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Futures Flat As Yields, Dollar Slide On Speculation Demo-Dove Brainard Will Replace Powell

Futures Flat As Yields, Dollar Slide On Speculation Demo-Dove Brainard Will Replace Powell

For the second session in a row, S&P 500 futures reversed earlier losses and traded flat after falling as much as 0.3% earlier in the run-up to…

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Futures Flat As Yields, Dollar Slide On Speculation Demo-Dove Brainard Will Replace Powell

For the second session in a row, S&P 500 futures reversed earlier losses and traded flat after falling as much as 0.3% earlier in the run-up to today's PPI report - the first of a couple of readings on inflation this week - as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s warning that stock prices are "vulnerable to significant declines should investor risk sentiment deteriorate, progress on containing the virus disappoint, or the economic recovery stall." US Treasury yields fell and the dollar index slipped for a third consecutive day following a late Monday report that Joe Biden interviewed uber-dove and Hillary Clinton fan Lael Brainard for the central bank’s top job, although prediction markets were not impressed. European stocks advanced for a ninth day, the longest streak since June while Asian shares drifted.

Some more stats from DB's Jim Reid

There wasn’t an awful lot of newsflow for investors yesterday as they looked forward to tomorrow’s US CPI release, but the astonishing equity advance showed no signs of relenting just yet, with the S&P 500 (+0.09%) up for an 8th consecutive session to another record high. For reference, that’s the longest winning streak since April 2019, and if we get a 9th day in the green today, that would mark the longest run of consecutive gains since November 2004, back when George W. Bush had just beaten John Kerry to win a second term. It's also 17 out of 19 days up, which hasn’t happened since December 1971.

At 715am S&P futures were up 1 point or 0.02% to 4,965. If, or rather when, the S&P closes green today, it will be up 9 consecutive sessions, the longest such streak since Nov 2004. Nasdaq futures rose another 33.25 points; If the nasdaq index is up today, it will be 12 days in a row, a feat it last achieved in 2009 and which hasn't been topped since 1992.

“U.S. indexes continue flirting with all-time high levels following a surprise NFP read, the approval of Biden’s $550 billion spending bill and the discovery of an oral Covid treatment from Pfizer,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote. “But inflation worries come to overshadow the Monday optimism.”

Sysco and DoorDash are among companies reporting earnings. Rivian Automotive is scheduled to price its initial public offering, seeking to raise as much as $10 billion in a listing that could give the producer of electric trucks a fully diluted valuation of more than $70 billion. “The company is seen as the most serious competitor to Tesla in the EV race,” Ozkardeskaya said. “The company will be worth more than Honda and Ferrari."

Paypal Holdings fell 4.5% in U.S. premarket trading with analysts saying the payments firm’s full-year guidance was a disappointment and that the shares are likely to remain under pressure near-term despite announcing a new Venmo deal with Amazon, while General Electric surged 11.6% in premarket after the U.S. conglomerate said it would split itself into three companies focused on aviation, healthcare and power.

Tesla Inc shares rose 1.4%, rebounding from a nearly 5% fall on Monday after Chief Executive Elon Musk’s Twitter poll proposing to sell a tenth of his holdings garnered 57.9% vote in favor of the sale. The proposal also raised questions about whether Musk may have violated his settlement with the U.S. securities regulator again. Zynga Inc jumped 6.6% after the “FarmVille” creator beat quarterly net bookings estimates, while Tripadvisor Inc fell 7.4% after reporting downbeat quarterly earnings and announcing the departure of Chief Executive Stephen Kaufer. Here are some of the other notable premarket movers today:

  • TripAdvisor (TRIP US) shares fall as much as 7% in U.S. premarket trading with analysts saying the company’s 3Q results and outlook are a disappointment given the travel recovery being seen across the board.
  • Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks rise in U.S. premarket trading on Tuesday, set to extend Monday’s gains after the global crypto market hit the $3 trillion milestone
  • Roblox (RBLX US) shares jump as much as 27% in U.S. premarket trading after the video-game platform firm’s quarterly bookings topped estimates even after the easing of Covid restrictions
  • Naked Brand (NAKD US) shares rise as much as 45% in U.S. premarket trading, after the company said it will acquire commercial EV technology company Cenntro Automotive in a stock-for-stock deal
  • Robinhood Markets (HOOD US) slides 3% in premarket trading after it said personal information of millions of customers was compromised in a data breach last week and that the culprit demanded a payment.
  • Arrival (ARVL US) plunged 19% in extended trading after the electric-vehicle maker says previous long-term forecasts from the merger with the CIIG special purpose acquisition company should no longer be relied upon
  • SmileDirectClub (SDC US) slumps 21% in U.S. premarket trading after its 3Q revenue and 4Q forecast missed the lowest analyst estimates
  • Aterian (ATER US) shares jumped 24% in postmarket trading on Monday, after third-quarter revenue and gross margin topped analysts’ estimates
  • Five9 (FIVN US) shares rose 8.8% in extended trading on Monday, after the software company reported third-quarter results that beat expectations
  • RealReal (REAL US) shares jumped 5.5% in Monday extended trading, after the online marketplace reported third- quarter revenue that beat expectations
  • Invitae (NVTA US) shares tumbled 14% postmarket after the genetics company cut its full- year revenue forecast
  • 3D Systems (DDD US) fell 8.5% postmarket after reporting third-quarter results. The 3D printing firm narrowed its 2021 adjusted gross margin guidance to 41% to 43% from an earlier range of 40% to 44%

Data from the Labor Department due at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show that its producer price index for final demand rose 0.6% in October, with accelerating inflation and tighter monetary policy becoming a bigger concern for investors than the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global equities hovered near all-time highs as investors weigh strong earnings, easing travel curbs and U.S. infrastructure spending against the risk of persistent inflation that may lead to tighter monetary policy.  A better-than-expected earnings season, positive developments around COVID-19 antiviral pills and the loosening of travel curbs have recently helped the market continue its record run.

European equities faded small opening losses in otherwise quiet trade, with Euro Stoxx 50 little changed and other major indexes adding ~0.2%. Retailers traded well, insurance and financial services are under pressure but ranges are relatively narrow. Bayer jumped 3% after the German producer of healthcare and agricultural products raised its earnings forecast. In the latest positive development in uranium, Rolls-Royce surged 4.9% after the British engineering company raised an equivalent $617 million to fund the development of small modular nuclear reactors.

Investor sentiment in Germany rose unexpectedly in November on expectations that price pressures will ease at the start of next year and growth will pick up in Europe’s largest economy, a survey showed on Tuesday. The ZEW economic research institute said its economic sentiment index increased to 31.7 from 22.3 points in October. A Reuters poll had forecast a fall to 20.0.

“Financial market experts are more optimistic about the coming six months,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said in a statement. “For the first quarter of 2022, they expect growth to pick up again and inflation to fall both in Germany and the euro zone,” Wambach added.

A fall in a current conditions index to 12.5 from 21.6 - compared with a consensus forecast for 18.0 - showed investors expected that supply bottlenecks and inflationary pressures would hold back the economy in the current quarter, he said. Supply bottlenecks for raw and preliminary materials have weighed down industrial production here in Germany. Exports fell here for a second consecutive month in September.

Asian equities were mixed, struggling to follow a positive lead from Wall Street as traders weighed economic optimism and Covid treatments against virus outbreaks across China. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was up 0.1% on Tuesday, trimming an earlier 0.4% gain. SoftBank surged 11% after the company said it would buy back as much as 1 trillion yen ($8.8 billion) of its own stock. Wuxi Biologics rebounded from the previous day’s tumble, after the U.K. government said it will add some of China’s shots to approved vaccines for visitors.  Taiwan and the Philippines had the region’s top-performing benchmarks, with those in Japan and Malaysia slipping. While Asian markets attempted to follow increases seen on Wall Street overnight, “paring back of initial gains suggest that several factors including China’s Covid-19 situation and its property sector remain of concern,” said Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist with IG Asia Pte. in Singapore.  Investors are also awaiting news from China on the Communist Party’s meeting this week, its first major convention in more than a year. “The sixth plenum will quite possibly be a manifesto from Xi Jinping as he adopts the mantle of effective leader for life,” said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at IG Markets Ltd. “His agenda and rhetoric will be important, with investors nervous about what comes out about China’s strategic and economic direction.” 

Over in Japan, a morning rally in Japanese stocks gave way to profit-taking for a second day, even as SoftBank Group surged on its latest buyback announcement. Electronics and chemical makers were the biggest drags on the Topix, which fell 0.8%, reversing an early 0.7% gain. Fast Retailing was the biggest contributor to a 0.8% decline in the Nikkei 225. The yen was up 0.4% against the dollar, in its forth day of advance. SoftBank jumped more than 10% after it said it will repurchase as much as 1 trillion yen ($8.8 billion) of its stock. Its climb helped drive Japanesestocks higher in early trading, after the S&P 500 rose to a new record high. “Futures were sold after the open as investors moved to book profits with the Nikkei 225 approaching 30,000,” said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a strategist at Nomura Asset Management in Tokyo. “There is a lack of catalysts for further gains, and the stronger yen is also limiting the upside.”

Australian stocks edged lower, weighed down by bank. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2% to close at 7,434.20, with banks contributing the most to its drop. Eight of the benchmark’s 11 subgauges declined, while miners rallied. Inghams tumbled to its lowest price since May 27. Chalice Mining surgend after reporting its maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for the Gonneville Deposit at Julimar. In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.4% to 13,090.58.

In rates, USTs bull steepened, returning to Asia’s richest levels after speculation about a dovish change in leadership at the Fed. Treasuries advance across the curve, following wider gains across bunds; a bull-flattening move during Europe session was extended after Netherlands 2038 auction. Gilts long-end also well bid, adding support for Treasuries. Focal points for U.S. session include Fed’s Powell speaking at 9am ET, 10-year note auction at 1pm. Treasury yields were richer by 2bp-3bp across the curve, with curve spreads broadly within 1bp of Monday’s close; bunds outperform by ~1bp in the 10-year sector while long-end gilt yields are ~5bp lower on the day. Long-end Germany outperforms gilts and USTs, richening ~4bps. Peripheral spreads tighten with 10y Bund/BTP near 112bps.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell to its lowest level this month and Treasuries rallied following the report that Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard was interviewed for the top job at the central bank, with speculation that a Brainard-led Fed would be more dovish than that of current Chair Jerome Powell. The dollar was weaker against most of its Group-of-10 peers while the yen was among the top performers as traders wound back bets on higher global central- bank interest rates; the euro briefly rose above the $1.16 level before erasing gains. JPY tops the leaderboard with USD/JPY remaining sub-113. Cable briefly regains a 1.36-handle.

In commodities, Crude futures push higher after a subdued Asia session. WTI adds 0.9% to trade near $82.60, Brent regains a $84-handle. Spot gold is range bound near $1,825/oz. Base metals hold modest gains with LME zinc the marginal outperformer

Looking at the day ahead now, and data releases includethe US PPI reading for October, along with that month’s NFIB small business optimism index. Over in Germany, there’s also the ZEW survey for November and the trade balance for September. Central bank speakers include Fed Chair Powell, ECB President Lagarde, BoE Governor Bailey and PBoC Governor Yi Gang, along with the ECB’s Panetta, Rehn, Knot and Schnabel, the Fed’s Bullard, Daly and Kashkari, and BoE Deputy Governor Broadbent.

Market Snapshot

  • S&P 500 futures little changed at 4,693.50
  • STOXX Europe 600 up 0.1% to 484.28
  • MXAP little changed at 198.97
  • MXAPJ up 0.3% to 649.50
  • Nikkei down 0.8% to 29,285.46
  • Topix down 0.8% to 2,018.77
  • Hang Seng Index up 0.2% to 24,813.13
  • Shanghai Composite up 0.2% to 3,507.00
  • Sensex down 0.3% to 60,381.61
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.2% to 7,434.20
  • Kospi little changed at 2,962.46
  • German 10Y yield little changed at -0.26%
  • Euro little changed at $1.1588
  • Brent Futures up 0.7% to $83.99/bbl
  • Gold spot up 0.0% to $1,824.68
  • U.S. Dollar Index little changed at 93.96

Top Overnight News from Bloomberg

  • Just weeks ago, Wall Street analysts and central bankers were quick to assure investors that a collapse by China Evergrande Group wouldn’t be a Lehman moment. Regulators in Beijing said that the crisis would be “contained.” Now that a bond selloff has spread to China’s entire real estate sector and beyond, concern is growing about the potential risk to the global financial system
  • The Federal Reserve warned that fragility in China’s commercial real-estate sector could spread to the U.S. if it deteriorates dramatically, as investor focus turns to China Evergrande Group’s next bond payment deadlines
  • Japan ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito agree to give 50,000 yen in cash and 50,000 yen in coupons for every child 18 or younger, Kyodo reports, without attribution
  • Boris Johnson is struggling to repress the U.K. backlash over his defense of a ruling party lawmaker who broke lobbying rules, as his government was openly accused of corruption in Parliament and even typically friendly newspapers took aim at his ruling Conservative Party
  • Bitcoin jumped past $68,000 for the first time to a new all-time high, part of a wider recent rally in the cryptocurrency sector. The climb in cryptocurrencies overall has taken their combined value above $3 trillion. Bitcoin hit its October record following the launch of the first Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded fund for U.S. investors

A more detailed look at global markets from Newsquawk

Asia-Pac stocks traded indecisively as focus centred on earnings and despite the positive handover from Wall St where the S&P 500 notched an 8th consecutive record close amid a lack of catalysts to derail the momentum in stocks. ASX 200 (-0.2%) began marginally higher amid strength in the tech and mining sectors but with upside eventually reversed by losses in the top-weighted financial industry as NAB shares declined despite posting a 77% jump in FY cash earnings and its FY net more than doubled to AUD 6.4bln, although this was still short of some analysts’ forecasts and the Co. also noted that competitive pressures are expected to continue in FY22. Nikkei 225 (-0.7%) was choppy amid a slew of earnings releases with outperformance in SoftBank following its H1 results in which net income declined by more than 80%, but revenue increased and it confirmed a JPY 1tln share buyback. It was also reported that PM Kishida instructed COVID measures to be compiled this week and economic measures by next Friday, while a government panel recommended tax breaks for companies that increase wages, although Tokyo stocks have failed to benefit with early momentum offset by recent flows into the JPY. Hang Seng (-0.1%) and Shanghai Comp. (+0.2%) lacked firm direction amid mixed developer related headlines with Kaisa Group said to be taking several measures to solve liquidity issues and have pleaded for more time and patience from investors, while China Evergrande reportedly scraped together more cash by offloading a 5.7% stake in HengTen Networks for USD 145mln. Furthermore, the PBoC continued with its liquidity efforts but recent source reports noted that chances of a PBoC rate cut looks slim and that the PBoC is expected to be cautious in easing monetary policy amid stagflation concerns. Finally, 10yr JGBs were flat amid the indecisive mood in stocks and was only briefly supported from the improvement across most metrics at the latest 30yr JGB auction.

Top Asian News

  • Gold Rally Pauses as Focus Turns to Upcoming Inflation Data
  • Indonesia Bonds Risk Losing Key Support as Outflows Surge
  • Nissan Raises Profit Outlook Despite Supply Disruptions
  • Fed Warns of Woes Spreading as Deadline Looms: Evergrande Update

After a soft open, European equities trade in close proximity to the unchanged mark (Eurostoxx 50 +0.1%) with incremental newsflow relatively light thus far with a mixed German ZEW report unable to shift the dial. The handover from the Asia-Pac session was a mixed one with the region unable to benefit from the positive tailwinds on Wall St. Stateside, futures are near-enough unchanged with participants tentative ahead of tomorrow’s US CPI release which is expected to see Y/Y CPI rise to 5.8% from 5.4%. For the Stoxx 600, UBS’ announced today that its end-2022 target is at 520 which would mark around 8% of upside from current levels. In terms of a regional breakdown, UBS upgraded Italy to overweight from underweight whilst holding Germany and the UK as overweight. Sectors in Europe are a mixed bag with Autos outperforming peers as Renault (+4.6%) sits at the top of the CAC in the wake of Nissan earnings, which the Co. says will have a positive impact on its Q3 earnings. Basic Resources, Retail and Media names are also faring well. To the downside, Insurance names are on a softer footing following earnings from Munich Re (-3.4%) with the Co. warning of further COVID-related losses, whilst results have also hampered the performance of Direct Line (-2.6%). Bayer (+2.6%) is one of the better performers in Germany after beating revenue and EBITDA expectations and guiding FY EPS higher. Associated British Foods (+6.5%) is the best performer in the Stoxx 600 after announcing a special dividend alongside results. Finally, other strong stocks in the UK include Rolls Royce (+5.4%) after confirming it has received funding for small modular nuclear reactors, whilst BT (+2.9%) is seen higher after being upgraded to buy from hold at Berenberg.

Top European News

  • UniCredit to Take $1.9 Billion Charge From Yapi Kredi Sale
  • Russia’s Gazprom Says Gas Will Flow Into EU Storage This Month
  • European Gas Prices Slide on Some Signs of Higher Russian Flows
  • Polish Key Rate Hikes Past 1.5% May Be Needed, MPC’s Sura Says

In FX, the Yen and Dollar are locked around the 113.00 mark after the former extended its mainly technical rally to around 112.73 before running out of steam, and this has given the Greenback in general some breathing space as the index claws back declines from a slightly deeper 93.872 post-NFP low to retest resistance at the psychological 94.000 level. However, Usd/Jpy and Yen crosses are still trending lower following clear breaches of several key chart supports that will now form upside barriers, such as Fibs in the headline pair spanning 113.20-30, while the Buck and DXY retain a bearish tone following their sharp retracement from a new y-t-d high in the case of the former last Friday. Ahead, US PPI data provides a timely inflation gauge for CPI on Wednesday, while there is another array of Fed speakers and more supply to absorb as Usd 39 bn 10 year notes are up for auction.

  • GBP - Sterling continues to regroup in wake of the BoE shock, with Cable cresting 1.3600 and even Eur/Gbp unwinding gains towards 0.8520 amidst ongoing Brexit angst that could reach another critical stage by the end of this week given reports that the EU is formulating a package of short/medium-term retaliatory measures which might be presented by Sefcovic to Frost on Friday, to dissuade the UK from triggering Article 16, according to Eurasia Group's Rahman. Note, however, the cross may be underpinned by decent option expiry interest at the 0.8500 strike (1 bn), if not mere sentimentality.
  • AUD/NZD - Some reasons for the Aussie to reverse recent underperformance vs the Kiwi down under, as NAB business confidence and conditions both improved markedly in October, while consumer sentiment ticked up as a counterweight to an acceleration in NZ electronic card consumption, with Aud/Usd firmly back on the 0.7400 handle, Aud/Nzd rebounding from sub-1.0350 and Nzd/Usd hovering midway between 0.7148-74 parameters.
  • CAD/EUR/CHF - All narrowly divergent vs their US counterpart, as the Loonie gleans traction from a Usd 1/brl rebound in WTI to bounce through 1.2450 and away from 1.1 bn option expiries at 1.2460 in advance of another speech from BoC Governor Macklem, while the Euro is weighing up a mixed ZEW survey against expectations in close proximity to 1.1600 and also ‘comfortably’ above 1.8 bn expiry interest down at 1.1550. Elsewhere, the Franc is keeping its head afloat of 0.9150 and 1.0600 vs the Euro awaiting remarks from the SNB via Maechler and Moser about the changing FX market and implications for the Swiss Central Bank on Thursday.

In commodities, WTI and Brent are firmer this morning though the benchmarks have drifted off earlier highs as we approach the entrance of US participants. At best, Brent has surpassed the USD 84.00/bbl mark, a figure which eluded it yesterday, and WTI has been within reach of the USD 83.00/bbl mark. Fresh newsflow explicitly for the complex has been slim but we are, more so than usual, looking to the EIA STEO due at 17:00GMT/12:00EST today. Heightened attention on this stems from US Energy Secretary Granholm commenting earlier in the week that President Biden may make an announcement in relation to crude and the SPR this week; as such, administration officials will be scrutinising the STEO report. For reference, the OPEC+ MOMR and IEA OMR are due on November 11th and 16th respectively. October’s STEO upgraded world 2021 oil demand growth forecasts by 90k but cut the 2022 view by 150k while highlighting that US crude output is to fall 260k vs prev. 200k fall in 2021. As usual, we do have the Private Inventory report due today as well with expectations set for a headline build of 1.9mln. Moving to metals, spot gold and silver are once again lacklustre and remain comfortably within overnight ranges and the upside seen in the metals at the tail-end of last week means we are circa, for spot gold, USD 30/oz from a cluster of DMAs. Elsewhere, base metals are firmer given the support for industrial names on the US infrastructure bill, but the likes of LME copper remain within familiar ranges.

US Event Calendar

  • 8:30am: Oct. PPI Ex Food, Energy, Trade MoM, est. 0.3%, prior 0.1%
  • 8:30am: Oct. PPI Ex Food, Energy, Trade YoY, est. 6.2%, prior 5.9%
  • 8:30am: Oct. PPI Ex Food and Energy YoY, est. 6.8%, prior 6.8%
  • 8:30am: Oct. PPI Final Demand YoY, est. 8.6%, prior 8.6%
  • 8:30am: Oct. PPI Ex Food and Energy MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 0.2%
  • 8:30am: Oct. PPI Final Demand MoM, est. 0.6%, prior 0.5%

Central Banks

  • 7:50am: Fed’s Bullard Takes Part in Virtual Event
  • 9am: Powell to Speak at Joint Fed, ECB and BoC Diversity Conference
  • 9am: ECB’s Knot, Fed’s Bullard on UBS Panel
  • 11:35am: Fed’s Daly Speaks at NABE Conference
  • 1:30pm: Fed’s Kashkari Takes Part in Moderated Discussion

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

Thanks for all your well wishes yesterday. It was very kind to have a few hundred take the time to email. If you missed it, see yesterday’s EMR to understand why my responsibilities have mounted this week. The latest is that I’ve now got two perfect night’s sleep while my wife who is sleeping by my daughter’s side at hospital on a camp bed all week got hardly any the first night. Nurses coming in every hour, lots of machines beeping, it being too hot and no privacy. A look at my WhatsApp this morning shows she was last seen at 3.58am, so I’m worried I’m going to hear about a repeat. Although I will want to know who she’s whatsApping at that time of the night!

There wasn’t an awful lot of newsflow for investors yesterday as they looked forward to tomorrow’s US CPI release, but the astonishing equity advance showed no signs of relenting just yet, with the S&P 500 (+0.09%) up for an 8th consecutive session to another record high. For reference, that’s the longest winning streak since April 2019, and if we get a 9th day in the green today, that would mark the longest run of consecutive gains since November 2004, back when George W. Bush had just beaten John Kerry to win a second term. It's also 17 out of 19 days up, which hasn’t happened since December 1971.

All these records for various equity indices might seem jarring when you consider that there are still strong inflationary pressures in the pipeline, and with them the prospect of a renewed hawkish shift by central banks. However, the prevalent view among economists (which continues to influence investors) remains that those pressures will prove transitory and we’ll see price pressures diminish as we move through next year, hence enabling a steady lift-off in rates from central banks. Obviously it remains to be seen if that proves correct, but that’s still the prevailing view. And even though Covid-19 cases have begun to rise again in many countries, not least in Europe, the positive news from both Merck and Pfizer about a new pill that reduces hospitalisations and deaths offers societies another tool alongside vaccines to help prevent the overwhelming of healthcare systems going forward. And on top of all that, we’ve had a further dose of optimism from the latest payrolls data on Friday, which saw an above-consensus print along with positive revisions to previous months.

With that in mind, it was another day of records across the board yesterday, with the NASDAQ (+0.07%), the Dow Jones (+0.29%), and Europe’s STOXX 600 (+0.04%) all ascending to fresh highs of their own. Cyclicals tended to outperform, and the small-cap Russell 2000 (+0.23%) was yet another index that hit an all-time high. Not even Tesla declining -4.84% after Elon Musk’s weekend Twitter poll over whether he should sell 10% of his stake was enough to derail things. Materials led the pack (+1.23%) with energy (+0.88%) close behind thanks to a fresh boost in commodity prices. By the close of trade, Brent Crude was up another +0.83% to $83.43/bbl, so still beneath its peak from a couple of weeks ago, but very much remaining in the range above $80/bbl that we’ve seen since the start of October.

For sovereign bonds, however, the rally from late last week reversed, 5yr US Treasuries increased +6.1bps, bringing them back above last Thursday’s close, while yields on 10yr US Treasuries were up +3.8bps to 1.49%. Both were entirely driven by higher inflation breakevens, as 5yr and 10yr breakevens both increased +7.1bps. 10yr real yields sank -3.4bps to -1.13%, putting them less than 10bps away from their intraday low back in August of -1.220%. Over in Europe, it was much the same story of higher nominal yields thanks to rising inflation expectations, with yields on 10yr bunds (+3.7bps), OATs (+3.6bps) and BTPs (+1.7bps) all ending the session higher.

Overnight in Asia stocks are trading in the red with the Shanghai Composite (-0.02%), Hang Seng (-0.07%), CSI (-0.30%), KOSPI (-0.29%) and the Nikkei (-0.66%) all down. In Japan, wages grew at +0.2% year-on-year in September (vs +0.6% consensus) and real wages actually fell -0.6% as prices rose faster. The new Prime Minister Kishida is expected to announce a stimulus package to boost Japan's recovery in an effort to shore up wages. Staying in Asia, strains on global supply chains continue with Bangladeshi truckers continuing their strike from Friday over a 23% hike in diesel prices. Protests are intensifying as diesel shortages have already sent prices upwards of 64% this year. Futures are indicating that the winning streak in the US and Europe might be under threat with S&P 500 futures (-0.25%) and DAX futures (-0.28%) both down.

With all eyes on when we might get some news about the various Fed positions, another place opened up on the Board yesterday after Randal Quarles said that he would be resigning his position as a Governor at the end of December. Quarles had also been Vice Chair for Supervision, though his four-year term for that post came to an end last month. Quarles’ departure from the Fed Board means that there’s now another position at the Fed for President Biden to fill, with Jay Powell’s term as chair concluding in February, Vice Chair Clarida’s position on the board concluding at the end of January, and an additional vacant post on the Board on top of those.

Staying on the Fed, yesterday we had the latest Survey of Consumer Expectations from the new York Fed, which showed that one-year inflation expectations hit a series high of 5.7%, while the 3-year inflation expectations remained at a joint-series high of 4.2%. Separately, we also heard from Vice Chair Clarida, who reiterated his belief that the necessary conditions “for raising the target range for the federal funds rate will have been met by year-end 2022.”

The Fed also released its bi-annual Financial Stability Report after the closing bell last night. Timely, considering the record run equities have been on, the report noted that “asset prices remain vulnerable to significant declines should investor risk sentiment deteriorate, progress on containing the virus disappoint, or the economic recovery stall.” Other key risks the report mentions include stablecoins, retail-fuelled volatility, and structural vulnerabilities in money market funds. While on structural vulnerabilities, the Inter-Agency Working Group, five key US regulators, also released a progress report on potential Treasury market reforms. There are a number of reforms being considered; what is ultimately adopted will have a sizable impact on the shape of the Treasury market and demand for Treasury securities.

To the day ahead now, and data releases includethe US PPI reading for October, along with that month’s NFIB small business optimism index. Over in Germany, there’s also the ZEW survey for November and the trade balance for September. Central bank speakers include Fed Chair Powell, ECB President Lagarde, BoE Governor Bailey and PBoC Governor Yi Gang, along with the ECB’s Panetta, Rehn, Knot and Schnabel, the Fed’s Bullard, Daly and Kashkari, and BoE Deputy Governor Broadbent.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/09/2021 - 08:08

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International

‘I couldn’t stand the pain’: the Turkish holiday resort that’s become an emergency dental centre for Britons who can’t get treated at home

The crisis in NHS dentistry is driving increasing numbers abroad for treatment. Here are some of their stories.

This clinic in the Turkish resort of Antalya is the official 'dental sponsor' of the Miss England competition. Diana Ibanez-Tirado, Author provided

It’s a hot summer day in the Turkish city of Antalya, a Mediterranean resort with golden beaches, deep blue sea and vibrant nightlife. The pool area of the all-inclusive resort is crammed with British people on sun loungers – but they aren’t here for a holiday. This hotel is linked to a dental clinic that organises treatment packages, and most of these guests are here to see a dentist.

From Norwich, two women talk about gums and injections. A man from Wales holds a tissue close to his mouth and spits blood – he has just had two molars extracted.

The dental clinic organises everything for these dental “tourists” throughout their treatment, which typically lasts from three to 15 days. The stories I hear of what has caused them to travel to Turkey are strikingly similar: all have struggled to secure dental treatment at home on the NHS.

“The hotel is nice and some days I go to the beach,” says Susan*, a hairdresser in her mid-30s from Norwich. “But really, we aren’t tourists like in a proper holiday. We come here because we have no choice. I couldn’t stand the pain.”

Seaside beach resort with mountains in the distance
The Turkish Mediterranean resort of Antalya. Akimov Konstantin/Shutterstock

This is Susan’s second visit to Antalya. She explains that her ordeal started two years earlier:

I went to an NHS dentist who told me I had gum disease … She did some cleaning to my teeth and gums but it got worse. When I ate, my teeth were moving … the gums were bleeding and it was very painful. I called to say I was in pain but the clinic was not accepting NHS patients any more.

The only option the dentist offered Susan was to register as a private patient:

I asked how much. They said £50 for x-rays and then if the gum disease got worse, £300 or so for extraction. Four of them were moving – imagine: £1,200 for losing your teeth! Without teeth I’d lose my clients, but I didn’t have the money. I’m a single mum. I called my mum and cried.

Susan’s mother told her about a friend of hers who had been to Turkey for treatment, then together they found a suitable clinic:

The prices are so much cheaper! Tooth extraction, x-rays, consultations – it all comes included. The flight and hotel for seven days cost the same as losing four teeth in Norwich … I had my lower teeth removed here six months ago, now I’ve got implants … £2,800 for everything – hotel, transfer, treatments. I only paid the flights separately.

In the UK, roughly half the adult population suffers from periodontitis – inflammation of the gums caused by plaque bacteria that can lead to irreversible loss of gums, teeth, and bone. Regular reviews by a dentist or hygienist are required to manage this condition. But nine out of ten dental practices cannot offer NHS appointments to new adult patients, while eight in ten are not accepting new child patients.

Some UK dentists argue that Britons who travel abroad for treatment do so mainly for cosmetic procedures. They warn that dental tourism is dangerous, and that if their treatment goes wrong, dentists in the UK will be unable to help because they don’t want to be responsible for further damage. Susan shrugs this off:

Dentists in England say: ‘If you go to Turkey, we won’t touch you [afterwards].’ But I don’t worry because there are no appointments at home anyway. They couldn’t help in the first place, and this is why we are in Turkey.

‘How can we pay all this money?’

As a social anthropologist, I travelled to Turkey a number of times in 2023 to investigate the crisis of NHS dentistry, and the journeys abroad that UK patients are increasingly making as a result. I have relatives in Istanbul and have been researching migration and trading patterns in Turkey’s largest city since 2016.

In August 2023, I visited the resort in Antalya, nearly 400 miles south of Istanbul. As well as Susan, I met a group from a village in Wales who said there was no provision of NHS dentistry back home. They had organised a two-week trip to Turkey: the 12-strong group included a middle-aged couple with two sons in their early 20s, and two couples who were pensioners. By going together, Anya tells me, they could support each other through their different treatments:

I’ve had many cavities since I was little … Before, you could see a dentist regularly – you didn’t even think about it. If you had pain or wanted a regular visit, you phoned and you went … That was in the 1990s, when I went to the dentist maybe every year.

Anya says that once she had children, her family and work commitments meant she had no time to go to the dentist. Then, years later, she started having serious toothache:

Every time I chewed something, it hurt. I ate soups and soft food, and I also lost weight … Even drinking was painful – tea: pain, cold water: pain. I was taking paracetamol all the time! I went to the dentist to fix all this, but there were no appointments.

Anya was told she would have to wait months, or find a dentist elsewhere:

A private clinic gave me a list of things I needed done. Oh my God, almost £6,000. My husband went too – same story. How can we pay all this money? So we decided to come to Turkey. Some people we know had been here, and others in the village wanted to come too. We’ve brought our sons too – they also need to be checked and fixed. Our whole family could be fixed for less than £6,000.

By the time they travelled, Anya’s dental problems had turned into a dental emergency. She says she could not live with the pain anymore, and was relying on paracetamol.

In 2023, about 6 million adults in the UK experienced protracted pain (lasting more than two weeks) caused by toothache. Unintentional paracetamol overdose due to dental pain is a significant cause of admissions to acute medical units. If left untreated, tooth infections can spread to other parts of the body and cause life-threatening complications – and on rare occasions, death.

In February 2024, police were called to manage hundreds of people queuing outside a newly opened dental clinic in Bristol, all hoping to be registered or seen by an NHS dentist. One in ten Britons have admitted to performing “DIY dentistry”, of which 20% did so because they could not find a timely appointment. This includes people pulling out their teeth with pliers and using superglue to repair their teeth.

In the 1990s, dentistry was almost entirely provided through NHS services, with only around 500 solely private dentists registered. Today, NHS dentist numbers in England are at their lowest level in a decade, with 23,577 dentists registered to perform NHS work in 2022-23, down 695 on the previous year. Furthermore, the precise division of NHS and private work that each dentist provides is not measured.

The COVID pandemic created longer waiting lists for NHS treatment in an already stretched public service. In Bridlington, Yorkshire, people are now reportedly having to wait eight-to-nine years to get an NHS dental appointment with the only remaining NHS dentist in the town.

In his book Patients of the State (2012), Argentine sociologist Javier Auyero describes the “indignities of waiting”. It is the poor who are mostly forced to wait, he writes. Queues for state benefits and public services constitute a tangible form of power over the marginalised. There is an ethnic dimension to this story, too. Data suggests that in the UK, patients less likely to be effective in booking an NHS dental appointment are non-white ethnic groups and Gypsy or Irish travellers, and that it is particularly challenging for refugees and asylum-seekers to access dental care.


This article is part of Conversation Insights
The Insights team generates long-form journalism derived from interdisciplinary research. The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.


In 2022, I experienced my own dental emergency. An infected tooth was causing me debilitating pain, and needed root canal treatment. I was advised this would cost £71 on the NHS, plus £307 for a follow-up crown – but that I would have to wait months for an appointment. The pain became excruciating – I could not sleep, let alone wait for months. In the same clinic, privately, I was quoted £1,300 for the treatment (more than half my monthly income at the time), or £295 for a tooth extraction.

I did not want to lose my tooth because of lack of money. So I bought a flight to Istanbul immediately for the price of the extraction in the UK, and my tooth was treated with root canal therapy by a private dentist there for £80. Including the costs of travelling, the total was a third of what I was quoted to be treated privately in the UK. Two years on, my treated tooth hasn’t given me any more problems.

A better quality of life

Not everyone is in Antalya for emergency procedures. The pensioners from Wales had contacted numerous clinics they found on the internet, comparing prices, treatments and hotel packages at least a year in advance, in a carefully planned trip to get dental implants – artificial replacements for tooth roots that help support dentures, crowns and bridges.

Street view of a dental clinic in Antalya, Turkey
Dental clinic in Antalya, Turkey. Diana Ibanez-Tirado, CC BY-NC-ND

In Turkey, all the dentists I speak to (most of whom cater mainly for foreigners, including UK nationals) consider implants not a cosmetic or luxurious treatment, but a development in dentistry that gives patients who are able to have the procedure a much better quality of life. This procedure is not available on the NHS for most of the UK population, and the patients I meet in Turkey could not afford implants in private clinics back home.

Paul is in Antalya to replace his dentures, which have become uncomfortable and irritating to his gums, with implants. He says he couldn’t find an appointment to see an NHS dentist. His wife Sonia went through a similar procedure the year before and is very satisfied with the results, telling me: “Why have dentures that you need to put in a glass overnight, in the old style? If you can have implants, I say, you’re better off having them.”

Most of the dental tourists I meet in Antalya are white British: this city, known as the Turkish Riviera, has developed an entire economy catering to English-speaking tourists. In 2023, more than 1.3 million people visited the city from the UK, up almost 15% on the previous year.


Read more: NHS dentistry is in crisis – are overseas dentists the answer?


In contrast, the Britons I meet in Istanbul are predominantly from a non-white ethnic background. Omar, a pensioner of Pakistani origin in his early 70s, has come here after waiting “half a year” for an NHS appointment to fix the dental bridge that is causing him pain. Omar’s son had been previously for a hair transplant, and was offered a free dental checkup by the same clinic, so he suggested it to his father. Having worked as a driver for a manufacturing company for two decades in Birmingham, Omar says he feels disappointed to have contributed to the British economy for so long, only to be “let down” by the NHS:

At home, I must wait and wait and wait to get a bridge – and then I had many problems with it. I couldn’t eat because the bridge was uncomfortable and I was in pain, but there were no appointments on the NHS. I asked a private dentist and they recommended implants, but they are far too expensive [in the UK]. I started losing weight, which is not a bad thing at the beginning, but then I was worrying because I couldn’t chew and eat well and was losing more weight … Here in Istanbul, I got dental implants – US$500 each, problem solved! In England, each implant is maybe £2,000 or £3,000.

In the waiting area of another clinic in Istanbul, I meet Mariam, a British woman of Iraqi background in her late 40s, who is making her second visit to the dentist here. Initially, she needed root canal therapy after experiencing severe pain for weeks. Having been quoted £1,200 in a private clinic in outer London, Mariam decided to fly to Istanbul instead, where she was quoted £150 by a dentist she knew through her large family. Even considering the cost of the flight, Mariam says the decision was obvious:

Dentists in England are so expensive and NHS appointments so difficult to find. It’s awful there, isn’t it? Dentists there blamed me for my rotten teeth. They say it’s my fault: I don’t clean or I ate sugar, or this or that. I grew up in a village in Iraq and didn’t go to the dentist – we were very poor. Then we left because of war, so we didn’t go to a dentist … When I arrived in London more than 20 years ago, I didn’t speak English, so I still didn’t go to the dentist … I think when you move from one place to another, you don’t go to the dentist unless you are in real, real pain.

In Istanbul, Mariam has opted not only for the urgent root canal treatment but also a longer and more complex treatment suggested by her consultant, who she says is a renowned doctor from Syria. This will include several extractions and implants of back and front teeth, and when I ask what she thinks of achieving a “Hollywood smile”, Mariam says:

Who doesn’t want a nice smile? I didn’t come here to be a model. I came because I was in pain, but I know this doctor is the best for implants, and my front teeth were rotten anyway.

Dentists in the UK warn about the risks of “overtreatment” abroad, but Mariam appears confident that this is her opportunity to solve all her oral health problems. Two of her sisters have already been through a similar treatment, so they all trust this doctor.

Alt text
An Istanbul clinic founded by Afghan dentists has a message for its UK customers. Diana Ibanez-Tirado, CC BY-NC-ND

The UK’s ‘dental deserts’

To get a fuller understanding of the NHS dental crisis, I’ve also conducted 20 interviews in the UK with people who have travelled or were considering travelling abroad for dental treatment.

Joan, a 50-year-old woman from Exeter, tells me she considered going to Turkey and could have afforded it, but that her back and knee problems meant she could not brave the trip. She has lost all her lower front teeth due to gum disease and, when I meet her, has been waiting 13 months for an NHS dental appointment. Joan tells me she is living in “shame”, unable to smile.

In the UK, areas with extremely limited provision of NHS dental services – known as as “dental deserts” – include densely populated urban areas such as Portsmouth and Greater Manchester, as well as many rural and coastal areas.

In Felixstowe, the last dentist taking NHS patients went private in 2023, despite the efforts of the activist group Toothless in Suffolk to secure better access to NHS dentists in the area. It’s a similar story in Ripon, Yorkshire, and in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, where nearly 25,000 patients have been de-registered from NHS dentists since 2021.

Data shows that 2 million adults must travel at least 40 miles within the UK to access dental care. Branding travel for dental care as “tourism” carries the risk of disguising the elements of duress under which patients move to restore their oral health – nationally and internationally. It also hides the immobility of those who cannot undertake such journeys.

The 90-year-old woman in Dumfries & Galloway who now faces travelling for hours by bus to see an NHS dentist can hardly be considered “tourism” – nor the Ukrainian war refugees who travelled back from West Sussex and Norwich to Ukraine, rather than face the long wait to see an NHS dentist.

Many people I have spoken to cannot afford the cost of transport to attend dental appointments two hours away – or they have care responsibilities that make it impossible. Instead, they are forced to wait in pain, in the hope of one day securing an appointment closer to home.

Billboard advertising a dental clinic in Turkey
Dental clinics have mushroomed in recent years in Turkey, thanks to the influx of foreign patients seeking a wide range of treatments. Diana Ibanez-Tirado, CC BY-NC-ND

‘Your crisis is our business’

The indignities of waiting in the UK are having a big impact on the lives of some local and foreign dentists in Turkey. Some neighbourhoods are rapidly changing as dental and other health clinics, usually in luxurious multi-storey glass buildings, mushroom. In the office of one large Istanbul medical complex with sections for hair transplants and dentistry (plus one linked to a hospital for more extensive cosmetic surgery), its Turkish owner and main investor tells me:

Your crisis is our business, but this is a bazaar. There are good clinics and bad clinics, and unfortunately sometimes foreign patients do not know which one to choose. But for us, the business is very good.

This clinic only caters to foreign patients. The owner, an architect by profession who also developed medical clinics in Brazil, describes how COVID had a major impact on his business:

When in Europe you had COVID lockdowns, Turkey allowed foreigners to come. Many people came for ‘medical tourism’ – we had many patients for cosmetic surgery and hair transplants. And that was when the dental business started, because our patients couldn’t see a dentist in Germany or England. Then more and more patients started to come for dental treatments, especially from the UK and Ireland. For them, it’s very, very cheap here.

The reasons include the value of the Turkish lira relative to the British pound, the low cost of labour, the increasing competition among Turkish clinics, and the sheer motivation of dentists here. While most dentists catering to foreign patients are from Turkey, others have arrived seeking refuge from war and violence in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and beyond. They work diligently to rebuild their lives, careers and lost wealth.

Regardless of their origin, all dentists in Turkey must be registered and certified. Hamed, a Syrian dentist and co-owner of a new clinic in Istanbul catering to European and North American patients, tells me:

I know that you say ‘Syrian’ and people think ‘migrant’, ‘refugee’, and maybe think ‘how can this dentist be good?’ – but Syria, before the war, had very good doctors and dentists. Many of us came to Turkey and now I have a Turkish passport. I had to pass the exams to practise dentistry here – I study hard. The exams are in Turkish and they are difficult, so you cannot say that Syrian doctors are stupid.

Hamed talks excitedly about the latest technology that is coming to his profession: “There are always new materials and techniques, and we cannot stop learning.” He is about to travel to Paris to an international conference:

I can say my techniques are very advanced … I bet I put more implants and do more bone grafting and surgeries every week than any dentist you know in England. A good dentist is about practice and hand skills and experience. I work hard, very hard, because more and more patients are arriving to my clinic, because in England they don’t find dentists.

Dental equipment in a Turkish treatment room
Dentists in Turkey boast of using the latest technology. Diana Ibanez-Tirado, CC BY-NC-ND

While there is no official data about the number of people travelling from the UK to Turkey for dental treatment, investors and dentists I speak to consider that numbers are rocketing. From all over the world, Turkey received 1.2 million visitors for “medical tourism” in 2022, an increase of 308% on the previous year. Of these, about 250,000 patients went for dentistry. One of the most renowned dental clinics in Istanbul had only 15 British patients in 2019, but that number increased to 2,200 in 2023 and is expected to reach 5,500 in 2024.

Like all forms of medical care, dental treatments carry risks. Most clinics in Turkey offer a ten-year guarantee for treatments and a printed clinical history of procedures carried out, so patients can show this to their local dentists and continue their regular annual care in the UK. Dental treatments, checkups and maintaining a good oral health is a life-time process, not a one-off event.

Many UK patients, however, are caught between a rock and a hard place – criticised for going abroad, yet unable to get affordable dental care in the UK before and after their return. The British Dental Association has called for more action to inform these patients about the risks of getting treated overseas – and has warned UK dentists about the legal implications of treating these patients on their return. But this does not address the difficulties faced by British patients who are being forced to go abroad in search of affordable, often urgent dental care.

A global emergency

The World Health Organization states that the explosion of oral disease around the world is a result of the “negligent attitude” that governments, policymakers and insurance companies have towards including oral healthcare under the umbrella of universal healthcare. It as if the health of our teeth and mouth is optional; somehow less important than treatment to the rest of our body. Yet complications from untreated tooth decay can lead to hospitalisation.

The main causes of oral health diseases are untreated tooth decay, severe gum disease, toothlessness, and cancers of the lip and oral cavity. Cases grew during the pandemic, when little or no attention was paid to oral health. Meanwhile, the global cosmetic dentistry market is predicted to continue growing at an annual rate of 13% for the rest of this decade, confirming the strong relationship between socioeconomic status and access to oral healthcare.

In the UK since 2018, there have been more than 218,000 admissions to hospital for rotting teeth, of which more than 100,000 were children. Some 40% of children in the UK have not seen a dentist in the past 12 months. The role of dentists in prevention of tooth decay and its complications, and in the early detection of mouth cancer, is vital. While there is a 90% survival rate for mouth cancer if spotted early, the lack of access to dental appointments is causing cases to go undetected.

The reasons for the crisis in NHS dentistry are complex, but include: the real-term cuts in funding to NHS dentistry; the challenges of recruitment and retention of dentists in rural and coastal areas; pay inequalities facing dental nurses, most of them women, who are being badly hit by the cost of living crisis; and, in England, the 2006 Dental Contract that does not remunerate dentists in a way that encourages them to continue seeing NHS patients.

The UK is suffering a mass exodus of the public dentistry workforce, with workers leaving the profession entirely or shifting to the private sector, where payments and life-work balance are better, bureaucracy is reduced, and prospects for career development look much better. A survey of general dental practitioners found that around half have reduced their NHS work since the pandemic – with 43% saying they were likely to go fully private, and 42% considering a career change or taking early retirement.

Reversing the UK’s dental crisis requires more commitment to substantial reform and funding than the “recovery plan” announced by Victoria Atkins, the secretary of state for health and social care, on February 7.

The stories I have gathered show that people travelling abroad for dental treatment don’t see themselves as “tourists” or vanity-driven consumers of the “Hollywood smile”. Rather, they have been forced by the crisis in NHS dentistry to seek out a service 1,500 miles away in Turkey that should be a basic, affordable right for all, on their own doorstep.

*Names in this article have been changed to protect the anonymity of the interviewees.


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Diana Ibanez Tirado receives funding from the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex.

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International

Beloved mall retailer files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, will liquidate

The struggling chain has given up the fight and will close hundreds of stores around the world.

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It has been a brutal period for several popular retailers. The fallout from the covid pandemic and a challenging economic environment have pushed numerous chains into bankruptcy with Tuesday Morning, Christmas Tree Shops, and Bed Bath & Beyond all moving from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

In all three of those cases, the companies faced clear financial pressures that led to inventory problems and vendors demanding faster, or even upfront payment. That creates a sort of inevitability.

Related: Beloved retailer finds life after bankruptcy, new famous owner

When a retailer faces financial pressure it sets off a cycle where vendors become wary of selling them items. That leads to barren shelves and no ability for the chain to sell its way out of its financial problems. 

Once that happens bankruptcy generally becomes the only option. Sometimes that means a Chapter 11 filing which gives the company a chance to negotiate with its creditors. In some cases, deals can be worked out where vendors extend longer terms or even forgive some debts, and banks offer an extension of loan terms.

In other cases, new funding can be secured which assuages vendor concerns or the company might be taken over by its vendors. Sometimes, as was the case with David's Bridal, a new owner steps in, adds new money, and makes deals with creditors in order to give the company a new lease on life.

It's rare that a retailer moves directly into Chapter 7 bankruptcy and decides to liquidate without trying to find a new source of funding.

Mall traffic has varied depending upon the type of mall.

Image source: Getty Images

The Body Shop has bad news for customers  

The Body Shop has been in a very public fight for survival. Fears began when the company closed half of its locations in the United Kingdom. That was followed by a bankruptcy-style filing in Canada and an abrupt closure of its U.S. stores on March 4.

"The Canadian subsidiary of the global beauty and cosmetics brand announced it has started restructuring proceedings by filing a Notice of Intention (NOI) to Make a Proposal pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada). In the same release, the company said that, as of March 1, 2024, The Body Shop US Limited has ceased operations," Chain Store Age reported.

A message on the company's U.S. website shared a simple message that does not appear to be the entire story.

"We're currently undergoing planned maintenance, but don't worry we're due to be back online soon."

That same message is still on the company's website, but a new filing makes it clear that the site is not down for maintenance, it's down for good.

The Body Shop files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

While the future appeared bleak for The Body Shop, fans of the brand held out hope that a savior would step in. That's not going to be the case. 

The Body Shop filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States.

"The US arm of the ethical cosmetics group has ceased trading at its 50 outlets. On Saturday (March 9), it filed for Chapter 7 insolvency, under which assets are sold off to clear debts, putting about 400 jobs at risk including those in a distribution center that still holds millions of dollars worth of stock," The Guardian reported.

After its closure in the United States, the survival of the brand remains very much in doubt. About half of the chain's stores in the United Kingdom remain open along with its Australian stores. 

The future of those stores remains very much in doubt and the chain has shared that it needs new funding in order for them to continue operating.

The Body Shop did not respond to a request for comment from TheStreet.   

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Government

Are Voters Recoiling Against Disorder?

Are Voters Recoiling Against Disorder?

Authored by Michael Barone via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The headlines coming out of the Super…

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Are Voters Recoiling Against Disorder?

Authored by Michael Barone via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The headlines coming out of the Super Tuesday primaries have got it right. Barring cataclysmic changes, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be the Republican and Democratic nominees for president in 2024.

(Left) President Joe Biden delivers remarks on canceling student debt at Culver City Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2024. (Right) Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump stands on stage during a campaign event at Big League Dreams Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., on Jan. 27, 2024. (Mario Tama/Getty Images; David Becker/Getty Images)

With Nikki Haley’s withdrawal, there will be no more significantly contested primaries or caucuses—the earliest both parties’ races have been over since something like the current primary-dominated system was put in place in 1972.

The primary results have spotlighted some of both nominees’ weaknesses.

Donald Trump lost high-income, high-educated constituencies, including the entire metro area—aka the Swamp. Many but by no means all Haley votes there were cast by Biden Democrats. Mr. Trump can’t afford to lose too many of the others in target states like Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Majorities and large minorities of voters in overwhelmingly Latino counties in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley and some in Houston voted against Joe Biden, and even more against Senate nominee Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas).

Returns from Hispanic precincts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts show the same thing. Mr. Biden can’t afford to lose too many Latino votes in target states like Arizona and Georgia.

When Mr. Trump rode down that escalator in 2015, commentators assumed he’d repel Latinos. Instead, Latino voters nationally, and especially the closest eyewitnesses of Biden’s open-border policy, have been trending heavily Republican.

High-income liberal Democrats may sport lawn signs proclaiming, “In this house, we believe ... no human is illegal.” The logical consequence of that belief is an open border. But modest-income folks in border counties know that flows of illegal immigrants result in disorder, disease, and crime.

There is plenty of impatience with increased disorder in election returns below the presidential level. Consider Los Angeles County, America’s largest county, with nearly 10 million people, more people than 40 of the 50 states. It voted 71 percent for Mr. Biden in 2020.

Current returns show county District Attorney George Gascon winning only 21 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan primary. He’ll apparently face Republican Nathan Hochman, a critic of his liberal policies, in November.

Gascon, elected after the May 2020 death of counterfeit-passing suspect George Floyd in Minneapolis, is one of many county prosecutors supported by billionaire George Soros. His policies include not charging juveniles as adults, not seeking higher penalties for gang membership or use of firearms, and bringing fewer misdemeanor cases.

The predictable result has been increased car thefts, burglaries, and personal robberies. Some 120 assistant district attorneys have left the office, and there’s a backlog of 10,000 unprosecuted cases.

More than a dozen other Soros-backed and similarly liberal prosecutors have faced strong opposition or have left office.

St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner resigned last May amid lawsuits seeking her removal, Milwaukee’s John Chisholm retired in January, and Baltimore’s Marilyn Mosby was defeated in July 2022 and convicted of perjury in September 2023. Last November, Loudoun County, Virginia, voters (62 percent Biden) ousted liberal Buta Biberaj, who declined to prosecute a transgender student for assault, and in June 2022 voters in San Francisco (85 percent Biden) recalled famed radical Chesa Boudin.

Similarly, this Tuesday, voters in San Francisco passed ballot measures strengthening police powers and requiring treatment of drug-addicted welfare recipients.

In retrospect, it appears the Floyd video, appearing after three months of COVID-19 confinement, sparked a frenzied, even crazed reaction, especially among the highly educated and articulate. One fatal incident was seen as proof that America’s “systemic racism” was worse than ever and that police forces should be defunded and perhaps abolished.

2020 was “the year America went crazy,” I wrote in January 2021, a year in which police funding was actually cut by Democrats in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver. A year in which young New York Times (NYT) staffers claimed they were endangered by the publication of Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) opinion article advocating calling in military forces if necessary to stop rioting, as had been done in Detroit in 1967 and Los Angeles in 1992. A craven NYT publisher even fired the editorial page editor for running the article.

Evidence of visible and tangible discontent with increasing violence and its consequences—barren and locked shelves in Manhattan chain drugstores, skyrocketing carjackings in Washington, D.C.—is as unmistakable in polls and election results as it is in daily life in large metropolitan areas. Maybe 2024 will turn out to be the year even liberal America stopped acting crazy.

Chaos and disorder work against incumbents, as they did in 1968 when Democrats saw their party’s popular vote fall from 61 percent to 43 percent.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Sat, 03/09/2024 - 23:20

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