Renaissance

Overnight equity markets are getting a lift from headline-making beats for Chinese exports and (more importantly) imports. A 10.9% YoY rise in imports (compared to a +1.0% expectation) and a surge in copper 'demand' has the media calling the turn on the global economy (even as China's trade balance at $17.82bn missed expectations of $26.9bn by the most in 4 months and for the second month in a row). But... one glance below the surface of this 5.5 Sigma beat for imports and the other absurdities discrepancies are glaring...

As the following two charts show, despite the rest of the world being mired in an entirely lackadaisical muddle-through (in terms of both manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs), the US is representing itself as the new growth engine with an expanding and rising economy (if the 'recovery-is-right-around-the-corner' data is to be believed). Of course, we are hearing the term 'decoupling' and 'cleanest dirty shirt' once again (begging the question Rick Santelli has asked numerous times "so why not remove the Fed's training wheels") but we remind, there is never a decoupling in the highly interconnected global economy (and its stagnant trade volumes). Our simple question is, with all this dramatic divergence from the rest of the world, stagnant income growth, and anemic manufacturing job growth at best, how will the consumer-driven US sustain its exuberance?

Just about a year ago we questioned the "demographic demand" thesis for why the US housing 'recovery' would become self-sustaining and lead to yet another fiscal and monetary 'nirvana'. However, while the 'household formation' meme remains front-and-center among bloviating Fed apologists; the sad facts are that not only is household formation actually still falling but, as a recent Pew Research study finds, a record 21 million young adults are now living at home with their parents.

For the third month in the last four, US Factory Order growth missed expectations. In fact the last four months have seen the biggest plunge in a year. Adding to the disappointment for the 'manufacturing renaissance' hopes (despite proof in the payrolls data that it does not exist) is the fact that New Orders (ex-transports) dropped 0.4% (its worst in 3 months) with non-durable shipments down 0.6%.

While the ADP jobs number is noise, it is no more noise than the BLS' NFP monthly print. And since the NFP jobs number has been targeting the 200K support level for all of 2013, with the 6 month average at precisely the taper-permissive 201K, it was natural that the Mark Zandi-supervised ADP would ultimately revise its data to substantiate the BLS message, which is simple: taper on. Sure enough, ADP beat expectations of 180K coming at 200K, while the previous number of 188K was revised to 198K.

Despite the Government's Best Efforts to Prop Up the Nuclear Market through Socialism ... It's Declining

Plunging Chinese manufacturing and an 11 month low PMI got you down? Don't worry: there's a Europe for that, which overnight reported that manufacturing and service PMI in Germany and, don't laugh, France soared far above expectations (German Mfg and Services PMIs of 50.3 and 52.5, up from 48.6 and 50.4, and above expectations of 49.2 and 50.8; French Mfg and Services PMIs of 48.3 and 49.8, up from 47.2 and 48.4 and an 11 and 17 month high, respectively, blowing away expectations of 47.6 and 48.8). The result was a composite Eurozone Manufacturing PMI of 50.1, above 50 for the first time since February of 2012, up from 48.8 and at a 24 month high - reporting the largest monthly increase in output sunce June 2011, as well as a composite Services PMI of 49.6, up from 48.3, and an 18 month high. In other words, European Composite PMI is expanding (above 50) for the first time since January 2012.

Last week it was JPM just somewhat contradicting Jamie Dimon's "kid gloves" CNBC infomercial, when it slashed its Q1 GDP forecast from 2% to 1% (and about to be revised to sub-stall speed). Today, following the latest retail sales unadjusted disaster, it is Goldman's turn to slash its Q2 GDP tracking estimate from 1.3% to 1.0%. Stall speed has arrived despite everyone's forecasts for the this time it's different glorious US economic renaissance (so far "deferred" each year since 2010).

Even as the manufacturing jobs continue to collapse, posting their fourth consecutive monthly drop in June to 11.964 million jobs, minimum wage waiters and bartenders have never been happier. In June Restaurant and Bar employees just hit a new all time high of 10,339,800 workers, increasing by a whopping 51,700 in one month. 

While we already showed that according to the household survey the quality component of the June jobs report was absolutely abysmal, with part-time jobs representing more than all jobs added in June, we find that according to the establishment survey things were no better. In fact, as we show month after month, the bulk of the jobs additions were concentrated in the lowest paying industries.

Now that good economic news is horrible news for the market, the last thing stocks needed today, with Europe and Egypt imploding fast, was a strong harbinger of Friday's NFP number. And in the first part of today's jobs preview duo, the ADP report, it got just that, with the ADP private payrolls rising to 188K from 134K in May, and modestly above expectations of a 160K print. Will this transform into a 200K+ print on Friday sending the market into a tailspin, or will the initial claims due in minutes fix everything by missing horribly, we will find out shortly.

• Pretty much as expected from George W. Bush: Edward Snowden ‘damaged’ security (Politico)
• Gotta love the Keynesian-Monetarist religion: True 'Bullievers' Are Still Sweet on Japan (WSJ)
• Canadian Takes Reins at Bank of England (WSJ)
• Egypt streets quiet, political standoff goes on (Reuters)
• Private Banks Leave Switzerland as End of Secrecy Hurts (BBG)
• How Next Debt-Ceiling Fight Could Play Out (WSJ)
• Easy Money Is Still Central (WSJ)
• Lew Says China Needs Market Policies and Stop Spying (BBG) - China replies with the same
• Ireland Preparing Plan to Tap Euro-Area Rescue Fund, Noonan Says (BBG)
• Poll shows strong shift to Australian PM Rudd, new ministry named (Reuters)

For all those unable to sleep tonight without the knowledge what Goldman thinks about this week's most important economic release, Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls number (and the unemployment rate, which is guaranteed to continue the previously observed divergence from GDP in a centrally-planned and completely "brokun Okun" environment), read on for your trivial Ambien. From Goldman "Our forecasts for the US dataset to be released this week will likely be mixed for rates... we think that payrolls will likely disappoint market expectations." As a reminder, consensus expectations are for a 165K print, declining from May's 175K, while Jan Hatzius now expects 150K. And with that the second great US renaissance which Hatzius forecast in late 2012 is being "tapered" away the same way his 4% GDP prediction in late 2010 devolved into sheer nothingness.

Something is way off: either the unemployment data is very much wrong and the real unemployment rate is far higher especially when normalized for the collapsing labor participation rate and the surge in part-time and temp workers, or the GDP calculation is incorrect and the economy is growing at a 4%+ rate. (It isn't). The scarier implication is that in addition to all other seasonally adjusted economic data points which have become painfully unreliable, daily Treasury tax receipts must also now be added to the docket of meaningless and corrupt data points. The question of just how the Treasury could explain a massive (and deficit boosting) cash discrepancy could only be answered if somehow the Fed is found to be parking cash directly into the Treasury's secret basement.

So much for the great underdog renaissance. Most people will hardly be surprised to learn that in a world in which economic conditions are deteriorating faster and faster for the vast majority of the population, that what little disposable cash flow consumers have is not being spent on a product that was "cool" and "faddy" in 2003, namely the Blackberry. And if there was any confusion the just released Q1 results will confirm this:

• Q1 revenue $3.07 billion, expected $3.37 billion
• Q1 adjusted loss per share -$0.13, exp. +$0.08 with the company blaming the miss on Venezuela's currency devaluation. No really.
• Q1 shipments were 6.8 million, on expectations of 7.45 million. Supposedly the firm formerly known as RIM couldn't blame this on Venezuela.

Nope. Like we said nobody can be surprised by these results. Nobody expect, of course, for the sellside penguin brigade whose trading desks are axed to sell: