Yuan

When passing rising labor costs on to consumers isn’t an option, it’s the supply chain that suffers and now, in a frantic attempt to extract every last penny of savings in order to offset the cost of paying hundreds of thousands of workers $9/hour versus $8, Wal-Mart is effectively demanding price cuts from anyone with a connection to China in the wake of Beijing’s move to devalue the yuan.

Another rip sold. Dow futures are down over 140 points in the pre-open (as it appears Cramer's pajama-wearers are derisking again). Following the 4th day of Yuan weakness, EUR-based carry trades continue their unwind and that pressure is driving USD Index notably lower, bond yields gapping lower, and commodities tumbling... except gold

The global race to the bottom continued on Thursday as Norway and Taiwan moved to cut rates sending NOK plunging to its weakest level against the dollar in 13 years and pressing Tawain dollar forwards to six year lows. 

• Stocks slip for fifth straight day, euro holds steady (Reuters)
• VW recall letters in April warned of an emissions glitch (Reuters)
• VW Cheating Scandal Threatens to Ensnare BMW as Probe Widens (BBG)
• Pope Francis set to address fractious U.S. Congress (Reuters)
• Norway Cuts Rates to Record Low to Save Economy From Oil Slump (BBG)
• Taiwan Cuts Rate for First Time Since 2009 as Exports Falter (BBG)
• Janet Yellen to speak at UMass on Thursday (Daily Collegian)
• A Big Bet That China’s Currency Will Devalue Further (NYT)
• Debt Relief for Students Snarls Market for Their Loans (WSJ)

AsiaPac stocks are broadly lower at the open, folowing US' lead as after being closed for 3 days, Japanese stocks open and catch down to global weakness with Nikkei 225 at 2-week lows. It appears it is time to "get back to work Mr.Kuroda," as stocks are below Black Monday's lows. Following last night's dismal data, China credit risk rose once again to new 2 year highs. Once again, industrial metals are under pressure with iron ore, copper, and aluminum all lower (following "peak steel" comments). After 3 days of weakening (and Xi's comments that China won't weaken), PBOC weakend the Yuan fix again, pushing the offshore-onshore spread to 2-week wides (over 500 pips apart).

There is blood on the streets wherever you look in Brazil today, but probably of most interest to the hundreds of US asset managers (the ones managing your mutual funds) is what happens to Petrobras as it remains so widely held. As we noted below, bond prices are collapsing and default risk is soaring, and with the nation's currency collapsing amid the lower-for-longer oil prices, $90 billion of dollar-denominated debt could soon potentially be too burdensome for the company to repay.

News That Matters

News That Matters

In many ways, the overnight market has so far been a reversal of yesterday, when a stable Asia session (with China stocks rising) gave way to a European tumble which in turn dragged the US lower.

US equity futures plunged (Dow -140)

Following Xi's earlier speech reassuring Yellen that the "Chinese economy is stable," and the Yuan tumbled 0.25% against the USD ahead of the data. China's Flash Manufacturing PMI printed a disastrous 47.0 (against expectations of a slight rise to 47.5 from August's 47.3). This is the lowest print since March 2009. Caixin Group confidently suggests this utterly crap data is the bottom and that "patience may be needed for policies designed to promote stabilization to demonstrate their effectiveness.”

Ironically, As Xi says "won't devalue the Yuan," The PBOC devalues the Yuan for the 3rd day to the weakest in a month...

Following last night's ADB China growth downgrade, and warnings from The IMF's Lagarde that a "China slowdown is a major risk to the global economy," the weakness seen in Europe and US is continuing across AsiaPac tonight ahead of China's much-watched PMI data (though we are not sure why - since no "bad news" excuse is needed to enable super-easy policy). With Xi in the US, one would imagine a 'beat' for PMI will be engineered, although industrial metals are extending their losses. Credit markets area nxious with Malaysia CDS at 2011 highs, Philippines highest since 2014, and China back on the rise. Xi begins his speech tonight reminding The Fed that China "is the biggest developing nation in the world," and its economy "is stable" despite Yellen's fears.

After 35 years of falling and now zero rates, the direction is only up for the cost of money, as is the cost to service debt, along with the burden to those who are most indebted (i.e. the U.S.). What should no longer be unthinkable is that the clock is ticking on America’s status as the holder of the reserve currency. If you still doubt this proposition, consider that China is in the process of setting up a third benchmark for oil, along with Brent and West Texas Intermediate, for trading oil futures contracts. And unlike the existing contracts, these will be traded in Renminbi. Who needs the dollar?

While Asian trading overnight started off on the right foot, chasing US momentum higher, things rapidly shifted once Europe opened as attention moved back to global growth fears, global central banks losing credibility, as well as miners and the ongoing Volkswagen fiasco.

What can we expect to happen in our homeland when finally even the generally uninformed population also understands that governments they have elected for decades, and its Fed facilitator or controller, jointly have waged a century-long war on its citizens? The people of America cannot make a counter offensive similar to those of sovereign nations; however people are uniting in resistance to robber baron policies, as evidenced by the popularity of nonpoliticians currently in candidacy for the office of president. These troops will mass also, it just remains to be seen what form their eventual counter offensive will be. The established order will be challenged.

AsiaPac stocks are opening mixed after the US session gains. Perhaps the biggest news of the evening is, as China's bankiong regulator has been meeting with foreign banks to express concerns over lack of risk control around non-performing loans. As CBRC said, rather stunningly honest for a government entity, "the current situation is more severe than the time in 2008 during the financial crisis." With stocks up while commodities (Zinc) limit-down, PBOC injects another CNY50 bn and devalued the Yuan fix for the 2nd day in a row.