Archive - May 2014

If there was some confusion yesterday why in the first quarter, seemingly having no better capital allocation option S&P500 corporate CEOs spent a record $160 billion on stock buybacks, then the following report should explain it: According to a new study by the AP, the median pay package for a CEO rose above eight figures for the first time last year. The head of a typical large public company earned a record $10.5 million, an increase of 8.8 percent from $9.6 million in 2012, according to an Associated Press/Equilar pay study.

While France's Hollande demands action - amid his country's "political earthquake" this weekend - Goldman warns investors should not expect any signal that the Governing Council is pondering in earnest a large-scale asset purchase program. Goldman expects the ECB to lower policy rates by 15bp at the June meeting and the announcement of targeted credit easing measures, probably in the form of a vLTRO as Draghi warns "the potential for a negative spiral to take hold between between low inflation, falling inflation expectations and credit, in particular in stressed countries."

10Y Treasury yields are tumbling once again this morning to 2.48% - near the lowest level since July 2013. Stocks are not...

According to JPM, a pair of wrong-way bets made by clients at the start of the year is partly to blame for Wall Street’s trading slowdown. Namely: the two mega-pain trades so far in 2014: being long USDJPY and short Treasurys which everyone had put on with mega-conviction at the beginning of the year, have so far in 2014 generated mega-losses for all those involved. Bloomberg quotes Pinto who said succinctly summarized that "Neither of those trades paid." He added: "Essentially you start the year with the wrong momentum, where you lose money at the very beginning, and you ended up with probably a lower risk appetite than you would have otherwise." And, as a result of actually, gasp, losing money, "Clients appear to be hesitating in placing the larger hedges that typically happen earlier in the year."

Some were confused by the latest bout of radiosilence emanating from the Kremlin in the aftermath of both the "Chocolate King" winning the Ukraine presidential election, and the most recent escalation of fighting in self-proclaimed as independent Republic of Donetsk, in which more than 50 "separatists" were killed. This ended moments ago when the Russian foreign ministry issued a press release that it has received appeals for humanitarian aid from the "conflict zone" in east Ukraine, and that more importantly, it is is ready to the "provide the population with the required assistance." As Bloomberg adds, Russia has asked for Ukraine’s help in allowing delivery of supplies to affected areas, and that it is ready to seek approval on routes, terms of transporation of supplies, ministry says. "Given the urgent nature of the situation, Russia is counting on the fastest possible answer from Ukraine on this request,” the ministry says.

• Yellen Concerned by Housing Slowdown She Has Scant Power to Cure (BBG)
• Because snow in Q1? Citigroup’s CFO Says Trading Revenue Could Slide 25% (BBG)
• Banks Raise Caution Flag on Trading (WSJ)
• The answer is yes: Hilsenrath asks if BOJ’s Kuroda Awakening to His Limits? (WSJ)
• Google Develops Prototype Cars for Fully Autonomous Driving (WSJ)
• Amazon Expects Lengthy Hachette Dispute (WSJ)
• Tencent $1 Billion Game Shows Global Hunt for Mobile Hits (BBG)

It has gotten beyond ridiculous: a few short hours ago the yield on the 10 Year bond tumbled to a fresh low of 2.49% (and currently just off the lows at 2.50%), wiping out all of yesterday's "jump" on better than expected Durables and leading to renewed concerns about the terminal rate, deflation and how slow the US economy will truly grow. Amusingly, this happened just as US equity futures printed overnight highs. Doubly amusing: this also happened roughly at the same time as Spanish 10 Year yields dropped to a record low of 2.827%, or about 30 bps wider than the US (moments after Spain announced that loan creation in the country has once again resumed its downward trajectory and a tumble in retail deposits to levels not seen since 2008). Triply amusing: this also happened just about when Germany had yet another technically uncovered 30 Year Bund issuance, aka failed auction. So yes: nothing makes sense anymore which is precisely what one would expect in broken, rigged and centrally-planned markets (incidentally those scrambling to explain with events in bond world where one appears to buy bonds to hedge long equity exposure, are directed to the minute of the Japanese GPIF pension fund which announced it would buy junk-rated bonds to boost returns - good luck to Japanese pensioners).

With the Fed having tapered its liquidity injections into the stock market from $85 billion to "only" $45 billion per month, retail investors getting burned by the recent high beta and momentum stock flame out and "greatly unrotating" into the renewed safety of bonds, not to mention a churning market that until last week was unchanged for the year, and hedge funds ever shorter into this latest ramp, many are asking themselves: who is buying?

Here is the answer.

We do not need “monetary policy” any more than we need a paintbrush policy, a baseball bat policy, or an automobile policy. We do not need a monopoly institution to create money for us. Money, like any good, is better produced on the market within the nexus of economic calculation. Money creation by government or its privileged central bank yields us business cycles, monetary debasement, and an increase in the power of government. It is desirable from neither an economic nor a libertarian standpoint. If we are going to utter monetary truths, this one is the most central and subversive of all.

As we discussed previously, delinquent loans in China are a problem... and a growing one. It seems that news is finally starting to filter to a mainstream audience as Bloomberg reports that China’s biggest banks are poised to report the highest proportion of bad debts since 2009 after late payments on loans surged to a five-year high, indicating borrowers are struggling amid an economic slowdown.As S&P warns,"overdue loans are a leading indicator of asset-quality deterioration and show the rising liquidity constraints among borrowers... and the disturbing thing is the end is nowhere in sight." CNY has pluned almost 150 pips to new 19-month lows on the news.

"Of course, what that does imply is that when the skies finally do begin to darken, the winds could rapidly wind themselves up into an F5-scale twister. Low and declining volatility, lengthening durations, compressed spreads, high multiples, little FX movement – each feeding on the other – is it too far beyond the bounds of reason to suggest that once that virtuous cycle reaches its culmination, the torsional forces involved in its unwind could be remarkably violent?"

The notion of consumerism as the religion of the United States is nothing new. That said, Warren Pollock did an excellent job explaining just how corrosive this mindset can be to a society. We were particularly taken by the idea that since the vast majority of people define themselves almost entirely by their level of consumption, or by some desired level of future consumption, their consciousness becomes easily controlled and their worldview easily managed and molded. They simply cannot see life in any other context and so they become trapped within a very sick and twisted form of human existence.

The 2 words "collapsing" and "unsustainable" do not conjure images of confidence-inspiring animal spirits or all-time highs in stocks... and yet European earnings expectations have utterly collapsed from their exuberant early year levels and the gap between earnings growth in the US and revenues tumbling is entirely unsustainable. But then - none of this 'fundamental' malarkey matters: we've got the Fed 'put' and the Draghi 'promise'.

Will Israel be the first cashless society on the entire planet?  A committee chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff has come up with a three phase plan to “all but do away with cash transactions in Israel”.  Individuals and businesses would still be permitted to conduct cash transactions in small amounts (at least initially), but the eventual goal is to force Israeli citizens to conduct as much business as possible using electronic forms of payment.  In fact, it has been reported that Israeli officials believe that “cash is bad” because it fuels the underground economy and allows people to avoid paying taxes. But is a cashless society actually desirable?  This is a question that people all over the world will have to start asking as governments increasingly restrict the use of cash.

Unrestricted flow of capital is the most effective way to encourage reforms, and North Korea is no exception. History has proven time and again that regime change does not occur when conditions are at their worst, but when circumstances begin to improve and the people grow impatient for further progress.