Companies & Markets

Biggest Credit Bubble in History Cracks, Trips Up The Smart Money

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Biggest Credit Bubble in History Cracks, Trips Up The Smart Money

For years, nothing could slow the tsunami of junk debt. But suddenly, something happened, and investors in leveraged-loan mutual funds, where the crappiest junk debt accumulates, ran scared and started pulling their money out. Consequences were immediate.

The Last Two Times This Happened, The Stock Market Crashed

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The Last Two Times This Happened, The Stock Market Crashed

It happened in 2000 and in 2007. With spectacular consequences. Now, it happened again. And hidden beneath the blue-chip highs, parts of the market are already crashing.

Who Is Getting Crushed in This Bull Market?

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Who Is Getting Crushed in This Bull Market?

By now, this wondrous bull market constantly gets benchmarked against the dotcom bubble. It’s different this time, we’re told, even on NPR. But the wholesale destruction of financial assets has already started, one pocket at a time.

Liars, Damned Liars, and Spanish Banks

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Liars, Damned Liars, and Spanish Banks

By Don Quijones: “Spain’s banks are back on track,” the Spanish Banking Association announced to great fanfare. That’s the official story. But these banks reported financial results that “bear no relation to reality.”

Wall Street’s “Escape Velocity” Hoax

by David Stockman •  • Comments Off on Wall Street’s “Escape Velocity” Hoax

Q1 GDP growth is trending at a tepid 1.5%. But don’t worry. It’s the weather! Wall Street is predicting “escape velocity” for the fifth spring-summer in a row. Why? Because it’s already priced into the stock market!

Seed Wars: Latin America Strikes Back Against Monsanto

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Seed Wars: Latin America Strikes Back Against Monsanto

By Don Quijones: With more back channels and revolving doors to governments around the world, Monsanto is used to getting its way. But now it faces an outright rebellion.

What Happens When ‘All Assets Have Become Too Expensive?’

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on What Happens When ‘All Assets Have Become Too Expensive?’

A report from the asset management and investment banking division of Groupe BPCE, the second largest bank in France, predicts what daredevil voices at the maligned margin of financial analysis have worried about for a while: another global financial panic.

“It’s not a bubble,” Retail Investors Are Told As The Smart Money Bails Out

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on “It’s not a bubble,” Retail Investors Are Told As The Smart Money Bails Out

“Biotech Stocks’ Rout Perplexes Analysts” the WSJ headlined the phenomenon, as analysts continue to hype this stuff to small investors. But hedge funds are dumping stocks, and private equity firms are dumping their LBOs. That’s the Smart Money. They’re getting out.

DOJ Extracts $5 Billion from Anadarko “for 85 years of poisoning the earth”

by Oilprice.com •  • Comments Off on DOJ Extracts $5 Billion from Anadarko “for 85 years of poisoning the earth”

It “tried to keep its rewards and shed its responsibilities by playing a corporate shell game, putting its oil-and-gas business in a new entity and leaving behind a bankrupt shell” with environmental liabilities of defunct, polluting businesses.

‘Hope-for-Growth Momentum Investing’

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on ‘Hope-for-Growth Momentum Investing’

“Why worry if the price can only go up” – Societe Generale’s Head of Quantitative Equity Research. Now even after companies cut earnings-per-share estimates, their stocks go up. Because everyone believes that everyone believes that….