Sep 18

Today’s News 18th September 2019

  • Russia Will Be The First To Deploy Hypersonic Missiles On Submarines
    Russia Will Be The First To Deploy Hypersonic Missiles On Submarines

    As far as hypersonic development, the Russian Navy is far outpacing the US Navy. Russia is expected to be the first country to deploy hypersonic cruise missiles on submarines, reported Forbes. 

    Earlier this year Russian sources told Forbes that submarine-launched hypersonic missile tests would be conducted in 2020.

    The missile in focus is called 3M22 Zircon, a scramjet-powered maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile that will be launched from the latest nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine called the K-561 Kazan. 

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    Zircon is a winged hypersonic cruise missile that can travel at Mach 8 to Mach 9 (6,090 to 6,851 mph). The missile’s range is estimated at 620 miles, can already be launched from aircraft, ships, ground-based launch systems, and soon to be submarines. 

    Forbes said the Russian Navy is going through an unprecedented transformation, ever since it started launching cruise missiles from submarines into Syria. Before that, Russia developed its cruise missiles, fired from submarines, for anti-ship operations. 

    “For much of the Cold War, the missiles carried by Russian submarines were focused on hitting ships at sea, particularly the US Navy’s formidable aircraft carriers. It was not until the conflict in Syria that Russia began using submarine launched cruise missiles in a similar way to the US Navy’s Tomahawk missile; as a long-range surgical strike weapon.” 

    The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile is primarily launched from submarines and ships by the US Navy and Royal Navy. It flies at Mach 0.75 (575 mph) with a range 1,550 miles. 

    Russia’s new missile is so advanced that upon it being deployed by submarines, it would create a significant power shift away from the US Navy. The shift in power would add a new layer of deterrence for Russia that would have the US Navy very concerned, that is because the US Navy doesn’t have any countermeasures against hypersonic weapons. 

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    A submarine-launched missile test of the Zircon could pave the way for deployment in the near term. 

    Forbes said by 2030 Russia could have at least eight submarines armed with Zircon missiles, and 17 by 2040. 

    And in a bizarre report earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin revealed he was ready to sell the US some of Russia’s hypersonic missiles, if President Trump was willing to return to serious strategic arms talks after the US-backed out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). 

    Last year Russia’s defense ministry touted a range of experimental weapons it said could counter and evade any US anti-aircraft defense measures, including a nuclear-powered missile that could traverse the globe endlessly. 

    For a glimpse of a land-based launch of a Russian hypersonic missile, Russia-24 published a video from the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation that shows a successful launch of a new hypersonic interceptor missile.

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    So the question we ask: Is Russia winning the hypersonic development race?


    Tyler Durden

    Wed, 09/18/2019 – 02:45

    Tags
    Politics

  • Will The Bank Of England Join The Loose-Money Bandwagon?
    Will The Bank Of England Join The Loose-Money Bandwagon?

    Authored by Ben Lord via BondVigilantes.com,

    As the year of the 325th anniversary of the Bank of England’s foundation, and as the month of one of the Bank’s more important rate-setting decisions since 2008, September provides a congruous occasion on which to reflect on the history of the BoE and consider what the future holds for it. Founded in 1694 as a private bank to the government, it was in 1998 that the BoE was granted independence from the government in setting monetary policy.

    Now the UK faces perhaps its greatest political uncertainty in a generation, it is worth asking the question: to what extent will this independence continue?

    We have already seen the effect of populist leaders on central banks that are ostensibly independent. The obvious case is that of the US, but there are other examples to be found of central banks facing political pressure to keep monetary policy easy, from Turkish President Erdogan’s sacking of the then central bank governor, to the ECB’s reaction to persistently low growth in Europe. Even if Trump doesn’t control the Fed directly, he certainly controls the market, which in turn has forced the hand of the central bank and led to the Fed cutting rates with the economy in expansion. And with ever more monetary sweets to choose from in the jar, which politician could resist raiding the cupboard and giving their economy a sugar high of rate cuts, QE and lending?

    Pressure on the Fed is likely only to increase as the 2020 elections approach: if President Trump is able to engineer further cuts, and then get the markets soaring with a trade deal and promises of tax cuts just in time for elections, we might begin to agree he is – in his words – “a very stable genius”.

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    For now the UK seems to have escaped the global disinflation which started in Japan and is now being seen in Europe. That fits the BoE’s line, which is that they plan to hike rates, irrespective of the outcome of Brexit. Mark Carney has even warned investors that they are underestimating how much interest rates could rise. Does the market believe him? It’s certainly not our base case: the strategy of hawkish language to prep the market for rate hikes evidently didn’t work for Jerome Powell. If the UK does leave the European Union on 31st October without a deal, UK growth is likely to suffer – if the BoE’s goal is financial stability, it would be hard to justify a rate hold, let alone hike. So far the BoE’s forecasts are based on the assumption of an orderly Brexit, but they have made no public change to this in light of the ever-growing likelihood of a hard exit.

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    Some investors argue that a lower sterling (inevitable in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, and also likely if the BoE engages in quantitative easing) would lead to considerable imported inflation due to increased export demand. This would justify a hawkish policy response. Here, however, a direct parallel may be drawn with that which we have witnessed in the US this year. The data in the US (strong wages, low unemployment, a solid consumer) may well justify a continued hiking cycle, but with a nervous market which has been placated by the promise of monetary easing, would a rate hike really help economic stability? The Fed evidently asked themselves this question and didn’t think so. Unlike in the US, rate cuts are not priced in by the UK market so far: currently, the implied probability of no change at the next MPC meeting is close to 100%, while in the US the implied probability of another cut in September’s FOMC meeting is close to 100%. But in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit in a month’s time, market expectations going forward may well be very different.

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    There are other uncertainties which will follow Brexit. Many now expect a general election to take place shortly after 31st October. Would a Corbyn-led government follow a similar nationalization of governmental institutions as of infrastructure? It would certainly increase fiscal spend, leading to considerable debt issuance and downward pressure on gilt prices from increased supply. And given that higher interest rates promote the interests of asset-owners/lenders over borrowers, it is likely that such a government would seek to lower the cost of borrowing in any way possible.

    And which rate should be thought of as “neutral” anyway? The 2% CPI target which the BoE follows has been changed in the past. In a post-Brexit world of potentially dampened growth prospects, it may be that this already fairly arbitrary number faces pressure. With low inflation and growth around the world, we would argue that it is fiscal policy which should concern itself with growth, and monetary with inflation.

    For now the Bank of England continues to plough its lone furrow of hawkishness. But as the clock ticks down to 31st October and a hard Brexit seems ever more likely, it may be hard for the new BoE governor to avoid joining the loose money bandwagon.


    Tyler Durden

    Wed, 09/18/2019 – 02:00

    Tags
    Business Finance

  • Democratic Donor And 'Dangerous Sexual Predator' Ed Buck Arrested After Third Man Overdoses In LA Apartment
    Democratic Donor And ‘Dangerous Sexual Predator’ Ed Buck Arrested After Third Man Overdoses In LA Apartment

    Democratic political activist and noted donor Ed Buck was arrested Tuesday night at his West Hollywood apartment where two men died of meth overdoses and a third, 37-year-old man, overdosed last week. The arrest came hours after President Trump was in the area for a fundraising blitz. 

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    Ed Buck and current House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)

    Buck has been charged with one felony count each of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house. 

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    Prosecutors have accused Buck of injecting the latest victim with two large doses of methamphetamine at his apartment on September 11, causing the man to overdose according to the indictment. After Buck refused to help the man and thwarted his attempts to get help, the man was able to flee the apartment and call 911 from a nearby gas station from which he was taken to a local hospital for treatment. 

    Notably, the Daily Mail documented a young black man with a bandage on his arm visiting Buck’s apartment on September 11. 

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    Hundreds of photographs of men in compromising positions were found in Buck’s apartment according to court records. 

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    Screenshots of Damar Love (friend of Gemmel Moore)and Ed Buck allegedly at Buck’s home., summer of 2017 via Weho Times

    and have characterized him as a “violent, dangerous sexual predator,” who uses drugs, money and shelter to lure black men struggling with addiction and homelessness into his home where he “manipulates them into participating in his sexual fetishes,” according to KTLA. Accordingly, his bail has been requested at $4 million by prosecutors, who argued that he is a threat to the community. 

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    In a photo obtained by DailyMail.com, Buck smokes meth with a painfully thin, drug-addicted homeless young black man in his apartment – a partner he had found on the street and offered $300 to carry out his bizarre ‘fetish’ requests. Buck ordered the man to wear dirty white long johns and black leather ‘f***ing boots’

    The 65-year-old gay rights activist was notably given a pass after the first two men died in his apartment in what were ruled accidents. 

    The first man, 26-year-old Gemmel Moore, died on July 27, 2017. Prosecutors cited insufficient evidence in declining to press charges against Buck in connection with Moore’s death, which was ruled an accidental methamphetamine overdose.

    A second man, 55-year-old Timothy Dean, died of methamphetamine and alcohol toxicity on Jan. 7. Dean’s autopsy report said he died at least 15 minutes before anyone called 911. That death was also ruled accidental. –KTLA

    “The full scope of his consistent malicious behavior is unknown,” said prosecutors, adding “It is only a matter of time before another one of these vulnerable young men dies of an overdose.”

    Read more on Buck’s alleged behavior here.

    Buck has been a prominent figure in Democratic circles, associating with and donating to the likes of Democrats Ted Lieu, the Clintons, Adam Schiff and former California Governor Jerry Brown.

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    Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Deputy Mayor Szabo and Ed Buck

    If convicted, Buck faces a maximum possible sentence of five years and eight months in state prison according to KTLA.  

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    Tyler Durden

    Wed, 09/18/2019 – 01:23

    Tags
    Law Crime

  • The Magnitskiy Myth Exploded
    The Magnitskiy Myth Exploded

    Authored by Craig Murray,

    The conscientious judges of the European Court of Human Rights published a judgement a fortnight ago which utterly exploded the version of events promulgated by Western governments and media in the case of the late Mr Magnitskiy.

    Yet I can find no truthful report of the judgement in the mainstream media at all.

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    The myth is that Magnitskiy was an honest rights campaigner and accountant who discovered corruption by Russian officials and threatened to expose it, and was consequently imprisoned on false charges and then tortured and killed. A campaign over his death was led by his former business partner, hedge fund manager Bill Browder, who wanted massive compensation for Russian assets allegedly swindled from their venture. The campaign led to the passing of the Magnitskiy Act in the United States, providing powers for sanctioning individuals responsible for human rights abuses, and also led to matching sanctions being developed by the EU.

    However the European Court of Human Rights has found, in judging a case brought against Russia by the Magnitskiy family, that the very essence of this story is untrue.

    They find that there was credible evidence that Magnitskiy was indeed engaged in tax fraud, in conspiracy with Browder, and he was rightfully charged. The ECHR also found there was credible evidence that Magnitskiy was indeed a flight risk so he was rightfully detained. And most crucially of all, they find that there was credible evidence of tax fraud by Magnitskiy and action by the authorities “years” before he started to make counter-accusations of corruption against officials investigating his case.

    This judgement utterly explodes the accepted narrative, and does it very succinctly:

    The applicants argued that Mr Magnitskiy’s arrest had not been based on a reasonable suspicion of a
    crime and that the authorities had lacked impartiality as they had actually wanted to force him to
    retract his allegations of corruption by State officials. The Government argued that there had been
    ample evidence of tax evasion and that Mr Magnitskiy had been a flight risk.

    The Court reiterated the general principles on arbitrary detention, which could arise if the
    authorities had complied with the letter of the law but had acted with bad faith or deception. It
    found no such elements in this case: the enquiry into alleged tax evasion which had led to
    Mr Magnitskiy’s arrest had begun long before he had complained of fraud by officials.     The decision
    to arrest him had only been made after investigators had learned that he had previously applied for
    a UK visa, had booked tickets to Kyiv, and had not been residing at his registered address.

    Furthermore, the evidence against him, including witness testimony, had been enough to satisfy an
    objective observer that he might have committed the offence in question    . The list of reasons given
    by the domestic court to justify his subsequent detention had been specific and sufficiently detailed.

    The Court thus rejected the applicants’ complaint about Mr Magnitskiy’s arrest and subsequent
    detention as being manifestly ill-founded.

    “Manifestly ill founded”.

    The mainstream media ran reams of reporting about the Magnitskiy case at the time of the passing of the Magnitskiy Act. I am offering a bottle of Lagavulin to anybody who can find me an honest and fair MSM report of this judgement reflecting that the whole story was built on lies.

    Magnitskiy did not uncover corruption then get arrested on false charges of tax evasion. He was arrested on credible charges of tax evasion, and subsequently started alleging corruption. That does not mean his accusations were unfounded. It does however cast his arrest in a very different light.

    Where the Court did find in favour of Magnitskiy’s family is that he had been deprived of sufficient medical attention and subject to brutality while in jail. I have no doubt this is true. Conditions in Russian jails are a disgrace, as is the entire Russian criminal justice system. There are few fair trials and conviction rates remain well over 90% – the judges assume that if you are being prosecuted, the state wants you locked up, and they comply. This is one of many areas where the Putin era will be seen in retrospect as lacking in meaningful and needed domestic reform. Sadly what happened to Magnitskiy on remand was not special mistreatment. It is what happens in Russian prisons. The Court also found subsequent Magnitskiy’s conviction for tax evasion was unsafe, but only on the (excellent) grounds that it was wrong to convict him posthumously.

    The first use of the Magnitsky Act was to sanction those subject to Browder’s vendetta in his attempts to regain control of vast fortunes in Russian assets. But you may be surprised to hear I do not object to the legislation, which in principle is a good thing – although the chances of Western governments bringing sanctions to bear on the worst human rights abusers are of course minimal. Do not expect it to be used against Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or Israel any time soon.

    *  *  *

    Unlike his adversaries including the Integrity Initiative, the 77th Brigade, Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council and hundreds of other warmongering propaganda operations, Craig’s blog has no source of state, corporate or institutional finance whatsoever. It runs entirely on voluntary subscriptions from its readers – many of whom do not necessarily agree with the every article, but welcome the alternative voice, insider information and debate. Subscriptions to keep Craig’s blog going are gratefully received.


    Tyler Durden

    Tue, 09/17/2019 – 23:45

    Tags
    Law Crime

  • Photos Emerge Of New Supersonic Spy Drone At Chinese Military Parade Rehearsal
    Photos Emerge Of New Supersonic Spy Drone At Chinese Military Parade Rehearsal

    New images have surfaced on social media earlier this week revealing China’s supersonic spy drone rolling through the streets of Beijing during a rehearsal ahead of a parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

    The rehearsal was conducted on Sunday and lasted through Monday morning. Observers across the city were able to take pictures of advanced weaponry and share them on social media platforms, domestically and internationally.

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    The photos sparked a firestorm of conversation on social media platforms, partly due to an unassembled supersonic DR-8 reconnaissance drone was spotted on the back of a military truck. The drone has never been seen before in public.

    The South China Morning Post said the DR-8 would play a vital role if a shooting war breaks out with the US in the South China Sea or Western Pacific.

    Rick Joe, a Chinese military analyst and author at The Diplomat, tweeted that the DR-8 has similar characteristics to a Lockheed D-21 supersonic drone that retired in the early 1970s. 

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    The DR-8 reconnaissance drone will allow China to coordinate strikes on US vessels with DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles, and the DF-26 ballistic missiles.

    Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based military commentator, was cited by the Post as saying the DR-8 has a maximum speed of Mach 3.35 (2,570 mph).

    Shanghai-based military commentator Shi Lao told the Post that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been testing the drone extensively, says it can easily reach Guam where a major US military installation resides.

    “In fact, this UAV [the DR-8] entered into service a while ago,” Shi said.

    Another military observer on social media said the drone was “the biggest surprise so far.”

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    Also spotted in the rehearsal was China’s hypersonic DF-17 missile, which can penetrate American missile defense networks through evasive maneuvering while traveling between Mach 5 (3,836 mph) and Mach 10 (7,672 mph).

    Zhijun Cai, deputy director of the military parade leading group office, told local media that the weapons in the parade are all active and deployed with the PLA.

    A previously undisclosed main battle tank of the PLA that entered service last year was also spotted.

    “There will be some exciting new weaponry on show at the parade this year,” Zhou said.

    Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the celebrations in Tiananmen Square on October 1, which will showcase how China, the rising power of the world, is ready for a fight with the US.


    Tyler Durden

    Tue, 09/17/2019 – 23:25

    Tags
    War Conflict
    Politics

  • New Zealanders Face 5 Years In Jail For Not Handing-In Banned Firearms
    New Zealanders Face 5 Years In Jail For Not Handing-In Banned Firearms

    Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

    Following a ban on virtually all semi-automatic firearms, New Zealanders face 5 years in jail if they refuse to hand them in.

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    A France 24 report on the government’s new buyback scheme showed a line of gun owners wilfully giving up their guns in response to the Christchurch massacre earlier this year.

    This despite the fact that the shooter himself said in his own manifesto that provoking mass gunfiscation was one of his intended goals. Mission accomplished.

    Since the buyback scheme began, 19,000 firearms have been handed in. Most of the guns seen being handed in looked like ordinary rifles, not AR-15s.

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    Inspector Terry Van Dillen said he “accepted” that some people would be emotional giving up their guns due to them having been handed down by families for generations.

    I’m sure any potential future mass shooters are gleefully handing in their firearms to police as I write this.

    New Zealand’s gang members even publicly announced they would refuse to hand in any of the “banned” firearms.

    Disarming responsible people and making them easier targets for actual criminals.

    Genius idea.

    *  *  *

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    Tyler Durden

    Tue, 09/17/2019 – 23:05

    Tags
    War Conflict

  • Only 38% Of Americans Believe Humans Mainly Responsible For Climate Change
    Only 38% Of Americans Believe Humans Mainly Responsible For Climate Change

    By now, most people have accepted that climate change is real, and that it is happening. What we can’t all agree on though, is what the main cause is. As Statista’s Martin Armstrong notes, close to an absolute majority of the world’s scientists are adamant that we as humans are the main factor behind the speed and extent to which our climate is changing.

    When though, like YouGov, you ask the people what they think, the picture becomes a bit cloudier.

    Infographic: Are Humans Mainly Responsible for Climate Change? | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    As this infographic shows, of the countries surveyed, India has the largest share of people that think human activity is mainly responsible for climate change (71 percent).

    At the other end of the scale however, only 35 percent of respondents in Norway and Saudi Arabia believe we should take the lion’s share of the responsibility. In Norway, the most widely held belief is that while human activity is partly responsible, there are other factors which should be taken into account (48 percent).

    When it comes to outright climate change deniers, the survey suggests that the USA harbors the largest share. There, 6 percent say the climate is not changing, and 9 percent say it is changing but not at all due to humans.


    Tyler Durden

    Tue, 09/17/2019 – 22:45

    Tags
    Environment

  • Shocking Video Simulation Shows The Devastation Nuclear War Would Cause
    Shocking Video Simulation Shows The Devastation Nuclear War Would Cause

    Authored by Dagny Taggart via The Organic Prepper blog,

    The United States and Russia have quite the bumpy relationship. Talk of war between the two powerful countries isn’t anything new, and anyone who is paying attention knows that such a war would be devastating for much of the world.

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    Two recent research projects show just how bad things would be if the US and Russia unleashed their nuclear arsenals on each other.

    A war between the US and Russia would cause a global nuclear winter.

    Several months ago, researchers from Rutgers University, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research ran a simulation to see what a nuclear war between the US and Russia would do, and the findings were not pretty: Such a war would plunge the planet into a nuclear winter, with clouds of soot and smoke covering the planet. The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, found that the nuclear detonations would inject about 147 million tons of soot into the atmosphere. That soot would then spread around the stratosphere, blanketing the Earth in darkness.

    Not only would explosions, fires, and radiation exposure kill millions in targeted cities, but the resulting nuclear winter – which could last many years- would drastically alter the Earth’s climate. The growing season would be slashed by nearly 90 percent in some areas, and death by famine would threaten nearly all of the Earth’s 7.7 billion people.

    According to the model, the soot would not visibly clear for around seven years. Temperatures would drop by an average of 9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees Fahrenheit) across the globe, the researchers wrote, and it would take around three years for surface light to return to 40 percent of its pre-attack level.

    More than 90 million immediate casualties would result.

    Researchers at Princeton University created a simulation to see just how bad a nuclear war between the US and Russia would be for humanity, and the picture they paint is terrifying. The team used the Pentagon’s own plans (which were recently leaked) to “highlight the potentially catastrophic consequences of current US and Russian nuclear war plans,” a press release states.

    The risk of nuclear war has increased dramatically in the past two years as the United States and Russia have abandoned long-standing nuclear arms control treaties, started to develop new kinds of nuclear weapons and expanded the circumstances in which they might use nuclear weapons. (source)

    Researchers at Princeton’s Science and Global Security Lab created this video, which shows just how widespread the devastation from a nuclear war would be.

    Does that simulation remind anyone else of the 1983 movie War Games? In that film, a young hacker accidentally accesses a US military supercomputer system called War Operation Plan Response (WOPR). Believing it is a video game, the hacker gets WOPR to run a nuclear war simulation – and the computer nearly starts World War III.

    At the end of the movie, the computer tells Professor Falken, who is attempting to stop the WOPR from launching war, that nuclear war is “a strange game” in which “the only winning move is not to play.”

    How many nuclear weapons are there?

    Nine countries together possess nearly 14,000 nuclear weapons. The US and Russia have the most (6185 and 6500, respectively).

    According to ICAN, “The United States and Russia maintain roughly 1,800 of their nuclear weapons on high-alert status – ready to be launched within minutes of a warning. Most are many times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.”

    If all of the nuclear weapons in the world were detonated at once, what would happen? The YouTube channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell attempts to demonstrate the aftermath in this video.

    Is nuclear war between the US and Russia inevitable?

    Such a war would be suicide for both countries, so why either would resort to such a thing baffles the mind. Earlier today, CNBC reported that Russia is conducting massive military drills with China, India, and Pakistan, in what experts say could be Moscow “sending a powerful message to the West.” Some sources report that tensions between the US and Russia are escalating to “new Cold War” levels. Others believe that the ousting of war hawk John Bolton might be a sign of the potential for a Russia-China-US alliance.


    Tyler Durden

    Tue, 09/17/2019 – 22:25

    Tags
    War Conflict

  • Mutual Fund Chaos After Investments In Opioid Companies Plunge
    Mutual Fund Chaos After Investments In Opioid Companies Plunge

    Earlier on Monday morning, we detailed how the embattled US drugmaker Purdue Pharma filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a long-anticipated move aimed at shielding the company and its owners, the Sackler family, from financial ruin as they shoulder the brunt of the blame for igniting the opioid crisis with their aggressive marketing tactics of OxyContin.

    Now we’re starting to hear additional reports, specifically in recent filings, that the bust of Purdue and other big pharmaceuticals, thanks to nearly 2,000 litigants, has resulted in at least five mutual-fund companies reporting their returns have been affected after they made risky bets in pharmaceutical companies with opioid-related businesses.

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    Nick Mazing, the research director at investment research platform Sentieo Inc., told The Wall Street Journal that the number of times companies had mentioned opioids in their annual shareholder reports is up 300% in last eight years.

    Walmart Inc., which operates pharmacies across the country, was forced to start disclosing opioid-related litigation as a risk in early 2018, and insurance company The Travelers Companies, Inc. began to disclose opioid-related litigation earlier this year.

    Mazing said 55 companies mentioned opioids in their annual shareholder reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a significant risk factor. This is up from 41 last year and 37 in 2017.

    At a time when some 130 Americans are dying every day from opioid-related overdoses, drugmakers like Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt, and Endo International are being sued by thousands of municipalities across the country and even individual states.

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    Mutal funds are worried that their investments in these drugmakers could be severely impacted, as those companies are now paying hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, to settle with litigants. In some cases, like Purdue, these companies are filing for bankruptcy.

    Miller Value Partners LLC said its Miller Opportunity Trust fund had lousy performance in the last six months, mainly because it had too much exposure to Endo and Teva, two companies that have been cited as significant contributors in the opioid crisis.

    “We considered the prospective opioid liabilities but judged them manageable,” Miller Value said in its semiannual report for the period ending June 30. “We didn’t anticipate just how myopically focused the market would become on this point, which was our main error.”

    Ohio National Fund said it cut Teva from a foreign-stock portfolio because the shares have been in a bear market for more than one year after a settlement of an opioid-related lawsuit.

    Penn Series Funds Inc., an affiliate of Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., said the 91% crash in Teva’s stock in the last 50 months has absolutely “decimated” the company’s midcap value fund.

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    American Funds Insurance Series, which is affiliated with Capital Research & Management Co., and Franklin Templeton Investments were others who saw depressed returns thanks to their exposure to opioid-related pharmaceutical companies.


    Tyler Durden

    Tue, 09/17/2019 – 22:05

    Tags
    Business Finance

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