Google - There And Back Again... In Half The Time

A peculiar side-effect of the current low-volume rise market dynamic can be seen by the curious price (and volume) action in investing public darling Google. When the market was climbing in the low volume days since November, the stock grew from $531 to a peak of $626 in 42 days, on average volume of 2.02 million shares per day. Then, when the selling started, the volume picked up by more than 100%, with daily average volume of 4.7 million shares, while the decline in the stock to the onset price of $531 took less than half the time, or 19 days. Such are the vagaries of the VWAP unwind, as algorithms seek to reverse to a longer and longer mean. Google demonstrates very accurately what would happen to the stock market should there be a real, exogenous selling catalyst. Now consider that the S&P's VWAP since the March lows is around the 950 level. If the market is unable to sustain the most recent relief rally, and if this is coupled with geopolitical news or a default the PIIGS or some other unpredictable event, expect a very prompt but highly doable correction. If the market volume doubled and the time of decline was cut in half relative to the rise, consider what would happen if all mutual funds suddenly switched from a buying to a selling posture... And what this would mean for the final closing level on the S&P of that particular D-Day.

Bloomberg Joins The Direct Bidder Inquiry, Even As DB Identities And Rationales Continue To Evade

We have previously speculated extensively on the recent appearance of direct bidders as a key participant in Treasury auctions. What is known is that the direct take down during the last 2-3 months has at least doubled for most coupon auctions up to and including the 7 year. What is not known is/are the identities of the bidder(s). We have provided some observations on the topic previously (here and here) although our preliminary conclusions are based on circumstantial evidence at best. Additionally, we have highlighted that even as direct bidding take downs have increased, bid-to-cover ratios have reached near record highs, which in itself is also paradoxical and the only immediate explanation is that this is simply a confirmation of Say's law, as this phenomenon certainly does not fit the normal supply/demand pattern.

Our obsession with the direct bidder conundrum is easily explainable as this is a new and very critical presence in the treasury bidding process. The last thing primary dealers need is a source of volatility in the auction process, which could potentially have destabilizing consequences on this most critical cog in funding America's future record deficits. Today, Daniel Kruger at Bloomberg picks up on the topic and thrusts it front and center into the public spotlight, his analysis further confirming our concerns.

Daily Credit Summary: February 3 - Meme De Jour/Millennium: Sovereign Risk

Sovereign risk was once again front and center on the minds of investors today. Despite the EU's efforts to 'back' Greece's cost cutting plans, investors remain far less sanguine than Almunia. Greek bonds managed a small 7bps rally relative to Bunds (which widened 2bps) as CDS were around 9bps wider (compressing the basis a little more). Don't read too much into the small rally in bonds (the basis remains wide at 55-60bps and we suspect given the convergence today that some are putting the trade on).

Spreads were mixed in the US with IG unch, HVOL wider, ExHVOL weaker, and HY rallying. IG trades 1.5bps wide (cheap) to its 50d moving average, which is a Z-Score of 0.2s.d.. At 92.25bps, IG has closed tighter on 30 days in the last 282 trading days (JAN09). The last five days have seen IG flat to its 50d moving average.

Move Over Doctor Doom; Mohamed El-Erian Ascends To The "King Of Skeptics" Throne

Earlier we presented a Bloomberg op-ed by an increasingly pessimistic Mohamed El-Erian. For those too lazy to read it, we recommend the following 4 minute interview by Bloomberg's Tom Keene of the Pimco skeptic. In a response to what policy recommendation El-Erian would suggest, the humble ex-Havard endowment head(who sure got out when the getting was good) who prefaces his response by saying he is not smart enough to propose policy (so who is - Tim Geithner?), says America should expect a bumpy journey as the economy resets "There is no silver bullet." Those mid-term elections are looking uglier by the minute.

Explaining The Government's 1.8 Million Job Overestimation In Pictures

Last October the BLS announced it would revise historical payrolls lower by 824,000 on February 5 (this Friday's NFP release). While this number will not impact the actual January NFP report (a loss of nearly one million jobs in a month would probably even take out the persistent SPY algo that has been hugging the bid for the past 10 months), it will be prorated across all months in the 2008-2009 reporting period. The reason for this adjustment has to do with a huge glitch in the birth-death model, which is exactly the same problem that the rating agencies faced when housing prices plummeted : the birth/death model assumes, in the long-run, jobs are created, not destroyed. Any period of excess volatility in the stock market therefore translates into major prior downward revisions to already disclosed payrolls. And while we know what the current revision will be, the scarier prospect is that the next historical adjustment, due out in early 2011, will be even larger, at least 990,000. This means that the government has overrepresented running payroll data by over 1.8 million jobs over the past 20 months.

Treasury Says G7 Meeting To Address "Substantially Undervalued" Chinese Currency, Greece Situation

Just headlines crossing at this time:

• SR TSY OFF'L: CHINA FX POL TO BE ON AGENDA AT G7 MEETING
• SR TSY OFF'L: CHINA CURRENCY 'SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERVALUED'
• SR TSY OFF'L: CHINA CURRENCY ISSUE ON 'EVERYBODY'S MIND'
  
• SR TSY OFF'L: CHINA FX NEEDS MORE FLEXIBILITY
• SR TSY OFF'L: ISSUE OF GREECE WILL BE TOUCHED ON AT G7

STUPIDity At Widest Since April 2009, As Dollar Surges On Europe Contagion Fears Flare Up

After the earlier announcement of record risk in Portugal, it was only a matter of hours before the epicenter would feel an aftershock. Indeed, Greece CDS is now back to over 400 bps, after tightening under 370 bps yesterday. Those poor protection sellers just can't catch a break. The dollar flight to safety trade is on again. Lack of robotic, or otherwise, volume means the stock market has yet to digest what all this means. Lastly, in pursuit of an efficient sovereign risk market, STUPIDity is now back to April 2009 levels.