Bonds Bid & Stocks Skid Ahead Of Payrolls

zerohedge.com / by Tyler Durden
Another day or ‘spot the difference’ between AUDJPY and the S&P 500 saw an odd overnight spike in stocks fade soon after the US open, bounce higher (again) at the European close then oscillate around VWAP (with the ever-ready-to-please 330 RAMP). Stocks remain red for the year and still the worst start since 2008. “Most Shorted” names continue to outperform. Copper and WTI crude were notable underperformers (both ending an oddly similar -1.75% on the week so far) with oil rebounding modestly off 8-month lows into the close. VIX and credit markets were quiet – ending practically unch ahead of tomorrow’s NFP. CAD weakness continues (-2% on the week) but the USD leaked lower to unch on the week. Treasuries rallied 2-3bps (and the curve flattened very modestly) with 2Y unch and 10Y -3bps.
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Chart of the Day - Athersys (ATHX)

The Chart of the Day is Athersys  (ATHX).  I found the stock by using Barchart to sort today's New High List for frequency in the last month, eliminated the stocks that didn't have a gain in the last week and month and then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts.  Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 12/17 the stock soared 194.69%.

It is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of therapeutic product candidates designed to extend and enhance the quality of human life. The company's lead product candidate, ATHX-105, is an oral, selective 5HT2c receptor agonist in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of obesity. The company is also developing other orally active pharmaceutical product candidates for the treatment of metabolic and central nervous system disorders, utilizing proprietary technologies, including Random Activation of Gene Expression (RAGE). Athersys is developing MultiStem(r), its patented, adult-derived ``off the shelf'' stem cell product platform, for multiple disease indications, including damage caused by myocardial infarction, bone marrow transplantation/oncology support, ischemic stroke and other indications.

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Stocks could plunge 50% in the next year or two: Blodget

As regular Daily Ticker viewers will know, I have recently become concerned about the possibility of a stock-market crash — or, at the very least, a long period of crappy stock returns.

Importantly, I'm not predicting a crash, but I think the odds of one are increasing. And I am holding onto my own stocks only because I have a balanced portfolio and a long-enough investment horizon that I am comfortable with the possibility of stocks plunging, say, 50%, over the next year or two.

Of course, stocks have done so well over the past five years that almost everyone is bullish these days, so whenever I talk about the possibility of a market crash, people cackle with laughter or dismiss me as a hater, short seller, or moron.  (more)

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David Gurwitz – Charles Nenner & Company 2014 Forecasts

from Financial Survival Network
David Gurwitz has a number of forecasts for 2014 that will surprise and even shock you. We talked about:

• Bearish on Copper – Short on Crude
• Apple to hit new highs – Google is topping
• Dollar to hit brick wall – Dow to hit brick wall
• Softbank an interesting buy

…and many other interesting calls you need to hear about.
Click Here to Listen to the Audio

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Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX)

When you're hot, you're hot, and medical device maker Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) is sizzling. On Monday, the stock spiked 3.35% to a four-year high after receiving a double dose of upgrades from analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Oppenheimer (NYSE: OPY).

Shares continued to climb Tuesday, and the latest move in the stock is telling us that the bull run in BSX just doesn't want to stop -- and hey, why should it?

According to David Lewis, who follows the stock for Morgan Stanley, BSX deserves his bullish "overweight" rating in large part because of the strength in the company's pipeline and its opportunities for margin expansion.

"Over the past several years, the company has targeted investments across several markets to accelerate growth and drive leverage," wrote Lewis in a note to clients. "We believe better recognition of this strategy will drive future out performance even after a robust 2013 as accelerating sales and earnings growth drive improving financial performance over the next several years."  (more)

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McAlvany Weekly Commentary

2014: Year of Unintended Consequences

Posted on 08 January 2014.

About this week’s show:
-Central Bank printing on steroids
-China & Obamacare (with pre-existing conditions)
-Discussion of European gold hoard - CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

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Did Soros Just Predict a China Crash?

George Soros probably shouldn't expect any warm invitations to Beijing -- not with the much-reviled short seller warning of a giant Chinese crash.

The billionaire first shook a major government in September 1992, when he led an attack on the British pound. For his role in humiliating London and forcing John Major's government to exit the European exchange-rate mechanism -- essentially the euro -- Soros reportedly netted $2 billion. Soros made a bundle off America's subprime debt crisis as well. Here in Asia, his legend has loomed large since 1997, when then-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad accused him, bizarrely, of heading a Jewish conspiracy to spark an Asian crisis.

Now Soros has his eye on China. In a Jan. 2 op-ed for Project Syndicate, Soros didn't say whether he's shorting China. But he did connect the dots in a way that can't make President Xi Jinping happy. To Soros, the main risk facing the world isn't the euro, the U.S. Congress or a Japanese asset bubble, but a Chinese debt disaster that's unfolding in plain sight. (more)

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