Fisher

France is the odd duck on the Continent. It is neither a petulant member of the Southern European financial disasters nor a member of the Northern European banner of austerity nations. France, as we discussed here and here, is the swing country in Europe. It waives about with the wind depending upon the subject. The bonds of France trade just behind those of Germany. While we are sure the portfolio managers on the Continent require diversification. Where the market is pricing French bonds now may turn out to be a rather serious mistake in judgment.

The good, if fake, Chinese "data" releases continued for a second day in row, dominating the overnight headlines with a barrage that included CPI, PPI, retail sales, industrial production, fixed investment, money growth, car sales, and much more (summary recap below). Needless to say, all the data was just "good enough" or better than expected. Yet judging by both the Chinese market (which is barely up, following the drop on yesterday's "surge" in made up trade data) and the US futures, not even algos are dumb enough to fall for the goalseek function in China_economy.xls. Either that, or traders are taking the "rebound" in the Chinese economy as a further indication that the Taper (which will  take place in September), will take place in September. And since global risk sentiment continues to be driven by the USDJPY, the Yen pushing to overnight highs is not helping the "China is bullish" narrative.

Traditionally, metals markets are supposed to be a solid fundamental signal of the physical and psychological health of our overall economy. Steady but uneventful commodities trade meant a generally healthy industrial base and consumption base. An extreme devaluation was a signal of deflation in consumer demand and a flight to currencies. Extreme price hikes meant a flight from normal assets and currencies in the wake of possible hyperinflation. This is how gold and silver markets were originally designed to function – however, welcome you to the wacky world of 2013, where bad financial news is met with the cheers of investors who believe stimulus will last forever, where foreign investors dump the U.S. dollar in bilateral trade while mainstream dupes argue that the Greenback is invincible, and where everyone and their uncle seems to be buying precious metals yet the official market value continues to plunge. The reason our entire fiscal system now operates in a backwards manner is due to one simple truth - every major indicator of our economy today is manipulated by our central bank...

Evans, who is one of twelve Federal Reserve Presidents, believes that the economic indicators “are actually really better” and this signals a new, more firmer indication from the Fed that tapering is going to happen.

If the Fed drop the ball and move too quickly they could endanger the fragile economic recovery, on the other hand if they move too slowly they could stoke inflation in the near term. 

The summer doldrums continue. Overnight news included an expected 25 bps rate cut in Australia to a new record low of 2.50%, although the statement surprised by not retaining its expected dovish outlook. Perhaps this is due to the PBOC finally folding and despite raging for weeks that it was dead serious about its tightening experiment, injected another CNY12 billion in its banks via 7-day reverse repos at 4.0% compared to the previous, July 30 CNY14 billion 7 day injection at 4.40%. The Chinese central bank came, saw, and didn't like what it found in the Chinese interbank liquidity situation. Whether and how this will change the Politburo's reform agenda, and whether the provided liquidity will do much if anything, remains to be seen. Elsewhere, in Europe, German factory orders soared 3.8% on expectations of +1.0%, however all driven by Paris airshow orders which boosted bulk orders, and without which orders would have fallen -0.7%. The UK upward momentum continues with Industrial Production's turn now to soar to the highest since January 2011, while Italian GDP declined less than expected, dropping -0.2%, on expectations of a -0.4% slide. In other words Europe continues to rep and warrant that it does not need any assistance from the ECB despite a complete lock up in private lending and credit creation. Good luck with all that.

Today, we have not one but two quotes of the day courtesy of Dick Fisher:

• FISHER SAYS MEXICAN GOVERNMENT BETTER RUN THAN U.S. GOVERNMENT
• FISHER SAYS MEXICO GOV'T ANTITHESIS OF U.S. GOV'T ON FISCAL, BUDGET

Brilliant, 100% accurate and absolutely hypocritical. Because the only reason the US government is the epitome of disorganized confusion, record partisan bickering and sheer chaos is because it has the Federal Reserve to pick up the pieces for its failure to come together on any one fiscal issue. And the Fed is perfectly happy to accommodate the same dysfunctional Congress by enabling it to do nothing not for one, two, or three but four years running now, and likely will continue into 2014 and further, in the process continuing an unprecedented wealth transfer from the poor to the uber rich. The same Fed that Dick just happens to be part of.

"This is a delicate moment. The Fed has created a monetary Gordian Knot.  Whereas before, our portfolio consisted primarily of instantly tradable short-term Treasury paper, now we hold almost none; our portfolio consists primarily of longer-term Treasuries and MBS. Without delving into the various details and adjustments that could be made (such as considerations of assets readily available for purchase by the Fed), we now hold roughly 20 percent of the stock and continue to buy more than 25 percent of the gross issuance of Treasury notes and bonds. Further, we hold more than 25 percent of MBS outstanding and continue to take down more than 30 percent of gross new MBS issuance. Also, our current rate of MBS purchases far outpaces the net monthly supply of MBS. The point is: We own a significant slice of these critical markets. This is, indeed, something of a Gordian Knot."

"Financial markets may have become too acustomed to what some have depicted as a Fed put," Dallas Fed's Fisher warns, causing "serious misallocations of capital."

• *FED'S FISHER SAYS U.S. INVESTORS CAN'T RELY ON A FED 'PUT'
• *FED'S FISHER RECOMMENDS TAPERING STARTING 'THIS FALL'
• *FISHER: FED MUST AVOID 'MARKET HAVOC' IN BOND-PURCHASE TAPERING

Once again, the non-voting 'feral hog' caller is a voice of some reason amid the calls for moar...

Compared to last week's macro-event juggernaut, this week will be an absolute bore, although with a bevy of Fed speakers on deck - both good and bad cops - there will be more than enough catalysts to preserve the "upward channel" scramble in the S&P and the zero volume levitation to new all time daily highs despite the lack of daily bad news. Speaking of Fed speakers, we have Fisher today, Evans’ tomorrow followed by both Plosser and Pianalto on Wednesday.  The key overnight data point was the continuation of July PMIs out of Europe, this time focusing on the service industry. As Goldman summarizes, the Final Euro area Composite PMI for July came in at 50.5, marginally above the Flash reading and consensus expectations (50.4). Relative to the June final reading, this was a sold 1.8pt increase, and building on consecutive increases in the past three months, the July Euro area PMI stands 4.0pts above the March print. Solid increases were observed across all of the EMU4 in July, most notably Italy. The July reading is the highest Euro area PMI level observed since July 2011.

With the case for the next Fed chairman having devolved to the most ridiculous of decision trees, such as Nancy Pelosi's "it would be great to have a woman", because apparently gender diversity trumps everything in the eyes of the California democrat, the choice of Bernanke's successor is now more nebulous than ever. It has certainly not been aided by the periodic floating of the Larry Summers trial balloon, especially as originating from the Fed's WSJ mouthpiece who one week presents Summers as the favorite and the next skewers his chances. However, one person for whom the Summers vote is essentially a done deal with 90% odds, is Scotiabank's Guy Haselmann. Here is his logic.

“He who goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing.”

The quote comes from Ben Franklin. But it was recalled to us neither by America’s president nor Britain’s prime minister. Instead, the Telegraph in London reported it from the mouth of Cheng Siwei, a “top member of the Communist hierarchy.” What goes around comes around. The Anglo-Saxons have forgotten what makes a successful economy. The Chinese have remembered.

The secular low in bond yields has yet to be recorded. This assessment for a continuing pattern of lower yields in the quarters ahead is clearly a minority view, as the recent selling of all types of bond products attest. The rise in long term yields over the last several months was accelerated by the recent Federal Reserve announcement that it would be “tapering” its purchases of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities. This has convinced many bond market participants that the low in long rates is in the past. The Treasury bond market’s short term fluctuations are a function of many factors, but its primary and most fundamental determinate is attitudes toward current and future inflation. From that perspective, the outlook for long term Treasury yields to fall is most favorable in light of: a) diminished inflation pressures; b) slowing GDP growth; c) weakening consumer fundamentals; and d) anti-growth monetary and fiscal policies.

• Humans Beating Robots Most Since ’08 as Trends Shift (BBG)
• Easing of Mortgage Curb Weighed (WSJ)
• European Banks Face Capital Gap With Focus on Leverage (BBG)
• Signs Suggest China Warming to Idea of Stimulus (WSJ)
• China Coal-Fired Economy Dying of Thirst as Mines Lack Water (BBG)
• Jeans and shoes show criminal underbelly of China-EU trade (Reuters)
• How U.S. drug sting targeted West African military chiefs (Reuters)
• Japan scrambles jets after China plane flies by southern islands (Reuters)
• Apple Plots Return to Growth After Coping With Aging Lineup (BBG)
• AT&T Falls Shy of Analyst Estimates as Discounts Hurt Margins (BBG)
• SAC insider trading case takes twist (FT)

No really, that is the actual name of the hearing that the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold today in order to "clarify" why banks like Goldman are currently the owners of the largest aluminum warehouse in the US, or why Goldman, JPM and BlackRock are set to control 80% of all copper stores. The hearing's official name: "Examining Financial Holding Companies: Should Banks Control Power Plants, Warehouses, and Oil Refineries?"