Yen

The destruction of honest financial markets by the Fed and other central banks has created a class of hedge fund hot shots that are truly hard to take. At length, both the epic bond bubble and the monumental stock bubble so recklessly fueled by the Fed and the other central banks after September 2008 will burst in response to the deflationary tidal wave now cresting. Needless to say, that eventuality will be the death knell for the risk parity trade. It will cause the volatility seeking algos to eat their own portfolios alive. Leon Cooperman and his momo chasing compatriots will soon be praying for an event as mild as October 1987.

Divegence driver of the dollar was never predicated on a particular time frame for the Fed's lift-off.  Others are easing.  Trajectory is the key.  Here is my sense of the near-term dollar outlook, wiht a look at some other asset markets as well.  

• Jobs Report Could Seal the Deal on Rates (WSJ)
• The Jobs Report and the August Curse: Jobs Day Guide (BBG)
• Migrants hold out on Hungarian 'freedom train'; Orban says millions coming (Reuters)
• Migrant Crisis Divides Europe (WSJ)
• German industry orders fall in July on weak foreign demand (Reuters)
• Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Joe Tsai to Borrow $2 Billion Against Shares (WSJ)
• U.K. Retailers Post Worst Sales Decline Since Financial Crisis (BBG)

Moments ago, US equity futures tumbled to their lowest level in the overnight session, down 22 points or 1.1% to 1924, following both Europe (Eurostoxx 600 -1.8%, giving up more than half of yesterday's gains, led by the banking sector) and Japan (Nikkei -2.2%), and pretty much across the board as DM bonds are bid, EM assets are all weaker, oil and commodities are lower in what is shaping up to be another EM driven "risk off" day. Only this time one can't blame the usual scapegoat China whose market is shut for the long weekend.

The narrative of the omnipotent central banker continues to be questioned with China's inability to save its own market the latest incarnation of investors losing faith. Nowhere has the religious zealotry been more fervent than in trading Japanese stocks where Abe and Kuroda have broken every independent rule in their manipulation of wealth-giving stocks. However - it appears their time is up, as Bloomberg reports, foreigners dumped 1.43 trillion yen of Japanese equities in the three weeks through Aug. 28, Tokyo Stock Exchange data updated Thursday show. That’s the most for any three-week span on record, overtaking the period when Bear Stearns Cos. collapsed in 2008.

There is no doubt that the Chinese economy is in a material economic slowdown. Policy officials’ aggressive actions and scare tactics against equity short sellers could continue to cause capital flight. However, this does not mean that China is going to sell large quantities of Treasuries. There is too much co-dependency between the US consumer and Chinese exporter. Destabilizing the US Treasury market with large sales would be tantamount to shooting themselves in the foot.

If so, then any entity or investor who is using aggressive leverage in US Dollars will be at risk of imploding. 

By monetizing more than the entire Japanese budget deficit, the BOJ is running of out willing sellers. Without those, Japan's QE, just like that of the ECB, will grind to a halt. Better yet, this creates a vicious loop, because with every passing month, the inevitable D-Day when the BOJ has no more TSYs on the offer gets closer, which in turn will force those who bought stocks to sell in anticipation of the end of QE, and to seek the safety of bonds themsleves, in effect precipitating the next inevitable Japanese stock market crash.

While many continue to debate if what with every passing day increasingly looks like a global recession, one from which the US will not decouple no matter how many "virtual portfolio" asset managers claim the contrary, there are those who without much fanfare are already taking proactive steps to avoid the kind of fallout that the markets have hinted in the past month of trading, is inevitable. Some such as Calstrs: the nation's second largest pension fund with $191 billion in assets (smaller only than Calpers), which as the WSJ reports is "considering a significant shift away from some stocks and bonds amid turbulent markets world-wide."  According to the WSJ, it will move as much as $20 billion, or 12% of the fund’s stock  portfolio, into other assets, including Treasurys.

News That Matters

News That Matters

"Something happened  The August turbulence in global markets has produced significant shifts, including a 6.6% fall in equity prices. The currencies of emerging market countries have depreciated substantially against the G-4, while emerging market borrowing rates for sovereigns and corporates have moved higher. Global oil prices have been whipsawed as have G-4 bond yields. The speed and magnitude of these movements is reminiscent of past episodes in which financial crises emerged or the global economy slipped into recession. However, nothing appears to be breaking."

The stability of global capital markets, the ECB meeting and US employment data are highlights.   Risk seems to be greater than discounted that Sept rate hike is still a distinct possibility.

Iif there is one currency in the world that “deserves”, so to speak, ultimate execution it is that of the Japanese. The Bank of Japan has done more than any other central bank for far longer to kill it, but like any horror movie villain it seems immune to any reckoning or even the laws of financial sense. In the bigger picture, that is as much a damning indictment as a tale of orthodox resilience. It shows that monetary redistribution is nothing but a trap, an incredibly narrow and locked economic existence that can and will be permitted by any sustained apathy.

Dollar recovered from the exaggerated panic at the start of last week.  Outlook is still constructive.  Here is an overview of the technical condition of currencies, bonds, oil , and S&P 500.