MONDAY 12/15/14; Japan Elections; Japan Tankan Survey; Sydney Terrorist Incident; Japan 10-Year Yield Record Low 0.376%; Russian Ruble Collapses; Green Monday; Empire State Mfg Survey; Industrial Production; PAY; Russia Raises Key Rate

The week begins with the global oil rout continuing. Oil drops -2% with WTIC at 56.37 and Brent at 60.64. The Japan elections produce a victory for PM Abe, however, the number of seats remains relatively the same. Abe claims he has a mandate for Abenomics despite the low turnout and criticism on spending money on the election. Traders expected the result and are not inspired. The Tankan Survey disappoints at 12 missing the expectations at 13 so the dollar/yen leaks lower towards 118 and the NIKK drops -1.6%. All 10 major sectors in Japan trade lower. The JGB 10-year yield drops to a record low at 0.376%. Car makers are hit; Nissan, Suzuki and TM are each down from -2% to -3%. The weak Japan business sentiment creates a somber mood in Asia.

The SPASX200 starts off very weak but 
































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FCEL is up +6.5% recovering the -5% loss during the session despite reporting a loss on earnings.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi continues to gain market share taking over as the fourth largest seller worldwide. Samsung (first) and AAPL (second) are the top two smartphone providers and two other Chinese companies Lenovo (fifth) and Huawei (third) complete the top five. Samsung sells about twice as many smartphones as Apple but Samsung’s market share is dropping as Xiaomi flexes its muscles. These five companies produce and sell 60% of all smarphones in the world (3 out of every 5 smartphones sold).

Zurich Airport in Switzerland is in a partial shutdown on threats of a terrorist attack.