Jan 26-30: Gyros and bits

DJIA 17560 // S&P 2041 // NASDAQ 4267 // 10-YR TRE 1.814% //

EURO 1.1270 // OIL 47.51 // GOLD 1286 // BIT 301.61

Global leaders from industry and government gathered this week in Davos,  Switzerland to discuss policy, problems, and possible solutions. Reports note a special focus on topics like "shared value," "creative capitalism," and "compassionate capitalism," perhaps suggesting CEOs' desire to improve the negative image of business around the world.

$43.50

Reported price of a hot dog at Davos (WSJ). Looks like the de-peg is already reaping some unintended consequences.

Oxfam presses Davos forum with wealth inequality claim, FT

Oxfam, the UK-based anti-poverty non-profit, issued a report last week noting that the richest 1% in the world will soon own more wealth than the rest of the world put together. Conversely, the report noted the "more than 1 billion people" living in absolute poverty with income of less than $1.25 a day.

Greece chooses anti-austerity party in major shift, NYT

The Greek people rejected austerity measures being imposed by the EU on Sunday by electing the leftist Syriza party into power, ousting the centrist New Democracy party. Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras declared in Athens that "Greece will now move ahead with hope and reach out to Europe, and Europe is going to change." Populist movements on the left and right in France, Spain, and Italy are also expected to gain ground in coming weeks.

Swiss miss, Economist

When the Swiss National Bank (SNB) unpegged the currency from the euro last week, the market looked about as "wrong-footed" as it did in responding to the franc's original peg to the euro back in 2011. Retail brokerages--where mom-and-pop traders speculate on currencies expected to move in price by small fractions of a percent and where only tiny amounts of collateral were previously required--were devastated by the move, as clients trading on margin were forced to call in accounts.

Google wireless services aims to switch between carriers, WSJ

Google is shaking up another industry in aiming to give subscribers choice across a variety of wireless carriers and wifi signals in routing calls to one another. This challenges the current paradigm where contracts are signed between subscribers and service providers who provide reception through their network alone. The program is expected to be rolled out later this year throughout the US.

As commodities fall, some investors see reasons to buy, WSJ

After years of falling markets, some investors are betting we are presently at a price bottom across a variety of commodities markets. Despite record supplies resulting from decreased demand across Europe and developing world, among other reasons, investors perceive an opportunity particularly in agricultural commodities, which can respond faster to supply-demand changes as farmers manage crops on a season to season basis.

Vocabulary:
Contango http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/contango.asp
Backwardation http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/backwardation.asp
Bitcoin http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bitcoin.asp

Calendar, Jan 26-30: (Nasdaq Economic Calendar)

• Jan 26: MSFT
• Jan 27: Durable goods orders, new home sales, consumer confidence; AAPL, YHOO, MMM, AAL, T, CAT, PFE, PG
• Jan 28: EIA petroleum status report, FOMC meeting announcement; BA, FB
• Jan 29: Jobless claims, pending new home sales index; BABA, AMZN, DOW, F, GOOG, JBLU, TWC
• Jan 30: GDP, PMI, consumer sentiment; CVX, LLY, MAT, XRX

Predictions from last week: 1.5/3 All-Time: 4/6

• NFLX beats: CORRECT
• LUV and UAL beat: CORRECT / WRONG
• ECB doesn't deviate: WRONG

Predictions Jan 26-30:

• AAL will beat estimates and adjust guidance upward based on peer performance
• CVX misses estimates on falling oil prices, declining investment
• Bitcoin price rises on news coverage and extra liquidity from Coinbase

Participants: J. O'Brien, K. Meenan, J. Ayat