Recession

While the bulk of the re-recessionary fears this morning came out of China where economic contraction is now fully raging, Europe is not helping after both Manufacturing and Services Flash PMIs came in worse than expected, and far worse than previous, and more notably with the Services PMI printing below 50, or contracting for the first time in 2 years. In a nutshell, Manufacturing came in at 48.4, Services  at 49.1, both missing consensus of 48.5 and 51.0, and far lower than prior 49.0 and 51.5 respectively. As Reuters notes, "None of the 37 economists polled by Reuters had predicted that services activity would contract and this is the first time the index has been below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction since August 2009....It was a similar picture in the manufacturing sector, which had driven a large part of the bloc's recovery. The factory index dropped to its lowest level in two years at 48.4, slightly below expectations of a fall to 48.5. "The numbers are still consistent with some GDP growth, so it does not signal recession just yet," said Martin Enlund at Handelsbanken. "That said, we are seeing a slow-motion train crash in the euro area, where credit contraction risks leading to a new recession by Christmas unless governments face up to the task swiftly and forcefully." In other words, on one hand I) the perpetual shining beacon in Europe: economic growth against all odds courtesy of Germany, has now been dimmed, and on the other, II) the liquidity run on Europe's banks is raging even harder, especially with II being reinforced by I, and immediately sending BNP 3M USD Libor from 0.385% to a year+ high of 0.39% as the average Li(e)bor has risen for nearly the 50th consecutive day from 0.356% to 0.358%.

Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,896.50, EUR 1,341.13, and GBP 1,174.67 per ounce. The gold fix was higher than Friday’s in all currencies (USD 1,854.00, EUR 1,301.23, and GBP 1,143.81 per ounce). Despite continuing denial, a recession in the U.S. is inevitable; the question is only with regard to how deep the recession is and to the nature of the recession – inflationary, stagflationary, hyperinflationary or deflationary. The consensus, especially amongst Keynesians, is that deflation is most likely. However, given the degree of currency debasement being seen internationally stagflation is also a risk. Hyperinflation, as being experienced in Belarus today, is the macroeconomic and monetary ‘black swan’. There are growing concerns that the Eurozone crisis might degenerate again soon due to the Greek debt crisis and risk of default. Over the weekend talks between Greece, the IMF and ECB representatives over new bailout funds broke down. The euro has fallen and the German local elections have added to concerns over Greece.

Don't look know but Canada just confirmed the first signal of a recession, after its GDP printed negative (on expectations of an unchanged number) for the first time since Q2 2009, due to a drop in exports and oil output, most of it blamed naturally on "transitory" factors. Odd how the US used the transitory line for months until it all turned out to be permanentory. What, however, is truly hilarious is the continued denial to look facts in the face as confirmed by the following three Canadian sellside analysts, who seem positively giddy that the number was major miss to expectations: their take home, just like as in the case of Canadian banks having some of the lowest TCE ratios in the world: "ignore it." Perhaps when next quarter Canadian GDP prints negative again, and the economy is officially in a recession, then the delightful comedy crew of what passes for "analysts" up north will have some words of caution finally. As for whether a recession confirmation in 3 months will be negative for the same banks which are downplaying both the GDP and its risk to their near world record leverage, we leave to the far more erudite, and far less shoot-from-the-hip Globe and Mail.

While the key market moving event from last Friday may have been Bernanke's Jackson Hole speech which merely left the door open to future QE episodes, the most important event from an economic standpoint was the first GDP revision Q2, which dropped from preliminary 1.3% to a sub stall speed, in real terms, 1.0%. What is just as important is that as the following chart from Bloomberg demonstrates, the YoY change in real GDP, which is now at 1.5%, is a slam dunk indicator of recession: "Since 1948, every time the four-quarter change has fallen below 2 percent, the economy has entered a recession. It’s hard to argue against an indicator with such a long history of accuracy." Bernanke agreed that "growth has for the most part been at rates insufficient to achieve sustained reductions in unemployment." And while Bernanke is shifting dangerously into Greenspan territory with the open-ended interpretation of his statement, another thing that is more actionable is the observation that virtually every time real YoY GDP has dropped below 1.5%, this has led to a negative nonfarm payroll number. Granted, the result may not be as shocking as what the Philly Fed implied vis-a-vis this Friday's NFP, but we believe a subzero print in the August labor report will convince the three Fed holdouts that the time for yet another monetary intervention is here (Arab Spring part deux consequences be damned).

What is it that the successful in the investment community see that policy makers in the US and Europe don't? Let's walk through the evidentiary building blocks of a US balance sheet recession and query why everyone has forgotten about the very real real estate depression.

In his weekly chart packet, Goldman's high frequency strategist, David Kostin, who now changes his year end S&P targets almost as frequently as the firm's economic team changes its GDP forecast, once again gets decidedly fatalistic (very much like Citigroup did yesterday, and Morgan Stanley last week), and is now openly contemplating downside cases to his EPS forecast. And with 2012 EPS numbers thrown around like $91 based on what is certainly an upcoming (but for now still hypothetical) margin contraction, $82 based on a 2% drop (almost guaranteed) in GDP Y/Y, and $75 based on historical earnings plunges in a recession, it may be time to listen up, because apply a traditional contractionary multiple of about 9-10x, and you have yourself a tidy little range of 700 - 910 on the S&P in about a year, absent yet another round of fiscal and/or monetary stimulus.

For the last several months we have been posting our Economic Output Composite Index and warning that it was heading to levels that typically denote that the economy is in a recession or about to be in one.   With today's read of the Philadelphia Fed Regional Manufacturing Survey coming in a not just contraction levels but a massive collapse to the downside, as we have been saying was a possibility, the EOCI index is now at levels signaling recessionary warnings..The safe play in the current environment is hedged investments, cash and fixed income for the current time.   This has not been, nor will it be any time soon, a "buy and hold" investing market.   The management of risk, the conservation of investment capital and the generation of total returns from portfolios is paramount for investors to survive the cycles that we will face in the coming years. 

More flashing red recessionary indicators are coming courtesy of the largely ignored High Yield market, which following a 5.3% decline is, as Bank of America (itself ironically contributing substantially to the blow out) says, is shaping up to be "among the worst months in the HY market's 25 year history, in a bad company of post-Lehman, post-WorldCom, post-9/11, and post-Russia sell-offs. The difference of course is that we did not have the largest bankruptcy in history taking place (LEH or WCOM shared that title at a time), no terror attack, and no outright sovereign default (Russia in Aug ’98). What we did have however, is a global risk-off trade, sparked by concerns that this fragile environment could slip into a double-dip recession as consumer and business confidence fails to sustain repeated beating from sovereign and financial systemic risk issues." What we also did have is the near end of the modern ponzi economic model, whose viability was once again extended courtesy of a variety of sticky objects thrown at the wall with hopes one sticks. For now the obliteration has been halted, although one thing is undeniable - central planner intervention buys increasingly less and less time. We are confident that August is just the beggining of pain for not only HY, but all other asset classes. And some more ammo for those who like comparing 2011 to 2008: "Parallels are being drawn between today’s environment and that of 2008, given the degree of equity destruction that has taken place across the financial space. Financial CDS – the epitome of ’08 systemic risk – are trading at an average of 190bp in the US, within reach of Oct ’08 levels, and 240bp in Europe, well north of their ’08 wides." What do spreads imply? Nothing short of recession: "The HY index, in the meantime, has widened to 739bp as of close on Thursday, its widest level since Nov 2009. With the spread normally peaking at 1,000bps in full recessionary periods2 (1991 and 2001-02) and bottoming at 250bp in times of strong economic growth, the current level is pricing in an 80% probability of a fullblown contraction in GDP, and a 100% chance of a mild recession."

Forgive us while we take another quick and gratuitous look at today's disastrous Empire Index, but we wanted to bring a very important point highlighted by Stone McCarthy: "You usually don't get three straight months of negative results unless you are in a recession (Note: NY Fed historical data only started in July 2001)." SMRA continues: "If that's not bad enough for you, the forward-looking new orders index fell to -7.8 in August, after posting -5.5 in July and -3.6 in June. Not only is the latest reading a new low in the recent string of negative results, it's also the third straight month of contraction." In other words when the NBER finally sits down to look at the disaster that the US economy has been over the past several years, the start of the next re-recession will likely be given as June 2011, oddly enough in a year when every sell side bank predicted that the economy would grow by at least 3.5% by Q4. As for what to expect next, look for the Philly Fed to be the next major leading indicator disappointment, which based on the NY Fed result, will miss Wall Street expectations of a +2.0% increase yet once gain, and which SMRA believes will drop from 3.2 in July to -3.4 in August.

And that my friends is the nail in the economic "recovery." August consumer sentiment was just reported at 54.9 from 63.7 in July. This is the lowest level since May 1980. The chart below shows the correlation with sentiment and the consumer component of GDP which is about 70% of the economy and why I say the "recovery" is over. In Q2 the consumer component of GDP was 0.07% from 1.46% in Q1. Based on historical correlations and today's sentiment data the Q3 consumer component will contract much further in the (2%) range. This will bleed into the fixed investment and inventory components of GDP causing further contraction.

How can it be a double dip if the first recession never ended? The Fed spent $1 for every 80 cents of "supposed recovery", all of which lasts only as long as the Fed keeps spending those $1s. Patently unsustainable, as we are now seeing...

The Fed just basically announced “recession” and has consequently lowered rates REAL TIME and even set parameters for negative rates.  There was some empirical analysis PRIOR to S&P downgrade which suggested historical tendency (not tendency forecasts) of rates to be 50 bps to 70 bps lower after an industrial sovereign downgrade like Japan, Canada, Australia and others.  We were surprised at all the news conferences harping on the political save egg on face conclusions of lower rates yesterday.  Many, not all, were looking for it.  We are humble given volatility as no one has the answers...The equity response is positive as the Fed is FORCING grandmas and anyone who relies on a fixed income into alternative higher yielding asset classes.  Dividend paying stocks look delicious.  Convertibles, OMG, as you get a higher yielding fixed income instrument with a free equity option?  EQUITIES and other perpetual assets that are being discounted by these rates.  Pension funds use the lower rates to discount valuations.   

In a carbon copy of Goldman's action from exactly one year ago, Goldman's Jan Hatzius has just killed his outlook for the remainder of the year, said there is a 33% chance of a recession and is now looking forward to some QE3 announcement next week. "As foreshadowed in recent publications, we have lowered our US real GDP growth forecast to 2% (annualized) through 2012Q1 and 2½% thereafter.  We now see the unemployment rate edging up to 9¼% by the end of 2012, and see a one-in-three risk of renewed recession.  On the monetary policy side, we expect no rate hikes or changes in the size of the Fed's balance sheet until 2013 or later; moreover, we now expect the FOMC to provide more guidance about the future size of its balance sheet at next week’s meeting." Recall that 3 weeks after last year's such downgrade, we had a rather unpleasant announcement at Jackson Hole. Deja vu.... all over again.

David Rosenberg released an emergency note today, in addition to his traditional morning piece, in which the sole topic is the upcoming recession, which he says is now a "virtual certainty". He also says what Zero Hedge has been saying for month: that 2011 is an identical replica of 2010, but with the provision of modestly higher inflation, which needs decline before QE3 is launched. Sure enough, a major market tumble will fix all that in a few days, and ironically we can't help but continue to wonder whether the Fed is not actively doing all in its power to actually crash the market to about 20% lower which will send practically flatten the treasury curve and give Bernanke full reign to do as he sees fit. However, as long as the BTFD and mean reversion algos kick in every time the market makes a 2% correction, such efforts are doomed, which in turn makes all such dip buying futile. We give the market a few more weeks before it comprehends this. In the meantime, with each passing day in which "nothing happens", the recession within a depression looms closer, and soon it will be inevitable and not all the money printed by Bernanke will do much if anything (except to terminally wound the dollar). In the meantime, for those who wish to prepare for the double dip onset, here is Rosie's checklist of what to do, and what not.

Economists will long debate the efficacy of our traditional policy response but, whatever the results so far, there are constraints that place severe limitations on the effectiveness of such policy going forward. The US deficit and the trajectory of US spending is unsustainably high and, as the late economist Herbert Stein famously observed, “what cannot last, will not do so”. Any further fiscal stimulus risks pushing US finances past the tipping point, which would be a reckless gamble. At near zero short term interest rates, traditional monetary policy has become impotent, QE has been ineffective and the Fed has entered uncharted waters with its massive increase in the monetary base, risking inflation once private sector deleveraging ceases and velocity picks up. So neither traditional remedy is available any longer.

With US unemployment lodged stubbornly above 9%, what is to be done? Our policymakers, economists and commentators appear trapped in the confines of a paradigm that is no longer viable. Is there any other policy that might help spur recovery, or must we become resigned to waiting it out?