| Constellation of Cygnus Posted: 01 Nov 2014 03:00 AM PDT 
Located just beyond the tip of the tail of the constellation of Cygnus (The Swan), this butterfly-shaped cloud of glowing gas and dust is the wreckage of a star similar to the Sun. Source: spacetelescope.org via Buzzfeed  |
| Succinct Summations of Week’s Events 10.31.14 Posted: 31 Oct 2014 01:00 PM PDT Succinct Summations week ending October 31st. Positives: 1. Q3 GDP rose 3.5% vs expectations of 3.1%.
2. The Fed officially ended QE, the market stood on its own two feet.
3. Consumer confidence came in at 94.5, the highest levels since October 2007.
4. Chicago PMI came rose to a 12-month high of 66.2.
5. Richmond Fed manufacturing index came in at 20 v expectations of 11.
6. University of Michigan consumer confidence rose to 86.9, the best reading since 2007.
7. Japan industrial production rose 2.7% m/o/m, better than the 2.2% expected.
8. The S&P 500 finished October 2% higher after being down as much as 7.7% earlier in the month.
9. The BOJ said it will triple the size of its easing measures. The Yen fell to a 7-year low and the Nikkei gained 4.8%.
Negatives: 1. U.S. core durable goods dropped 1.7%, their largest decline since January. Expectations were for a 0.6% rise.
2. Home prices fell 0.15% m/o/m in August, versus expectations of an 0.18% rise. Y/O/Y came in at 5.6%, just below expectations.
3. German inflation fell to 0.7% y/o/y and was down 0.3% m/o/m.
4. Initial jobless claims rose slightly to 287k.
5. Japan's unemployment rose to 3.6%, the highest since 1997.
Thanks, Batman!  |
| Random Thoughts for October Posted: 31 Oct 2014 10:00 AM PDT Over the course of each month, I end up with quite a few random thoughts. They are the interesting tidbits that are not quite meaty enough to be worthy of a full column. But they often are interesting enough to stimulate thinking and provoke discussion. Rather than toss them out, I save them up over the course of each month. Here is what October's random thoughts look like: • Americans spend more than $2 billion on Halloween candy each year; we spend even more than that on costumes. • The Bank of Japan surprised everyone by upping its stimulus to 80 trillion yen ($717 billion). Previously, it was more than 60 trillion yen. • Tomorrow begins the best six months of the year for stock markets. Since 1950, almost all of the market’s gains have come between Nov. 1 and April 30, according to the “Stock Trader’s Almanac.” • No, Tim Cook didn’t come out of the closet yesterday as gay. He was already "out" in 2011 when he took over as chief executive officer of Apple. He just didn't talk about it. • Although gold tumbled today, it is down less than 4 percent so far this year.
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| Halloween: The Chemistry of Candy Posted: 31 Oct 2014 09:00 AM PDT |
| 10 Friday Reads Posted: 31 Oct 2014 05:30 AM PDT Japan is sending us a treat – or is it a trick? Its Halloween, and here are my morning train reads: • The U.S. recovery is frustrating — but it's the envy of the advanced world (Wonkblog) see also U.S. Economy Up 3.5% in 3rd Quarter, Capping Best 6 Months in Over a Decade (Bloomberg)
• How this Investment Firm Hopes to Revolutionize Litigation in America (Mimesis Law)
• Value Trap Underneath Gold Miner Fund GDX (ETF) see also Charts Suggest Gold Will Keep On Falling (Barron’s)
• Solar Flair: How do you make ray-soaking roof panels a hot investment? By making them a boring one (Slate)
• How Long Can The Shale Revolution Last? (Oil Price)
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