This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Goldman's Sigma X Spot On Once Again: Predicts Imminent UK Contagion
Last Wednesday we put up the following blurb: "Five months ago, when Italian yields were still tame in the 3% ballpark, and not 7% where they are today, we suggested that based on trading patterns and overall volume in Goldman's dark pool, Italy may be about to experience a "Greek episode." Days later we were proven right as Italian yields and spreads started their relentless move wider, with only those who had access to Sigma X being able to get an advance whiff of what was about to happen. Well today we are happy to report that the German diversion may have worked: the truth is that nobody appears to care about Germany. Instead what everyone does seem to care about, is the nation with the greatest combined debt (government, corporate and household) to GDP in the world. Yup. The UK." Following that, a quick Twitter update from this morning indicated something was again going on with the UK from the perspective of the world's most connected insiders: "UK's LLOYDS and RBS top of most active on Sigma X this morning." Sure enough, here's Fitch with what may well be a precursor to the bond vigilantes finally focusing their attention on the last, latest and greatest AAA credit.
- FITCH: UK GOVT MAY BE MOST INDEBTED OF AAA SOVEREIGNS EX U.S. -BBG
- FITCH: NEW UK FISCAL VIEWS 'SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION' VS MARCH - BBG
- And the punchline: "the capacity of UK public finances to absorb adverse economic and financial shocks that would result in yet higher public debt while retaining its 'AAA' status has largely been exhausted"
And cue the imminent downgrade rumors.
For those who enjoy visual cues, here is today's Sigma X update:
And the full Fitch statement:
FITCH COMMENTS ON UK AUTUMN STATEMENT
Fitch Ratings-London-29 November 2011: Fitch Ratings says the Autumn Statement and the updated fiscal and economic projections from the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) confirm the scale of the budgetary challenge facing the United Kingdom ('AAA'/Stable Outlook). The revised fiscal projections signal a significant deterioration relative to the March 2011 assessment by the OBR.
The sharp downward revisions to the OBR's assessment of the near-term outlook has brought them in line with consensus and Fitch's own forecasts of growth of just 0.7% in 2012 before rising to 2.1% in 2013. However, the OBR has effectively lowered its estimate of the size of the UK economy by the end of the period 2015-16 by around 3.5 percentage points. Consequently, the UK government's goal of eliminating the underlying structural budget deficit is now projected by the OBR to be met in 2016-17, in line with the government's rolling mandate, rather than its previous estimate of 2014-15.
The UK government has responded to the deterioration in the economic and fiscal outlook with additional measures with reductions to current spending amounting to GBP15bn by 2016-17 which over the remainder of the current parliament is used to fund temporarily higher capital spending. Subsequently, the savings on current spending feed through to a significant fiscal tightening in the first years of the following parliament.
Fitch's initial assessment is that the policy response does demonstrate a continuing commitment to placing UK public finances on a sustainable path, and the adoption of more realistic economic forecasts enhances the credibility of the consolidation effort, while the important target of reducing the public debt burden from 2015-2016 remains intact. However, the deterioration in the economic and fiscal outlook implies that net public sector debt will peak at 78% of GDP compared to the previous OBR forecast of 70% in 2014-15. On a broader measure of government debt used by Fitch in international comparisons, the UK government will become the most indebted of any 'AAA'-rated sovereign with the exception of the US ('AAA'/Negative Outlook). UK government debt is on this measure projected by the OBR to peak at 94% of GDP and compares with Fitch projections for Germany and France of 83% and 92% respectively.
As with some other major 'AAA'-rated sovereigns, unless off-setting measures were adopted, the capacity of UK public finances to absorb adverse economic and financial shocks that would result in yet higher public debt while retaining its 'AAA' status has largely been exhausted.
All of which is massively ironic given the vastness of safe haven flows into Gilts the last few weeks. The spread between Bunds and Gilts is at its tightest (Gilts < Bunds now) since 2000 (upper pane in the chart above). The differential (lower pane) has seen the largest two-month move since 1992! So now where does that safe-haven-seeking money flow? US TSYs are bid post Fitch's statement!
Chart: Bloomberg
- 15659 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -




Is that a Snickers bar floating around in Goldman's dark pool?
nope...it's shit
This is why not to cheat on your other, then get drunk and ask for a tatoo.
Tatt-poo for cheater:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3967502/Tatt-poo-for-cheating.html
Knew it had to happen eventually.
Also, interesting is that S&P would pick on the US and do nothing about the UK whose total debt in GDP terms makes the US look positively Swiss!
That said, trust a French credit agency (Fitch) to pick on the UK before it addresses its own problems! At least the UK has its own currency. There I said it :)
Maybe this will at least take the shine off that Gilt-Bund redenomination risk inversion, but I doubt it.
I just want to know what tattoo Germany will give Greece.
The UK is so silent because they know that they are in worst shape than Italy and alot of the EU. Many countries that where quiet when Greece was imploding are having trouble now, the UK will be having it's issues shortly.
The UK's financial sector exposure is simply too high for this not to eventually crush them.
Is this Sigma X Europe?
Dark Pools R' Us ...
Pay a US congressman to take a bite. They will eat anything...for a dollar.
Nope it's a Baby Ruth
Today I gave $25 to the Tim Tebow foundation.
Last week, on Thanksgiving Day, I sent $50 to ZERO HEDGE.
Norv Turner's retirement fund could use some help right now while you're at it.
Dude has been a disaster everywhere he has gone yet he still has a job. Perhaps he should go the way of the squid.
If he had taken a job with Goldman in 2007 he'd be in line for the head spot at the NY Fed by now.
Wooot, printing ridiculous amounts of fiat doesn't result in prospeeretee?
Sure it does. $2 waffle irons and $1.98 towels complete with riots at no extra charge.
+1
Can i have my waffle iron with pepper spray and yelling straight to my face please.
Pepper waffles! Sounds southern, let's sell them in Arizona, as long as the maker is a US citizen, tax donkey
I believe it was $1.28 for them towels, not to nitpick because towels at any price are magic.
Don't forget to bring a towel!
bring a truckload of towels ..this Tory Govt is so dripping wet they make 'pathetic' look like Iron Man
...and these pussies talk tough but just deliver zero cuts while spending more and taxing more
Eaton Socialists ...put em up against a wall and 'Fire'
Greatest AAA credit.. isn't that like brownest turd in the punchbowl anymore?
Goldman's product Sigma X is a mother fucking money making machine!
Fuck the ties, get daddy a Sigma X this year!
http://gset.gs.com
Well BAC reported $2,036,661,000,000 (2T) of liabilities against $134,194,000,000 (134B) in revenues last year, for an analogous debt to GDP ration of slightly over 1500%. That's a good investment, right?
They are flirting with dipping below $5 today.
It was a slight exaggeration on my part designed to draw out the Goldmanites in the crowd.
This is my "I'm interested" look.
can I get access to SigmaX..!?
You don't want that. It will give you AIDS.
And free training on The Hedge.
Finance is not going to catch a break. For example, Japan just dumped their Italian holdings and went into British holdings. So now what, Japan? Go into USTs at their most expensive point? Buy (more) equities?
The end result is when finance flees the bond market, and the FX market, and pile into....wait for it.....
GOLD
There are some really good synonyms for finance today that don't match the definition in Webster's. It is about investing with the mob. You really think you will get your money back? Chaos, 3 blocks up and turn right. Wait for it, it will be like a parade.
+ $55,000 Mr Lennon
Well, I am astonished. For once I'm ahead of the Market.
Quick, some handwaving diversion to distract the attention! So far the diversions and lies have worked.
no chance of uk bonds yeidls going up... read some MMT boys and girls.... next please!
have a new blog on new forms direct democracy - check it out:
samplocracy.wordpress.com
So Britain is slowing down....so is the EU area...Japan too....the USA..I don´t know...the stats don´t make sense....China slowing down...but interest rates going up...commodities going up....and tensions rising inbetween teh Muslim world and the other Infidels....life is good...the consumer confidence survery just said so...
Goldman Sachs?
The most reviled and despised firm on the planet?
Is suddenly the "expert" on where the markets will trade next?
Handing out free advice to Zero Hedge readers on a silver platter?
So everybody can get rich betting on a UK collapse?
Sounds fishy to me.
Maybe I should bet on the opposite outcome.
Buy a bull leveraged FTSE index product then. Goldman's Sigma X is a pretty good leading indicator, though.
Perversely, buying a bull leveraged FTSE index product would not be the worst thing to do if you think the UK is going to have a debt crisis. The UK will never hard-default on its debts it will just print its way to massive inflation and currency devaluation.
A very big chunk of FTSE 100 is made up of large international companies that do most of their business outside of the UK. As the value of the pound goes down, the value of these companies measured in pounds will go up and so will the FTSE.
+1
Goldman's Sigma X is a good way for the Squid (bless it's work) to coordinate It's Tentacles, i.e. The Shorting Squad. Works like a cartel, is legally not. Only pity you'll have to guess when to stop...
Better than your free advice.
Canadian "dark pool". Sounds like a Muzzie terror guy. Man your battle stations.
RobotTrader?
The most reviled and despised troll on ZH?
Is suddenly the "expert" on where the markets will trade next?
Handing out free advice to Zero Hedge readers on a silver platter?
So everybody can get rich betting on retail?
Sounds fishy to me.
Maybe I should bet on the opposite outcome.
@ Robot
Normally I too would bet against the Squid's advice. MCP is a great example, they sold their stake on the IPO and it went up, up and away. Yes, it has dropped a lot off its high, but it IPO'd at 14...
Tick Tick Tick Tick..........
The world as it was circa late 2011
The Good Judge laying the smack down.
http://tiny.cc/2i1a7
Hungary tightened today in desperation to slow capital flight and currency collapse despite bad economy.
Good sign
Coming eventually to a country near you!
Yes, Caviar and Bam are reading this one right. Prepare!
Note to self: manipulate BAC common to $3 before making telephone call to the Fed.
The Alcatel Lucent at a buck twenty looks somewhat interesting.
The crappy bank stocks, not so much.
Tiffany's gave poor guidance today. Before the holidays. In this two-tiered, biflationary economy.
Oh sh*t.
AA is the new AAA
I mean who wants to be left behind with a shitty old AAA rating.
Of course UK is the most indebted in the world. They have one of the oldest central banks which resulted in compounding over greater period of time. Hats off to the FED though for trying to do it on a condenced time line.
How long before a major defense contractor files for bankruptcy?
About bloody time.
British economy=British rugby= British food=British teeth=
Of all the crooks in this whole crooked enterprise, the ratings agencies are the ones that were absolutely indispensable to the scam, and they seem to be the ones skating away clean. Fitch, Moody's et. al. played the same role with bonds that home appraisers played with real estate. Their ratings system was based on what would be most profitable for them, not on an accurate appraisal of risk or value.
Now, when the whole lie has blown up in their faces and sent trillions of dollars to money heaven, they have the nerve to say that their expert pronouncements were just opinions, protected by the First Amendment. Sickening.
This is not good for the Olympics next year. Maybe we will have cleaner ones if the sponsors can't pay higher premiums to cheaters who then use the money to stock up on 'untraceable' drugs. The financial system and politicians are not the only cheaters in the market.
AA is the new AAA
You mean AA is the new Junk. They just filed for BK today
What will this do to the price of strawberries and clotted cream at wimbledon next year???
With any luck it will deflate the price for a season or two, those robbing bastards at Wimbledon.
Bank holidays coming to a country near you.
Of the existing universe, the most informed source on what’s coming is the perpetrator. That said, Goldman oughta know.
Details of the US Largest Bank Bailout Come to Light as seen today by Press TV :
While the American public and Congress were focused on the Treasury Departments $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, the real bank bailout took place behind closed doors. Between 2007 and 2009, the US Federal Reserve secretly bailed out big banks to the tune
of S7.77 trillion. That's according to Bloomberg Market Magazine.
Bloomberg is reporting the big banks made $13 billion dollars in profit by taking advantage of the Fed's below-market interest rates.
At the same time, bankers lobbied Congress against government regulations and didn't reveal the extent of the borrowing to shareholders. While Fed officials say almost all of the loans have been repaid and there are no losses, Competitive Enterprise Institute's John Berlau argues taxpayers paid a steep price and the astronomical bail out destabilized US currency.
The U.S. jobless rate has not dipped below 8.8 percent since March 2009, and since August 2007, 3.6 million homes have gone into foreclosure.
Occupy Wall Street is protesting the Wall Street bail out among other grievances. But demonstrators only had half the story when the movement began. Police are clashing with protesters in Oakland, California, New York, Boston, and Seattle who say government policies favor the wealthiest citizens.
Bloomberg obtained tens of thousands of pages of documents detailing thousands of bank transactions from 2007 to 2009. By March 2009, the Fed had committed nearly 8 trillion to rescuing the financial system which was more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year. Since then, total assets held by the six biggest U.S. banks have increased 39 percent to nearly 10 trillion, up from nearly 7 trillion in 2006. Some experts say so few banks holding so many assets is un American.
http://presstv.com/detail/212758.html
Could someone pls explain what is Sigma X
as i understand it represents the markets where the real mr bigs play known as dark pools .. A very large amount of all trading is done here but is only accessed by priveleged few.. God only knows how zh get info bout it.. but every time their analysis has been correct.. hope someone elaborates a bit more
[Movie guys voice over]
Image a place so secret that only a few have access. A playground for the wealthiest gangs in the universe.
Street gangs have symbols and gestures that have specific meaning. Decoding those messages can reveal the gangs message, who the target is, where to pile on.
Someone dropped a dime and Team Tyler answered the phone.
The white shoe boys are on the run.
The Squid will ink the scene and a fall guy will take the wrap.
Here's how the CIA lists it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_liquidity
Thanks for this link. The way I read it is that it is kind of like Insider Trading?
I sell garage doors to homeowners in a wealthy area close to london and im telling you demand has collapsed. True inflation is running 6-9%, no one wants to spend any money, and when they do they are desperate to avoid paying the 20% vat. What did they expect with base rates at .5%?. I'm sorry to use this language but we are well and truly FUCKED
Hmmmm. This "on the ground" reporting sounds suspicious. If inflation is really picking up, wouldn't all Britons be dumping their currency to rush into hard commodities? This makes no sense---unless there are extraordinary deflationary forces at work. I still say deflation and then inflation. Too much debt to inflate away quickly. Stagflation to rule until things get really bad (deflation) then inflation. That is my bet....and using these terms as purely monetary phenomenons may not be ultimately true....the multiplier is not working.....Just my 2 cents....
Who wouldn't try and save 20% ?
"Sit. Be still. And listen. For you are drunk and we are at the edge of the roof."
Last time Sigma X was shown with RBS down big time the day after RBS actually went up.
Neverthless, still nice to see these bloomie screenshots. :-)
Now waiting for UK downgrade. About time!!!
anyone know how barclay dropped of the top 10
We'll have to auction off a feel of Pippa Middleton's ass to the slanty-eyed fiends of the third world.
Payment in gold bullion only.
that'd probably work actually
Perhaps a few of those traders need to pay a little more notice of where Lloyds banking group are active...
http://www.waronwant.org/news/press-releases/16333-banks-slated-on-arms-...
I hope for the bank's sake it was an SAS 'Sigma X team' at work in Tehran today....
We knew this was coming. This should be a lesson to the Fed. This won't come out ant better than 2008. It may not come our better than 1930. Know your local farmer. You need to eat.
http://georgesblogforum.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-daily-climb-2/
seems uncannily well timed for a bit of uk MSM trade union bashing with the strike morrow....ie we are losing our triple A status because the lolipop ladies, nurses and teachers are not happy to be getting half the pensions they were promised... I think i need to vomit!!
Strikes are a sideshow-union leaders know it, but don't have the guts to tell their members that there is nothing left to haggle over. Next up will be 400,000 compulsory redundancies- by April I think.
Shits getting real quickly now-the big diversion is being readied. Yes: Syria/ Iran. And it has a fair to middling chance of being a nuclea war. Just may not play out.how CIA & Mi6 have modelled.
"fair to middling chance of being a nuclea war"
Where's that Prozac that was being handed out yesterday?
does this mean the royal's will get a bigger bonus this year ?
I live in southern England, now a District of the EUSSR. I've got a shotgun, a couple of hundred rounds of double-0 buckshot, farming and livestock access to about 40 acres (courtesy of a farmer friend), and I've been steadily buying gold metal since 1974.
Bring whatever shit you've got, ON! I'm ready.
Our real inflation rate is well off the Government's radar, prices are going up daily and businesses are closing all around.
The UK is mightily stuffed!
Proof with photos(prices) or GTFO. Because MIT's 1 Billion prices knows nothing about you....
How did you get a shotgun?
You just need a shotgun licence. It's not difficult at all so long as you have no criminal record. BBC story about ease of acquiring a licence http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10601666
Inter-Alpha bitchez! Greece, Italy and so on are merely a diversion to keep eyes off the most rotten meat in the market. This explains the major effort to gin up a splendid little war. Maybe the Queen promised the Obamanator a knighthood if he could provoke Iran or Pakistan into lashing out at NATO and our marcher-lord Israel. A UK downgrade would be good news if it quickly takes down the I-A squid (the ugly sister squid to GS), but that event is being outpaced by the speed at which the US can piss off Russia and China. The Russians are sending the Admiral Kuznetzov into the Med bathtub where it has a good chance at scraping gray paint off the GHW Bush in Syrian waters. And the Chinese are getting ready to reconfigure all of the manufacturing plants we built over there into the biggest war machine ever conceived. After all, the Chinese wrote the book on war. Go long radiation decon equipment and iodine tablets.
I'm generally a big fan of ZH but I seriously question the predictive ability of Sigma-X ... wasn't it back in July/August of this year that you guys were trumpeting "Sigma-X predicts imminent UK implosion"?