Archive - Feb 2015 - Story

Remember that whopping 353K jobs number in November? Well, following the data revision, it was boosted by 20% to a whopping 423K - the second biggest monthly increase in jobs in the 21st century! And breaking it more fully down, what was supposed to be a total gain of 2,952K jobs in 2014 has now been revised to 3,197K. And the best news of the day: that average weekly wage you thought you were collecting during all months of 2014? That too was just revised higher across the board.

It would appear "good news is good news" this morning as better-than-expected payrolls data (but the unemployment rate rose so they'll need to spin that) has sent stocks higher, bond yields higher-er, and the US Dollar higher-est. PMs are weaker, crude is sideways. EURUSD is back under 1.14 as the week's volatility continues.

So much for expectations that January, missing on 9 out of 10 previous occasions, will miss again, as the BLS just reported that in January a whopping 257K jobs were added, far above the 228K expected, and up from December's 252K which was revised as part of the annual BLS data revision to 329K, a whopping 147K revision! The unemployment rate rose from 5.6% to 5.7%, above the 5.6% expected. But most notable, the average hourly earnings surged from last month's -0.2% by a whopping 0.5%, the highest monthly jump in average hourly earnings since November 2008. It remains to be seen just how this is happening with mass layoffs in the oil patch, but what is now practically assured is that the Fed will have no choice but to hike as soon as June.

Despite ECB funding restrictions and German demands, it appears Greece will not yield to the pressures from its 'peers' to toe-the-line and accept servitude. None other than Greek FinMin Varoufakis made that very clear this morning...

WILL NOT AGREE TO ANY DEAL RELATING TO PREVIOUS BAILOUT PROGRAMME AT NEXT WEEK'S EUROGROUP - GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL

While ECB's bank supervisor Nouy has proclaimed Greek banks "safe", it appears the market is not so sure as Greek Bank bonds fade along with weakness in EURUSD. It seems last night's pro-government protests have emboldended Syriza further to keep their promises, much to the chagrin of Merkel et al..

Remember the "great rotation"? Neither do we, because the bank that year after year coined the term to prepare investors for a renormalization of the economy as bond yields rise alongside stocks (something that happens in any normal, non-centrally planned banana world), that would be Bank of America for anyone confused, just reported that in the latest week, EPFR data showed inflows to all fixed income funds of $16.04 billion – the highest on record going back to at least 2008. On the "other side of the spectrum were stocks that had $5.52bn of outflows, down from a $1.62bn inflow in the prior week." And just like that, it's a bond-pickers' market, even as central banks trade with each other in various dark pools to keep global equities, and thus confidence, stable even as the capital tsuniami screams deflation for years to come.

• RadioShack files for bankruptcy; Sprint to take over some stores (Reuters)
• Kansas To Issue Bonds and Invest Proceeds to Boost Pension Returns (WSJ)
• Merkel to Make Last Push With Putin as Pessimism Prevails (BBG)
• Islamic State in Syria seen under strain but far from collapse (Reuters)
• Texas Swagger Fades Fast as Oil Town Squeezed Hard by OPEC (BBG)
• SEC probes Blackberry options trading ahead of Reuters report about Samsung talks (Reuters)
• Spanish Bonds Underperform Italy’s as Podemos Gains Popularity (BBG)
• Steelworkers Union Rejects Offer From Refiners (WSJ)
• Brazil January Inflation at Fastest Pace in Nearly 12 Years (BBG)

It has been a quiet overnight session, following yesterday's epic short-squeeze driven - the biggest since 2011 - breakout in the S&P500 back to green for the year, with European trading particularly subdued as the final session of the week awaits US nonfarm payroll data, expected at 230K, Goldman cutting its estimate from 250K to 210K three days ago, and with January NFPs having a particular tendency to disappoint Wall Street estimates on 9 of the past 10. Furthermore, none of those prior 10 occasions had a massive oil-patch CapEx crunch and  mass termination event: something which even the BLS will have to notice eventually. But more than the NFP number of the meaningless unemployment rate (as some 93 million Americans languish outside of the labor force), everyone will be watching the average hourly earnings, which last month tumbled -0.2% and are expected to rebound 0.3% in January.

All you need to know about the rapidly changing situation in Greece.

according to the latest update from the 29 west coast ports that serve as the entry point of the bulk of Asia/Pac trade into and out of the US, things are about to get far worse for America's manucaturing base, because as RILA reported earlier, talks between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) representing port management, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) officially broke down on Wendesday, and without an agreement, experts have suggested that nearly 30 west coast ports could be shut down within a week. As RILA reports, "a work slowdown during contract negotiations over the past seven months has already created logistic nightmares for American exporters, manufacturers and retailers dependent on an efficient supply chain. A complete shutdown would be catastrophic, with hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk if America’s supply chain grinds to a halt."

If there was a walk of shame for so-called Congressional “representatives,” this list would serve as an excellent starting point. Their actions serve as definitive proof that the vast majority of politicians are only in it for money and power. They could care less about “public service” or being statesmen. If that was truly their calling in life, they wouldn’t immediately turn around and join lobbying firms the moment they leave office. Yet all they do is cash in. That’s all they ever do. The most amazing part about this article is that “by law, ex-House members are required to wait one year before they can officially lobby lawmakers on the Hill.” Naturally, professional liars and thieves won’t let something as pedestrian as ethics or rules get in the way. If there’s one thing politicians are good at, it’s finding loopholes.

It's been an odd few days for Greece's new PM Alexis Tsipras. From being lambasted by Jeroen Dijsselbloem, shunned by Angela Merkel's henchmen, holding hands with Jean-Claude Juncker, and losing a key funding channel from Mario Draghi; Tsipras' anti-austerity platform has been 'supported' by Barack Obama and he has been invited for a visit to Russia by Vladimir Putin, and reminded that Russia is willing (and able) to provide financial aid if asked by finance minister Anton Siluanov. So headlines this evening from ekathimerini should not be entirely surprising that Putin and Tsipras have agreed to boost cooperation in the economy and energy, tourism, culture and transport sectors; and discussed the possible creation of a pipeline to carry natural gas from Russia to Europe via Turkey and Greece.

"...we’ll have to face a new world financial crisis in the next few years... the growing volume of debts and the unsteady development of the economies of the US, the EU, China and some other developing countries mean the situation is even worse than ahead of 2008."

Presented with little comment aside to ask (rhetorically of course), who is The Fed working for?

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem an accomplice. The Troika’s willingness to turn Greece into a failed state first, as a side effect of its “rescue the French and German banks” operation, and now, as part of its German hegemony protection racket, is killing people and in the longer term will only accelerate the rise of extreme right wing elements in the Eurozone. Readers in the US know that the #BlackLivesMatter campaign has succeeded in bringing people of all races together to protest police brutality against African Americans. Given The ECB, IMF, and Germany's moves, perhaps it's time for #GreekLivesMatter to get as much attention.