Billionaire Carl Icahn wants 3 AIGs

Billionaire Carl Icahn wants 3 AIGs http://rss.cnn.com/c/35493/f/676933/s/4b0b7508/sc/24/l/0Lmoney0Bcnn0N0C20A150C10A0C280Cinvesting0Ccarl0Eicahn0Eaig0Esplit0Cindex0Bhtml0Dsection0Fmoney0Imarkets/story01.htm Cal Icahn wants AIG to stop fighting the government and finally agree to shrink itself into three separate public companies.

‘Spoofing’ Trial Gets Underway in Chicago

‘Spoofing’ Trial Gets Underway in Chicago http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/10/26/spoofing-trial-gets-underway-in-chicago/ A commodities trader accused of market manipulation is set to go on trial in federal court in Chicago on Monday in a case that puts a spotlight on so-called "spoofing," a high-frequency tra…

5 Things To Watch For At The Third GOP Debate

5 Things To Watch For At The Third GOP Debate http://dailycaller.com/2015/10/27/5-things-to-watch-for-at-the-third-gop-debate/ BOULDER, Colo. -- Get ready America: The third GOP presidential debate is Wednesday night. In a city best known for liberal college students and pot smoking, the GOP presidential contenders will

Big names including Bain Capital and Mastercard are backing Barry Silbert's bitcoin venture

Big names including Bain Capital and Mastercard are backing Barry Silbert's bitcoin venture http://www.businessinsider.com/digital-currency-group-launched-by-barry-silbert-2015-10 Barry Silbert doesn't appear to be a big fan of 'down time.'He sold SecondMarket, the startup he founded that morped into an online stock exchange for hot, private startups' share…

U.S. crude rises after inventory drawdown at Cushing hub

U.S. crude rises after inventory drawdown at Cushing hub http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/27/us-crude-rises-after-inventory-drawdown-at-cushing-hub.html Oil rose on Wednesday after an industry group reported that stocks fell at the Cushing hub in Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. oil contracts.

Hedge fund assets take biggest plunge since 2008

Hedge fund assets take biggest plunge since 2008 http://rss.cnn.com/c/35493/f/676943/s/4b03e2c8/sc/24/l/0Lmoney0Bcnn0N0C20A150C10A0C270Cinvesting0Chedge0Efund0Eperformance0Cindex0Bhtml0Dsection0Fmoney0Itopstories/story01.htm The hedge fund industry suffered a $95 billion decline in assets during the turbulent third quarter amid poor performance.

Stocks tick lower on mixed earnings; price of oil skids

Stocks tick lower on mixed earnings; price of oil skids http://www.seattlepi.com/business/energy/article/Stocks-tick-lower-on-mixed-earnings-price-of-oil-6593736.php Energy companies fell more than the rest of the market as the price of crude oil hit two-month lows. Investors are still concerned about the slow pace of the economic recovery in the U.S. and are won…

More than 12 million fall into UK digital skills gap - BBC News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34570344

More than 12 million fall into UK digital skills gap - BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34570344 Over 12 million people, and a million small businesses in the UK do not have the skills to prosper in the digital era, a charity has warned.

21 Inc Applies for Digital Currency Mining Circuitry Patent - http://www.coindesk.com/21-inc-applies-for-digital-currency-mining-circuitry-patent/

21 Inc Applies for Digital Currency Mining Circuitry Patent http://www.coindesk.com/21-inc-applies-for-digital-currency-mining-circuitry-patent/ 21 Inc, the best-funded company in bitcoin, has filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Is it worth it? Retail weighs Thanksgiving openings - http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/19/the-business-behind-thanksgiving-day-shopping.html

Is it worth it? Retail weighs Thanksgiving openings - http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/19/the-business-behind-thanksgiving-day-shopping.html

Trade Expert and TPP Whistleblower – “We Should Be Very Concerned about What’s Hidden in This Trade Deal”

Trade Expert and TPP Whistleblower – “We Should Be Very Concerned about What’s Hidden in This Trade Deal” Michael Krieger | Posted Tuesday May 19, 2015 at 1:31 pm Screen Shot 2015-05-19 at 1.25.36 PM So here are some of the things, I think, our global Over Class would like to achieve and how they intend to achieve them. 1) The Over Class must retain and consolidate their control over the global system of debt. 2) The power to regulate must be taken from nations and effectively controlled by corporations. 3) Professionalize governance. Democracy can be and must be neutered, and an effective way of doing this is to insist that amateur, elected officials MUST take the advice of professional (read corporate) advisors. Expand current law to enforce this. 4) The financial system badly needs un-encumbered ‘assets’ to feed the debt issuing system. A new way must be found to pry sovereign assets from public ownership. Such a new way is suggested. 5) In order to facilitate the political changes necessary, the public mind-set must be changed. National Treasures such as the NHS in Britain must be re-branded as evil State Monopolies. 6) Effective ways must be found to convince people that democratic rule is no longer sufficient to protect them. 7) An alternative to Democracy must be introduced and praised. That alternative must be the Rule of International Law as written and controlled by the lawyers of the 1%. People must be told that this is all that stands between them and an increasingly hostile and anarchic world. But that it can only keep them safe if it has absolute authority over democracy. People must voluntarily bow to it out of fear and its decisions must be as absolute and unquestionable. – From David Malone’s excellent article published last year: The Next Crisis – Part two – A manifesto for the supremacy of the 1% Obama is obsessively pushing for fast track authority on a secret trade deal written by corporate lobbyists known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. I focused on this issue last week in the post, As the Senate Prepares to Vote on “Fast Track,” Here’s a Quick Primer on the Dangers of the TPP. Here’s an excerpt: Trying to learn about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is like trying to walk through a minefield. The only information we really have is courtesy of leaks, and those snippets are definitely not encouraging. Pretty much every piece of major legislation passed by Congress since 9/11 is either a taxpayer giveaway to mega corporations, or a major expansion of government power. The worst pieces of legislation are always marketed with positive sounding terms and soundbites. The latest swindle is no exception. At its core, the TPP appears to be nothing more than a ceding of national sovereignty to multi-national corporations. Then again, us skeptics could be wrong about that, but chances are we’re not. We just don’t know because the text is “classified.” The Obama administration’s primary tactic in defending this monstrosity has been to accuse critics of “not knowing what they are talking about.” Fortunately, Michael Wessel, a trade expert and “cleared advisor” on the TPP, is blowing the whistle. Here are some excerpts from his very important article published by Politico, I’ve Read Obama’s Secret Trade Deal. Elizabeth Warren Is Right to Be Concerned: “You need to tell me what’s wrong with this trade agreement, not one that was passed 25 years ago,” a frustrated President Barack Obama recently complained about criticisms of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). He’s right. The public criticisms of the TPP have been vague. That’s by design—anyone who has read the text of the agreement could be jailed for disclosing its contents. I’ve actually read the TPP text provided to the government’s own advisors, and I’ve given the president an earful about how this trade deal will damage this nation. But I can’t share my criticisms with you. I can tell you that Elizabeth Warren is right about her criticism of the trade deal. We should be very concerned about what’s hidden in this trade deal—and particularly how the Obama administration is keeping information secret even from those of us who are supposed to provide advice. So-called “cleared advisors” like me are prohibited from sharing publicly the criticisms we’ve lodged about specific proposals and approaches. The government has created a perfect Catch 22: The law prohibits us from talking about the specifics of what we’ve seen, allowing the president to criticize us for not being specific. Instead of simply admitting that he disagrees with me—and with many other cleared advisors—about the merits of the TPP, the president instead pretends that our specific, pointed criticisms don’t exist. I’ve been deeply involved in trade policy for almost four decades. For 21 years, I worked for former Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt and handled all trade policy issues including “fast track,” the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization’s Uruguay Round, which is the largest trade agreement in history. I am also a consultant to various domestic producers and the United Steelworkers union, for whom I serve as a cleared advisor on two trade advisory committees. To top it off, I was a publicly acknowledged advisor to the Obama campaign in 2008. The text of the TPP, like all trade deals, is a closely guarded secret. That fact makes a genuine public debate impossible and should make robust debate behind closed doors all the more essential. But the ability of TPP critics like me to point out the deal’s many failings is limited by the government’s surprising and unprecedented refusal to make revisions to the language in the TPP fully available to cleared advisors. Bill Clinton didn’t operate like this. During the debate on NAFTA, as a cleared advisor for the Democratic leadership, I had a copy of the entire text in a safe next to my desk and regularly was briefed on the specifics of the negotiations, including counterproposals made by Mexico and Canada. During the TPP negotiations, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has never shared proposals being advanced by other TPP partners. Today’s consultations are, in many ways, much more restrictive than those under past administrations. Only portions of the text have been provided, to be read under the watchful eye of a USTR official. Access, up until recently, was provided on secure web sites. But the government-run website does not contain the most-up-to-date information for cleared advisors. To get that information, we have to travel to certain government facilities and sign in to read the materials. Even then, the administration determines what we can and cannot review and, often, they provide carefully edited summaries rather than the actual underlying text, which is critical to really understanding the consequences of the agreement. This is not what freedom looks like. Cleared advisors were created by statute to advise our nation’s trade negotiators. There is a hierarchal structure, starting with the USTR’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy & Negotiations at the top—a committee that includes people like Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson and Jill Appell, co-owner of Appell’s Pork Farms. Then there are specific Committees covering subjects like labor, the environment and agriculture that make up the next tier. The last tier consists of the Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACS), which focus on individual sectors such as steel and aerospace. At last count, there were more than 600 cleared advisors. The vast majority of them represent business interests. Congress should refuse to pass fast track trade negotiating authority until the partnership between the branches, and the trust of the American people is restored. That will require a lot of fence mending and disclosure of exactly what the TPP will do. That begins by sharing the final text of the TPP with those of us who won’t simply rubber-stamp it. Thanks for writing this Mr. Wessel, now let’s see if anyone cares.

Merkel “Surprised” as Hundreds of Thousands March in Berlin Against TTIP “Corporate Dictatorship”

Merkel “Surprised” as Hundreds of Thousands March in Berlin Against TTIP “Corporate Dictatorship” by Michael Krieger Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 1.12.35 PM In what is being described as the largest German protest in recent years, hundreds of thousands of enraged citizens descended upon Berlin over the weekend to voice their collective displeasure at the government's attempt to consolidate corporate dictatorship by passing a democracy killing agreement being marketed as a "free trade" deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The TTIP is basically the TPP but between the U.S. and Europe as opposed to the U.S. and Asia and parts of Latin America. Like the TPP, it further consolidates corporate power, destroys consumer protections and has been negotiated entirely in secret.

Lockhart: Fed will have more to consider in December

Lockhart: Fed will have more to consider in December http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/12/feds-lockhart-says-lot-more-economic-data-available-in-december.html When it comes to economic data points, one Fed official said October is fine, but December is better.

Goldman: Market going nowhere, buy these stocks

Goldman: Market going nowhere, buy these stocks http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/12/goldman-market-going-nowhere-buy-these-stocks.html Goldman Sachs told clients that the S&P 500 will not go higher the rest of the year, but there are still stocks that can outperform the market.

Andreessen: If bitcoin works, it could be profound • /r/Bitcoin

Andreessen: If bitcoin works, it could be profound • /r/Bitcoin https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3oci13/andreessen_if_bitcoin_works_it_could_be_profound/ Do not use URL shortening services: always submit the real link. Begging/asking for bitcoins is absolutely not allowed, no matter how badly you need the bitcoins. Only requests for donations to large…

Robert Reich: 'Wall Street Is on the Road to Another Crisis'—Bernie Knows It, Why Doesn't Hillary?

Robert Reich: 'Wall Street Is on the Road to Another Crisis'—Bernie Knows It, Why Doesn't Hillary? http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/robert-reich-wall-street-road-another-crisis Robert Reich: 'Wall Street Is on the Road to Another Crisis'—Bernie Knows It, Why Doesn't Hillary? America must bring back Glass-Steagall. Giant Wall Street banks continue to threaten…

Every silver lining has a cloud

Every silver lining has a cloud http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21672214-sealing-pacific-trade-deal-welcome-spare-cheers-every-silver-lining-has?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Fpe%2Fed%2FEverysilverlining UNTIL this week, the world had not seen a big multilateral trade pact for over 20 years. The deal that has broken the drought—the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),...

LinkedIn’s Plan for World Domination

LinkedIn’s Plan for World Domination http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/the-network-man?_lrsc=f119d496-b3bc-4079-b42a-2fd58b8271e6 Reid Hoffman believes that his company will determine everyone’s economic future. Is he right?

Sanders Says He's Long Held Stands That Clinton's Now Adopting

Sanders Says He's Long Held Stands That Clinton's Now Adopting http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/sanders-hillary-taking-my/2015/10/11/id/695666 Senator Bernie Sanders said voters should compare his longtime positions with newly minted stands by rival Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton."People will have to contrast my cons…

US scraps scheme to create Syrian rebel force

US scraps scheme to create Syrian rebel force http://www.ft.com/cms/s/76ad076e-6e75-11e5-8171-ba1968cf791a,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F76ad076e-6e75-11e5-8171-ba1968cf791a.html%3Fftcamp%3Dpublished_links%252Frss%252Fhome_us%252Ffeed%252F%252Fproduct&_i_referer=&classification=conditional_standard&ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fhome_us%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct&iab=barrier-app The US is halting a controversial $500m programme to create a rebel force in Syria after concluding that it was having practically no impact in the battle against Isis fighters in the war-torn countr…

What Happened To The $100 Million Mark Zuckerberg Gave To Newark Schools?

What Happened To The $100 Million Mark Zuckerberg Gave To Newark Schools? http://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/what-happened-to-zuckerbergs-100-million BuzzFeed News spoke with journalist Dale Russakoff, whose book The Prize tracks Zuckerberg's massive gift to Newark schools and the unravelling of school reform efforts there.

Daseins-Kreislauf eines Traders

- Spekulieren Sie noch oder traden Sie schon - 9. Jahrgang Sonderausgabe 1/ 2015 Daseins-Kreislauf eines Traders Wie alles im Leben bewegt sich die klassische Karriere vieler gescheiterter Trader in wiederholenden Zyklen. Die Einen lernen nie etwas dazu und bewegen sich immer wieder neu in den alten Bahnen. Die anderen Trader verändern ständig ihre jeweilige Vorgehensweise und nähren sich so langsam aber stetig einer robusten Tradingweise. Welche Parameter sind es nun, die ein erfolgreicher Trader erlangen und entwickeln muss? Unglücklicherweise entspricht das klassische Trading nicht dem menschlichen Naturell. Es ist Niemanden von Natur aus gegeben sich der Gier, Angst und grundsätzlich den kompletten Emotionen zu widersetzen. Ganz im Gegenteil sind die Verhaltensweise von z.B. kleinen Gewinnen mitnehmen und große Verluste laufen zulassen, zu viel in einen einzelnen Trade zu investieren und zu hoffen, dass dieser gut ausgeht etc. am Anfang „normal“. Die erfolgreichen Trader erlernen die Fähigkeit sich vollkommen rational und diszipiliniert an gesetzten Regeln zu halten und gegen das normale Marktverhalten des klassischen Retailinvestoren zu handeln. Am Anfang steht der Wunsch besser als der Markt zu sein. Große Träume und Wünsche begleiten die ersten Tradingentscheidungen. Die ersten Gewinne kommen und werden genossen. Man geht tiefer in die Tradingmaterie rein und sucht ausschliesslich vom Trade-Set-Up Ausgehend immer neue Wege einen kommenden gewinnbringenden Trade lokalisieren zu können. Dankbare Anbieter und Hoffnungsträger sind die Chartanbieter. Sie bieten alles. Indikatoren, vermeintlich handhabbare Ansätze, über viele Jahre erprobte Methodiken etc. Haben sie sich schon einmal gefragt, warum die Indikatoren in dieser Form angeboten werden? Es ist ein Geschäft! Ein Milliardengeschäft. Die meisten Anwender verstehen noch nicht einmal die Logik hinter den angebotenenen Indikatoren und nutzen diese trotzdem. Es erinnern an den alten Goldrausch bei dem die Anbieter von Spitzhacken und Waschschüsseln das meiste Geld verdient haben oder an Cisco Systems, welche 1999/ 2000 enorm viel Geld mit dem Verkauf von Internetmaterialen (Router, Switches, Hubs etc.) an die Glücksritter der Internetära verdient haben. Danach erkennen die meisten Semi-Trader, dass die Preisfindung, das Handelsvolumen und Volatilität wichtig sind. Oft mutieren viele zu Scalper und Oderbuchtrader und versuchen mit „neuen“ Ansätzen ihr Geld an den Börsen zu verdienen. Es gibt unzählige Bücher über das Traden von Autoren von denen man sich immer wieder fragen sollte, wann haben sie die Zeit ein Buch zu schreiben, wenn sie so erfolgreich Traden. Bzw. warum machen sie das, wenn sie etliche Millionen an den Finanzplätzen durch ihr erfolgreiches verdienen können. Das schreiben eines Buches nimmt sehr viel Zeit in Anspruch und der Vertrieb ist umso schwerer. Nachdem durch das Skalpen und Orderbuchtraden nicht der gewünschte Erfolg eingetreten ist lenken viele ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf die Fundamentaldatenseite. Es werden KGV's, KCV's, Bookvalues etc berechnet und gesucht. Auch in diesem Bereich gibt es viele dankbare Anbieter, wie z.B. Bloomberg, Reuters, Newswire und Co. Welche alles Daten beschaffen und anbieten, die das Tradersherz benötigt. Es werden Projektionen gemacht, Portfolios aufgestellt und Annahmen getroffen. Dieser Ansatz ist wesentlich nervenschonender und langsamer. Die Performance entsprechend niedriger. Nun sind die meisten Trader an einem Scheideweg. Einige verabschieden sich, da sie mit der letzten Methode kein Haupteinkommen erzielen können und der Zeitaufwand zu hoch ist und Andere beginnen sich zu transformieren. Es sind oft viele Jahre vergangen und von 100 aussichtsreichen Tradern sind jetzt noch 10-20 übrig geblieben. Die „Überlebenden“ beginne zu verstehen, dass es keinen heiligen Gral gibt. Es gibt nur funktionierende Methodiken und individuelle Mischungen aus den einzelnen Bereichen. Es muss ein Trade-Set-Up gefunden werden, der 1. meinem zeitlichen Rahmen gerecht wird 2. mir den notwendigen und gewünschten realistischen Return gibt und 3. ein Risikomanagement besitzt und 4. sich durch ein ausgeklügeltes Moneymanagement auszeichnet. Der Trading-Ansatz ist nun nicht mehr von der Renditeerwartung, sondern von dem einzugehendem Risiko gekennzeichnet. Die Frage lautet nun: Was muss ich riskieren, um einen Euro Gewinn ertraden zu können. Die zweite Frage lautet: Wie viel Geld muss ich investieren, um diesen Euro ertraden zu können?Und die dritte Frage lautet: Wie lange möchte ich investiert sein? Dann erkennt man, dass es nicht mehr auf den Trade-Ansatz ankommt, sondern an der Kontrolle des Ausstiegs. Es gibt etliche Versuche, welche dies eindrucksvoll belegt haben. Den Pfeilwurf auf eine Zeitung, Turtle-Trader Experiment, der Affe als Portfoliomanager etc. In all diesen Versuchen haben die meisten Experten gegen die Probanden verloren. Warum ist das so? Weil das Ende des Versuchs klar war. Der Ansatz war egal aber das Ende des Trades war für die Probanden, Affen etc. klar. Der Fondsmanager hat krampfhaft versucht durch einen geschickten Tradeansatz seine Performance zu erzielen und wahrscheinlich oft zu viel gehofft, gebangt und verdrängt. Somit verschiebt sich die Sichtweise oft auf eine Mehrtagessicht. Einige Tage bzw. wenige Wochen sind oft der Tradinghorizont. Zusätzlich werden klare mathematische Ansätze gewählt, um das Risiko zu managen. Daraus ergibt sich dann auch der Einstieg für den nächsten Trade. Warum wohl sind die algorithmischen Tradingansätze von z.B. Renaissance Capital, Citadel, JP Morgan etc. so erfolgreich? Wenn sie dies alles geschafft haben, werden sie dauerhaft als Grundbedingung erfolgreich an den Finanzplätzen sein können. Bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt vergehen jedoch je nach Talent, „Glück“ und Arbeitseifer und Wille ganz leicht 5-10 Jahre. Es kann für manchen ein mehrfaches Set-Back auf Null bedeuten und für andere enormen Reichtum. Reichtum an Erfahrung in jedem Fall und für Beide und für manche auch an materiellen Werten. Wir können ihnen nur sagen, dass sich diese Reise lohnt. Sie sind in der Lage Dinge zu erkennen und zu deuten, die anderen für immer verborgen sein werden. Sie sehen börsentäglich neue Sektoren und Branchen, welche sie vorher nicht gekannt haben. Sie beschäftigen sich mit Dingen, die sie vorher nie für möglich gehalten haben. Nur um verstehen zu können, warum die Finanzplätze so sind, wie sie sind. Eine Reise die sich auf jeden fall lohnt und wir können ihr Reiseführer sein. Ihr tradersreport Team www.tradersreport.de

4 trades on struggling IPO darlings

4 trades on struggling IPO darlings http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/08/4-trades-on-struggling-ipo-darlings.html "Fast Money" traders discussed how to trade Alibaba, GoPro and Box, which have struggled after huge IPOs in the last 18 months.

Understanding Bitcoin Price Charts: A Primer

Understanding Bitcoin Price Charts: A Primer http://www.coindesk.com/information/understanding-bitcoin-price-charts/ This introduction to bitcoin price charts will serve as a useful primer if you are interested in understanding the different charts often used by traders.

Watch live: House Hearing on VW Emissions Scandal - NBC News

Watch live: House Hearing on VW Emissions Scandal - NBC News http://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-live-hillary-clinton-town-hall-on-today-322521155994 The Oversight and Investigations subcommittee holds a hearing on the Volkswagen emissions issues.

Goldman: Best earnings trades

Goldman: Best earnings trades http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/08/goldman-best-earnings-trades.html Here are Goldman's favorite earnings trade recommendations after talking to its research analysts.

6 ways to save on your prescription drugs

6 ways to save on your prescription drugs http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/29/6-ways-to-save-on-your-prescription-drugs.html Prescription drug costs are expected to rise by nearly 10 percent next year. Here's what you can do.

Ceres Scores With Licensing Agreement

Ceres Scores With Licensing Agreement http://247wallst.com/healthcare-business/2015/09/29/ceres-scores-with-licensing-agreement/ Ceres, Inc. (NASDAQ: CERE) is showing signs of life in the market on Tuesday regarding a recent licensing agreement. The company announced that KWS SAAT SE, a global seed developer with operations in…