Economics and Investing:

Video: 2016 Market Crash Explained In One Chart – Mike Maloney

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Retail Apocalypse: 2016 Brings Empty Shelves And Store Closings All Across America

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

So It Begins: Bloomberg Op-Ed Calls for an End of Cash (Zero Hedge) Excerpt: “For those who were amused by our warning that a cashless world may be coming, here is precisely why the warning was issued, in Bloomberg’s digital ink…” Read on. Warning: Article commentary may contain bad language or inappropriate avatar images.

Barclays, Credit Suisse to Strike Record Deals with SEC, NY Over Dark Pools(Reuters) Press conference scheduled for Monday. Excerpt: “Dark pools are trading venues that differ from public exchanges because orders are not visible to other traders until they are executed. The lack of pre-trade price information is designed to help institutional investors trade large blocks of shares without the market moving against them.” The Wall Street Journal is also following this developing story: Credit Suisse, Barclays to Pay $154.3M to Settle “Dark Pool” Investigations Note: The Wall Street Journal requires sign-in and/or subscription for access to some content.

Fitch: Fallout from Oil Prices Emerging for US Banks(Reuters) Excerpt: “Following the precipitous drop in oil prices last year that has accelerated into the new year, many of the banks reported further loan loss reserve builds. Exposure to oilfield services companies and exploration and production companies were cited as higher risk segments for the banks.”

International News

Venezuela’s Oil Minister to Visit Russia to Push for Coordinated Action (Market Watch) Excerpt: “Venezuela’s oil minister plans to visit Russia, Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia beginning Monday, in a bid to stabilize oil prices.”

Oil Price Crash: Saudis Told to Embrace Austerity as Debt Defaults Loom (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “Commodity slumps are a prolific cause of sovereign distress…. “Things could work out very badly this time round if commodity weakness persists.”

BP to Announce 70% Collapse in Profits (The Guardian) Excerpt: “…the full impact of the oil price fall could be much heavier as BP takes one-off writedowns on the value of its reserves.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Cyber Thieves Have a New Target: Children (Wall Street Journal) Excerpt: “Cyberthieves target children because their identities offer a clean slate with which to apply for bank accounts, credit cards or loans, government benefits and tax breaks. Criminals will often combine a child’s Social Security number with a fake date of birth and address to avoid suspicion, experts say.” Note: The Wall Street Journal requires sign-in and/or subscription for access to some content.

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