Monetary Policy

Now that the Fed appears to have made a grave policy error judging by the market's initial reaction, it is up to the ECB and BOJ to step up (even if as we warned two weeks ago both are running out of monetizable material) and try to preserve some confidence, i.e., halt the selling. Sure enough, that is precisely what happened earlier today when infamous ECB board member and hedge fund leaker Benoit Coeure hinted that if only the market drives 5Y5Y's even lower, i.e., inflation expectations, the ECB will have no choice but to boost QE.

"What scares me, or what worries me, is what the next downturn in the economy looks like, with asset prices where they are and a lesser ability of central banks to ease monetary policy."

In today's centrally planned world, the proliferation of NIRP means that nothing is sacred - not even a Swiss bank account...

"There have been a number of studies that have been done recently that have tried to take account of many different ways in which monetary policy acting through different parts of the transmission mechanism affect inequality, and there's a lot of guesswork involved, and different analyses can come up with different things. But a pretty recent paper that's quite comprehensive concludes that the -- that Fed policy has not exacerbated income inequality."

We advise investors to fade out the short term noise emanating from the Fed today and from Janet Yellen and focus on the reality

The simple fact that the Fed is struggling to increase interest rates from near 0% after seven long years should give pause for concern. It underlines the vulnerability of the U.S. economy and means that another recession is very likely. Indeed, the huge levels of debt at all levels of U.S. society and the significant increase in global debt levels during the last seven years mean that another recession is almost certain.

Today, much of the world turns its lonely eyes to the Fed and its chieftain. The Fed has as much as promised to make the blind see and the lame walk. It claims that it – and it alone – is capable of improving the U.S. economy and, by extension, the world economy. People will earn more money. They will live better. And they will have less to fear from financial calamities, such as those that happened before the Fed was set up in 1913. In the popular mind – if there is such a thing – it is further believed that the Fed “won’t allow” a major bear market, because “it would be bad for the economy.” The Fed rules the entire universe of commerce, finance, and investment. Janet Yellen rules the Fed. But who rules Janet Yellen?

The long awaited day is finally here by which we, of course, mean the day when nobody has any idea what the Fed will do, the Fed included. Putting today in perspective, there have been just about 700 rate cuts globally in the 3,367 days since the last Fed rate hike on June 29, 2006, while central banks have bought $15 trillion in assets, and vast portions of the world are now in negative interest rate territory.

Tomorrow's FOMC decision is the dominant topic for investors and traders across all asset classes, with FX, perhaps, the most sensitive to perceived changes (and instigator of trades via carry). As Credit Suisse details, FX volatility remains notably elevated and along with the uncertain flows surrounding so-called "risk parity" trading strategies, and the fact that 2y Treasury yields at around 0.80% are at their highest levels since 2011 - despite the less than 30% chance of a Fed hike priced in for tomorrow - only adds to the sense of uncertainty about the Fed's reaction function. In this light, how do we see the various possibilities that could emerge from tomorrow's FOMC? Here are Credit Suisse's 5 scenarios...

• Markets await one of the most hyped rate decision in several years
• Most expect the Fed to keep the Fed Fund Rate on hold at 0.00-0.25% while signalling a possible rate hike by the end of the year, however there is a substantial outside bet (~30%) that the Fed will hike rates by 15-25bps

OVERVIEW

September’s FOMC monetary policy decision has been one of the most hyped rate decisions in recent years, with expectations shifting in the past few months from a possible hike to the Fed Funds Rate (FFR) to the most recent consensus that the bank will leave rates unchanged this month. There remains an substantial but outside bet (markets pricing in ~30% probability of a hike) that the Fed could raise rates this month, however rhetoric from the central bank over the past month suggests policy makers remain undecided, and given the Fed’s commitment to communication, many suggest Fed Chair Yellen would have prepared the market much more if action was likely to be taken on Thursday.

Many analysts note that financial markets are not ready for the first rate hike yet, the Fed will not lose credibility if they do not move, and one large consideration for the doves on the committee is that the full impact of “Black Monday” has yet to be fully seen and global growth uncertainties remain after a period of market volatility. However, hawks on the panel will likely support their argument for a rate hike by pointing to the fact that the Fed cannot wait for overwhelming evidence before hiking as this would be too late. One other point members are likely to pick-up on is that the labour market can no longer be used as an excuse to delay this month given its relative strength, however inflation continues to languish as indicated by Wednesday’s fall in CPI due to the slide in gasoline prices.

Will she raise or will she not? As financial markets focus on whether we will see a Fed rate hike this week, investors may be in for a rude awakening.

Ffor whatever reason starting in the last hour of trading and continuing until the close, the Shanghai Composite - after trading largely unchanged - went from red on the day to up 4.9% after hitting 5.9% minutes before the close - the biggest one day surge since March 2009 - and nearly erasing the 6.1% drop from the past two days in just about 60 minutes of trading, providing a solid hour of laughter to bystanders and observers in the process.

Who would have thought that decades of ZIRP, an aborted attempt to hike rates over a decade ago, and the annual monetization of well over 10% of sovereign debt would lead to a toxic debt spiral, regardless of how many "Abenomics" arrows one throws at it? Apparently Standard and Poors just had its a-ha subprime flashbulb moment and moments ago, a little over 4 years after it downgraded the US from its legendary AAA-rating which led to angry phone calls from Tim Geithner and a painful US government lawsuit, downgraded Japan from AA- to A+.  The reason: rising doubt Abenomics is working.

The data continues to suggest that the Fed is contemplating actions inconsistent with those they have taken in the past. It is possible the Fed is motivated to increase interest rates to support the illusion that their higher interest rate projections and rosy economic forecasts are finally coming to fruition. It is incumbent upon investors to separate illusion from reality. Investing in such a misunderstood and distorted economic environment is fraught with risk especially for those failing to grasp this reality. While current Fed monetary policy is clearly unsustainable, the Fed runs the risk of severely damaging asset markets with any deviations from such policy.

It is quite likely - given current valuation levels, deterioration in earnings growth, and a slower economic environment - that forward returns will be substantially lower. In other words, the "risk-reward" ratio for being an aggressive investor at this point in the market/economic cycle suggests that the "house will likely win." It is Deja Vu all over again...