US Dollar as “Global Reserve Currency” amid Fed’s QE and US Government Deficits: Dollar Hegemony in Decline by Wolf Richter • Dec 31, 2020 • 299 Comments Other options also shaky. Central banks leery of Chinese RMB, its share still irrelevant. Euro’s share is stuck. But the yen’s share has been rising.
WeWork Forerunner IWG/Regus Restructures its Business, Unleashing Mayhem on Landlords and Investors by Nick Corbishley • Oct 29, 2020 • 24 Comments Regus’ U.S. subsidiary, RGN Holdings, has already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
How Has the US Dollar Held Up as “Global Reserve Currency” During Q2 Turmoil? by Wolf Richter • Sep 29, 2020 • 94 Comments Declining Hegemony. But still Hegemony.
Shell’s Colossal Miscalculation in 2011 of Today’s LNG Price: Largest-Ever $12-$17-Billion “Floating Facility” Shut Down, Months After Shipping First LNG. Done in by Long Price Collapse by Wolf Richter • Aug 21, 2020 • 57 Comments Designed to profit from sky-high LNG Prices in Japan. Sunk by surging US LNG Exports, multi-year collapse in LNG prices, global LNG glut.
Why’s the ECB Buying the Debt of So Many Non-EU Companies? by Nick Corbishley • Aug 4, 2020 • 42 Comments “Companies from outside the euro zone are setting up vehicles to issue debt in euros and thereby qualify for the ECB’s purchase programs.”
Don’t Try This at Home? 60%-80% of Retail Traders, Depending on Broker, Lost Money Trading Forex CFDs by Wolf Richter • Jul 28, 2020 • 67 Comments An even greater share of retail traders lost money with these highly leveraged derivative contracts during the Pandemic than before.
QE Unwind Speeds Up: Fed’s Assets Drop $85 Billion. Four-Week Total -$248 Billion. Big Chunk in a Short Time by Wolf Richter • Jul 9, 2020 • 92 Comments Repos & dollar liquidity swaps on their way out. SPVs declined. Hardly bought any corporate bonds & ETFs. MBS flat. Treasuries ticked up.
The 53 Companies Bailed Out by the Bank of England: Johnson Controls, Carnival, PACCAR, Honda, Toyota, BASF, Bayer… by Nick Corbishley • Jun 8, 2020 • 36 Comments Foreign Companies welcome. US Tax dodgers that didn’t qualify in the US, no problem.
HSBC Embraces China’s Crackdown on Hong Kong, Goes All-In on Asia Pivot by Nick Corbishley • Jun 4, 2020 • 98 Comments Beijing squeezes, and HSBC knows where it makes most of its money. Standard Chartered, another UK bank, did the same.
Hertz Bankruptcy & Fleet Liquidation Threaten to Make Mess of Used-Vehicle Prices with Burst of “Pent-Up Supply” by Wolf Richter • May 24, 2020 • 172 Comments Here come the “bankruptcy-remote special-purpose subsidiaries” and $14.5 billion in rental-vehicle-backed securities. The stock market – other than Carl Icahn – smelled a rat for years.