Brazil

It is cloudy out there as Sandy enters the mid-Atlantic region, although for all the pre-apocalypse preparations in New York, the Frankenstorm may just be yet another dud now that its landfall is expected to come sufficiently south of NYC to make the latest round of Zone 1 evacuations about overblown as last year's Irene hysteria (of course it will be a gift from god for each and every S&P company as it will provide a perfect excuse for everyone to miss revenues and earnings in Q4). That said, Wall Street is effectively closed today for carbon-based lifeforms if not for electron ones, and a quick look at the futures bottom line, which will be open until 9:15 am Eastern, shows a lot of red, with ES down nearly 10 ticks (Shanghai down again as the same old realization seeps day after day - no major easing from the PBOC means Bernanke and company is on their own) as the Friday overnight summary is back on again: Johnny 5 must defend 1400 in ES and 1.2900 in EURUSD at all costs for just two more hours.

No surprise Europe remains highly vulnerable to sudden sentiment shifts. How to stablise it? The usual smoke & mirrors are conveying what might or might not be good news on Greece [since denied]. The crisis in Europe may be contained, but it clearly isn't solved. "Europe is like an overweight dinosaur on a crash diet, that's got really really bad toothache with not a dentist in sight." But But But.. yesterday's ructions weren't just about the political shenanigans that pass for markets these days. There are deep undercurrents roiling these placid markets. All of which leads us to wondering what happens next? If this continues what hope for next year? Low low yields and global economic depression? Boy scout time...

Toppling central banks is a messy business.

From 1987: How much time do I have to liquidate?    Answer:  We need you to do this by Monday night.

Whereas yesterday we learned that Chinese September electricity consumption had dropped to a multi-year low of 2.9% Y/Y (ignoring the Chinese New year data aberration of -7.5% from January which should be a blended reading with the February surge of +22.9%), down from 3.6% in August, and the lowest since August 2010, today in turn we find that the flip side to the this number, electricity production, was an even bleaker +1.5%, and the lowest in three months. And while it has been rumored that China has an incentive to manipulate the former down, this has been offset by manipulating the latter - output - up. Which is why whereas the consumption data implies a modestly weaker GDP, which declined and missed the official target (if ended precisely as the goalseek-o-tron expected), it is the electricity production data that is the outlier, and which indicates that in reality the GDP is now trendlining well below the official 7%.

• Hillary Clinton Accepts Blame for Benghazi (WSJ)
• In Reversal, Cash Leaks Out of China (WSJ)
• Spain Considers EU Credit Line (WSJ)
• China criticizes new EU sanctions on Iran, calls for talks (Reuters)
• Portugal sees third year of recession in 2013 budget (Reuters)
• Greek PM says confident Athens will secure aid tranche (Reuters)
• Fears over US mortgages dominance (FT)
• Fed officials offer divergent views on inflation risks (Reuters)
• China Credit Card Romney Assails Gives Way to Japan (Bloomberg)
• Fed's Williams: Fed Actions Will Improve Growth (WSJ)
• Rothschild Quits Bumi to Fight Bakries’ $1.2 Billion Offer (Bloomberg)

With equities sat the edge of an ugly-looking cliff and precious metals leaking lower, FX markets remain somewhat less shell-shocked (for now). Citi's Steve Englander provides a quick-and-dirty view of the five key issues FX investors are focusing on.

• Global easing deluge resumes: Bank of Korea Slashes Policy Rate (WSJ)
• And Brazil: Brazil cuts Selic rate to new record low of 7.25 pct (Reuters)
• With Tapes, Authorities Build Criminal Cases Over JPMorgan Loss (NYT) Just don't hold your breath
• IMF snub reveals China’s political priorities (FT)
• Add a dash of trade wars: Revised Duties Imposed by U.S. on Chinese Solar Equipment (Bloomberg)
• IMF calls for action as euro zone crisis festers (Reuters)
• Dubai Losing Billions as Insecure Expats Send Money Abroad (BBG)
• Softbank in Advanced Talks to Acquire Sprint Nextel (WSJ)
• Lagarde calls for brake on austerity (FT)
• EU lambasts Turkey over freedoms (FT)
• Race Tightens in Two States (WSJ)

We have been very active in our discussions of the impact of the pending rise in food prices around the world (from central bank largesse to weather-related chaos). As Goldman notes, food inflation has been one of the most significant sources of headline inflation variation in emerging markets (EM) over the past few years. Since June, international prices for agricultural commodities have risen almost 30%, increasing the risk of fresh, food-related increases to EM headline inflation. We, like Goldman, expect EM headline inflation to start to reflect the relevant pressures more broadly in the October prints at the latest. While the effects, for now, are expected to be less extreme than the 2010-2011 episode, the timing as the US enters its fiscal-cliff-prone malaise, could mean a further round of easing will reignite this critical inflationary concern.

"The recovery continues but it has weakened" is how the IMF sums up their 250-page compendium of rather sullen reading for most hope-and-dreamers. The esteemed establishment led by the tall, dark, and handsome know-nothing Lagarde (as evidenced by her stroppiness after being asked a question she didn't like in the Eurogroup PR) has cut global growth expectations for advanced economics from 2.0% to only 1.5%. Quite sadly, they see two forces pulling growth down in advanced economies: fiscal consolidation and a still-weak financial system; and only one main force pulling growth up is accommodative monetary policy. Central banks continue not only to maintain very low policy rates, but also to experiment with programs aimed at decreasing rates in particular markets, at helping particular categories of borrowers, or at helping financial intermediation in general. A general feeling of uncertainty weighs on global sentiment. Of note: the IMF finds that "Risks for a Serious Global Slowdown Are Alarmingly High...The probability of global growth falling below 2 percent in 2013––which would be consistent with recession in advanced economies and a serious slowdown in emerging market and developing economies––has risen to about 17 percent, up from about 4 percent in April 2012 and 10 percent (for the one-year-ahead forecast) during the very uncertain setting of the September 2011 WEO. For 2013, the GPM estimates suggest that recession probabilities are about 15 percent in the United States, above 25 percent in Japan, and above 80 percent in the euro area." And yet probably the most defining line of the entire report (that we have found so far) is the following: "Central bank capital is, in many ways, an arbitrary number." And there you have it, straight from the IMF.

Whether you believe China is an economic miracle - or a government-sponsored fraud; and can ignore the broken growth model or believe that the CCP can bailout the world; Michael Pettis, of China Financial Markets, provides a much-needed dose of reality for bulls and bears when it comes to the future of the global growth engine. After summing up (and laying-waste to) the three mainstays of China bulls' arguments: he asks the three toughest questions any China bull must be able to answer. Analogizing China's position perfectly he cites Mills: "Panics do not destroy capital; they merely reveal the extent to which it has been previously destroyed by its betrayal into hopelessly unproductive works." Simply put, the bull argument cannot ignore the hidden bad debt.

• Draghi Says Next Move Not His as Spain Resists Bailout (Bloomberg)
• EU Doubts on Deficit Cutting May Hinder Spain’s Path to Bailout (Bloomberg)
• Merkel to Visit Greece for First Time Since Crisis Outbreak (Bloomberg)
• Fed's Bullard warns inflation won't ease U.S. debt burden (Reuters)
• Walmart Workers Stage a Walkout in California (NYT)
• Natural Gas Glut Pushes Exports (WSJ)
• BOJ Refrains From More Stimulus as Political Pressure Mounts (Bloomberg)
• Big funds seek to rein in pay at Wall Street banks (Reuters)
• Hong Kong Luxury Sales Fall as Chinese Curb Spending (Bloomberg)
• Dave and Busters Pulls IPO due to "Market Conditions" (Reuters) - so market at anything but all time highs now is market conditions?
• Weak U.S. labor market looms ahead of elections (Reuters)
• Glut of Solar Panels Poses a New Threat to China (NYT)

The highlights from Bill Gross' latest monthly piece:

• Armageddon is not around the corner. I don’t believe in the imminent demise of the U.S. economy and its financial markets. But I’m afraid for them.
• Unless we begin to close this gap, then the inevitable result will be that our debt/GDP ratio will continue to rise, the Fed would print money to pay for the deficiency, inflation would follow and the dollar would inevitably decline. Bonds would be burned to a crisp and stocks would certainly be singed; only gold and real assets would thrive within the “Ring of Fire.”
• If the fiscal gap isn’t closed even ever so gradually over the next few years, then rating services, dollar reserve holding nations and bond managers embarrassed into being reborn as vigilantes may together force a resolution that ends in tears. The damage would likely be beyond repair.
• The U.S. and its fellow serial abusers have been inhaling debt’s methamphetamine crystals for some time now, and kicking the habit looks incredibly difficult.

• Trade Slows Around World (WSJ)
• Debt limit lurks in fiscal cliff talks (FT)
• Welcome back to the eurozone crisis (FT, Wolfgang Munchau)
• Euro Leaders Face October of Unrest After September Rally (Bloomberg)
• Dad, you were right (FT)
• 25% unemployment, 25% bad loans, 5% drop in Industrial Production, and IMF finally lowers its 2013 Greek GDP forecast (WSJ)
• Global IPOs Slump to Second-Lowest Level Since Financial Crisis (Bloomberg)
• France's Hollande faces street protest over EU fiscal pact (Reuters)
• EU Working to Resolve Difference on Bank Plan, Rehn Says (Bloomberg)
• China manufacturing remains sluggish (FT)
• Samaras vows to fight Greek corruption (FT) ... and one of these days he just may do it
• Leap of Faith (Hssman)
• Germany told to 'come clean’ over Greece (AEP)

The financial crisis of 2008 shook politicians, bankers, regulators, commentators and ordinary citizens out of the complacency created by the 25-year "great moderation". Yet, for all the rhetoric around a new financial order, and all the improvements made, many of the old risks remain (and some are far larger). The following 'story' suggests a scenario based on an 'avoidable history' and while future crises are not avoidable, being a victim of the next one is.

"John Banks was woken by his phone at 3am on Sunday 26th April 2015. John worked for Garland Brothers, a formerly British bank that had relocated its headquarters to Singapore in late 2011 as a result of..."