Archive - May 2014 - Story

"The American consumer is not fully back and remains cautious," is the oddly real tone of Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, reporting that U.S. retailers’ first-quarter earnings are trailing analysts’ estimates by the widest margin in 13 years amid weak spending by lower-income consumers intensified competition:

*U.S. RETAILERS MISSING ESTIMATES BY 3.2%, RETAIL METRICS SAYS, MISSING ESTIMATES BY MOST IN 13 YEARS

While extreme weather is tossed out as the reason for this miss, what is an ugly smoking gun is the expectations the chains are missing had already been significantly lowered. Hope remains strong as "pent-up demand" has analysts projecting a 8.6% surge in profits in Q2... as long as it's not too hot or cold or wet or dry.

We erred once again in heading to neutrality for the trend of this market remains upward and there is and has been and likely shall remain enormous levels of suspicion about the validity of the bull market to keep the market climbing the proverbial “Wall of Worry.” ... now we have to look to use any periods of weakness to cover in hedges put into place in order to get ourselves net long once again.

Treasury yields are tumbling... and so of course US equity prices are soaring as the S&P presses back up toward 1,900 and its all-time record highs. USDJPY is not supporting this spike so it's clear what is... VIX recovered its HP-spike from last night and that was all the momo ignition needed on a thin day to lift stocks ... This magical no volume ramp has lifted the Dow into positive territory for the month and year.

Last month's dramatic miss of expectations for a modest post-weather pop in new home sales (having dropped 14.5% month-over-month) so it was inevitable that there would be a bounce. Modestly beating expectations, 433k annualized new home sales in April was only a 6.4% gain MoM thanks to the upward revision of the big miss in March. This 'recovery' remains well below the peak see in January - right in the middle of the worst weather impacted time in US history if one is to believe what the media is spewing. Before the 'housing recovery is back on track' meme gets going though, there is the fact that homes sold in the Northeast fell to the lowest since June 2012... as the average home price fell to $320,100 - the lowest since August 2013.

Remember the legend of the great rotation? Neither do we. But we do know that a Treasury fund inflow of $3.06 billion, the largest since at least 2010 according to Bank of America, coupled with an equity fund outflow of $7.1 billion, means just one thing: the great unrotation is raging. It does beg one question, however, with equity funds dumping in the past week, just who is actually left BTFATH? (Don't worry, that's rhetorical - we all have Kevin Henry and the HFT crew to thank for the ongoing endless manipulation of the rigged market).

Curious how and why commercial bank traders manipulate the price of gold? The following detailed narrative from the FCA should answer most lingering questions.

Yesterday we highlighted the European people's growing 'revulsion' against Europe and overnight we got yet another confirmation that the status quo - despite record low bond yields and record high stock and real estate prices - are losing their grip on control. Having taken the lead in the polls last week, UKIP's Nigel Farage has scored a major victory in local elections in England with early results pointing to considerable gains for the euro-skeptic party:

UKIP GAINS 20 SEATS IN EARLY ENGLISH LOCAL-ELECTION RESULTS
U.K. TORIES LOSE 20 SEATS IN EARLY LOCAL-ELECTION RESULTS

As Reuters reports, one MP noted "I think Nigel Farage for quite a lot of those people is just a big sort of two fingers stuck up at what they feel is a sort of hectoring, out-of-touch elite."

Just like stocks go up on Tuesdays in the US (and Wednesdays in Japan).. and volatility always falls... so shortly after 8am ET this morning 'someone' decided it was the optimal time to unleash $450 million notional of gold futures. Just as we saw earlier in the week, this sizable dump only achieved a $5 depreciation in price as it seems the inexorable efforts of status quo stabilizers to ensure the only real indicator of empire collapse is not flashing red remain in full effect. Given that Barclays is now out ofthe business of rigging gold prices, the question remains: who is?

• The Fed can't print trade? World Trade Flows Fall in First Quarter (WSJ)
• PBOC’s Zhou Says China May Have Housing Bubble in ‘Some Cities’ (BBG)
• ECB's Weidmann - Reviving ABS market not task for central bank (Reuters)
• LOL: Fitch upgrades Greece by a notch to 'B'; outlook stable (Reuters)
• LOL x2: Spain Sovereign Debt Rating Upgraded by S&P (BBG)
• China Will Vet Tech Firms After Threatening U.S. Retaliation (BBG)
• US to claim victory over China in WTO car dispute (BBG)
• Obama urges Democrats to vote in midterms, attacks Republicans (Reuters)
• U.S. Military Pushes for More Disclosure on Drone Strikes (WSJ)

Following the only major overnight econ event, which was the May German IFO Business Climate Index which dropped from 111.2 to 110.4 missing expectations of 110.9, the USDJPY has been on a soaring rampage higher hoping to push equities along with it (because now that gold manipulation is a proven fact, it is only a matter of time before the link between manipulating the USDJPY on thin volume with massive leverage and rigging the equity market is uncovered too), and at last check was just shy of 102.000. For now equity futures have failed to be dragged along although with the S&P all time high just around the horizon, the psychological level of 1900 staring the rigged market in the face, and the weekend just around the corner, it is virtually assured that the S&P will close at an all time high today - after all the people need to be confident when they go shopping at malls with money they don't have (but delighted by paper profits they haven't booked) so they boost the US non-GAAP GDP (at least before like Italy, the BEA too changes the definition of GDP to include cocaine and hookers). Finally, assuring a (record?) low-volume levitation today is the early closure of the bond pit ahead of Memorial Day holiday which also means only a skeleton crew of algos will be frontrunning each other to push the S&P over 1,900.

Sometimes one just needs a little translation to see the big picture for the trees...

Using espionage for gain in negotiations is an age-old tactic; but are the norms of 'appropriate' espionage changing?

For two decades now mainstream Keynesian economists have been gumming about China’s remarkable economic boom and its accumulation of unprecedented foreign exchange reserves. The latter hoard has now actually crossed the $4 trillion mark. But this whole narrative is PhD jabberwocky with a Wall Street accent.

Gold is trading at the lowest level relative to palladium since 2004 as Bloomberg notes that prospects for a record shortage has lured investors to the metal used in pollution-control devices for cars amid concern that supply will be disrupted. As the chart below shows an oz of gold buys only 1.54 oz of palladium (less than a 3rd of the 5oz gold could buy in 2009) as supply problems (mining strikes and Russian sanctions) collide with demand expectations (the 'recovery' of the global car market). Despite GM's problems, record levels of channel-stuffed inventories, and a still stagnant consumer (showing no interest in big purchases), IHS expects a record level of auto sales this year at 85 million. Seems like this ratio is an interesting derivative play on the excessive exuberance in the world's car market expectations.