Bond

From Expected Returns Blog

So what will work?

Is China about to start dumping its $630 billion in eurozone debt holdings? Maybe not yet, although the FT reports that China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the central bank's foreign reserves manager, has "expressed concern about its exposure" to the PIIGS. Obviously, with China moving away from dollar denominated assets for the past six months would represent a "big strategic shift" as "last year, the Chinese were trying to reduce their exposure to dollar assets by buying eurozone assets. This would be a complete reversal." Additionally a Chinese diplomat noted that, "The euro’s fluctuation will have an impact on China’s thinking, but it’s only one element” in any decision to allow the Chinese currency to rise, He Yafei, a vice foreign minister, said, according to Bloomberg." The question then arises of just what assets China would be comfortable holding? Alas, the only readily available answer we can come up with rhymes it old and has 79 protons.

If Greece follows in the footsteps of Argentina (which is quite possible) many financial institutions will be in a world of hurt - forced to take 60-70% losses on instruments that they levered up 20x on. We're talking real pain here people, and it is highly unlikely Greece will be the only one. For all of those who may call me a doomsayer, let's walk through the numbers...

The bond market in Greece and Portugal is now rumored to now be shut down for the day due to total chaos, not to mention potential imminent revolution in Athens. We expect the US to "decouple."

Look up the word ludicrous in the dictionary and you may just get a picture of the Greek bond curve. The 2 Year spread has exploded by over 400 bps just today, and is now back to 14% - the market is now convinced that even with €110 of additional money the country is done for in just over one year. The problem, as we pointed out earlier, is that the IMF can not appeal for greater assistance without appearing totally clueless (which it is), while any additional funding requests will may finally provoke the US taxpayers into recognizing they are being fleeced to save a country 5 thousand miles away. As the attached curve indicates, the bond vigilantes still think that Greece could remain solvent for about 1 year, however with the rate of widening, we expect the 1 year point on the curve to defy gravity quite shortly.

No comment

The Greek bond holiday is here. Greece's bond pricing administration HDAT has withdrawn bond prices as spreads have hit 650 bps. Greece acknowledges it is game over as 10 Years are at 10%, and 3 Years at 13%. Stock liquidation are rampant as Greeks are on the verge of panic: the ASE is down 3% and investors are now widely expecting a 10% correction to below 1,700 on the ASE. And Portugal is now officially part of the party Portuguese - CDS just hit 310 bps.In the meantime Germany is starting to feel the burn - German FinMin Schaeuble has stated he is determined to defend the stability of the euro by asking that Greek talks with IMF conclude by weekend. He also said that he anticipates that Euro zone and IMF want to free up Greek aid simultaneously and does not favour idea of granting Greece moratorium on debt. Alas, the time for speeches is over. Making matters worse, Germany’s SPD says will not back accelerated parliamentary process to approve Greek aid, rendering all rhetoric useless. Lastly, Angela Merkel will make a statementon Greece at 13:00 GMT. We can't wait to hear the powerlessness in her voice.

In their last solvent days, the Greeks sure are learning fast from the US - first America makes shorting prohibitive (and where it is still possible, various repo desks tend to force short covering at their whim just as the market is about to crash and burn), and now Greece has proceeded to make shorting of Greek bonds impossible. After realizing that its CDS scapegoating campaign was the most miserable and idiotic plan ever conceived, the lunatics who have taken over the Greek insane asylum have now decided to make shorting of GGBs virtually impossible. This is ostensibly the last step before the total collapse as the liquidity that will be removed will make swings in GGB so big it will make the holders of options in FNM, FRE, C and AIG green with envy. The mechanism by which Greece seeks to accelerate it own demise, is by introducing daily repurchase auctions to cover short positions, according to Reuters. Next stop: selling of any Greek (and soon US) security becomes treason and is punishable by death.

Life for Greek administrators can not be much fun these days - anywhere they look they just see more bad news. The latest comes from (appropriately named if you are Greek) S&P analyst Marko Mrsnik who told Reuters that "if the high borrowing cost persists and the consequent deviation from the consolidation path is not addressed, this would in our opinion, delay the reversal of the government debt trajectory and could lead to lower ratings." Nothing yet from Moody's - should Greece and the linked NBG be downgraded even one more notch by Moody's then all sorts of colletaral trigger horrors will be triggered and the liquidity crisis will reach a whole new level of pain.

In order to manipulate bond fund NAVs, two employees "actively screened and manipulated dealer quotes", "fraudulently published NAVs", made "price adjustments" that "were arbitrary and did not reflect fair value." The list keeps going. "This scheme had two architects - a portfolio manager responsible for lies to investors about the true value of the assets in his funds, and a head of fund accounting who turned a blind eye to the fund's bogus valuation process," - Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. Sharp Mary barked today. FINRA & the SEC bit.

According to Bankingnews.gr, yesterday's disclosure that Greece would attempt to raise money by targeting US bond investors is now being refuted, and that this will likely "not happen." With record wides across the bond complex, it is not difficult to see why. In the meantime the entire high beta euro sovereign market is melting down. We are stunned US stocks are not up on this latest piece of horrible news: the market has proven quiet resilient in climbing the wall of sovereign bankruptcy in recent months. And now for some comic relief: after alienating Germans in perpetuity, Greece is now targeting the US, and the IMF and specifically its main backer - the US. I guess if you have to go down in flames, might as well try to burn all those who are trying to help you, if only you would cut your profligate ways... Which simple requirement, as was already disclosed, is out of the question. Bankingnews.gr is blaming the plunge in 10 Year GGB on American selling. We are not sure if a "Short Party" is the same as a "Pants Party." We don't want to find out.

In one of the most erudite, intelligent, and insightful conversations on the Bond bull/bear debate, David Rosenberg and Jim Grant go all out at each other, trading blows in this "Great Debate" which is a must see by all. As we pointed out yesterday, Grant is very bearish on bonds, and in a self-made prospectus has decided to downgrade the US, since the rating agencies, which have long been thoroughly incompetent, corrupt and afraid to disturb the status quo, will not do so until it is too late. Jim's point is simple: you can't resolve massive debt with more debt, and says Treasuries, which he calls "certificates of confiscation" are a surefire way to lose one's money. He points to the record supply of US Treasuries, makes fun of the SEC (who doesn't), and in a stunning move, cautions the Fed Chairman, whose ongoing dollar debasement, was once considered treason by the US. His conclusion: "watch your back, Ben Bernanke. Cycles turn" could not have come at a more opportune time. As a contrarian, Rosenberg discusses the McKinsey report looking at sovereign debt, and the Reinhart and Rogoff studies on debt default and highlights that there is a major disconnect between theoretical applications of sovereign default models and practice: in essence the US is still deleveraging as private debt is decreasing and public debt is surging but to a slower degree. In essence, David claims, the second largest monthly debt issuance in March of $333 billion is merely a side effect of ongoing deleveraging, which is a leading and/or coincident indicator of deflation: an environment in which the long bond thrives (Japan is a good reference point).

This is the skinny on the EU's Greek rescue package. The (empirical) truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the whole (empirical) truth! Moral hazard, be damned...

“Tremors”. A good way to describe the psyche of some investors right now is to imagine being a resident of San Francisco or Los Angeles. Everyone is extremely jittery about any sign of a tremor coming from the big fault lines; but as long as nothing happens, life goes on and things improve at a normal pace. In the case of the U.S., there are noticeable improvements which may be self-reinforcing: production, consumption (retail sales, vehicles), profits, inventories, delinquencies, confidence and possibly even employment. Even California tax collections appear to have bottomed. Equity and credit markets reflect these improvements, with YTD gains on target for our 2010 forecasts. But these improvements all lie close to the San Andreas fault lines of U.S. Treasury funding needs, Chinese demand for Treasuries, the end of Federal Reserve purchases, crowding out of private sector demand, rumors of a Moody’s downgrade of the United States, etc, etc. Rates generally rise at the end of a recession, so there’s nothing new in that. But there’s a point at which very high long term rates could derail the expansion. Let’s examine where the greatest concerns are coming from.