Archive - Sep 2011 - Story

And 9:55 am update in which Mantega responds to Valor (and ZH):

• MANTEGA SAYS BRAZIL ISN'T PREPARING ANY MEASURE

So far the only strategic use of "unnamed government officials" has been to leak rumors, whose sole purpose is to test the market's short covering squeeze potential and to discover just how long the half-life of one after another ever more incredulous rumor is. And since the only thing to come out of Europe in the past month in terms of problem resolution (no really: there has not been one policy that has been enacted since the July 21 Greek bailout), this is a useful strategy. Alas, as Europe is about to find out, this works both ways, because as Brazilian financial site Valor Economic reports, none other than perpetual optimist Brazil, the same country that is supposedly according to one set of rumors preparing to bail out all of Europe, with or without the rest of the BRICs, is now preparing for a Greek default within the week. From Valor: "Something must happen. Greece is a few days [from bankruptcy]" said a high official source.

All the markets continue to bask in the glow of the new improved EFSF.  From a low of 1115, the S&P futures are now trading at 1175.  A pretty impressive 5% move.  Stocks in Europe are doing even better and credit is following along.  By now I would have hoped to see some details of this alleged new beast that EFSF has morphed into.  While I search for detail all I could see, so far, are denials by Germany and Spain, some support from Austria, and additional rumors of what is to come.  Every European politician outside of Germany can say this is a great idea, but if the money man doesn’t go along, is there really a deal?  This isn’t a democracy, and only Germany controls German money. There was a brief headline that this new plan could cause S&P to downgrade Germany and France.  As a back-up plan, there is talk about letting the EIB do the heavy lifting.  Just in case the world wasn’t already controlled by enough 3 letter entities, welcome the EIB to the IMF, ECB, and FED party.

The Case Shiller for July, that's right July (does anyone remember that? that's was before the US was about to go bankrupt due to that whole flap in Congress over the debt ceiling, nevermind the second European bankruptcy), is out and it was both better and worse than expected: the Y/Y print beat at -4.1% on expectations of -4.4%, up from a revised -4.4%, yet missing on a sequential basis, which was expected to come at 0.1%, instead printing at 0.05%, unchanged from the June's upward revised M/M 0.04%. In other words, this is not only traditionally late data, it also confirms that the double dip continued into the months that saw the market tumble by nearly 15%. Look for substantial drops in the August and September Case Shiller data.

• China’s Developers Face More ‘Severe’ Credit Outlook, S&P Says (Bloomberg)
• Hong Kong’s Tsang Sees ‘Soft Landing’ for Property, Keeps Peg (Bloomberg)
• SEC Eyes Ratings From S&P (WSJ)
• Geithner Predicts Europe Will Step Up on Crisis After Chiding (Bloomberg)
• Big audit firms face Brussels onslaught (FT)
• Fed Officials Express Doubt About Faster Inflation as Tool to Boost Growth (BBG)
• Medvedev fires mutinous finance minister (FT)
• EU urged to probe Hungary mortgage move (FT)
• Anger rises in India over redrawn poverty line (FT)

In a speech given in Berlin, the ever-vocal German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble appeared less than vociferous about the new levered EFSF plan and further lambasted Geithner's 'plan' in as politically correct manner as he could. Bloomberg headlines include:

*SCHAEUBLE SAYS `WILL NOT SPEND OUR WAY' OUT OF CRISIS

*SCHAEUBLE SAYS `SOLIDARITY HAS LIMITS,' REQUIRES RETURN EFFORTS

*SCHAEUBLE SAYS `IMMEDIATE FISCAL REFORMS ARE OF THE ESSENCE'

And the kicker in response to questions on Geithner, the pithy response:

*SCHAEUBLE SAYS EASIER TO GIVE ADVICE THAN TAKE IT!!!

*SCHAEUBLE SAYS INCREASING EFSF WOULD DAMAGE SOME AAA RATINGS

• A European official said a detailed plan is being worked on leveraging EFSF money with the plan using some EFSF money to shore up bank capital.
• The Austrian finance minister said Euro-zone officials are to discuss the EFSF leveraging plan on Monday
• German Chancellor Merkel says we are not prepared to implement further stimulus programmes.
• Confirmation of the EFSF leveraging talks sparked outrage in Germany, where opposition politicians threatened to derail the plans by voting against a key amendment to the bail-out fund this Thursday.

Some economic data out which has absolutely no impact on anything anymore. All that matters are lies and rumor. And headlines. THE BIGGER, THE MORE BOLDED AND UNDERLINED THE HEADLINES THE BETTER. Also, never forget, the better the news, the better; the worse the news, the best.

The psychological effects of the Dow are undeniable. When the average investor or even consumer sees green, life is good, even if every other indicator in the economy clearly says otherwise. For the common Dow lemming, “green” supplants reason, mathematics, instinct, and blatant logic. If mushroom clouds came in that particular shade of bull market green, nuclear holocaust would be welcomed with beers, barbeque, and jubilee. Green in the Dollar Index is no different. Many market joyriders and MSM parrots decree victory for Team Dollar without even a remedial understanding of the implications of dollar strength being measured against multiple faltering currencies across the globe. Just because the Euro, for instance, is nearly as superfluous as the greenback, this does not mean the dollar is a stable or healthy currency by default. They are BOTH screwed. But hey, as long as that little ticker points up, all is right with the world……right?

A completely and thoroughly bankrupt Greece has just crossed some imaginary rubicon where it no longer deems it fit to even lie, and instead will simply not report any data. As Bloomberg reports, Greek FM Evangelos Venizelos, never to be confused with Jenny Craig, spoke to reporters in Athens today and told them that while the figures for the bond swap are optimistic, they are strictly confidential and will not be released by the Greek government. Considering that bond tender offer tabulation takes about 24-72 hours in even the most complicated of bankruptcies, this is a tacit admission that Greece has been unable to even complete the simplest of Greek Bailout 2 prerequisites, which is to get its bondholders to agree to an implicit 21% haircut, which is precisely as Zero Hedge predicted when we observed that German banks have sold their bonds to hedge funds which in turn are now holding Greece hostage in exchange for nuisance value. An irrelevant Venizelos also added that the target is to have all new measures passed October end, that austerity measures votes will be separate from a budget vote, and that Germany is to provide all help to stabilize Greece. We are sure the last will be news to tens of millions of German citizens.

It appears rumors (there's that word again) of precious metals' demise have been greatly exaggerated yet again. After hitting a low of $26/ounce just shortly after 24 hours ago, the metal has since soared by a whopping 26% to $32.90 (thank you CME and Shanghai Gold Exchange). That's $6.90 in one day. The same with gold. It seems that the market has finally had its brain kicked in a little following the realization that an expansion in the EFSF from E440 billion to E3 trillion (which has about 0.01% probability of happening, and would likely see the mobilization of a certain army first) would mean an exponential decline in the credibility of that "other" currency, which while potentially retaining its value against the "first" currency, will have been devalued that much more against the real, undilutable currency. We expect the market to comprehend that Goldman, for once, was spot on in its evaluation that anyone who bought yesterday at the lows, will have already made their full year unlevered return in one short day.

While Europe continues to bask in the very transitory glow of a rumor driven respite from the now daily collapse, the funding costs rise. And the market is not happy, as confirmed by the just complete Spanish auction of E3.2 billion (E3.5 billion had been targetted) in 77 and 175 Day bills, which were, for all intents and purposes, failures.  Summarizing, E1.6b of 77-day bills were sold at an average yield of 1.692% compared to 1.357% on Aug. 23. The Bid-to-cover plunged to a paltry 2.47 compared to a solidly overbooked 7.62 at the last sale. The last six auction average was 1.41% for the interest and 6.46 for bid-to-cover.  Spain also sold E1.6 billion 175-day bills at an average yield of 2.665%, half a percent higher compared to the August 23 auction where the country could still raise debt at a cheap 2.187%.  Bid-to-cover 3.95 vs 3.60 at last sale. And since this paper has to roll constantly (or between 2 and 6 months), any transitory interest benefits have now been lost and the vicious circle of deteriorating funding will continue to impact short-term debt raises by Spain, which in turn will force primary interest rates to raise again and so ad inf.

While overnight markets are rocking based on continued speculation coming from some completely uncorroborated and unconfirmed source that Europe has just boldly gone where even Goldman's Abacus has not dared to go before courtesy of the ECB's acceptance of a CDO squared "Enron Special" SPV, Germany has once again made it very clear that not only will there not be any expansion in the EFSF in regular terms, but certainly not in structural ones. As Goldman's Dirk Schumacher makes it very clear, any attempts at imposing on Germany a fait accompli reality that has no bearing in actual reality (especially one that excludes the only relevant decision-maker in Europe) will be met with increasing protests from the entire German ruling class. According to Die Welt, the Free Democratic Party is threatening to vote against overhaul of EFSF if discussions about leveraging fund don’t stop. Goldman elaborates: "FDP and CSU not fond of further increase of EFSF. Leading figures from the FDP and the CSU, the Bavarian branch of the CDU, rejected any thoughts of a further increase of the EFSF (either directly or indirectly through leverage). FDP general secretary Lindner said that "the chancellor should make clear immediately that there is no change to the business model of the EFSF." So, yes, consider that an official denial of the Liesman rumor which as typical, has no confirmation anywhere else.

While Ben Bernanke may say his mentor has always been Stanley Fischer, here at IceCap we are able to see through this charade. Mr. Bernanke’s inspiration has always and will always be the 1978 cinema classic – Grease. Whether his inspiration is Olivia Newton-John- Travolta or in fact Mr. Fischer, we know that Helicopter Ben is belting out Grease show tunes while in his office, car or bath tub (if Warren can do it, why not Ben?). And although the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve will always claim he is hopelessly devoted to doing what is best, he is actually doing the only thing he knows how to do – print money. Exactly where he got this drive to be a money printer is undeniable – we’ll blame it squarely on the shoulders of the father of modern economics, John Maynard Keynes. Blasphemous you say? Well, step aside sonny, here’s the real story behind the money printing machines from the USA, Japan, Britain and Europe, and why they will continue with this unsuccessful strategy.

From the same fine Swiss folks who three weeks ago (and before it was uncovered that when it comes to playing, or at least scapegoating, dangerously, UBS is second to none) brought you, "Under the current structure and with the current membership, the Euro does not work. Either the current structure will have to change, or the current membership will have to change," comes the sequel: "We believe the Eurozone sovereign crisis has entered a more dangerous phase. Financial and banking stresses are plainly evident as concerns about sovereign default grow. Notwithstanding signs from Washington this past weekend that European and world leaders are willing to consider more decisive policies, concrete steps remain elusive. Yet rising uncertainty threatens an already weakened world economy." The Swiss Bank's conclusions? "First, Europe’s politicians and policy makers must do more to shore up the Eurozone and investor confidence more generally. Among others, that probably includes stronger capital buffers in the banking sector, an expanded EFSF/ESM to finance bank recapitalization and support Eurozone bond markets, and further fiscal austerity in ‘at-risk’ Eurozone countries. But these are big asks of Europe’s ‘political economy’. Hence, the second conclusion: The likelihood is that the crisis will intensify before policy can deliver what is required." Reality 1: Strange little "source" voices inside the heads of chief economists of financial comedy cable channels: 0.