Archive - Sep 4, 2015

Large pools of gold in indebted nations will be vulnerable. Pool accounts, digital gold bullion vaulting providers and depositories in the UK and the US might have their companies and assets nationalized and have their clients gold and silver bullion confiscated.

• Jobs Report Could Seal the Deal on Rates (WSJ)
• The Jobs Report and the August Curse: Jobs Day Guide (BBG)
• Migrants hold out on Hungarian 'freedom train'; Orban says millions coming (Reuters)
• Migrant Crisis Divides Europe (WSJ)
• German industry orders fall in July on weak foreign demand (Reuters)
• Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Joe Tsai to Borrow $2 Billion Against Shares (WSJ)
• U.K. Retailers Post Worst Sales Decline Since Financial Crisis (BBG)

Perhaps one of the most notable features of the upcoming nonfarm payrolls report - which those with a flair for the dramatic have once again dubbed the "most important ever" simply because it may greenlight (or not) a Fed rate hike (any NFP print at 230K and above likely assures a September move by the Fed - which Wall Street consensus sees rising by 217K in August (although with Goldman a far below consensus 190K, and Wall Street's biggest cheerleader Joe LaVorgna predicting only 170K one has to wonder) is just how hard the punditry is trying to talk it down, with everyone from Joe LaVorgna to Bloomberg explaining why it is very likely that - due to seasonals only, and nothing but seasonals - it will be a weak report, only to be revised higher.

Moments ago, US equity futures tumbled to their lowest level in the overnight session, down 22 points or 1.1% to 1924, following both Europe (Eurostoxx 600 -1.8%, giving up more than half of yesterday's gains, led by the banking sector) and Japan (Nikkei -2.2%), and pretty much across the board as DM bonds are bid, EM assets are all weaker, oil and commodities are lower in what is shaping up to be another EM driven "risk off" day. Only this time one can't blame the usual scapegoat China whose market is shut for the long weekend.

It can't continue indefinitely, and there has to be a terminal point, and I think obviously we're much closer to that.