Archive - Sep 25, 2013

Two hours prior to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) release, gold was trading below $1,300/oz but started to gradually tick higher prior to surging higher on heavy volume, minutes prior to the release of the FOMC statement. 

FX markets, stock, bond and commodity markets did not see similar large moves.

New home sales meet expectations at 421k after downward revisions in the last month - which was already the biggest miss of expectations in over 3 years. This looks like the last hurrah rush for purchases as we got a dip lower in rates in July before the most recent surge higher. Bear in mind that the actual unadjusted number of homes sold was a mere 35k (the 3rd lowest in 2013) and 11k have yet to be started. In the meantime, median home prices continue to slide - now at 2013's lows and supply is rising at 5.1 months (unadjusted) this is the highest in 2013. It seems that as rates rise, just as we warned, speculative capital will exit (on uneconomic yields) and home prices ae forced lower on a stagant income vs higher rates affordability basis. Sure enough, median home prices have slumped to their lowest level since January 2013.

Early in the Summer of 2012, Europe's crisis was re-escalating and spreading broadly to global risk assets. Something had to be done... and so Draghi stepped up with the not one but two 'phrases'... he said "whatever it takes" and delivered the miracle that has become OMT. Since then Draghi has been unwilling (or unable) to provide further color on exactly what OMT is (or how it will work) but as the chart below shows... it worked... and investing public bought the miracle. But, as Bloomberg's Niraj Shah notes, the German constitutional court will rule on the legality of the ECB’s Outright Monetary Transactions program later this year. While the court has no formal jurisdiction over the ECB, a ruling against bond purchases may damage investor confidence on the central bank’s willingness to use OMT.

First it was Jefferies. Then Citi. Now it's Deutsche Bank's turn:

JAIN EXPECTS 3Q DEBT TRADING REV. TO DECLINE `SIGNIFICANTLY'
JAIN SAYS CB&S AFFECTED BY MARKET ENVIRONMENT
JAIN SAYS 3Q TRADING RESULTS DIDN'T BENEFIT FROM CATALYST
JAIN EXPECTS TO TAKE ADDITIONAL LITIGATION RESERVES

Stock promptly plunges because nobody could have possible foreseen this...

In a new letter to Congress, the political rhetoric is on the rise as Treasury Secretary Lew warns:

• *LEW SAYS EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES EXHAUSTED NO LATER THAN OCT. 17

Adding that results could be catastrophic if the US government is unable to pay its bills, he warned that any attempt to priotize payments would "Default by another name."

Confirming, once again, that without fail Wall Street executives tend to have irreconcilable sociopathic tendencies in addition to delusions of grandure, AIG's Bob Benmosche found himself promptly under fire from all sides following his interview with the WSJ (reported here) in which he said that outrage over banker bonuses "was intended to stir public anger, to get everybody out there with their pitch forks and their hangman nooses, and all that - sort of like what we did in the Deep South. And I think it was just as bad and just as wrong." There were two main differences: this time around, to pretty much everyone's disappointment, there were no actual lynchings or even anyone going to prison. But more importantly, racial hatred and lynchings in the "deep south" were generally irrational and without reason, which is certainly more than can be said about a banker uberclass that would not exist if it wasn't for taxpayers saving their ungrateful offshore bank accounts. In other words, the hatred at the likes of Benmosche is certainly warranted. Which, together with Elijah Cummings promptly demanding his resignation, is why in less than a day the CEO found himself apologizing for a "poor choice of words."

Moments ago we got the latest confirmation the much delayed capital expenditures corporate spending spree - aside for airplanes ordered on spec of course - just refuses to arrive.

Various Greek leaders have proclaimed the worst over for the desperately troubled nation. The basis for that optimism - a primary surplus - however is being brought into doubt by none other than the Troika (the overseer of the bailouts). As ekatherimini reports, the troika has doubts about Greek projections for a primary surplus this year and next and has begun the process of discussing with Athens the contents of the 2014 budget. Skeptical of Greek projections of a 1.5% of GDP primary surplus this year, it is also ironic that the Greek leaders themselves are downplaying the size of the surplus for fear that handouts will sour. All-in-all, it seems, Greek data (in light of the extreme unemployment) is anything but trustworthy - especially in light of further doubts over the effectiveness of the unified property tax.

There are facts; then there are completely fabricated, made up numbers. And then there is Chinese "data." After having been exposed in the past several years countless times on these pages alone as being absolute manipulated propaganda hogwash, it is amazing that anyone, anywhere still believes anything to come out of the official Beijing mouthpiece, which merely adjusts a few variable cells in the big central planning goalseeking excel spreadsheet and reports the answer. Yet the recent myth of a China "rebound" is one of the factors why stocks recently hit fresh all time highs: forget all that stuff about a CNY1 trillion deleveraging (yes, China's credit bubble is still the biggest in the world) - all that matters is made up garbage. Well, it may be more difficult this time. As Bloomberg reports, a "Beige Book" survey of the Chinese economy conducted in late August showed that "China’s economy slowed this quarter as growth in manufacturing and transportation weakened in contrast with official signs of an expansion pickup, a private survey showed." Surprise: China was lying again.

• JPMorgan eyes $4bn ‘pay for peace’ deal (FT)
• Prosecutors Pursue Big SAC Settlement (WSJ) - in the US if you are rich enough, no crime is bad enough
• Cruz's Defiant Stand Is Also a Lonely One (WSJ); Texas senator speaks for more than 14 hours (FT)
• Iran Applies Brakes to U.S. Mideast Plans (WSJ)
• Americans in Poll Doubt Economy Rebound in Defiance of Forecasts (BBG)
• Big Banks Cut Basel III Shortfall by $112 Billion at End of 2012 (BBG) - the equivalent of 10 bridges to the Kalahari desert
• Obama’s Jabs at Russia on Syria Shows Diplomacy Tensions (BBG)
• ICAP Staff Face Criminal Charges Tied to Libor  (WSJ)
• Alibaba Is Said to Shift Target for I.P.O. to U.S. From Hong Kong (NYT)
• Home gold rush is over (Reuters)
• Conoco in landmark Alaska drone flight (FT)

Early weakness in Asia driven by US-follow thru selling and ongoing concerns about the us fiscal showdowns as well as the debt ceiling, if not by actual news, resulted in a red close in both the Nikkei and SHCOMP, as well as other regional indices such as the Sensex. This then shifted to Europe, where however stocks reversed the initial move lower and are seen broadly flat, with Bunds remaining bid on the back of month-end, as well as coupon and redemption related flows. However the move higher in stocks was led by telecommunications and health care sectors, which indicates that further upside will require another positive catalyst. There was little in terms of fresh EU related macroeconomic commentary, but according to a report published by the European Banking Authority, the EU’s biggest 42 banks cut their aggregate capital shortfall with respect to the “fully loaded” 2019 Basel III requirements to €70.4bln as of December 2012. This is amusing since not one European bank has actually raised capital, but merely redefined what constitutes capital courtesy of a liberal expansion of RWA, Tier 1 and various other meaningless definition which works until such time as the perilous European balance kept together by the non-existent OMT, is tipped over.