Archive - Feb 4, 2011

Despite Treasury being a few post-SFP weeks from stealing Mubarak's M.A.D. spotlight, TBAC minutes reveal just how it will crowd out the private sector permanently (Sack-Frost makes debut appearance).

What are the chances of another banking crisis, this time emanating from Europe? Let me count the ways, but not using Goldman's math of course.

US Afternoon Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX – 04/02/11

Jim Rogers, in his latest interview, cuts right to the chase: "I don't own many equities, because I don't know what is going to happen in the world economy. I expect more currency turmoil, more social unrest, more governments collapsing. So I am investing in currencies and commodities rather than stocks." Pretty much like everyone else, as we have been suggesting for quite a while. Rogers snaps at the trademark CNBC question of what he would be investing in: "I have been explaining to everybody on CNBC for a year and half or two now that food prices are going to go through the roof, they're going to explode. We have serious shortage of everything developing, including shortages of farmers... The average age of farmers in one major agricultural state is 58 years old. In 10 years it will be 68 years old. In parts of Japan they have no farmers... It takes 7 years for a coffee tree to mature. Orange trees, palm trees: you don't just suddenly snap your fingers and suddenly get some more palm oil. All of this takes time." So all those who believe that the surge in people rushing to fill the ag arbitrage holes will produce immediate results, may need to wait 3-7 years, dependant on access to manure.

It pays well to be a dictator who terrorizes his people with U.S. backing ...

More hogwash from Ben.

The latest rumor rocking the commodity space is that Hank "M.A.D" Mubarak will resign. We are not sure where this rumor has originated from but it is wreaking havoc on the oil complex, and by sympathy, on all commodities, and risk assets as well. That is coincided with the end of a POMO that had a 4 S/A ratio only confirms the weakness in stocks. On the other hand, the snapback rally once this wave of optimism dies down could be vicious. Keep an eye on Reuters for confirmation of any Mubarak news.

Long term Treasury yields are on the rise and breaking out from their current trading range.

Today's NFP data has sent the treasury complex in a tizzy: the 30 year has now lost its support levels and the yield is up 6 basis point to 4.72%. And since this move would have been expected in the case of a huge NFP beat ('economy improving' rhetoric), but not on today's atrocious result (and if the BLS needs the services of snowy apologists, like DB'a LaVorgna whose only job lately is to explain why economic data are subpar due to the motion of celestial bodies, perhaps it needs to refine its seasonal adjustment to account for snowfall in, gasp, winter), this is merely yet another indication that the long-end vigilantes are once again making a push for an outright QE3 announcement, a development which was predicted by Zero Hedge at the time QE2 was launched.

Today is Egypt's D-Day: the longer the demonstrators wait to depose Hank Mubarak, the more impossible their mission becomes. Time is on Mubarak's side, and no matter how noble the cause, protesters have to eat... Which means they need to get the infrastructure going, which means they will have reliance on the financial system, which means the status quo will return. Which is why unless they succeed in their mission today, or this weekend at the latest, chances for real reform grow slim. So far today, the protests have been very peaceful and organized, and completely televized. Below are streams from the AP and Al Jazeera for those who wish to follow what is still the most important development in the world.

"I am writing to let you know that after nine great years, I have decided to return all external capital back to you, our partners, by the end of the first quarter of 2011. I will continue to manage the funds as CIO until the capital is returned. This was a very difficult decision for me and I want to thank those of you who supported me and provided valuable advice along the way. I especially want to thank those who supported SCP's recent structural changes by committing over $5 billion in capital. After much consideration, I believe this is the right decision for me, for our people and for you."

Probably the last chart to bury any doubt about just how truly horrible today's employment data was, comes from a little observed data metric: that showing the number of people who are not in the labor force, but who want a job now. The number just hit 6,643K, a jump of 431K from December, and the highest number in history. These are people that would send the unemployment rate to about 12% if they were in the labor force. Nothing else needs to be said.

And another curiously divergent dynamic: looking simply at the Seasonally Adjusted underemployment rate (U-6), which came at 16.1%, or the lowest since April 2009, and one might be excused for assuming that there is a silver lining, somewhere. That is, of course, until taking a look at the sister, NSA series. At 17.3%, this was the highest number since March 2010, and higher than just 3 months in the history of this series.

At 64.2%, the labor force participation rate (as a percentage of the total civilian noninstitutional population) is now at a fresh 26 year low, the lowest since March 1984, and is the only reason why the unemployment rate dropped to 9% (labor force declined from 153,690 to 153,186). Those not in the Labor Force has increased from 83.9 million to 86.2 million, or 2.2 million in one year! As for the numerator in the fraction, the number of unemployed, it has plunged from 15 million to 13.9 million in two months! The only reason for this is due to the increasing disenchantment of those who completely fall off the BLS rolls and no longer even try to look for a job. Lastly, we won't even show what the labor force is as a percentage of total population. It is a vertical plunge.

Highlights

• Change in Private Payrolls (Jan) M/M 50K vs. Exp. 145K (Prev. 113K)
• Change in Manufacturing Payrolls (Jan) M/M 49K vs. Exp. 10K (Prev. 10K)
• Seasonally adjusted U-6 underemployment 16.1% from 16.6% previously
• Much more importantly, Not-seasonally adjusted U-6 surged from 16.6% to 17.3%!
• The civilian labor force declined from 153,690
  to 153,186
• Government workers: from 20,759K to 20,740K
  
• Labor force participation at 64.2%, the lowest since March March 1984
• Part-time workers for economic reasons: 8,407
• Part-time workers for non-economic reasons: 17,552
  
• Birth/Death adjustment: -339,000
  

We are now all awaiting Snow Lavorgna to appear and explain how January snow is to blame for genital herpes, among every other bad thing in the world.