What We're Reading

• AAPL's iPhone6 release expected late Summer, early Fall. Marketwatch
• 44 stocks on Morgan Stanley's radar as take over candidates
• Yellen's gaffe that wasn't. CNBC
• How airlines are boosting their bottom line amid higher fuel costs; with add-on fees.  Click on graphic right to enlarge.
• China slaps Nu Skin ($NUS) on the wrist, fining them $500k for misleading consumers.  Market was anticipating a much heavier fine and impact on EPS.  (booyah!  Kos is long)  AsiaOne
• AAPL in talks with CMCSA over streaming-tv service. WSJ
• CSCO pledges to invest $1 Billion to build out cloud infrastructure.  Better late than never I suppose.  WSJ Blog
• Beneath our cities, a tangle of decaying gas pipe.  {What to look forward to with Keystone in 50 years}  NYTimes

Looser corporate-governance standards are luring foreign companies to U.S. markets, a development causing concern among some large investors.

Overseas companies like Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. have recently opted to list their shares in New York rather than in their home markets or on other international exchanges, in part because the U.S. in some respects is more lenient, people familiar with the matter say.

Unlike venues in London and Hong Kong, their main rivals in the race for global listings, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market allow corporate insiders who collectively own less than half their companies' stock to exercise control through dual-share structures and other means. In addition, many foreign companies are exempted from some of the disclosure requirements imposed on U.S. corporations.

"If you're looking to do dual-class, the U.S. is where you can do that," said Alex Cohen, a former Securities and Exchange Commission official w

• Tensions continue to rise as Russian troops grow at Ukraine's border. Bloomberg
• Latest CEO survey shows geopolitical risks along with China slowdown as chief concerns McKinsey survey results
• Foreign companies are finding it more advantageous to list in the U.S. rather than overseas markets. Here's why (WSJ signup req'd or go to Google and perform a search for the free viewing).  When's the last time you ever heard we have less regulation!  *lol*
• Snowden released documents that the NSA, in a battle for network data supremacy, spied extensively on the Chinese government and smart phone maker Huawei in what was called Operation "Shotgiant".  Ooooh baby, this won't go over well with our Foreign Relations Department.

Seriously?  You're a wholesale buyer for Walmart and this is what you come up with?  As an added perk it even includes peanuts and corn!  Wow, what a bargain not to mention a skill builder for our kids.  Truly some of the patrons WMT are, if anything, pure entertainment but now are their products are becoming as ludicrous as the 400 lb. man wearing a thong in public?  Come on now......

• The SEC is investigating electronic bonds prices and why some are hidden from view.  Are customers truly receiving "best price"?
• Hands down the best explanation or deciphering I have seen on Fed policy, Yellen's statement and QE taper. (hat tip GT) CWS Market Review
• Marked weakness continues in biotech and technology names.  Rotation into financials and oil&gas names?  We think so.
• With hopes for SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) reform dashed, physicians prepare for a 24% pay cut effective April 1, 2014.
• Bank stress tests are out and worst case scenario?  A mere $501 Billion in losses to the Fed.  What could go wrong?  They can always file Bankruptcy like everyone else.  *lol*
• Take Yahoo, minus out it's stake in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan and what's left.............is worthless. Ritholtz (click to enlarge image)
• If you do NOT feel the biotech bubble has burst and you merely feel this is some profit taking and rotation into other sectors, here's a list of the biggest biotech l

• Seriously what is going on here?  A 12th banker leaps to his death in another apparent suicide.  People it's just a job!  If your boss wants you to do something illegal or if you're under too much pressure, it's within your power to change things!  Change jobs or change fields completely.
• Having fun with the interactive from Bloomberg on billionaires, what they invest in, who inherited their wealth vs. self made, etc.  I just want to know how many are located in Dallas and can a old lady get a hook up?  *lol*
• Robotic firemen?  Yes, says the Navy Marshable
• Riddle me this: What caped crusader may take up the roll where Ashton Kutcher flopped?   Yes, it's Christian Bale as David Fincher's (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and my favorite Alan Sorkin's (Creator of 2012's hit The Newsroom) favorite choice as Steve Jobs in The Wrap, *if* they can just convince the much sought after actor to give the nod.

While the market continues to digest yesterdays' comments from new Fed Chairwoman Janice Yellen that rates will begin to rise possibly as early as six months after tapering is complete (mid-2015 rather than late 2015), banks are definitely yelling pahtay with big gains across the financial sector today.

Even $C (who I normally detest) is attempting to breakout of a beautiful double bottom pattern. 

Like it or not, banks will be more willing to lend in a rising rate environment and let's face it; it's tough to make a buck when you're lending at 3%.  I would imagine this will be good for broker/dealers as well although not shown here.  Now if only we could get Congress to do away with that pesky transaction tax debate.  Life would be wonderful.

Full disclosure; I'm long JPM and loving today's action.

• Happy "Yellen" Day as the market hopes todays FOMC minutes will reveal Janet Yellen removing the language that a rise in interest rates will be tied to a 6.5% unemployment rate.  After all, what's better than cheap money during a slow recovery?  If she does not, watch for a spike in volatility.   Reuters
• Japanese game giant Sony has unveiled a prototype virtual-reality headset called "Project Morpheus" for the PlayStation 4 that would immerse players in the games they are playing. Having already sold 6M PS4 units, one only has to wonder: what say you MSFT? 
• Wish to get back and the butthead who scammed you?  How about 29,305 texts of Shakespeare?  A big hat tip Sadiq because this revenge is priceless. 
• Former Labor Secretary tells reader don't buy the "paid what you're worth" myth. Salon
• $C fined for short selling before and IPO was even released. Now come on, whatever happened to free markets? lol  Marketwatch
• Like Washington, San Jose raised their minimum wage just one y

• TBTF banks are not happy with a proposed financial tax endorsed by GOP lawmaker David Camp.  $GS, who was in discussions to hold a fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee, recently opted not to move forward because of concerns about Mr. Camp's bank-tax proposal.  Could this be why financials have not been participating lately?  WSJ   Considering the amount of support given by financial institutions over the years, one can only imagine the pressure being applied by lobbyists.
    In a nutshell, Camp's proposed the tax on large financial institutions in part because it would offset the lower borrowing costs they receive from a perceived government backstop.  Naysayers immediately fired back stating that such a tax would hurt consumers by making credit less available and more costly, stifle business growth, and cost jobs.  Let the fear mongering begin.
• At a surprise appearance via satellite on a recent TED Talk, Edward Snowden said just wait, the larger revelatio

• NYC trader becomes 11th to commit suicide in 2014.
• Orders for new aircraft are at record setting levels.  Does this mean airline industry consolidation is over and will the anticipated energy efficiency savings translate into lower airfares ahead?
• Hot-n-toasty sandwich maker Quiznos follows Sbarro into Bankruptcy court seeking re-organizaiton. Bloomberg
• Major US indicies need to bounce and achieve a new high to nullify the megaphones building.  The Dow did not achieve a new high following the others which is of note.
• StockTradersAlmanac feels there are signs of a market top.  When everyone is bullish, who's left to come in off the sidelines and buy? 

• With the increase in US oil (hello Bakken), shipping black gold by rail has caused backlog in shipments of other goods across all industries forcing rail companies to scramble to expand.  The biggest loser: shippers.  Sounds like more promo for Keystone to be approved WSJ
• Are you guilty or have you been there, done that?  Take a different view of those around you in the service industry and how you/we view and interact with them.  An open letter to Paul Ryan on poverty Salon
• Last night after the close, CME lowered margin requirements for Brent and WTI crude oil futures.
• Members here at StockBuz have been playing precious metals and miners; gold, silver, GDXJ (junior miners).  Investing.com has noticed the move off of the lows as well.
• The "death spiral states" talk of Democratic states leading in number of Welfare recipients (shockingly) distorts the full truth.  What else will the Koch brothers come up with next?  Factcheck.org
• China slowing is the biggest threat to growth currently,

• Don't tell Twitter but Women dominate social media (Infographic)
• Rent vs Buy.  Based on tax bracket, what areas are cheaper to rent? Trulia interactive Map
• Quite a few bearish engulfing charts in the major Spyder ETFs.  If you're not hedged you should be. Grid charts
• 3D Systems ($DDD) teams up with the White House and D.O.D. to provide access for the mfg. industry to the most advanced design.
• Where were you 30 years ago today when the first cell phones went on sale for the deeply discounted price of $4,000?  *lol* 

Maybe it's backfiring.  Maybe those who had pre-existing conditions accepted that having coverage was worth the higher price versus no coverage at all.  Add in those with lower income levels who had no insurance previously.  A big bump.  Maybe all the foot stomping over website glitches (which is common with new websites folks),  fear mongering of information security, "death panels" and contraception coverage from the angel-believing right are being drowned out.  

A new survey shows 64% of Americans now back ACA, of course slight revisions being supported as well but wasn't that expected?  No major law goes on the books without tweaks and revisions but this is actually good news if you're long certain healthcare names whose price has benefited the last few years. 

Of course maybe Bloomberg's survey is inaccurate.  Stranger things have happened but MSM (main stream media) would have you believe ACA (Obamacare) is a nightmare and hated nationwide.  Maybe, just maybe, MSM is feeding us

I've been moving recently; hence no posts, charts, etc.  More exactly my son wished to get his own place (yay!) and with my lease expiring, I eyed a different unit with a much larger living area, kitchen and bedroom.  I've always wanted a loft and here was my opportunity.  The timing couldn't be more perfect with cool weather cooperating.   What was not perfect was the service of uHaul ($UHAL) when it came to accessing a storage area, or that of Time Warner Cable ($TWC) who (of course) assured me I'd have live service.  It's not rocket science guys.  We're not asking you to solve world hunger nor come up with a cure for Cancer.  Merely have the codes entered into the computer so one can access their storage unti and check the friggin' cable lines like a good little boy.  Your apologies are worthless.  Please allow me to raise an eyebrow and tell you off with a scathing rant that'll make your eyes water and give you nightmares for years in your little, crappy office with a space heater

• The effects of raising the minimum wage CBO report
• Wait!  Take that CBO as the state with the highest minimum wage has created the most jobs Bloomberg
• With robotics, production lines became more streamlined but more is to come with analytics, energy efficiencies and more McKinsey
• For all the foot stomping, just "who" earns over $400k a year anyway?  MoneyNing
• Five "power weapons" the Pentagon wants to cut (I'm sure there are plenty left over) Blooomberg Video
• Google invests $50M in auction.com (just buy EBAY - I'm long!) Bloomberg

It makes me insane when the Fed says inflation remains subdued.  Subdued?  idk where they live but my rent in 2013 went up 7% and this year, 9%.  A 2-liter bottle of CocaCola used to be .99 cents.  Now it's $1.99.  Don't even get me started on the ridiculous increase in crude oil versus a few years ago (doubled) and how small a bag of my favorite chips has become 1/3 the size for the same price.  Oh, that's right.  They don't include food and energy (the stuff that always goes up).

Last time I looked, housing cost was still included in inflation numbers but yet today a minimum wage person would have to work two weeks just to pay the rent.  Forget about the electric, cable, phone or food.  Oh wait, let's see if we qualify for a free Obama phone and food stamps (sarcasm).  I'm sorry but I hope they raise the minimum wage.  The government should not have to subsidize workers to survive because minimum wage has not risen along with cost of living.  They two should go hand-in-hand if you a

• White House report on raising minimum wage. Slideshare  64 studies show there is no discernible impact on employment (not to mention higher wages flowing into consumer spending and boosting demand)
• Notes from this weekends Merrill Lynch conference call:  Russia vs Ukraine.  What investors want to know.  Why, sanctions and what's the end game?
• Let's take a look at past Geopolitical concerns and how much markets sold off (and recovery time) BusinessInsider
• Russia has given the Ukraine a 3 a.m. deadline to surrender or "face a storm". Skynews
• The new thing from Apple.  "CarPlay" hands free phone, messaging, maps etc for your car. Coming out in Mercedes and (down the line) in other vehicles as well.  Now we know why Tim Cook was meeting with Elon Musk from Tesla

• Meanwhile Dr. Copper .............. http://screencast.com/t/ln6lJhVB

• What happened to DeMark's prediction of a crash? Mr.Top Step
• 85 people (only 85) own over 1/2 of the WORLD's wealth.  Let that sink in a minute.  Oxfam.og
• Markets won't like this tension (watch crude oil and PMs).  Russian troops encircle UK bases; urging troops to defect NYTimes
• They're not out of the woods yet.  52% of workers in France want to leave the Euro. Mish Global Economic
• Always good to see Stocktwits talking up on two stocks which are long in Kos's port $EBAY and $MELI.  Glad to have them aboard! lol
• What Americans really do with their income tax refunds TheBlaze
• Who knew.  There *is* a magical day to book and get the cheapest airfare. Huffington Post

• The argument to lift the ban on crude oil exports Bloomberg
• How big oil (and Senators) are positioning at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Bloomberg
• A 3pm gold "fix"?  This study says it began in 2004. Bloomberg
• That's what I've been saying.  Fed may have to let inflation run hot to meet goals. Reuters
• Markets spooked as confirmation came of Russian troops taking over two airports in the Crimean area of the Ukraine.  UN to hold closed-door session this weekend to discuss situation. Reuters

• "There’s no way that we are not going to have massive problems in China." BloombergView
• Let the bidding begin for Elon Musk's battery gigafactory.  Bloomberg
• Possible defaults in some WMPs don’t reflect a “big problem”.  Wait, 60% of GDP is no big deal? Bloomberg
• Retailers deep discounts bring in buyers BUT weigh on margins.   IBD
• China's property boom continues to rise relentlessly. Global Property Guide
• Why Facebook bought Whatsapp (think "get the teenagers back")  Sequoia Capital
• Business investment flows continue sluggish (but the stock market doesn't seem to care)  Califa Beach Pundit
• It has never ceased to amaze me the ridiculous amounts the US government spends on it's military (20% of budget) yet when you stand back and look at things, it becomes even more ludicrous.  For example the 19 aircraft carriers we have afloat whereas China only has one and it's not even in commission yet.  BusinessInsider   More aircraft carrier numbers at Wikipedia
• After the close, CME lowers margin