Israel Said Engaged in Buildup Near Lebanon

The Israeli military was said to have been engaged in an air and ground force buildup along the border with Lebanon. Lebanese security sources said the Israel Army has deployed main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers along the northern border with Lebanon.The sources said Israeli troops and combat vehicles have undertaken what was termed “unusual... Read more...

Sailors Run Flight Exercises During Northern Edge

It’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, with the longest commute. Sailors on board the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis are running flight exercises in the Gulf of Alaska this week part of a joint training exercise known as Northern Edge. It’s like playing Battleship, only with a lot more at stake. Read more…  Read More →

Air Force Tests Missile in Launch From California Coast

The Air Force successfully launched an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile Monday from the California coast to an area in the Pacific Ocean some 4,200 miles away. The ICBM was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Barbara at 3:01 a.m. and carried three unarmed re-entry vehicles to their targets near the Kwajalein Atoll... Read more...

Iran’s Ground Force Starts Military Exercises

The ground force of Iran’s Army started three-day exercises on Monday, local Fars news agency reported. The drill is to be carried out in the provinces of Khuzestan, Ilam and Lorestan in west and southwest of the country. The Iranian forces are due to drill their power of commanders’ command control in different regiments during military... Read more...

Russian Military Exercises Anger Georgia

Russian forces have begun their biggest military exercise in the Caucasus since the war with Georgia last year. More than 8,000 troops are taking part in the manoeuvres near the Georgian border, which Georgia has called “a pure provocation from Russia”. Last month Nato angered Russia by staging exercises in Georgia itself. Read more…  Read More →

Russia, China To Hold Military Exercises July 22-26

Russia and China will hold joint military exercises next month, a top Russian military official said Monday, as the giant neighbors work towards tighter cooperation. “The head of the Russian and Chinese military delegations agreed that 1,300 soldiers from each side would participate,” said the deputy army chief Lieutenant General Sergei... Read more...

Putin Orders Banks to Boost Lending, Sees Deficits

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told state-run banks to expedite loans to companies to help stem a financial crisis that will force the government to run deficits for at least three years. Putin called on banks such as OAO Sberbank and VTB Group to boost lending by as much as 500 billion rubles ($16 billion) by October. The government will guarantee... Read more...

UAE Banks Have ‘Significant’ Exposure to Troubled Saudi Banks

UAE banks have ‘significant’ exposure to Saudi Arabia’s troubled Saad Group and Algosaibi conglomerates, the UAE central bank governor was quoted as saying today by Reuters. Read more…  Read More →

Dutch, Singapore Central Banks in Liquidity Deal

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Monday they had signed a deal to provide emergency liquidity to banks in each others’ territories. Under the terms of the arrangement Dutch banks in Singapore can approach the MAS, and Singapore banks in the Netherlands can approach the DNB, if they require “liquidity assistance”. Read more…  Read More →

BIS Sees Risk Central Banks Will Raise Interest Rates Too Late

The Bank for International Settlements said there’s a risk central banks will raise interest rates and withdraw emergency liquidity too late, triggering inflation. History shows that policy makers “have a tendency to be late, tightening financial conditions slowly for fear of doing it prematurely or too severely,” the BIS, which oversees central... Read more...

Another No Volume Day, With Quants Lurking In The Shadows Ready To Pounce

As Larry Levin pointed out earlier, there is no volume as usual, a perfect opportunity for the SPARCs and the (In)visible hands to wreak havoc with all the shorts, as per the running script. Volume run rated to end silly low. In the meantime, VIX is collapsing: just what your friendly next door quant, who has never heard of arcane concepts like EBITDA,... Read more...

Six Flags Ad Hoc Bondholders Preparing For Big Valuation Fight

Even as Six Flags’ OCC (Official Credit Committee) was being formed in Delaware last Friday, with naive participants such as BoNY, HSBC, Esopus Creek Capital, Schottenfeld Associates, John Gorman, Whirley Drink Works and Coca-Cola (the last two must be royally pissed as all their advance profits on $9.95 small cups of soda have just become General... Read more...

Guest Post: The Future – Deflation

Submitted by James Perry. Everyone speaking about inflation these days. Many seeing it mostly in commodity prices and the insane printing of money. Yet with oil heading steadily back to the range from last summer, there is no bottom anywhere for home prices. Also, banks can hoard up all the cash they want: nobody wants it. Consumer are firmly retrenching... Read more...

Loans Versus Bonds Relative Value: Week of June 25

As expected last week, the tide in credit is turning. The average loan was 5 bps wider, while toxic bonds, just like that scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, are starting their descent back into hell, wider by 78 bps on average, and just 23 bps away from the critical 1,000 bps threshold (after being at 895 bps last week). Also, to see what... Read more...

Russia Sees 8.5% Contraction In 2009, 0.1% Growth In 2010

Just a tad aggressive there on the ramp up, but if it works for Templeton, why should Russia be any different. Also: - Sees 2009 average oil price at USD 54 a barrel (current based on USD 41).- Gradual global weakening vs. USD through 2012. Read more….  Read More →

CNBC: "This Market Continues To Be Propped Up By Government Intervention And Manipulation"

Amusing to see the biggest propaganda voice for the administration and General Electric let this one slip. At 2:22 in the video below, Larry Levin discloses the truth about ongoing flagrant market manipulation. That’s why CNBC needs a 15 second delay, although Freudian slips among all the noise are why watching the channel can be so rewarding... Read more...

Frontrunning: June 29

State Street receives Wells Notice, may be sued by SEC over securities-law violations (Bloomberg and Reuters) GE’s Immelt claims crisis over, see only growth from now on, sweeps tens of billions of failed GECC “investments” under the rug (Bloomberg) And another permabull talks his book, sees more procyclicality, has no factual justification... Read more...

Daily Highlights: 6.29.09

Commodity rally may end as supply rises, speculators sell bets. Dollar up against euro, yen after China central banker says exchange policy ‘stable’. House passes Cap-and-Trade pollution measure, first to curb US emissions. International Energy Agency sees oil demand up 0.6 percent a year over ’08-’14 period. Japan auto production... Read more...

Transitioning

Dear Reader, “Blogger was the beginning, now it’s moved out of the basement, it’s called www.zerohedge.com” Today we officially launch our new website, www.zerohedge.com (we expect full transition to occur within a few hours), which will serve as the scaffold for much additional expansion in the months ahead. Blogger has been... Read more...

Chart Of The Day: GBP/USD

Price action on GBP/USD, a daily chart of which is shown, has continued progressing sideways within the converging triangle consolidation that has been in place since the beginning of the month. This continued consolidating price action occurs within the context of a steep uptrend (extending from the late April lows)… Read more….  Read More →

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