Archive - Sep 10, 2014 - Story

Yesterday, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was the keynote speaker at KPMG’s 2014 Insurance Industry Conference Tuesday, where he answered questions such as 1) where the economy is going, 2) why, and 3) when (if ever) is it likely to improve. The answers, as reported by Property Casualty 360, are: 1) nowhere fast, 2) because nobody is willing to invest, and 3) eventually, but nobody can tell when. He listed 9 specific reasons why the "economy stinks", although surprisingly, nowhere did he mention the fact that the current and future economic disaster is all a direct result of his ruinous reign at helm of the Fed where as a result of his "great moderation" and the Fed's catastrophic monetary policies conceived mostly under Greenspan himself, the economy is now perpetually stuck in a boom-bust cycle, and where every time a bubble bursts another has to replace it or else the entire western way of life will be gone in a heartbeat.

Day after day we are told, just wait for rates to rise ("which they 'have' to because economic growth is so strong") and stocks will take off into the next leg of exuberance... why else would the Fed end QE and start more hawkish discussions? (aside from the fact they truly fear broken repo, exuberant markets, and lethargic politicians). Be careful what you wish for... Mortgage rates rose last week, back to the same level they have been at for 3-months, and refinancing activity (adjusted for holidays) collapsed to its lowest since 2008... and home purchase activity tumble back towards 20-year lows.

First fines have been imposed for manipulation of the gold fixing, the silver fixing is even discontinued entirely. But is everything in order with the platinum fixing? Have there been manipulations – and are they part of a larger manipulation campaign?

As reported ealier this morning, here, courtesy of Bloomberg, are the nominees for the next European Commission under the presidency of Jean-Claude "If Serioues Then lie" Juncker, with one from each of the European Union’s 28 countries. Job assignments were announced today by the incoming president, Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg. What do these appointments mean for the European Union? The attached flash analysis from Open Europe should answer most initial questions.

With GDP now basically an exercise in inventory expansion and contraction (Q2 inventory estimate amounted to 40% of GDP), this 'miss' in July Wholesale Inventories provides a worrying glimpse into Q3 GDP.  Against expectations on a 0.5% rise MoM, inventories rose only 0.1% (and June was revised lower) to the weakest inventory build since May 2013. This is the 3rd miss in a row.

We have recently noted the increasing pressure on the Swiss National Bank (SNB) over its peg to the EUR in the midst of a capital flood from Europe. The slow bleed strengthening of CHF against EUR had many concerned the SNB would be forced (by exogenous factors) to adjust the peg. But, this morning, it appears they tried to draw a red line... CHF has plunged after SNB's Mosler said negative interest rates remain an option should its minimum exchange rate (peg) come under threat. So, first NIRP in Europe, then in Japan (as per our overnight discussion), and now the Swiss warning NIRP is coming there next...

But... but... but... it's the best ever, the most innovative, "never been seen before" - apart from none of that is true (as we noted yesterday). It appears investors feel the same way as AAPL's stock price tumbles from pre-celebrity-naked-selfies to the critical 50-day moving-average...

The sensitivity to headlines reflects an attempt by many firms to salvage performance for 2014 by augmenting their exposure aggressively over the past several weeks. Similar to the countless number of jockeys who have failed in the grueling 1.5 mile Belmont Stakes by asking for their horse to start its kick too far in front of the finish line, these funds moved too soon as year-end still sits far off on the horizon. This incremental positioning grossly inflated the average monthly NYSE closing TICK which extended to +338 on Monday. Thus, the muscle for a protracted selloff is intact.

• British PM begs Scots: Don't rip apart our UK 'family of nations' (Reuters)
• Obama has become Bush: Obama’s Task: Rally U.S. Public, Allies in Terror Fight (BBG)
• Alibaba's record IPO covered after first few roadshow meetings (Reuters)
• Ferrari chairman Luca Di Montezemolo to quit after 23 years (BBC)
• Combat Reversals Pressure Assad (WSJ)
• Top LBO Fund Investors Pile on Leverage to Boost Returns (BBG)
• BOJ's Iwata upbeat on economy, unfazed by post-tax hike slump (Reuters)
• Carney Can’t Escape Housing as Debt Colors BOE Policy (BBG)
• Detroit Clears Crucial Hurdle on Bankruptcy (NYT)

Overnight the most notable move has been the ongoing weakness in rates, with USTs reversing earlier Tokyo gains after BoJ Deputy Governor Iwata, in addition to commenting on a lot of things that didn't make much sense,  said he didn’t see any difficulties in money market operations even if BoJ bought bought government debt with negative yields, as InTouch Capital Markets notes. As a reminder, yesterday we noted that in a historic first the "Bank Of Japan Monetizes Debt At Negative Rates." As Bloomberg notes, this may be interpreted that BoJ may target negative yields to penalize savers, which "all boosts the appeal of yen-funded carry trades." In other words, first Europe goes NIRP, now it's Japan's turn! So while this certainly lit the fire under the USDJPY some more, which overnight broke about 106.50 and hit as high as 106.75 on Iwata's comments, it does not explain why the 10Y is currently trading 2.52% - after all the fungible BOJ money will eventually make its way into US bonds and merely add to what JPM has calculated is a total $5 trillion in excess liquidity sloshing in the global market.