Archive - Jan 2015 - Story

With NATO's top military commander, General Breedlove, proclaiming that fighting in Ukraine is worse than pre-truce levels (and noting he could not confirm Poroshenko's Russian force numbers accusations), the news overnight, as The Telegraph reports, that Ukrainian forces appeared to withdraw from Donetsk airport last night, ending an 8-month battle in a bitter blow for pro-Kiev forces and apparent triumph for the Russian-backed separatists they are fighting. While the Pro-Russian separatists' Pyrrhic victory over the completely destroyed (as we noted here) airport may be a blow, a Ukrainian military spokesman on Thursday played down the surrender of the terminal buildings, saying it was simply a tactical withdrawal. Additionally, Russia has denounced an attack on a bus in separatist-held Donetsk which killed civilians as a "monstrous crime."

Those curious to learn why Greece is the only country excluded form the ECB' QE (for now), will not find any additional information in the ECB's supplement on its asset purchase program. Neither will they learn why something that is in effect monetary financing, and is prohibited by Article 123, is not monetary financing. However, they will learn that the proceeds from the ECB's money printing can be used "to buy other assets and extend credit to the real economy." The ECB adds that "In both cases, this contributes to an easing of financial conditions." Actually the only thing it will contribute to is making the world's billionaires into the world's trillionaires.

Well so much for ECB QE sparking economic growth and inflation expectations... And then EIA confirms last week's crude oil inventory build was the largest since 2001! WTI is now nearing a $45 handle once again...

It was just on Monday when the Danish central bank, clearly panicking about the peg of the Danish Krone to the EUR, surprised the world when in an unexpected rate cut it went NIRPer, sending its deposit rate from -0.05% to 0.2%. Moments ago it doubled down with its second rate cut for the week, this time sending the rate from -0.20% to -0.35%. At this rate we should hit -0.5% next Tuesday and be well into the -1% territory two weeks from today. And not only that, but as Bloomberg observes, "The Danish central bank “also seems to have been intervening in the market prior to the ECB meeting,” Jes Asmussen, chief economist at Svenska Handelsbanken AB in Copenhagen." In other words, the Danish Krone's peg days are most likely numbered.

After over 2 years of dragging, pardon the bad pun, the market by the nose, ever since his "whatever it takes" speech in July 2012, Draghi finally folded and launched QE. This, as Credit Suisse warned last week, and as stocks are starting to realize, may have been the longest "sell the news" build up in history. Of course, CS worded it more poetically: "the QE Dream becomes reality" and far more importantly, as it also adds: "the dream may prove far more powerful as a market driver than the reality."

30Y US Treasury yields have collapsed over 14bps since Draghi unleashed QE... and US equities now well in the red post-QE.  Not exactly the kind of risk-on "buy buy buy" everyone was hoping for as European Peripheral bond risk spreads are rising...

UPDATE: EURUSD < 1.15 but peripheral bonds selling off; EURCHF is dumping

Initial kneejerk reactions have started to fade but overall Europe is 'positive' as EURUSD is lower and stocks higher (excepty Germany's DAX which is at the LoD) but Sovereign spreads are higher. Initial exuberance in US equities have been entirely erased. Treasury yields are now lower as gold and silver are bid and crude and copper sold. We're gonna need a bigger bazooka Mr.Draghi...

Nothing...

It is somewhat paradoxical that in a historic statement which launches the ECB's official deficit monetizing and Article 123 contravening QE with a 6 year delay, a QE which is launched with the implied if unstated purpose of "defeating deflation" that the key word count is as follows.

Not "unambiguously good" as Shale states see initial jobless claims spiking. Overall initial jobless claims missed expectations for the 4th week in a row, holding above 300k for the 3d week in a row (for the first time since July). At 307k, this week's print is below last week's but well above the 300k expectation. However, across TX, CO, ND, PA, and WV, initial claims (1 week lagged) rose to over 75k (from 30k in October)... "crisis has passed"?

From "whatever it takes" to OMT to "discussing" bond purchases, with European interest rates at record (incomprehensible) lows (apart from Greece) and EURUSD at 11-year lows (down 25 handles in the last 8 months), Mario Draghi looks set to unleash interventionist 'hell' on the investing public in Europe with EUR50 billion (plus plus) of ECB QE per month for as long as it takes...

We are so brainwashed by centralized models of state authority that few can even imagine a system where the solution is not one centralized monstrosity ruled by a political/financial Aristocracy. A good first step would be to admit to ourselves that we don't really want solutions; what we want is magic: financial magic that makes healthcare free and affordable, medical magic that fixes all our lifestyle ills without forcing any rigorous adult routines and limits on us, political magic that transforms our system from its current corrupt crony-capitalist paradise into a functioning, transparent democracy and economic magic that makes all the unpayable debt vanish so we can borrow another $50 trillion, or $100 trillion, with no restraints on our spending or cronyist corruption. We have no idea what it will take to jolt us from our preference for magic over realistic, difficult (i.e. adult) solutions, but we suspect a crisis that threatens to completely unravel the Status Quo will be part of the process.

1-Year Swiss interest rates have now crashed 75bps in the last week since the SNB decision to un-peg from the Euro. As the world awaits Draghi's big moment, Swiss rates are sliding more and investors seek the 'safety' of Francs - even if it costs them 1.05% per year for that 'safety'.

As expected by most analysts, the ECB kept its rates unchanged for all three facilities.  This is hardly surprising, although as HSBC accurately observed, if the ECB really wants to incentivize banks to sell their government bond holdings, it should have actually pushed rates higher. In any event, as the ECB also noted, "Further monetary policy measures will be communicated by the President of the ECB at a press conference starting at 2.30 p.m. CET today" ?which is a signal that a much bigger announcement is coming in 45 minutes when Draghi begins to speak.

• ECB to decide on bond-buying plan to revive euro zone (Reuters)
• Draghi Is Pushing Boundaries of Euro Region with QE Program (BBG)
• Investors Wonder Whether ECB Will Do Enough (WSJ)
• Treasuries Drop With Bunds Before ECB; U.S. Futures Rise (BBG)
• European shares hit seven-year high (Reuters)
• At least eight civilians killed in shelling of Ukrainian trolleybus (Reuters), both sides blame each other
• OPEC Will Blink First in Battle With Shale Drillers, Poll Shows (BBG)
• China Injects $8 Billion Into Banking System (WSJ)
• New York says Barclays not cooperating in 'dark pool' probe (Reuters)