Archive - Aug 2015 - Story

In a somewhat antticlimatic report, moments ago the BLS reported that July nonfarm payrolls came in at 215K, modestly below the expected 225K and down from the upward revised June print of 231K, with the unemployment rate at 5.3%, in line with expectations. Overall, a number that was bad, but not bad enough to deter the Fed from hiking, if that is indeed what it plans on doing.

With the non-farm payroll report due in just 30 minutes, here is your last-stop summary of what Wall Street is expecting from today's most important data release.

GOP Presidential hopefuls expressed plenty of distaste for the Iran nuclear deal during last night’s debate, but it was the voice of a Democrat that mattered most on Thursday evening as Chuck Schumer, the influential Jewish Senator from New York, came out in opposition to the accord.

• July job gains may favor September interest rate rise (Reuters)
• It's all about Trump at raucous Republican debate (Reuters)
• The 5 Most Important Takeaways From the First Debate of 2016 (BBG)
• Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina wins the Web (Reuters)
• Hedge Fund Losses From Commodity Slump Sparking Investor Exodus (BBG)
• Winners and losers from the first Republican presidential debate (WaPo)
• Bush turns in workmanlike debate performance, but will it be enough? (Reuters)

Here comes today's main event, the July non-farm payrolls - once again the "most important ever" as the number will cement whether the Fed hikes this year or punts once again to the next year, and which consensus expects to print +225K although the whisper range is very wide: based on this week's ADP report, NFP may easily slide under 200K, while if using the non-mfg PMI as an indicator, a 300K+ print is in the cards. At the end of the day, it will be all in the hands of the BLS' Arima X 12 seasonal adjusters, and whatever goalseeked print the labor department has been strongly urged is the right one.

17 Entered... Despite the onslaught of attacks from the other 16 GOP Presidential nominee candidates, Donald Trump came out the 'winner' in his usual brash manner threatening to run as an independent and able to dominate the conversation, pitbull back at any jibes, and shrug off cozy Clintonite comments. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul appeared to have a strong showing but "had a tough night" in Trump's words. Rick Perry blew up again, calling the former President Ronald 'Raven' - which his team vehemently denied the entire FOX watching audience heard. Carly Fiorina easily won the undercard against a field of has-beens and wannabes and surely deserves some more top-billing in the next Republican death-match. In the immortal words of Kenny Rogers, we hope a few of the 17-strong gaggle now "know when to fold 'em," and can we suggest Rick Perry's corner "throws in the damn towel."

Today’s visualization breaks down $59.7 trillion of world debt by country, as well as highlighting each country’s debt-to-GDP ratio using colour. The data comes from the IMF and only covers external government debt. Combining the debt of the United States, Japan, and Europe together accounts for 75% of total global debt.

The #1 question we get after we review correlations every month is “Why are they so high relative to long term historical norms?” Our answer is that Federal Reserve policy has been an unusually important factor in asset prices since 2009. The unusually easy monetary policy since that time (and its planning, implementation, and effect on the economy) has been a powerful unifying story in capital markets. Now, as the Federal Reserve moves to return the economy to a more “Normal” policy stance, correlations should drop. That they have not yet moved convincingly lower is a sign that equity markets may want to see the Fed actually pull the trigger.

Things are getting downright scary in emerging markets as a "triple unwind" in credit, Chinese leverage, and loose US monetary policy wreaks havoc across the space. Between a prolonged slump in commodity prices and a structural shift towards weaker global trade, the situation could worsen materially going forward.

It turns out making money trading stocks is not "easier than farmwork" and, as China Daily reports, a stunning 24 million Chinese 'investors' have shuttered their trading accounts since the end of June. Unlike in the U.S., where institutions dominate stock trading, retail investors are king in China, owning around 80% of listed stocks’ tradable shares, according to investment bank CICC. With the number of small investors holding stocks in their accounts sliding to 51 million at the end of July from 75 million at the end of June, it appears some grandmas and farmers have learned their lesson (for now).

What a pathetic nation of entitled whiners we’ve become. When did participation in a sport or any competition deserve a trophy? Trophies are for winners. Trophies are for the people who excelled. Trophies are for the people who worked harder than their competitors and won. You get ahead in life by hard work, using your brain, and refining your social skills. The free shit army mentality permeating our culture drives the participation trophy bullshit. Real free market capitalism (not the crony capitalism/socialism) has winners and losers. Losers need to work harder to become winners. Not in America today. The losers have a million excuses and think they deserve exactly what the winners have achieved.

While many labor market indicators were softer in July, some important service sector indicators, such as ISM nonmanufacturing employment, were significantly stronger; and on balance, they expect job growth roughly consistent with the 223k increase in June. The participation rate showed a surprising drop of 0.3pp in June to 62.6% - due in large part from a calendar effect caused by the timing of the reference week relative to the end of the school year - they therefore expect an at least partial rebound in July.