The Big Picture

BIS: Currency movements drive reserve composition
“Shake It Off” as “Hanukkah”
10 Wednesday PM Reads
CUBA Herzfield Caribbean Basin
World Hot Spots That Could Ruin Your 2015
10 Wednesday AM Reads
Colbert on the Torture Report

BIS: Currency movements drive reserve composition

Posted: 18 Dec 2014 02:00 AM PST

Source:BIS

“Shake It Off” as “Hanukkah”

Posted: 17 Dec 2014 04:30 PM PST

Jewish a cappella group Six13:

Previously:

10 Wednesday PM Reads

Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:00 PM PST

My afternoon train reads:

• Are We Witnessing a Melt-Up In Long-Term Bonds? (A Wealth of Common Sense)
• Shale is to OPEC as the Apple II was to the IBM mainframe. (BusinessWeek) see also The Oil Price Opportunity (Project Syndicate)
• What Investment Success Looks Like To Me (The Reformed Broker)
• Switzerland Fissures as Account Secrecy Loses Charm (Bloomberg)
• A black hole for our best and brightest: Wall Street is expanding, and the economy is worse off for it. (Washington Post)
• 122 Things Everyone Should Know About Investing and the Economy (Motley Fool)
• Will Millennials Save Us All? The lack of diversity in asset management is apparent beyond gender and race, writes columnist Angelo Calvello. (Chief Investment Officer)
• How Business Created Pensions to Thwart Unions (BloombergView)
• Festive Drinks for the Holidays Without a Lot of Alcohol (WSJ)
• The State of Consumer Technology at the End of 2014 (stratechery)

What are you reading?

Fed Likely to Stare Down Oil-Price Drop

Source: WSJ

CUBA Herzfield Caribbean Basin

Posted: 17 Dec 2014 09:20 AM PST

In the announcement of US potentially normalizing relations with Cuba, the $33 million dollar closed end fund “Herzfield Caribbean Basin” — stock symbol CUBA — popped 40%:

click for ginormous chart

Here are its main holdings:

So much for those theories that investors are rational and markets are efficient . . .

UPDATE: Josh has the details here

World Hot Spots That Could Ruin Your 2015

Posted: 17 Dec 2014 08:30 AM PST

click for interactive graphic

Source: Bloomberg

10 Wednesday AM Reads

Posted: 17 Dec 2014 05:30 AM PST

My post holiday party, how did I get home from Brooklyn, morning reads:

• Putin on the Fritz (Krugman) see also Checkmate, Putin. Russia's economy is stuck in a catch-22. (Wonkblog)
• The World Hot Spots You've Never Heard of That Could Ruin 2015 (Bloomberg)
• Bond Investors Are Skittish Over Emerging Markets (Dealbook)
• How Obamacare helped Wall Street (MarketWatch) see also The Odd Math of Medical Tests: One Scan, Two Prices, Both High (NYT)
• How Google and Apple Make Their Taxes Disappear (Newsweek)