Archive - 2015

Those waiting to see if the crude crash would lead to any sizable adverse impact on the US trade deficit in November, as lower production led to higher imports if only on paper, the answer is yes, but in the opposite direction: instead of increasing or dropping just marginally from October's $43.4 billion (to the $42 billion consensus estimate), the November trade deficit tumbled by 7.7% to $39 billion the lowest print since December 2013, as a result of a 2.2% drop in imports coupled with a 1% decline in exports. But it was shale crude once again that was the swing factor, which was massively produced as domestic producers scramble to offset declining prices with extra volume, because as the data showed, in November the US imported the smallest crude amount by notional since 1994, and the lowest cost crude since 2010.

With Venezuelan bonds re-collapsing as belief in a 30c recovery floor fades rapidly (and hyperinflating Venezuelan stocks soar - whether oil prices are rising or falling), the people of Maduro's socialist utopia have a new problem to contend with. After running out of toilet paper, and finding soap and shampoo hard to come by, AP reports Venezuela's more than 100 McDonald's franchises have run out of potatoes and are now serving alternatives like deep-fried arepa flatbreads or yuca, "because of the situation here; it's a total debacle."

Can Oil build a support level? What will the rising USD mean for 4th Quarter earnings

For the 4th month in a row (thanks to revisions revisions revisions), ADP Employment beat expectations. At 241k in December (above the 225k exp.) this is the highest print since June's peak (and occurs as both manufacturing and services PMIs showed faltering unemployment sub-indices). Small business appeared to add the most positions (less than 49 employees) as large businesses added the least with Services-producing firms dominant (even as Services PMI has plunged for 6 straight months). Will "good" news be bad news?

• Twelve shot dead in Paris (Reuters)
• Eurozone Consumer Prices Fall for First Time Since 2009 (NYT)
• Euro's Drop is a Turning Point for Central Banks Reserves (BBG)
• How $50 Oil Changes Almost Everything (BBG)
• Mercedes-Benz Moving U.S. Headquarters to Atlanta (WSJ)
• Greek 10-Year Bond Yields Exceed 10% for First Time Since 2013 (BBG)
• How Even Dairy Farmers Get Squeezed by Rigging in the $5.3 Trillion Currency Market (BBG)
• AirAsia jet tail found underwater, black box may be close (Reuters)
• Italy Unemployment Rises to New High (Bloomberg)

Things in risk land started off badly this morning, with the worst start to a year ever was set to worsen when European equities came under early selling pressure following news of German unemployment falling to record low, offset by a record high Italian jobless rate, with declining oil prices still the predominant theme as Brent crude briefly touched its lowest level since May 2009, this consequently saw the German 10yr yield print a fresh record low in a continuation of the move seen yesterday. However, after breaking USD 50.00 Brent prices have seen an aggressive bounce which has seen European equities move into positive territory with the energy names helping lift the sector which is now outperforming its peers. As a result fixed income futures have pared a large majority of the move higher at the EU open. But the punchline came several hours ago courtesy of Eurostat, when it was revealed that December was the first deflationary month for the Eurozone since the depths of the financial crisis more than five years ago, when prices dropped by -0.2% below the -0.1% expectation, and sharply lower than the 0.3% increase in November, driven by a collapse in Energy prices.

Gold will protect from currency devaluations – whether that be in the form of the euro itself being devalued or in the form of reversions to drachmas, escudos, pesetas and punts and subsequent devaluations.

It has been a busy few days for Germany. In the space of a week, they have warned Greece "there will be no blackmail," adding that a Greek exit from the euro was "manageable," only to hours later deny (clarify) these comments. This was then followed up with beggars-are-choosers Syriza demanding any ECB QE must buy Greek bonds (or else) - which Germany has flatly ruled out - only to see today that Syriza is practically guaranteed to win a "decisive victory" at the forthcoming snap election. So it with a wry smile that we note Bild reports tonight that the German government is preparing for a possible Greek exit, warning of financial system collapse, bank runs, and huge costs for the rest of the EU.

Will 2015 be a year of financial crashes, economic chaos and the start of the next great worldwide depression? Over the past couple of years, we have all watched as global financial bubbles have gotten larger and larger. Despite predictions that they could burst at any time, they have just continued to expand. But just like we witnessed in 2001 and 2008, all financial bubbles come to an end at some point, and when they do implode the pain can be extreme.

In case you aren’t aware, there is something called the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill 2014-15, currently moving through the UK Parliament. Accompanying this bill, which is controversial in its own right, is a 39-page consultation document that directs nursery school staff and registered childminders to “report toddlers at risk of becoming terrorists.” Think this is a joke? Think again.

It's not been a great couple of years for French President Hollande, with joblessness soaring to record highs almost unabated since he took office, he has now been forced to scrap his "super-tax" plan to solve the socialist utopia's problems.But joblessness is the symptom of the 'death cross' that is occurring in France as bankrupticies soar to record highs and firms' profitability craters. And as Bloomberg's Maxime Sbaihi notes, French households continue to use rising real wages to increase savings rather than consumption. There’s no reason why this should change as surveys indicate that consumers remain worried by the near-term outlook.

If you want to know where the global experiment in massive money printing is heading - just take a look at the monetary madhouse in Europe. And that particular phrase has full resonance once again as it becomes more apparent by the hour that Europe and the Euro were not fixed at all. Indeed, beneath the surface of Draghi’s “whatever it takes” time out, the crisis has been metastasizing into ever more virulent deformations.

Broadly speaking, as markets recovered from mid 2009 (amid extreme monetary policy experimentation around the world), economic growth and asset prices were in sync around the world. When markets faltered after the end of QE2 in 2011 and the Fed folded on moderation, investors around the world piled into US equity and credit markets chasing the 'easiest' money in the world. Then as China unleashed its own QE-Lite and the Fed confirmed the end of QE, tidal waves of fresh speculative capital flooded a small, illiquid market on the other side of the planet... and hey presto, The Last Bubble market was created.

After seeking doctors, lawyers, and engineers, The Islamic State - expanding on its desire to launch a gold-backed currency - is reported to have opened its first bank in the Iraqi city of Mosul and delivered a budget for its 'territory'. All this is being done, according to Al Jazeera, in an effort to move beyond its image of a terrorist organisation and consolidate its aim of becoming a legitimate state (perhaps stop beheading western media?) "A strategy to make concrete decisions and actions to create a nation state is in place," notes one professor, but as another analyst explains, "ISIS is financing itself partly through a pyramid scheme, and this has begun to falter.”