A Warning To High Yield Investors From Billionaire Carl Icahn

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn tweeted that a meltdown in high yield was just beginning.For example,Third Avenue Management is liquidating its Focused Credit Fund and preventing withdrawals,promising to distribute the bulk of investors' money on 16 December,and put the rest in a trust that will pay them interest and make distributions to them until its liquidation costs are covered.The fund was liquidated because so many investors were redeeming their shares at once,Third Avenue said in a letter to the fund's investors.*
We did have that Seeking Alpha conference,Mr.Icahn told CNBC.I warned then it's simple and self-evident that the high yield market is just a keg of dynamite that sooner or later will blow up.The etfs of BlackRock and other companies are very dangerous because there's no liquidity behind these etfs.I think that any person that goes into this should basically be warned.You're starting to see the danger that is manifest now that there is no liquidity for these high yield bonds.They were sold at very low interest rates.Because it's BlackRock,everybody believes there's going to be liquidity.
It's just beginning to be a major problem.The SEC sees danger because these companies that really should have had to pay higher interest rates borrowed a great deal of money,and I'd like to know how they're going to pay that back,or even how they're going to restructure the finances,Mr.Icahn explained.

Westpac Exec:Why a Market Correction is in the Making

We're setting up assuming Sydney will become a renminbi trading hub,said Rob Whitfield,Group Executive of Westpac Institutional Bank.The November G20 meeting is absolutely an incentive to a free trade agreement with China.A China slowdown would slow down the economy.It would certainly affect our performance.*
I do see that we will really see a significant,meaningful asset price correction.Credit spreads are narrow,forcing a move by many into higher risk assets.Junk bond yields are at all time lows.Asset bubbles are emerging as share markets have posted successive record highs in recent times despite tapering and mixed economic results.It is my view that the current environment is ripe for a market correction that both looks and feels like what we experienced in 1994.At that time,US Treasury bond prices plummeted,causing the Fed to raise rates,which resulted in higher borrowing costs and a market correction.
Such an event need not freeze the credit markets this time the way the global financial crisis did,however.The financial system has been reformed since then.
The failures that perpetuated the recent crisis today no longer exist,Mr.Whitfield pointed out,and our ability to withstand shocks is much stronger.*
There's massive risk on the Scottish independence vote.A lot of the uncertainty has been priced in.Certainly there are lots of signs we've started to see a sea change with the US dollar,a big divergence between the US and the rest of the world.A lot of ugly ducklings are out there.It filters through the Federal open market committee on Wednesday-more event risk.There could be a lot of dollar-buying across the board,and Treasury-selling.If Fed chair Janet Yellen surprises it,the market will feel very disappointed.*
Westpac(WBK)