The Traderszone Network

Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) is chuffed over the FOMC Minutes
it has taken 18 months, but the minutes released today make clear that the Fed has now converged to PIMCO’s view, first developed at our May 2014 Secular Forum and revisited at the May 2015 Secular Forum, that monetary policy will be operating according to a new paradigm for the neutral policy rate for at least the next three to five years. We call this The New Neutral.

On Sunday in “Depression Tracker: Brazil Braces For Big Week Of Bad Data,” we warned that this was likely to be a rather harrowing week for anyone hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel for the trainwreck that is Brazil’s collapsing economy. 

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Chinese companies are investing in Hong Kong and loading up on debt, a strategy that could pay off if the yuan weakens further, writes Craig Stephen.
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Last week, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) said it was offering a $500 prepaid Visa gift card, a separate card good for $500 toward services at a VW dealerships and free 24-hour roadside assistance for three years. VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said 120,000 owners have signed up to receive the gift cards – or about one quarter of the 482,000 vehicle owners covered by the emissions scandal. VW said taking part does not prevent owners from filing lawsuits.

Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) skilled trades workers at the company’s lone U.S. auto assembly plant will vote on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 whether to be represented by the United Auto Workers, the union said on Wednesday. Volkswagen, which had earlier been the most supportive of the UAW among foreign automakers with U.S. plants, fought the petition by the UAW for a vote of 165 skilled trades workers at the plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings portfolio has lost 24.5 percent this year, extending its fall this week as its biggest holding, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, declined further, the company said on its website. Valeant’s stock price (VRX.TO) has tumbled 72 percent from its high this summer with the losses accelerating in recent weeks amid questions about the company’s accounting and business practices and criticisms for price gouging. Ackman’s $14.5 billion Pershing Square Capital Management paid roughly $186 per share for its 21.4 million shares of Valeant.

How to reduce your taxes, and the end of checking pets like luggage.
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