives $4.2B to Ecuador… Riots erupt in Ecuador capital over Assange arrest

Ecuadoreans are joining the worldwide chorus of voices protesting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest in the UK. Protestors in Ecuador have come to see President Moreno as “corrupted” by the US and say that he sold out Assange for money. https://youtu.be/fi6sWchWmJs After Assange arrest, IMF gives $4.2B to Ecuador https://youtu.be/8Ou4hOH4Fpw https://youtu.be/Vj6xzDeJcJs Julian Assange has won … Read more