26Mar2015 Pre-Market Commentary: Markets Expected To Open Lower As Oil Surges To New Highs With Air Strikes In Yemen Increasing

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are sharply lower today with shares in Germany off the most. The DAX is down 1.65% while France’s CAC 40 is off 1.48% and London’s FTSE 100 is lower by 1.42%.

21 March 2015 Initial Unemployment Claims Rolling Averages Improve

Blue Line 4 Week Average

The market was expecting the weekly initial unemployment claims at 282,000 to 300,000 (consensus 293,000) vs the 282,000 reported. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and seasonality errors in adjusting the data) 4 week moving average moved from 304,750 (reported last week as 304,750) to 297,000. The rolling averages have been equal to or under 300,000 for most of the last 6 months.

Oil prices surge after Saudi air strikes in Yemen

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude oil soared more than 4 percent towards $59 a barrel on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies began a military operation in Yemen, which sits on a key shipping passage between Europe and the Arab Gulf.

Oil Prices Jump as Saudi and Yemen Fighting Escalates

Concerns over a possible disruption in supplies forced prices up as Saudi Arabia began airstrikes against Yemen.

Futures down after Saudi air strikes on Yemen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were lower on Thursday to put the S&P 500 on track for a fourth straight decline, after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched air strikes on Yemen.

Shell to cut more UK North Sea jobs in 2015

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is planning further job cuts in its UK North Sea oil and gas business in 2015, the company said on Thursday, just a week after a package of tax cuts from the Treasury aimed at encouraging growth in the industry.

Futures Tumble As Yemen War Starts; Oil, Gold Surges

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, this morning’s futures reaction to last night’s shocking start of a completely unexpected Yemen proxy war, which has seen an alliance of Gulf State launch an air, and soon land, war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, is what one would expect: down, and down big.

This is surprising, because on previous occasions one would expect the NY Fed, or its pet hedge fund, Citadel, or the BOJ or ECB (via the CME’s “Central Bank Incentive Program”) to aggressively buy ES to prevent a slide, something has changed, and for the BTFDers, that something may be very fatal with the e-Mini rapidly approaching a 1-handle yet again.

The offset to tumbling stocks, as previously observed, is oil, with WTI soaring over 6% in a delayed algo response to the Qatar headlines.

WTI rose as high as mid-$52 before retreating modestly:

“Rising prices could become a self-fulfilling prophecy if market participants see this as the …

Frontrunning: March 26

Saudi Arabia, allies launch air strikes in Yemen against Houthi fighters (Reuters)

Why Bombing This Tiny Oil Producer Is Roiling the Energy Market (BBG)

Munger Says Prepare for Harder World as Buying Power Slides (BBG),Mocks Greek ‘Idiotic Idea’ You Can Vote Yourself Rich (BBG)

The Central Banker Who Saved the Russian Economy From the Abyss (BBG)

Bank of Canada says foreign buyers complicate housing market (Reuters)

Borse Dubai Sells Its Stake in London Stock Exchange Group

The holding company for the Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai was the largest shareholder in the London exchange. The sale is estimated at as much as $2.2 billion.

As Twitter Introduces Periscope, Tech Titans Bet on Live Streaming

Apps that help users broadcast themselves live from their phones are catching the eye of tech heavyweights and venture capitalists. Periscope is Twitter’s big entry into this realm.

U.S. consumer watchdog unveils plans to regulate payday loans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. consumer financial watchdog on Thursday outlined its plans for cracking down on the payday lending industry and ensuring that borrowers can repay their loans.

R.B.S. Sells $3.2 Billion in Stock of Citizens Financial Group

The larger-than-expected sale is part of the British bank’s plan to fully exit its ownership in Citizens, an American retail bank, by the end of 2016.

Adidas targets faster sales and profit growth from 2016

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany (Reuters) – German sportswear firm Adidas announced plans to revolutionize the way it manufactures goods to speed up production and allow more customization of goods to help it accelerate sales and profit growth in the next five years.

Fed’s Bullard: now may be good time to normalize U.S. monetary policy

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Now may be a good time to start normalizing U.S. monetary policy, Federal Reserve policymaker James Bullard said on Thursday.

Why Price Analysis Is Meaningless

……….Written by Jeff Nielson

This commentary will undoubtedly antagonize the entire mainstream media, many/most traders in the rigged casinos we call markets, and even many members of the Alternative Media. As the saying goes; “the truth hurts.”

The purpose of this analysis is not to accumulate (more) enemies, however. Rather, there is simply no way to properly explain why all of this pseudo-analysis is fatally flawed without explicitly making clear one, central point: all price-analysis is meaningless. Since “price analysis” accounts for roughly 95% of all the drivel which the mainstream media calls “analysis”; this one point alone invalidates virtually all of the Corporate media’s trash.

Why is all price-analysis meaningless? Understanding this requires understanding the economic definition of “price”: the intersection point between supply and demand. It is this intersection point (and only this intersection point) which bestows any “meaning” to price as an economic indicator, and thus analytical tool.

As Dollar Heats Up Overseas, U.S. Manufacturers Feel a Chill

Customers in places like Europe, where the euro has fallen against the dollar, say they can no longer afford American goods without deep discounts.

Hainan Airlines to buy 30 Boeing 787-9 jets, worth $7.7 billion by list price

(Reuters) – Hainan Airlines Co Ltd , China’s fourth-largest carrier, said on Wednesday it plans to order 30 Boeing Co B787-9 jets as it seeks to expand international routes to tap into growing demand for overseas travel from China.

Japan should be flexible in Australian submarine tender: retired Japanese admiral

ADELAIDE, Australia (Reuters) – At least some of Australia’s new submarine fleet should be built in the country, an influential retired Japanese admiral said on Thursday, signaling a possible softening in Japan’s position on the controversial A$50 billion ($39 billion) project.

Ford aims to triple exports from India with $1 billion plant

SANAND, Gujarat (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co has invested $1 billion in a new plant in western India which will help the automaker triple exports from the country, chief executive Mark Fields told reporters on Thursday.

Foreign buying of U.S. bonds more talk than reality

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The advantage of higher yields in the United States has not prompted foreign buying as investors had expected, and central banks have instead dumped Treasuries in recent months.

Indonesia seeks major role in Chinese-led infrastructure bank

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia wants to play a major role in a new Chinese-led Asian infrastructure bank, with at least the vice-president’s position reserved for the Southeast Asian country, the finance minister said.

Kraft Deal Fueled by Lean Recipe

A key ingredient in 3G Capital Partners LP’s recipe for reshaping the U.S. food industry—reflected in its roughly $49 billion deal to acquire Kraft Foods —is an arcane-sounding financial tool that slashes costs by focusing on details as minute as how to make photocopies.