The New York Stock Exchange, part of the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) global network of exchanges and clearing houses, today announced the NYSE Bitcoin Index (NYXBT), the first exchange-calculated and disseminated bitcoin index. Launching today, the NYXBT Index will represent the U.S. dollar value of one bitcoin unit based upon actual transactions occurring on select bitcoin exchanges which have been evaluated and meet NYSE’s quality standards. “Bitcoin values are quickly becoming a data point that our customers want to follow as they consider transacting, trading or investing with this emerging asset class,” said NYSE Group President Thomas Farley. “As a global index leader and administrator of ICE LIBOR, ICE Futures U.S. Dollar Index and many other notable benchmarks, we are pleased to bring transparency to this market. By combining our technology infrastructure with our expertise in index calculation and data management, we will continue to launch complimentary products based on our rigorous standards and proprietary index methodology.”

- http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/NYSE+Announces+Bitcoin+Index/10576502.html?si_email_click=2015051908

No longer a safe haven for the average investor? Never really was. By all means common investors should stay clear of ETNs, and perhaps now ETFs. 

'Since 2008, trading volumes of the five-largest credit ETFs have grown 75-fold, according to a Greenwich Associates study released Monday. About 12 percent of institutions surveyed by the Connecticut-based research firm reported having traded ETFs in increments of more than $100 million, according to the report' -  From Bloomberg -http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-18/a-200-million-hedge-fund-trade-in-your-bond-etf-is-normal-now

From Platts:

Shell plans to use the drillship M/V Noble Discover and the drilling unit Transocean Polar Pioneer for its planned Arctic drilling this summer. The two vessels will provide relief-well capabilities for each other, BOEM said in a statement. The conditional approval was lambasted by environmentalists Monday, claiming the administration has unnecessarily exposed the Arctic to an oil spill. "Any major Arctic Ocean spill would be impossible to clean up," Franz Matzner, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Beyond Oil Initiative, said in a statement. Such a spill would be "catastrophic" since Shell's proposed drilling takes place more than 1,000 miles from a Coast Guard base and other cleanup infrastructure, Matzner said. "Accidents can and do happen; and there is no proven way to respond to an oil spill in icy Arctic waters," Susan Murray, a deputy vice president with Oceana, said in a statement. In March, Interior upheld its 2008 Arctic lease sale, which had been suspended by a federal court ruling. Under that ruling, BOEM updated an estimate of recoverable oil in the Arctic area it had leased the rights to, boosting the estimate from 1 billion barrels to 4.3 billion barrels. Shell has requested a five-year extension on its Arctic leases, which the company said it needs before it invests hundreds of millions of dollars more in the Arctic. Federal officials have not ruled on this request. Shell has already spent about $6 billion on its Arctic drilling efforts.

Savannah has an Aa2 rating -

New York, April 28, 2015 -- 

Large shifts in cargo from the West Coast to the East Coast resulting from the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2016 are unlikely, Moody's Investor Service says in "Panama Canal Expansion: West Coast Ports Maintain Advantage, while East Coast Municipalities Benefit from jobs." 

"In most cases, shipments from Asia to West Coast ports will arrive at inland destinations faster than via an all-water route to the East Coast through the Panama Canal," Moody's Analyst and report author Myra Shankin says. "Additionally, ports' long-term contracts contain minimum annual guarantees, which will protect the West Coast ports from swings in cargo volume and revenues. However, ongoing labor and operational difficulties at West Coast ports could shift cargo traffic if not resolved." 

Some local governments located closest to US East Coast ports will benefit economically, however. Those gaining will be ports with water depths deep enough to accommodate the larger ships and with the best intermodal transportation connections. 

"Even a muted uptick in cargo volume from Panama Canal activity will provide at least some increased revenue for local governments. Notable municipal 'winners' will be in the Norfolk, VA (Aa2) and Savannah, GA (Aa2) regions," Moody's Analyst and report author Coby Kutcher says. Charleston, SC (Aaa stable) will also benefit, Kutcher says. 

While only a minimal impact for East Coast ports' cargo volumes is anticipated, Moody's says it's enough to increase revenue for these local governments. Also, the preparation work going on at the East Coast ports has already created economic activity that benefits the local governments. In addition, these municipalities are insulated from investment risk because they have not borne the costs of the canal expansion. Rather, their state, private developers or other parties have incurred the associated costs. 

In the longer term as cargo volumes grow, more cargo will head to ports readied for the larger ships on both coasts. This additional traffic, as well as relocated or new businesses such as distribution centers, will bring permanent jobs and benefit the local governments of these East Coast ports with growing tax revenues.

https://m.moodys.com/mt/www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Panama-Canal-expansion-will-benefit-East-Coast-local-governments--PR_323937?WT.mc_id=%40moodysratings&un_jtt_redirect=un_jtt_iosV

NYMEX-U.S. crude holds near 2015-high as stockpiles grow less than expected

SEOUL, April 30 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures held around $58.50 a barrel on Thursday, near their highest this year as U.S. crude stockpiles grew less than expected after the first decline since November in stocks at the main U.S. delivery hub. FUNDAMENTALS * U.S. crude futures CLc1 had edged down 15 cents to $58.43 a barrel by 0013 GMT. They closed up $1.52 at $58.58 a barrel on Wednesday, after hitting a 2015-high of $59.33.

From Forbes:

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is an official Treasury Department watchdog that reports on the IRS. In the last few years, that is a big job. There has been no shortage of scandals, from targeting to lavish spending, to bonuses, and more. This time, the Inspector General has issued a new report revealing some big errors involving tax credits. The report reveals that the IRS doled out $3 billion in erroneous business tax credits to corporations that did not qualify. The tax credits are for business taxpayers, and covered such varied activities as providing childcare for their employees’ children. In 2013, corporations claimed more than $93 billion worth of tax credits, the report reveals. But it turns out many of those credits were wrong. In over 3,000 electronically filed corporate tax returns, there were potentially erroneous credits.

Complete Article

(Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as oversupply outweighed political uncertainty in Saudi Arabia where King Salman relieved the crown prince as well as several senior ministers and the chief executive of national oil company Saudi Aramco. In a surprise move, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Wednesday sacked his younger half brother as crown prince and appointed his nephew, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as the new heir apparent, state television said.


Oil Markets Complete Article

NEW YORK/LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Gold rose 1 percent on Tuesday after disappointing U.S. data hit the dollar and dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve will hint at this week's policy meeting at an interest rate hike in coming months. Spot gold climbed 1.1 percent to a three-week high of $1,215 after the data showed U.S. consumer confidence dropped in April to its lowest since December. It was up 0.9 percent at $1,212.13 an ounce at 2:42 p.m. EDT (1842 GMT) after a 2 percent rise on Monday, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled up $10.70 an ounce at $1,213.90.

Complete Article

Trade Precious Metals at HC Precious Metals www.hagan.trade

Total swivel folks, new products...Just read the press release.
Regardless, it is worth the read -

LightSquared said its emergence from bankruptcy will let it bring the company's "valuable spectrum resources and existing satellite and terrestrial networks to the marketplace. Post-consummation, LightSquared will be better equipped to continue to provide services to a wide range of private and public users--including the transport and energy industries, as well as first responders and federal government agencies--who depend on those services every day for safe, secure communication."

Complete Article

Japan Times:

Oil traded near the highest price since December on concern that Middle East supplies may be disrupted as Saudi Arabia expanded its military campaign against Yemen. Futures were little changed in London after capping a third weekly gain. Saudi Arabia deployed National Guard troops to its southern borders, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported, a month after launching airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. In Libya, members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard shut the Elephant oil field Saturday over unpaid salaries, said Mohamed Elharari, a spokesman at National Oil Corp.

Complete Article

Speaking at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg, Goldman Sachs chairperson and CEO Lloyd Blankfein said in response to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online that he would give the exact same answer if asked about investment in China. He said he was generally bullish about South Africa as a favourable investment destination, but that it would be appropriate to scale the investment to this country’s risky.

Complete Article 

THAT America’s stockmarkets dropped by 10% in a few minutes on May 6th 2010 was worrying enough, even if they did bounce back quickly. Worse still was the realisation that nobody understood why or how it had happened. After pointing the finger in various directions, American authorities have settled on an unlikely culprit: Navinder Singh Sarao, a 36-year-old British day-trader they now want to extradite to face an assortment of criminal and civil charges.

Market watchdogs would not have expected the source of the "flash crash", as it came to be known, to be a lone trader based in a nondescript semi-detached house in Hounslow, an unfashionable suburb nestled between central London and Heathrow airport. But they would be less surprised by the methods he is accused of using, most notably "spoofing", a common form of market manipulation.

Original Article, The Economist

BUENOS AIRES, April 20 (Reuters) - Argentina will reopen the 
sale of local law Bonar24 bonds on Tuesday in order to fund 
infrastructure projects, Argentine Economy Minister Axel 
Kicillof told a state broadcaster on Monday. 

Lawyers representing Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charlie Ergen reached an agreement with LightSquared Inc. on Tuesday to postpone his demand for $6.3 million in monthly payments as protection against a downturn in the wireless venture’s prospects.

http://www.law360.com/bankruptcy/articles/640142?nl_pk=a66b0360-bcac-491a-8f9f-2949cd74c2c1&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bankruptcy

More LightSquared News
With $1.25 Billion LightSquared Asks U.S. for Mobile Licenses
- BLOOMBERG-
Wireless venture LightSquared Inc., emerging from bankruptcy, asked U.S. regulators to clear the way for its renewed quest to set up a mobile broadband service covering the U.S.

Regulators should transfer airwaves licenses to the entity to be known as New LightSquared, a company subsidiary said in an April 6 filing posted Tuesday on the website of the Federal Communications Commission.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-07/lightsquared-with-1-25-billion-asks-u-s-for-mobile-licenses

Single Family Securitization (Groundbreaking)

Blackstone Unit Strikes Landmark $230M Loan Securitization: 

Law360, New York (March 27, 2015, 3:05 PM ET) --

A Blackstone Group LP fund affiliate announced Friday that it will soon break new ground with the first multi-borrower loan securitization deal for the emerging single-family rental sector, as it is the final leg of crafting a $230 million transaction. In the deal, which is expected to close in April, B2R Finance is putting together pass-through certificates backed by 144 mortgage loans tied to single-family rental properties, including condominiums, townhomes and more. The certificates will be rated by at least two rating agencies, the company said. “B2R is pioneering the first securitization of residential investor mortgages in the U.S. to grow its platform, increase the amount of capital available to our clients, and enable us to continue our leadership position in growing the asset class,” Jason Hogg, CEO of B2R Finance, said in a statement. A representative for B2R declined to comment further on the deal. The company, which was launched in late 2013 by funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, provides residential buy-to-rent mortgages for single-family rental investors. The growing SFR market has been buzzing about this coming deal for months. Single-borrower SFR securitizations are relatively new themselves, with only a handful having hit the market so far, according to ratings agencies. Blackstone portfolio company Invitation Homes launched the first single-borrower SFR securitization in 2013 with a $480 million deal, where it pooled 3,200 homes and used them to secure a single loan that it then securitized. Several other opportunistic real estate investment companies, including American Homes 4 Rent and Colony Capital LLC, soon followed suit with their own deals. It was less than three months ago in January that Moody’s Investors Service finalized its methodology for rating single-family rental securitization. While it noted multi-borrower SFR securitizations had yet to be marketed, it noted what factors it would look to address in rating such deals. These included, for example, more extensive representations and warranties, similar to those in commercial mortgage-backed securities conduit or large loan deals. And “for multi-borrower SFR transactions, we will analyze performance information in a similar manner to single-borrower SFR transactions. However, in multi-borrower SFR transactions, credit quality will depend heavily on the quality and consistency of the transaction sponsor’s operations and flow of performance information,” Moody’s said. "A sponsor, working with other parties, can help ensure that the performance information the borrowers supply is timely and consistent in content and format," the ratings agency added. "We would expect to see such information both at closing and throughout the term of the transaction to monitor such transactions."

http://www.law360.com/articles/636525/blackstone-unit-strikes-landmark-230m-loan-securitization

Airline ticket receivables securitization - interesting.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the following rating assigned to the 2013-1 notes issued by Guanay Finance Limited, a special purpose vehicle incorporated in the Cayman Islands and sponsored by LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (LATAM): --Series 2013-1 USD450 million senior secured fixed-rate notes to 'BB' from 'BB+'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The issuance is backed by U.S. and Canadian dollar-denominated ticket receivables originated by LATAM. Purchased receivables result from airline ticket sales and cargo charges by LAN Airlines S.A. (LAN) under IATA code 045 that are purchased using a qualified credit, debit or charge card in the U.S. and Canada. Fitch's rating addresses the timely payment of interest and principal on a quarterly basis.

LINK

No longer a "must have" in cable and bundled type packages....Accuweather is taking a larger role. TWCC is owned by a consortium led by Blackstone ($BX)

Moodys: April (2nd) 2015

Approximately $2.2 billion of debt affected

New York, April 02, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service downgraded TWCC Holding Corp.'s ("TWCC": d/b/a The Weather Channel Companies) Corporate Family rating (CFR) to B2 from B1 and the Probability of Default rating to B2-PD from B1-PD. Further, the rating on the company's first lien senior secured credit facility was lowered to B1 from Ba3 (LGD3) and the rating on the second lien senior secured term loan was lowered to Caa1 from B3 (LGD5). The rating outlook is stable. Downgrades: ..Issuer: TWCC Holding Corp. .... Corporate Family Rating, Downgraded to B2 from B1 .... Probability of Default Rating, Downgraded to B2-PD from B1-PD ....Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency), Downgraded to B1, LGD3 from Ba3, LGD3 ....Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency), Downgraded to Caa1, LGD5 from B3, LGD5 Outlook Actions: ....Outlook, Remains Stable RATINGS RATIONALE The downgrade reflects Moody's view that the company's credit metrics are unlikely to improve to levels expected for the prior B1 CFR and continued weak operating performance and high levels of absolute debt will result in leverage being sustained above 7.0x for the next few years at least. Moody's notes that TWCC has not been successful in reducing debt-to-EBITDA as we originally expected, largely due to weak operating trends, as evidenced by a 5% decline in reported EBITDA in 2014. While we recognize that a significant portion of the decline in EBITDA is attributable to the loss of DIRECTV's carriage and television advertising in approximately 20 million homes in the first quarter, we believe that The Weather Channel is not being a "must have" network or bundle of networks like some other larger cable networks, and therefore we believe remains susceptible to the risk of receiving less affiliate revenue or potentially being dropped, perhaps permanently, by other cable, DBS and telco companies. Verizon Communications recently allowed its agreement with The Weather Channel to expire, essentially dropping the network from its lineup of cable channels and replacing it with the AccuWeather Channel in the same channel position. We estimate that the revenue impact from the loss of Verizon's carriage will be in the 2%-4% range (of total consolidated revenues) and while the two companies could eventually resolve the disagreement over affiliate fees, there have been no indications of progress being made in that regard. Even though the impact on revenues and EBITDA from the loss of Verizon's carriage is moderate, the development underscores broader trends and operating risks for smaller networks that have no sports or entertainment programming with high audience ratings and which could gradually lose their renegotiation power or be dropped altogether from cable companies' bundled packages.

LINK

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan today dismissed the remaining counts in the suit, after sharply narrowing it in a ruling in 2013. 

The investors claimed Harbinger acquired an interest in LightSquared, formerly known as SkyTerra Communications Inc., without adequately warning them of the risks. Harbinger ultimately owned 60 percent of LightSquared, which was developing a high-speed wireless broadband network before it filed for bankruptcy in 2012

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-30/harbinger-investor-suit-over-lightsquared-dismissed-by-judge

Yet again, DryShips, Inc. slippery deck CEO Mr. Economou ...may be running a scam. The press release really stated such:

"In agreeing to make the 20% advance payments (approximately $49 million for the 4 firm Suezmax sales) to DryShips rather than to retain a 10% deposit in a joint bank account which is the market standard, and by maintaining the flexibility to deliver the vessels to the purchasers forward, which enables DryShips to capitalize from today's strong spot charter rates, Mr. Economou has once again demonstrated his willingness to go the extra mile to support the best interests of DryShips. At the end of 2014, his personal $80 million equity investment as well as his personal guarantee of the ABN AMRO Bridge Loan, without which that transaction could not have been consummated, were crucial for DryShips. We look forward to his continued support for the benefit of all shareholders."

Is this real?? Does this guy - or his office rather -  use press releases for this (almost) penny stock to rise and fall....Meanwhile traders are loading up on the shares because they are $.80 a pop...not worth the risk if you ask me. Not worth the risk.

Newswire:
DryShips Inc. DRYS 2.41% (the "Company" or "DryShips"), a global provider of marine transportation services for drybulk and petroleum cargoes, and through its majority owned subsidiary, Ocean Rig UDW Inc., of off-shore contract drilling oil services, announced today that it has entered into firm sales agreements with entities controlled by the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, George Economou, to sell its four Suezmax tankers, Vilamoura, Lipari, Petalidi and Bordeira, for an en-bloc sales price of $245 million. In addition, it has entered into agreements with entities controlled by Mr. Economou to potentially sell its six Aframax tankers, Belmar, Calida, Alicante, Mareta, Saga and Daytona. The agreements to sell the Aframax fleet are not effective until the purchaser confirms his unconditional acceptance latest by June 30, 2015.

Under the terms of the firm sales agreements on the four Suezmax tankers, the purchasers will pay upfront 20% to DryShips and the balance purchase price will be due on delivery which will be between July 1, 2015 and October 31, 2015, at the Company's option.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/news/15/03/5368251/dryships-inc-announces-agreements-to-sell-its-tanker-fleet#ixzz3VvLaL2Vw