Archive - Jun 2013

If you thought the US was the king of shale, we are sorry to burst your bubble... it no longer wears the crown. China has more proven oil reserves than the US. As the following chart shows - from the EIA's 730-page report, which assesses the shale formations of 41 countries - the global race for shale development has started. As Casey Research's energy report discusses, countries that are not now known for their oil and gas production are showing much shale oil and gas promise.

Almost exactly 8 years after Greenspan's now infamous "conundrum" comments about the unprecedented persistence of low, long-term interest rates, Bernanke is now "puzzled" at the dramatic rise in interest rates following his recent Taper remarks. Have no fear though, just as Greenspan noted, "I'm reasonably certain we would not automatically assume that it would mean what it meant in the past, " Bernanke said today that the "sharp rise in rates", was not about the Taper but "due to other factors, including optimism about the economy." Perhaps more importantly, today for the first time someone, not Hilsenrath of course, had the guts to ask Bernanke the hardest question: is the Fed's "Stock not Flow" worldview broken, and was it wrong all along? Of course, the implications of the Fed being wrong on this most critical aspect of monetary theory opens up a hornet's next of Pandora's boxes: just what else is the Fed wrong about, and how much will Bernanke be "puzzled" when one by one all of his flawed theories are revealed to be nothing but religious dogma.

The economic and asset bubble in Japan burst in 1990, at roughly the same time as its demographic structure reached a tipping point. As UBS' George Magnus notes, the working age population began to fall, marking the start of a relentless rise in both the total and old age dependency ratios; and, he adds, a comparable phenomenon occurred in the US and Europe between 2005-2010. On current trends, Magnus warns, China will replicate at least the demographic part of this phenomenon between now and 2016, against a backdrop of rising concern about the structural nature of the slowdown in economic growth, along with rising credit intensity, indebtedness, and misallocation of resources.

If you have nothing to save, you have nothing to hide...

Apparently, the highlight of the round-up of the G8 summit in Lough Erne might just have been that David Cameron went for a morning dip to swim a couple of lengths. That’s about as far as he might have got anyhow, considering that little all else was decided.

Who though that a term we coined over a month ago would suddenly get so much airplay: why, it was none other than billionaire hedge fund investor David Tepper who said days later (and just in time to top tick the market) not to fear the taper, that it is a bullish sign. Looks like it wasn't. But at least Tepper sold everything he had to sell by now so someone is happy. As for what happens next, nobody still has any idea, although the first, and so far best, post-mortem of Bernanke's predicament comes from SocGen, whose opionion is simple enough: FOMC on track for September tapering.

One word can describe performance across all asset classes today: clobbered. Stocks tumble, Commodities slide and Bonds crash, with the 5 year suffering the biggest intraday percentage jump in yields... ever! And why? Because Bernanke confirmed what everyone thought they knew, namely that the Fed will start tapering (how else can the Fed match the reduction in gross Treasury issuance at auction without taking over the private market entirely) eventually. Or at least that's what the market read between the Chairman's lines. In reality, Bernanke himself is more dazed and confused than anyone out there and just like Europe, is making it up one day at a time.

It seems the Fed head is confident that we are on our way back (despite cutting forecasts) - well he should be given his efforts - but as the following chart shows, arguing that downside risks have diminished seems not to fit too well with macro reality...

The Fed has spent TRILLIONS of Dollars and failed to deliver anything resembling economic growth. The number of people who are of working age who are actually working has barely budged since the 2009 low.

Things are escalating quickly... with US Treasuries beginning to look a lot like JGBs: the 5Y soared +18bps to the highest since August 2011, the 10Y +13.5bps touches 2.32% widest since March 2012, 30Y +8bps, and credit markets are getting monkey-hammered. There is no joy in Newport Beachville.

With markets now showing their true colors (pricing in the inevitable beginning of a taper), the next hour or so of double-speak and talking out of both sides of his mouth may well be the most important in the career of Ben Bernanke.

• *BERNANKE: FOMC MAY `MODERATE' PACE OF PURCHASES LATER IN 2013
• *BERNANKE SAYS FED MAY END PURCHASES AROUND MID-YEAR 2014
• *BERNANKE SAYS FED WILL EASE QE PACE IF ECONOMY IMPROVES
• *BERNANKE SAYS PURCHASE REDUCTION REPRESENTS FOMC CONSENSUS

Perhaps the biggest red flag in today's FOMC release is the quarterly economic projections which improved from March with the Fed expecting better GDP and employment, offset by lower core and PCE inflation from 2013 all the way to 2015: whether this is sufficient for Bernanke to determine a need to taper the monthly $85 billion flow will be explained during the 2:30 pm press conference.

UPDATE: Of course, it wouldn't be the US equity market if it didn't instantaneously rip higher and revrt to VWAP after the high volume drop...

Stocks - sold; Bonds - sold; Gold - sold; USD - bought.

The much-anticipated statement of the most powerful body in the world is upon us -

• *FED MAINTAINS $85 BILLION MONTHLY PACE OF BOND BUYING
• *FED SAYS LABOR MARKET SHOWS `FURTHER IMPROVEMENT'
• *FED SAYS DOWNSIDE RISKS DIMINISHED SINCE AUTUMN
• *BULLARD, GEORGE DISSENT FROM FOMC STATEMENT

Ding Ding: we now have a new dissenter in addition to Esther George: James Bullard. And - as usual - there's a little in there for everyone aside from the fact that the rose-colored glasses view on the economy suggests that they will be, in factm, tapering at some point soon, which the market is not very happy with right now...

While bond markets are selling off (in anticipation of 'Taper'?), and equity markets are flat; it seems the equity market hedgers are not afraid anymore. After rising notably last week, VIX futures are being hammered lower as we head into the big announcement. Profit-taking on vol curve steepeners or a picture of complacency?