One of the oddities of globalisation is that although America’s trade footprint has shrunk, its monetary footprint has not. The Federal Reserve is the reluctant master of this system, its position cemented by the policies put in place to fight the 2007-08 financial crisis. When the Fed changes course, trillions of dollars follow it around the world. America’s indifference towards the IMF and World Bank, institutions it created to govern the system and over which it has vetoes, reflects power through neglect.
Category: Finance
How $1bln Evernote Went From Silicon Valley Darling to Deep Trouble
Depending on where you stand, Evernote is either a sinking ship or a maturing company going through a normal transition cycle. But most people we spoke to seem to agree that the company has failed to take advantage of its red-hot growth and make enough money from much of its huge user base — and is starting to show early signs of being an ailing unicorn.
It’s a sobering reality check about the business challenges that can derail even the hottest tech sensations.
I am fed up of Evernote. Iterations after iterations, their apps are clunky as ever.
But to be fair, all other services of this kind (OneNote, Quip…) are worse.
So I am stuck with Evernote, anyway.
Liquidity : Never There When You Need It
Markets are dominated by a few large investors, creating problems of concentration. Similar portfolios and strategies exacerbate risk and the problems of illiquidity if a large number of participants or very large holders wish to exit positions at the same times.
Investors are frequently market following trading the momentum, buying when prices go up and selling when they fall. They are users rather than providers of liquidity. Their buying creates the illusion of active trading when markets are rising but suck liquidity out when prices fall.
Wall Street Banks Admit They Rigged CDS Prices Too
Here is a system that ultimately allows banks to control the pricing for the instruments they use to bet against securities that they themselves create. This is just part and parcel of a never-ending paper wealth creation machine which generates billions in fiat money profits without creating anything in the way of tangible value and before it’s all over, this financialization of the US economy will likely end up bringing the world to its knees unless someone, somewhere puts a stop to the madness.
Is there anything left to be manipulated ?
Agressive HFT And Institutional Trading Activity – Who Leads Market Crashes ?
Hallelujah, high-frequency traders didn’t short the market that much :
Our analysis of trading on August 24, 2015, shows that while there were bursts of aggressive HFT activity during the sell-off, it was the institutional activity, not the HFT activity that led and dominated the sell-off. Specifically, the events have appeared to unfold as follows: institutions would sell particular securities, creating acute selling pressure in the markets. Aggressive HFTs would then step in and sell the market further, but only for a relatively short period of time.
Abnormal Capitalist 