Archive - 2015 - Story

Just when you thought it was all over... Having bounced post-CBR intervention and somewhat stabilized, the re-collapse in crude oil prices and continued weakness in Russian macro data provided just the impetus for a re-plunge in the Ruble (back above 63.5/USD) and surge in Russian bond yields (back to 14%). While Russian stocks are also retesting towards recent lows, it is Russian CDS that is the most telling as it closed to day at 595bps - the widest since March 2009. While these violent gyrations are new for recent history, they are not a new phenomenon, but are quite characteristic of the country’s financial history.

For the last two and a half years since June 2012, the best strategy for global equity investors has been to buy on dips. The strategy worked because of a very high level of market resilience combined with a (sometimes excessively) optimistic environment. As a result, over the last couple of years markets have tended to recover very quickly from shallow corrections. However, steeper and longer corrections appeared to be back, and investors appear to be thinking twice before buying dips.

Think Texas and Pennsylvania have a problem with plunging oil prices, don't look North. West Canada Select (Heavy) crude oil prices have collapsed to below $35 per barrel (the lowest since Feb 2009). This is a 60% plunge in the last 6 months and has left the industry stunned. While US rig counts have fallen for the last few weeks as the lagged response to falling prices finally catches up to reality, the Canadian oil rig count has never been lower for the first week of January. Will the Canadian housing bubble be next?

The more capital that is driven into risk assets, the greater the financial devastation when the asset bubbles all pop, which they inevitably will--and not in some distant future. It is impossible for everyone to sell at the top before the implosion; the assets are owned by someone all the way down.

For those few who missed the theater from the Capitol you are in luck with the live webcast below.

Few will ever forget the ferocity of the October short-squeeze in US Treasuries that flash-crashed yields. As Nanex notes however, today's yield plunge (price surge) is starting to shape up as an extreme flight-to-safety squeeze. As we noted earlier, US Treasury short positioning into this week was its highest in over 4 years...

We are going to need another Central Bank speaker stat!! The S&P 500 (cash) index just broke below 2,000, 30Y Yields are testing 2.50% yields (just 5bps from all-time record lows) and 10Y well below 2.00%, gold is surging, and oil is plunging... The question for The White House is - should we still blame Europe?

As energy stocks continue to catch down to oil-price's incessant weakness, US energy company credit risk has surged back above 1000bps for the first time in 3 weeks. WTI Crude oil prices just traded to a $47 handle - the lowest since April 2009.

Manhattan: 260 Columbus Ave NYPD calling a level 1 Mobilization in regards to a bank robbery at Chase Bank.

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) January 6, 2015

But, but, but... low oil prices are awesome and Yellen was kinda sorta dovish... right? After ripping 5 to 6% off the Yellen FOMC lows in thin illiquid holiday trading, US equities have roundtripped (just as Treasury yields already had) - erasing all that 'hard-earned wealth'.

In its usual 'leak the plans and judge market reactions' methodology, unnamed sources have released to Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, three potential options that the ECB is considering for buying government bonds. As the Jan 22nd ECB meeting looms, Reuters reports that while the ECB declined to comment, this 'strawman' appears very similar to comments made by ECB chief economists Peter Praet last week. For now, the reaction is not positive... as this indicates the ECB is nowhere near a decision.

The Greek 3Y-10Y yield curve is back over 400bps inverted this morning as bond (and stock) prices re-tumble following a new reports. As The FT reports, forecasting group Oxford Economics says it has carried out an "in-depth" analysis of opinion polls ahead of Greece's snap general election on January 25, which shows that the radical Syriza party is on course to win a "clear mandate" to push through anti-austerity policies. Will German worry now?

UPDATE: "Bad News" bounce breaks bad...

Unlike yesterday - where bad news was bad news - today terrible macro data news is awesome news... Thanks to a liftathon in USDJPY breaking back over 119.00, the S&P has ripped 10 points since ISM, PMI, Factory Orders data disappointed.

Following a disastrous Manufacturing ISM report last week, today it was the turn for its Service cousin to report. And while it wasn't quite the abysmal faceplant that some had expected the seasonally adjusted number to be, printing at 56.2, down from 59.3 and far below the 58.0 expected (but just above the lowest estimate of 56.0), it still was the biggest miss to expectations since September 2013, and the lowest print since June.  And while the details were just as atrocious, with every single ISM component declining in December - something that has not happened since the Great Financial Crisis - a report which literallyh said "Obamacare and wages are still the biggest enemies to profitability", all eyes are focused not so much on the tumble in Business Activity and New Orders, but on Prices, which at 49.5, posted their first contraction since September 2009.