ty B
GORDO15 USAF E-4B Nightwatch up from Edwards-been here since 0303 after arriving from Lincoln Muni as GORDO14
Tail #73-1676 and one of four
It's either done with the upgrades and heading back to Lincoln Muni or on a test flight.
The last one that was here (being worked on) departed Edwards and went up to Fairchild AFB, Spokane, WA for some fly-bys and then back to Lincoln Muni-it returned to Edwards AFB the next day so something wasn't "right" and it returned to Edwards.
This is not that one.
Barclays Reveals $600 Million Mystery Loss On VXX-Linked Notes, Delays Buyback, Shares Tumble
Two weeks ago, Barclays shocked many market participants when it suspended, until further notice, any further sales from inventory and any further issuances of its iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) - among the most utilized VIX proxies in the market - and its iPath Pure Beta Crude Oil ETN (ticker OIL)
According to a press release at the time, the suspension was because "Barclays does not currently have sufficient issuance capacity to support further sales from inventory and any further issuances of the ETNs."
But the brief statement left market participants with more questions than answers. Since the suspension, VXX has entirely decoupled from its underlying asset (VIX) and also other VIX-based trackers such as VIXY (but we note that OIL and Crude oil prices remain tightly coupled since the suspension)...And now we get some more color on why Barclays suspended the two ETNs as the bank released a somewhat opaque statement admitting that it "over-issued" structured notes related to one or both of these ETNs
"As part of its structured products business, Barclays Bank PLC (“BBPLC”), a subsidiary of Barclays PLC (“BPLC”), is a frequent issuer of structured notes and exchange traded notes in the United States and elsewhere. These securities are often issued to meet actual and anticipated client demand for such securities.
BBPLC has determined that the securities offered and sold under its US shelf registration statement during a period of approximately one year exceeded the registered amount (such excess, the “Affected Securities”) giving rise to a right of rescission among certain purchasers of Affected Securities requiring BBPLC to repurchase the Affected Securities at their original purchase price. As a result, BBPLC has elected to conduct a rescission offer to eligible purchasers of the Affected Securities. Details of the rescission offer will be published by BBPLC in due course." As The FT reports, a footnote reveals that Barclays had a registered maximum offering size of $20.8bn for its ETNs, and exceeded that by about $15.2bn.
Quite the miss. Those securities now have to be bought back at the original purchase price, and incur the estimated $600 million loss.
The approximate $600 million loss is 'net of tax' so is actually a considerably larger hit to the top-line. Barclays does not expect the loss to materially impact its regulatory capital ratio (which it expected to be in the middle of the 13-14% target range as at 31 March 2022), but it is material enough to delay the beginning of the bank's buyback program..."Due to the current proximity to its closed period, the £1bn share buyback programme announced on 23 February 2022 as part of FY21 Results is now expected to commence in Q222 following the publication of BPLC’s Q122 Results Announcement."
There will now be an investigation - both internal and by regulators - to clarify just WTF happened here: "Barclays has commissioned an independent review of the facts and circumstances relating to this matter including, among other things, the control environment related to such issuances. Separately, regulatory authorities are conducting inquiries and making requests for information." We are sure they will get to the bottom of this... and 'no wrongdoing' will be discovered. The mystery remains.
The error was called “basic”, “bizarre” and “embarrassing” by analysts, and Barclays said it was investigating the cause and fielding questions from regulators. And later this morning, Barclays shares are tumbling over 10% following reports that a major shareholder is selling about 575 million shares in a block trade that could fetch as much as 867 million pounds ($1.1 billion). (US ADRs shown below).
Bloomberg reports the price range is 147.50p to 150.75p per share or a 8.1% to 6.1% discount to the close, terms show.
The identity of the seller wasn’t disclosed. Barclays’ three largest shareholders are BlackRock, Vanguard and the Qatar Investment Authority, according to Bloomberg data.
So perhaps that "embarrassing" confidence-questioning over-issuance loss in structured notes is now priced in.
As a reminder, Chief Executive Officer C.S. Venkatakrishnan, who took charge of the lender last November, was the group’s chief risk officer at the time the registration document was filed.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/barclays-reveals-600-million-mystery-loss-vxx-linked-notes
>>131698, >>131699, >>131701 Screencaps:Virginia Thomas texts to Mark Meadows-foxbiz tv caps
this gets better and better...
The Money Trail to the Ginni Thomas Emails to Overturn Biden’s Election Leads to Charles Koch
The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and Bob Costa of CBS News have unleashed a fury of renewed interest in the work of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Last Thursday, Woodward and Costa set off a political firestorm when they released the contents of emails that Ginni Thomas, wife of the sitting Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, had sent to President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, in 2020, urging him to overturn the Biden election win and attempting to steer his efforts in that regard.
A total of 29 emails were obtained by Woodward and Costa, with the bulk of the emails occurring in just the month of November 2020, raising questions as to how many more emails are still out there from Thomas to the White House from December 1, 2020 through January 20, 2021 when Biden was sworn in.
Much of the current news debate around the emails is focusing on whether Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from cases involving groups with which his wife is involved and whether the Select Committee should subpoena Ginni Thomas to testify. While those are certainly important issues, what has thus far been ignored is the smoking gun trail that leads directly to the doorstep of billionaire and right-wing Republican political mastermind, Charles Koch, the Chairman, CEO (and majority owner with the heirs of his deceased brother David) of the fossil fuels conglomerate Koch Industries.
Wall Street On Parade has previously documented that at least three of the front groups that fomented the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Trump and that actively solicited thousands of people to turn out for the January 6 event at the Capitol, were funded by Koch Industries or its front groups.
The smoking gun in the Ginni Thomas email thread occurs in an email dated November 10, 2020 when she tells Meadows to “Listen to Rush. Mark Steyn, Bongino, Cleta.” Thomas is clearly referring to conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh, Mark Steyn and Dan Bongino, and lawyer, Cleta Mitchell.
Cleta Mitchell is best known in the Trump election saga as the lawyer who was on the January 2, 2021 call with Donald Trump when he phoned the Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, and told him this: “I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.” That call took place two months after the presidential election. (Mitchell stepped down from her long-term employment at law firm Foley & Lardner after her presence on that call made the news cycle.) But Cleta Mitchell’s relationship with Ginni Thomas dates back at least a decade earlier – and not in a good way. Cleta Mitchell had filed an amicus brief in the Citizens United case before the Supreme Court that was decided on January 21, 2010. That case would be the tipping point to allow unlimited sums from corporations – like Koch Industries — in U.S. elections. Just eight days after Justice Thomas voted in favor of that decision to open the floodgates to corporate money in campaigns, Cleta Mitchell made a move that looked very much like a quid pro quo to Ginni Thomas. Mitchell, then still a partner at Foley & Lardner, filed an application with the Internal Revenue Service to set up a nonprofit called Liberty Central, Inc. on behalf of Ginni Thomas. According to IRS tax filings, Liberty Central received a combined $1.478 million from dark money donors in 2009 and 2010. On the IRS tax filings for Liberty Central for 2009 and 2010, Ginni (Virginia) Thomas is listed as President and CEO. The 2010 tax filing shows that Ginni Thomas received $120,511 in compensation from Liberty Central that year. She eventually stepped down from an official post at the nonprofit, stating she would serve as a consultant.
Liberty Central had the fingerprints of Charles Koch all over it. Acting as General Counsel in 2010 for Liberty Central was a former lawyer for the Charles G. Koch Foundation, Sarah Field. A former Koch lobbyist, Matt Schlapp, served on the Board of Liberty Central at inception. Mitchell’s law firm, Foley & Lardner, employed three attorneys working as lobbyists for a Koch Industries affiliate, Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC in Madison, Wisconsin in 2011. The Koch-related lobbyists were Ray Carey, Jason Childress and Kathleen Walby. Mitchell, herself, was a former lobbyist at the federal level in years 2005 through 2008 for the Alliance for Charitable Reform, a project of The Philanthropy Roundtable, another tax-exempt organization. Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund, two dark money groups which also have Charles Koch’s fingerprints all over them, were spun off from the Philanthropy Roundtable in 1999.
1 of 2
2 of 2
Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, was one of those pushing the narrative on television that the election had been stolen from Donald Trump. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, lawyers and staff of Foley & Lardner were the third largest donor to Johnson’s campaign committees since 2015. Employees and officials of Koch Industries ranked fifth. There were only eight Republican Senators who refused to certify the votes for the challenged states of Arizona and/or Pennsylvania. Those Republican Senators were: Ted Cruz of Texas; Josh Hawley of Missouri; Rick Scott of Florida; Tommy Tuberville of Alabama; Roger Marshall of Kansas; Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi; John Kennedy of Louisiana; and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. Every Republican Senator who refused to certify the election results on January 6 received funding from Koch Industries PAC. Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, whom Ginni Thomas enlisted in the White House to help overturn Biden’s election win, was previously a member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina from 2013 to 2020. He also received campaign funding from the Koch Industries PAC throughout his time in Congress. Charles Koch is usually very careful in keeping an arm’s length relationship between himself and his political operations. But on at least one occasion Koch conducted a dinner meeting directly with sitting Justice Clarence Thomas at a private club in California. In January 2008, Justice Thomas attended an all-expenses-paid, four-day trip to the Koch brothers’ semi-annual political gathering in the Palm Springs area of California. (According to his 2008 disclosure form and the Supreme Court’s public information office, Thomas’ expenses for that trip were paid by the Federalist Society, a conservative nonprofit that Koch foundations have generously supported.) Justice Thomas’ trip to the Koch event occurred in the same year that the Citizens United case was accepted by the Supreme Court. The Court accepts less than two percent of all cases appealed to it.
Wall Street On Parade was previously able to confirm with Scott Markley, Public Information Specialist at the Supreme Court, that during that January 2008 visit to the Koch political gathering, Justice Thomas was hosted by Charles Koch and his wife, Elizabeth, at the private Vintage Club where Charles Koch is a member. The Citizens United decision did not pass the smell test when it was approved in a 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court. Four of the nine justices wrote a scathing dissent that raised the issue of unprincipled behavior, writing that the majority had ruled on issues that were not even legally before the court. The money that the Koch political machine pumped into putting Trump in the Oval Office quickly paid big dividends in his first term (and made it clear as to why Charles Koch would have wanted to see a second Trump term). Koch Industries’ law firm, Jones Day, sent 12 of its law partners to staff up key positions in the Trump administration on the very day Trump was inaugurated. Jones Day has since sacked the press release it issued at the time but you can read the reporting on it at the American Bar Association Journal. Once Trump was settled in the Oval Office, a Koch front group, then known as Freedom Partners, mapped out the agenda it expected Trump to march to. In a document titled “Roadmap to Repeal: Removing Regulatory Barriers to Opportunity,” the group listed the laws and regulations it expected to be repealed in the first 100 days of Trump’s administration. The Trump administration dutifully marched to the beat. Repeal the Paris Climate Accord – done. Tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy – done. Gutting federal regulations and the Environmental Protection Agency – done. By the spring of 2018, 12 people who previously worked at Freedom Partners were working in the Trump administration. Freedom Partners has since disbanded but when we last took a look at the nonprofit in July 2018, we found that all but one of Freedom Partners’ 9-member Board of Directors was a current or former Koch company employee. The Board Chair of Freedom Partners at that time was the same Mark Holden that was the General Counsel of Koch Industries. It’s time for the House Select Committee to subpoena not just Ginni Thomas and Cleta Mitchell. It’s time to hear from Charles Koch directly on how so much money bearing his fingerprints ended up fomenting the attack on the Capitol on January 6. There will never be a better time than now for the American people to finally get at the truth.
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/03/the-money-trail-to-the-ginni-thomas-emails-to-overturn-bidens-election-leads-to-charles-koch/
>>131436 Mkt Fag: Historic Treasury Front-End Selloff Approaching Peak As 2Y Notes Trade Below "Fails Charge"-zh
Surprisingly Strong 5Y Auction Stops Through, Concluding Day Of $100BN In Supply
After today's ugly, tailing $50 billion, 2Y auction and amid general chaos in the bond market which saw both the 3s5s and 5s30s yield curves invert, the question was not if today's sale of $51BN in 5Y paper - the second coupon auction of the day - would be ugly, but how much. Yet, as always happens when everyone expected another dismal print in the belly of the curve, the auction came and it wasn't that bad.
the hidden hand of Mrs Watanabe
Printing at a high yield of 2.543%, the yield was - as expected - the highest since Dec 2018, and while it was a whopping 66bps wider than last month's 5Y sale, it actually stopped through the When Issued 2.553% by 1bp....one bp...:I, the third consecutive stop through for the tenor.
The bid to cover, likewise, was a pleasant surprise, and at 2.53 was not only stronger than last month's 2.49, but was the highest since October.
Internals were a little weaker, with Indirects taking down 60.2%, below the recent average of 63.0% and down from last month's 67.8%, and with Directs taking down 19.7% - the highest since Sept 2021 - Dealers were awarded a high 20.1%, the most since November. And since they can no longer flip that to the Fed as part of daily POMOs, we may see some additional post-auction pressure as Dealers rush to dump this ticking time bomb.
at least in an official capacity
Overall, a solid auction in light of the burst of supply today and now all eyes turn to tomorrow's 7Y belly buster which will need much more luck to pass as smoothly as this auction.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/surprisingly-strong-5y-auction-stops-through-concluding-day-100bn-supply
EXEC1F USAF G5 departed Bakerfield after a ground stop-departed LAX earlier after arrivnig from Denver Int'l yesterday
SAM712 USAF G5 has shadowed Flauxtus since Friday with stops at Philadelphia, Memphis and Denver
Jill Biden comes to Bakersfield for the commemoration of Cesar Chavez’s birthday
https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/jill-biden-comes-to-bakersfield-for-the-commemoration-of-cesar-chavezs-birthday
Mkt Fag: Moar short annihilation edition
Red the entire day on the DOW-until the last 24 minutes which caused moar shorts to give it up and the increase in volume towards the close...lather, rinse repeat.
But take note of two big boi exits the first one in cap#2 on the NAS at 11:18am with a YUGE volume spike 1.78B-and just before European mkts closed. It was barely in the red all day and got to it's LOD (barely down) about one hour later then the instant reversal......the other big one on the DOW at 11:00am EST-cap #3 2.69m
Take note of the literal cratering of the yield curve-warned multiple times since early February-courtesy of zh chart cap#4
Also keep in mind the only thing that is keeping the dollar where it is at is the collapse of the Yen-cap #5
all pb
see: >>129420, >>129421, >>129422 Shock Commodities Spike Threatens to Push Yen to Six-Year Low-bnnBberg
>>130354 Kishida hints at more sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion and Yen nearing an intervention
>>130882 BOJ maintains loose policy, calls further yen fall unlikely
>>131316 The Japanese yen continues to fall after hitting 6-year low against U.S. dollar following hawkish Fed remarks
Oil is now at $103.4x and Muh China lockdowns continuing to work on this-hope Aramco got those mechanics worked out over the weekend-kek
https://www.macrotrends.net/2566/crude-oil-prices-today-live-chart
Some headlines
Fed Factory Surveys Show Pickup in Inflation Expectations
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/fed-factory-surveys-show-pickup-in-inflation-expectations-1.1744247
Tesla to seek shareholder approval for stock split; shares surge
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/TESLA-INC-6344549/news/Tesla-to-seek-shareholder-approval-for-stock-split-shares-surge-39885206/
covered this before but worth mentioning
Russia and West at odds over gas payments in roubles
*Russia to decide on gas payment mechanism by Thursday
*EU countries still at odds on how to pay in roubles
*G7 nations refuse to pay for Russian gas in roubles
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-working-out-method-accepting-gas-payments-roubles-says-kremlin-2022-03-28/
>>131593, >>131594, >>131599, >>131602, >>131604, >>131605, >>131606, >>131607 rt posts pepe "RESPECT CONTRACTS and some discussion
Petrobras CEO Ousted Amid Spat Over Fuel Prices
Latin America’s biggest oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA will have its third chief executive officer since early 2021 after Joaquim Silva e Luna was pushed out following growing political pressure to contain fuel prices.
Luna, who was only in the role for about a year, announced a hike in prices for both diesel and gasoline on March 10, raising the ire of Jair Bolsonaro. While the president had repeatedly vowed to not intervene in the company, Luna’s name was not included in a list of government appointed board members, which was released late on Monday. Since Petrobras bylaws state that the CEO has to be a member of the board, the move essentially ousted Luna from the post.
The government appointed Adriano Pires to replace Luna, a decision that has to be ratified by the company’s board in an April 13 meeting.
As CEO, Pires will need to navigate domestic politics where fuel prices are a major campaign topic in an election year. Luna’s predecessor was fired via a Facebook post after a falling out with the president over fuel prices.
When Bolsonaro selected Luna, a general with no previous experience in oil who was considered close to the president, it caused concern that the state-controlled company would start spending billions of dollars subsidizing fuel like it did during the 2011-2014 oil boom. Shares plummeted and analysts rushed to slap sell ratings on the stock. Instead, Luna stuck with his predecessor’s focus on profits and debt reduction, and even kept most of the existing management team in place. Petrobras slashed its debt enough to resume regular dividend payments last year under Luna and he largely stuck with Petrobras’s policy of tracking international fuel prices, which won praise from investors, though not in Brazil. The oil producer is at the center of a political debate at home where both Bolsonaro and his main opponent in the October election, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have criticized Petrobras for charging high prices.
Until the adjustment earlier this month, Petrobras held prices stable for 57 days even as oil was trading well above $100 a barrel after Russia invaded Ukraine. While Bolsonaro railed against the decision to lift prices, Petrobras defended the move on social media, citing concerns that there could be supply shortages because the company isn’t Brazil’s only importer. Bolsonaro can’t directly order Petrobras to do his bidding, but the government is the largest shareholder and appoints a majority of board members. Luna is an engineer by training who rose to the rank of four-star general and managed several national projects, including the construction of a mega-highway through the Amazon that began in the 1980s and took two decades to complete. He also ran the Itaipu hydroelectric dam during the Bolsonaro administration.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/petrobras-ceo-ousted-amid-spat-over-fuel-prices-1.1744302
Tokyo Traders Ready for Another Day of BOJ Intervention
Japan bond and currency traders are braced for further volatility Tuesday with the central bank set to continue with its unprecedented intervention in a bid to cap a surge in yields.
Bonds are expected to remain under pressure even after the Bank of Japan pledged to buy an unlimited amount of benchmark notes over the next three days. While a retreat in Treasury yields overnight may bring a short-term respite, longer-dated Japanese bonds outside the BOJ’s control are seen as vulnerable, especially if there is further volatility in global markets. “From March 29-31, they know the BOJ is available to buy bonds at least once a day, but it’s not that the central bank is available 24 hours a day, so there will still be selling pressure from those who need to unwind when they want to,” said Naomi Muguruma, a senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The 10-year yield could top 0.25% if such selling intensifies between BOJ operations.”
Japan’s central bank intervened in the market in an extraordinary manner Monday after a slump in global bonds pushed benchmark yields to the upper end of its 0.25% tolerated limit. It conducted two unlimited purchase operations Monday and announced plans for more through Thursday a move which sent the yen plummeting to a seven-year low. >>131830 Also keep in mind the only thing that is keeping the dollar where it is at is the collapse of the Yen-cap #5
The intervention underscored the central bank’s commitment to keep monetary settings loose, following Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s earlier remarks that policy will remain unchanged even if inflation jumps. But it failed to push yields lower -- the 10-year closed at 0.25% Monday.
totally IMPOTENT
While the 10-year benchmark is capped, the BOJ has let super-long yields rise, saying too low levels in these sectors would be negative for investors and the economy. The 30-year yield touched 1% Monday for the first time in six years.
The BOJ action spilled into the currency market sending the yen to a seven-year low and sparking chatter of further intervention, this time from the government. Japan is caught between a dovish BOJ and hawkish Federal Reserve which has widened the yield gap between the two countries and pushed down the yen.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/tokyo-traders-ready-for-another-day-of-boj-intervention-1.1744305
SAM501 USAF C-40B ne from Hickam AFB depart-this is a State Dept AC
This one was also at Pine Gap on 0325 but it has no trace after it's departure west from Brisbane on 0325-cap #2 and there for longer than SAM416 as it reappears heading east on 0327and drops from the scope east of Brisbane at 35k ft-cap #3
So two VERY high level ACs at Pine Gap on 0325/26
see below article
>>131718 SAM416 G5 was at Pine Gap on 0325 for 24 hours
and here who it was with these two ACs
US, Australia Boost Space and Cyber Co-Operation To Counter China
The U.S. and Australia are boosting safety cooperation in space and the cyber area because the Indo-Pacific allies strengthen efforts to counter China, which is investing closely in space and weapons akin to hypersonic missiles, reported Financial Times.
Admiral John "Lung" Aquilino, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, was joined by General James Dickinson, head of U.S. Space Command, and Lieutenant General Charles "Tuna" Moore, an Air Force fighter pilot and deputy head of U.S. Cyber Command.
The three flag officers have been talking forward of conferences with the Australian army and intelligence officers at Pine Gap, a top-secret joint US-Australia intelligence facility.
https://www.benzinga.com/news/22/03/26317206/us-australia-boost-space-and-cyber-co-operation-to-counter-china-ft
kek
yes I see
while the other one is busy playing with self and the ever present muh joo shit.
"mapping to drop blah,blah,blah"
that means nothing..just like the one earlier...full of press for Flauxtus pimping Ceasar Chavez Day-but they din't even know that.
having a little fun muh fren
if you gonna do it....do it right.
Speaking of Cesar Chavez..they renamed Army St to that in 95 or 96 and even the spouses fam was like WTF?
Some of them in the Army.
*renamed Army St in SF
left that out
Several scenes in Bullitt
Where the start of the chase scene begins they go west on Army St.
Before the actual ballz out part starts..the creeper part
U.S. to hold '2-plus-2' talks with India, targeting Russia ties
The U.S. and India look to hold a "two-plus-two" meeting of diplomatic and defense chiefs for early April, Nikkei has learned, as Washington aims to bolster defense ties with New Delhi while chipping away at its close relationship with Russia.
This would be the first such meeting under President Joe Biden's administration. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. looks forward to holding the meeting in Washington soon.
As Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds into a second month, the U.S. hopes to sway a country that has remained reluctant to denounce Moscow to join partners like Japan and the European Union. The meeting could address the question of whether Washington will exempt New Delhi from sanctions for its purchase of Russian-made missile systems.
Victoria Nuland, the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, met with Jaishankar last week during a visit to India.
"We know about the historic relationship and defense relationship between India and Russia at a time when the U.S. was not prepared to have that kind of relationship," Nuland told India's NDTV. "But times have changed now. They've changed in terms of the U.S. and European willingness to be strong defense and security partners with India."
India is Russia's top destination for arms exports, accounting for 23% of the total between 2016 and 2020, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said. Nearly half of the weapons India imported over that period were Russian-made.
moar
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/U.S.-to-hold-2-plus-2-talks-with-India-targeting-Russia-ties
lotsa luck with that...kek
Citic Becomes China Huarong’s Largest Shareholder in Overhaul
China Huarong Asset Management Co. said state-owned Citic Group will replace the Ministry of Finance as its largest shareholder, marking the latest step in the overhaul of the troubled bad-debt manager. Citic Group will receive 2.41 billion domestic Huarong shares from the ministry to “optimize the layout of state-owned financial capital,” according to an exchange filing Tuesday. The transfer would increase Citic’s stake in Huarong to 26.46%, and bring the ministry’s ownership down to 24.76%.
While Huarong remains a state-owned financial institution, the move would leave the company one step removed from direct government control -- a change that may unnerve some creditors. Huarong roiled Asian credit markets last year as it failed to release its annual report on time, eventually revealing a massive loss for 2020. Citic Group, one of China’s biggest state-owned conglomerates, initially took a 23.46% stake in Huarong in November after leading a group of investors in a $6.6 billion government-orchestrated bailout of the bad-debt manager.
Huarong reported net income of 378.5 million yuan ($59.4 million) for 2021 on Tuesday, compared with a record loss of 102.9 billion yuan a year earlier. Chairman Wang Zhanfeng said in a statement that Huarong has stabilized its business and improved risk management in the past year, but he added that 2022 presented more challenges. The company faces a “more complex, severe and uncertain external environment in the post-pandemic era,” Wang said.
Shares of Huarong fell 1.4% in Hong Kong as of 9:44 a.m. The stock has slumped more than 60% since it resumed trading in early January, and investors remain jittery and divided over the industry’s long-term growth prospects.
Created following the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s to safeguard China’s state-owned banks, Huarong and its peers expanded into everything from insurance and leasing to brokerage and trust through cheap borrowing from onshore and offshore markets, and turned into major shadow lenders themselves.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/citic-becomes-china-huarong-s-largest-shareholder-in-overhaul-1.1744349
CROWN01 USAF C-130 Super Hercules off SoKo from Osan AB-was in Int'l waters earlier and now tracking just on shore of west Soko.
In for where it came from and the stops it has made on it's way to SoKo as well as it's call sign
Arrived at Osan from Yokota AB on 0326
Departure from Eglin AFB on 0322 late with a stop at Moffett Federal Airfield 0323 for about 8 hours (Alphabet has a 60 year lease on a large portion of this former Navy and AF base-that was granted by the Hussein Admin. in 2014)
Departed Moffett for Elmendorf arrival on 0323
Late depart on 0324 for 0325 arrival at Yokota and then depart to Osan on 0326
Not an every day sight here
CW12 F-15 Eagle from Lask AB and looks like it's heading to Rzesow
STEAK99 USAF E-4B Nightwatch departed from JBA after arriving as GRIMM99 from Mildenhall on 0327
Continuing with the movie theme(s) for these call signs
Matrix released in 1999
02-4452 USAFSOC C-32B wn from McGuire AFB
A little busier over Yerp/Med this morning
00000000 USAF B-52 Stratofortress heading south nao after being over the Black Sea earlier-currently over eastern Czech Republic-red dot
The usual tankers Dutch and USAF up so won't bore with those
Start from the south
French AF E11042 A330 north from Niger ground stop with CTM221 Falcon 2000 north from southern Mali
JAG88 and 99 USAF Beech Super King Air se from Corsica Bastia Poretto Int'l Airport
FIAT30 and PICO40 KC-46 Pegasus tankers ne from Moron AB
Swiss AF SUI555 (check't) Pilatus 24 nw from Prishtine, Kosovo ground stop-not on ground for very long
Turkish AF JGM301 C-130 Hercules se from Sarajevo ground stop
NATO11 E-3TF Sentry AWACS in it's customary northern Romania position
RAF RRR7231 RC-135 Rivet Joint done over it's northern Romania position
00000000 USAF B-52 Stratofortress heading nw nao after being over the Black Sea earlier
JAKE12 USAF Rivet Joint on the eastern Polsih border
RCH130 and RCH116 USAG C-17 Globemasters west from just east of Poznan
>vanwa was wonky
been having that a lot too
it usually just updates and goes in but takes one or two cycles.
Usually best to let it do on it's own or it takes longer.
Mkt Fag: Yet moar "peace" is breaking out...again...kek
Choppy open for all indicies-of note the DOW basically staight down for about 90 minutes with vanishing volume-these are being used as exits cause the volume drops during the slide down but as you can see it is still up about .70%. NAS is a little under double that but berry choppy-they are still in the "muh 'puter ain't telling me wut to do" mode.-the ubiquitous declining volume here as well. Looks reeeeally tired and being propped for an additional exit (and short covering) cause yesterdays big spike was not just an exit-I'm sure there were some longs in dhere as well and they were promptly "rewarded" today. Cap#2 here >>131830
Oil continues it's China lockdown drop and we have an OPEC+ meeting-was down abut 5% moar than current -see cap #3 and just under $103/pbl
Here is a laugher and when have they ever NOT done this (better hurry up Mr Abdulaziz...tick,tock on Aramco IPO)
BTW Russia is = to about 10% of the worlds Oil production so this can easily be made up by OPEC+ but lets not "play politics"...kek
UAE, Saudi say OPEC+ should not play politics
https://www.reuters.com/business/world-economy-will-be-hit-if-oil-supplies-are-threatened-saudi-energy-minister-2022-03-29/
Treasury Yields are taking a breather here (i.e. backing off) and now we have the 2 and 10 year collapsing as well. Yesterday saw the 30 yr below the 5 year see cap #4 here >>131830 (it's kinda messy but it is there). YTD the Treasury "index" has lost about 6.2 % and that is the worst it has been since 1973. No issue here....kek. Cap#4 for curent 10 year-we've got a 7 year today see >>131823 and when I first started tracking the reverse-repo process (stopped when it hit $70T) the bulk of those at the start (CUSIP #'s) were 5 and 7yr notes. What we are seeing is the yield curve collapsing (situation) and really no consequences of that overtly visible (herro B.O.J). The Yen taking a breather here but still on it's devaluation pattern...see >>131838 Mebby they are wating for 130 but may even wait longer as they have been in complete denial about it's decline for a long time see cap #5 here >>131830 and the relevent linkys since earlier this month. Our fren Ag is recovering for a mild hit earlier -0.33 -1.33% at present and has almost worked it's way back to negate a larger loss earlier-see cap#5
Some headlines
The "peace breaking out" headline-one of many
Shares surge after "encouraging" Russia-Ukraine talks
https://www.reuters.com/business/global-markets-wrapup-1-2022-03-29/
and in thank you Captain Obvious but really it's not under YOUR control news
Fed’s Harker Says He Is Looking For ‘Methodical’ Hikes This Year
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/fed-s-harker-says-he-is-looking-for-methodical-hikes-this-year-1.1744649
and in mebby you shouldn't be trusting any of these bankers and it's only when they lose do they bitch news
Credit Suisse Client Lost Over $550 Million, Judge Rules
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/credit-suisse-client-lost-over-550-million-judge-rules-1.1744620
here is the hilarious statement of the article
>Geneva’s top financial-crimes prosecutors continues to investigate Credit Suisse
I bet you are....
usually a few issues after first post
then clears up-do the usual cleaning but that doesn't matter.
It no likey me in the morning
go figure
pretty standard nao.
JAG99 and 88 USAF Beech Super King Air on descent for Souda Bay NSA, Crete from Corsica depart
They departed Prestwick Int'l earlier today and had a ground stop at Corsica
Waco, TX depart on 0324 with a ground stop at Buffalo/Niagra Int'l then to Goose Bay
Departed Goose Bay, Labrador on 0325 and a stop at Keflavik AB, Iceland
departed Keflavik on 0327 to Prestwick
I did say it would be a new level of stoopidity if they were and look who we talkin' about
But moar likely on weiner
Still...it's Hunter he never fails to disappoint on so many levels
never rule out total insane stoopidness with this
and yeah I know they hated each other cause they had to fight about the 2008 nomination and fake making up.
did you ever post the notabruhs stuffs?
I noes you weren't
ain't no thang with that.
Stopped being surprised wif any of this long ago
but that would be close one of WTF were you thinkin when you copied dat nao?
But then the "never thought she would lose" plays in muh head so surprise gone.
that was the payoff for her stepping "aside' cause they already had that big display planned in yerp where something like 300k showed up to support him and bravo to them (not saying I agree) for perfectly using the Shrub angst in that way.
I never got how that was never seen by the masses as it was just too perfect and easy
She got to globe trot and you know the rest-actually had way less restrictions on wut she did being in that office imo.
>we've got a 7 year today
Subpar, Tailing 7Y Auction Concludes Treasury Sales For Q1
After two mediocre auctions to start the week, when in a $101 billion supply doubleheader the Treasury auctioned off both 2Y and 5Y paper on Monday, moments ago Janet Yellen concluded the final auction for the quarter, when the US sold $47 billion in 7 Year paper in another subpar sale.
The auction stopped at high yield of 2.499%, up 59 bps from February and the highest since February 2019. It also tailed the When Issued 2.486 by 1.3bps. On the flipside, the Bid to Cover rose modestly to 2.443 from 2.364, not only well above the six-auction average of 2.309, but the highest since August 2020.
Finally, the internals were mixed with Indirects awarded 60.9%, the lowest since December, and with Directs surging to 28.55%, up sharply from the recent average of 21.65% and the second highest on record, meant that Dealers tumbled to just 10.52%, far below the recent average of 16.85% and the third lowest in history, with just April 2017 and Sept 2017 lower.
Overall, a subpar auction and one which pushed the 10Y slightly higher for the time being, however expect that the curve flattening will resume momentarily and the 2s10s will invert any second now.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/subpar-tailing-7y-auction-concludes-treasury-sales-q1
>and the 2s10s will invert any second now.
It's right on it and waffling but habbeing
U.S. Two- and 10-Year Yields Invert, Flashing Recession Signal
The U.S. two-year yield exceeded the 10-year Tuesday for the first time since 2019, inverting yet another segment of the Treasury curve and reinforcing the view that Federal Reserve rate increases may cause a recession.
The inversion occurred as two-year yields rose while 10-year yields declined, crossing at a level of about 2.39%. Prior to 2019, when the curve inverted in August during a U.S. trade spat with China, the last persistent inversion of the Treasury curve occurred in 2006-2007.
Short-term yields that are higher than long-term yields are abnormal, and they signal that high levels of short-term yields are unlikely to be sustained as growth slows. The inversion of the two- to 10-year segment of the Treasury curve is the latest in a series beginning in October, when 20-year yields topped 30-year yields. In the past month, inversion has come to the 7- to 10-year and the 5- to 7-year segments, among others
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/u-s-two-and-10-year-yields-invert-flashing-recession-signal-1.1744762
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmubmusd02y
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmubmusd02y
so the Gaetz stuff (entered into record) "should" be accessible by FOIA
Not that they gonna gibs it to ya but do I understand that correctly?
had an 'issue" like that trying ta get stuff from a WH meeting in Oct 2018 Don McGahn/Dems/POTUS
din't even get the "how much are you willing to pay" it was flat out NO!.
But told me I could contact muh local DOJ to discuss.
I declined
kek
Morgan Stanley to enter ETF market
Morgan Stanley has revealed plans to break into the exchange-traded fund market with a new platform that plans to launch its first ETF offerings later this year and take on established rivals, including BlackRock and State Street. The investment bank currently has existing mutual fund offerings through its MSIM arm and its acquisition of Eaton Vance, as well as a private fund platform with over $200 billion in alternatives capital for clients. The memo notes that the initiative will be overseen by Morgan Stanley's new global heads of ETFs and ETF capital markets, Anthony Rochte and Allyson Wallace. Rochte will report to Morgan Stanley's managing director and co-head of strategy for investment management Anton Kuzmanov and Wallace will report to Rochte.
Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Rochte co-headed Goldman Sach's Private Bank Select business. In addition, he previously served as Fidelity Investments' head of institutional investment and technology solutions, where he was responsible for building and leading the company's ETF business, and held senior roles at State Street and iShares. Meanwhile, Wallace comes from BlackRock, where she most recently was the global head of fixed income product architecture and platform for the iShares ETF platform. She also previously served as BlackRock's co-head of global markets for iShares Global Markets Americas and held various roles in Morgan Stanley's Institutional Equity Division and Deutsche Bank.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/morgan-stanley-etfs
SAM646 USAF G5 en from Hickam AFB, Oahu
This AC started out from JBA on 0324 and stopped at Fort Worth NASJRB for an overnight
Depart on 0325 to Seattle, Paine Field for an overnight
Depart on 0326 (later) to Hickam AFB for arrival on 0327
Depart from Hickam earlier today
02-4452 USAFSOC C-32B over northern AZ heading sw from it's earlier McGuire AFB depart
ARIS17' USAF E-4B Nightwatch went up from Edwards for another test flight
break time
back later
just some additions to the hot-air machine known as out Markets-not much else I can say that hasn't been said already over the last few weeks.
Cap #1
The market is now pricing in 9 25bp rate-hikes this year... and more importantly 3 25bp rate-cuts in 2023/24
They were already 'asking' for this in February see here: >>126758 pb
So NOT news and hat tip to the only other one who noticed this too (Mr. Payne at FoxBiz) and then at the start of March the yield curve began the EBIC collapse
Cap #2 Same Shit Different Say as the most shorted stocks continue to provide the fuel and rather than just show a general graph ala ZH here is exactly who those are.
Market cap of $10B or moar
https://financhill.com/most-heavily-shorted-stocks-today
Dollar has dropped a bit today too-not an insignificant move either -0.69%
The Yen collapse kept it where it was and that is being "werked on'' by the BOJ-that temporary though.
The Rouble has basically gotten back to where it was-it did not drop until they started getting sanction habby so not on the exact day the military ops started but a big FU to the rest of the world's currencies. that one is a zh chart
>NG
normally wouldn't say this but they would probably do a better job since the last time our local "packed" the bags they put apples on top of a box of hot fried chicken and then a loaf of heavy sourdough bread on top of those.
Top Biden Economist Says Farmers To Increase Crop Production On "Price Signals" To Avert Food Shortage
The White House's chief economist told reporters at a daily press briefing on Monday that American farmers will respond to "price signals" to increase crop production to mitigate food shortages worldwide following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A reporter asked Cecilia Rouse, the chair of President Joe Biden's Council of Economic Advisers, about the White House's plan to deal with food shortages when it comes to wheat.
Rouse said, "well, first we are a net exporter of many food commodities, and farmers respond to price signals, and so with the price of food rising, they will be responding by making additional plantings and try to take advantage of increase pricing."
She added: "The market will work as the market will work."
and if by 'magic' that will be so.... *see below
Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse is asked how the White House is planning on dealing with food shortages. pic.twitter.com/MpJUghx63R — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 28, 2022
The war in Ukraine has disrupted the global food supply. Russia and Ukraine account for more than a quarter of the international wheat trade, about a fifth of corn, and 12% of all calories traded globally. We've outlined the emerging market countries that will first feel the brunt of food price shocks and shortages. Bloomberg data shows the most reliant countries on Ukraine wheat, including Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkey. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts that global food prices could soar another 8%-20%.
*The issue with Rouse's response is that the costs of plantings have skyrocketed. Fertilizer and diesel prices are at record highs, and this may deter some farmers from additional plantings or even switching crops that require less fertilizer. The farmers who decide to plant wheat may spread less fertilizer on fields, which could impact harvest yields later this year. Bread, cooking oils, and meat prices have surged. Countries are now adopting food protectionism (see: Argentina) by limiting or ceasing exports of farm goods to mitigate domestic shortages.
Last week, President Biden warned that there could be global food shortages:
"We did talk about food shortages. And it's going to be real. The price of these sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia, it's imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well," Biden said at a presser in Brussels.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/top-biden-economist-says-farmers-increase-crop-production-price-signals-avert-food
moar
Take Action on AB 1993
CURRENT STATUS: Asm. Wicks has put AB 1993 on hold for the moment. First hearing on March 30, 2022 at 1:30pm in Assembly Labor and Employment Committee. Referred to Labor and Employment Committee and Judiciary Committee
https://californiahealthcoalitionadvocacy.org/AB1993/
The red link in Current Status takes you to the twatter account of "buffy"
'zactly
read it three times with some time in between each.
>hope that is accurate but where did he get it from?
Without Registering as Stock Exchanges, Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial Account for More Stock Trading than the New York Stock Exchange
The above headline regarding Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial comes from a report authored by John Detrixhe that was published at Quartz in February of last year. The report found that as of December 2020 the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) had a 19.9 percent share of stock market trading versus 13.4 for Citadel Securities and 9.4 percent for Virtu Financial. This gave Citadel Securities and Virtu a combined stock market trading share of 22.8 percent versus 19.9 for the NYSE.
The big problem with this picture is that neither Citadel Securities or Virtu Financial are registered as stock exchanges and neither are regulated by the SEC as stock exchanges. Citadel Securities is a broker-dealer that pays for order flow from at least nine online brokerage firms and has a dubious history of regulatory fines and abusive behavior. Virtu Financial is a market maker and high frequency trading firm that bragged in its IPO prospectus that it had only one losing day in 1,238 days of trading.
the big banks also used that one too...no trading loses in several quarters
Tomorrow at 2 p.m., a Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on “Oversight of America’s Stock Exchanges: Examining Their Role in Our Economy.” The Subcommittee has released a revealing Memorandum that looks at the myriad problems afflicting stock trading in the U.S. and undermining trust in U.S. markets as the standard for markets around the world. Consider the following paragraph from the Memorandum which focuses on market concentration: “There are a total of 24 stock exchanges in the U.S. registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as NSEs [National Stock Exchanges] under section 6(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933. Among these 24 exchanges, 17 are owned by three companies: the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Nasdaq,Inc.; and CBOE Global Markets, Inc.”
To put that another way, 70.8 percent of the registered exchanges are owned by just three companies – all of which are now for-profit, publicly-traded companies rather than non-profit, utility-type businesses operating in the public’s interest – the prior U.S. model for stock exchanges that built the United States’ reputation for running the most respected stock trading structure in the world. Accentuating the fact that stock trading in the U.S. has moved from stock exchanges charged with creating a level playing field for all participants, regardless of the size of their bank account, to a concentrated cabal of dubious actors was the announcement on May 5, 2020 that the SEC had approved an application to become a stock exchange by the Members Exchange (MEMX).
Investors in MEMX include both Citadel and Virtu along with 5-count felon JPMorgan, serially-charged Citigroup, as well as Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Goldman Sachs. (The latter three were intimately involved in providing the obscene leverage that blew up the Archegos Capital Management family office hedge fund last March, generating over $10 billion in losses to global banks.) Other investors in MEMX include TD Ameritrade, Bank of America Securities, BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, FlowTraders, Jane Street, Manikay Partners, Wells Fargo, and Williams Trading.
Dark Pools owned by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch have already taken substantial trading away from lit and regulated stock exchanges and moved it into their unlit and largely unregulated trading platforms known as Dark Pools.
The SEC’s rubber-stamping of this cabal to further concentrate their power over trading on Wall Street by forming a joint stock exchange is effectively endorsing a robber baron structure for stock trading in the U.S.
No congressional hearings were ever held as to whether Members Exchange represented violations of anti-trust law. It is likely instructive to know that the SEC approval for the Members Exchange came while Jay Clayton was serving as SEC Chair in the Trump administration. Clayton had previously represented 8 of the 10 largest Wall Street banks at Big Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell in the three years prior to taking his SEC seat.
moar
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/03/without-registering-as-stock-exchanges-citadel-securities-and-virtu-financial-account-for-more-stock-trading-than-the-new-york-stock-exchange/
the CEO of Virtu actually said that pay for order flow helps retail.....kek