Archive - Dec 7, 2012

The first of many casualties...

UBS and Nomura have suggested that gold could rise next week as the Federal Reserve may announce further easing at the FOMC meeting – on Tuesday (11/12/12) and Wednesday (12/12/12). Nomura said it is worth considering whether the FOMC will announce further easing to replace so called ‘Operation Twist’. The research house noted that gold remains at the same level as during the October meeting, which suggests gold has not yet priced in any move by the FOMC – creating an opportunity for gold bullion buyers. Regardless of whether the FOMC actually eases at this point – Nomura thinks there is a non-negligible probability – gold is likely to rise. Therefore, Nomura expects gold to rise and prices in this probability as the December meeting approaches, just as gold rose when the September meeting was approaching.

One month after what was dubbed the most anticipated jobs report of all time, we are getting what may be the biggest dud of a monthly NFP update in recent years. The reason is twofold: i) everyone knows it will be ugly, with consensus looking at a +87,000 print, far below the mid-100s seen in the recent past, whether due to a catch up to the pre-election "spin" or due to impacts from Hurricane Sandy and ii) the report will have so many 'adjustments' embedded in it, anyone with a 1st grade econ-propaganda education will be able to spin it upward as they see fit. What is certain is that the broader mainstream media will continue to focus purely on the quantitative aspect of the report, while the real story over the past 3 years has been a qualitative one: a shift to lower paying jobs, a painfully slow (if any) rise in average hourly earnings, a transformation of the US labor pool to "Just In Time" inventory as virtually all new hiring needs are met by temps, and finally a secular shift to an older labor force, as job creation in the 25-54 category since January 2009 is still negative!

• Bundesbank cuts growth outlook as crisis bites (Reuters)
• Strong quake hits off Japan near Fukushima disaster zone (Reuters)
• Greece to Buy Debt It Already Owns to Reach Target (BBG)
• Draghi’s Go-to ECB Seen Risking Credibility Through Overload (BBG)
• Judge urges Apple and Samsung ‘peace’  (FT) ... Alas only the US government has a Magic Money Tree; others need profit
• Fed Exit Plan May Be Redrawn as Assets Near $3 Trillion (BBG)... make that $5 trillion this time in 2014
• Level Global, SAC Fund Managers Ruled Co-Conspirators (BBG)
• Egypt demonstrators reject Mursi call for dialogue (Reuters)
• Japanese Dealerships in China Retrench in Wake of Dispute (BBG)
• Apparel factory fire reveals big brands' shadowy supply chainsa (Reuters)
• Republican Defectors Weigh Deal on Tax-Rate Increase (BBG)

In a day in which it was all supposed to be about today's far weaker (because there is a perfectly good alibi in the face of Hurricane Sandy) Nonfarm payroll report, expected to print at 85,000, due out in 2 hours, once again it is the the "rest of the world" that stole the scene, starting with a reality slam out of Germany whose Bundesbank came out with revised forecast for German economic growth, which collapsed projected 2013 growth from 1.6% to a tiny 0.4%, adding that there are "growth projections risks to the downside" in effect all but sealing Germany's recessionary fate in the coming year, and send the EURUSD to overnight lows. Sure enough, as if to confirm this forecast, moments ago German Industrial Production in October tumbled -2.6%, on expectations of an unchanged print. None of this should come as a surprise to our readers whom we have been warning for weeks and months that the European economic malaise is spreading closer to the core with each passing day. What this means is that as we have been saying for months, slowly but surely the narrative that the ongoing German bailout of Greece is crushing the AAA-rated economy will become louder and louder until it is the German people themselves who demand a severing of all ties with Greece.And speaking of Greece, there are simply no words to explain the stupidity of what may be happening there. Perhaps the following Bloomberg headline captures it best: Greece to Buy Debt It Already Owns to Reach Target. Er, LOLWUT?