Bank of England

HIGHLIGHTS > Gold reserves destination unknown after moved from Ottawa vault as part of Bank of Canada HQ renovation > Switzerland, the Netherlands and  Sweden say they hold gold in Ottawa > Upcoming Swiss vote on gold repatriation could lead to gold repatriation from Bank of Canada > Bank of Canada only acts as gold custodian to four foreign central banks > Bank of Canada no longer a major gold custodian; Canada has virtually no gold reserves

Yesterday it was Ambrose Evans Pritchard, today, in this 2nd of a series of London interviews that Lars Schall conducted for Matterhorn Asset Management this summer, Lars has a City of London streetside conversation with Alasdair Macleod right outside the Dutch reform Church in Austin Friars near the Bank of England. Together they talked about, inter alia: the challenges for The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA); China’s appetite for gold; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as THE future player in the gold market; and the problems related to Germany’s gold at the New York Fed.

"Rather than trying to spur private-sector spending through asset purchases or interest-rate changes, central banks, such as the Fed, should hand consumers cash directly.... Central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have taken aggressive action, consistently lowering interest rates such that today they hover near zero. They have also pumped trillions of dollars’ worth of new money into the financial system. Yet such policies have only fed a damaging cycle of booms and busts, warping incentives and distorting asset prices, and now economic growth is stagnating while inequality gets worse. It’s well past time, then, for U.S. policymakers -- as well as their counterparts in other developed countries -- to consider a version of Friedman’s helicopter drops. In the short term, such cash transfers could jump-start the economy...  The transfers wouldn’t cause damaging inflation, and few doubt that they would work. The only real question is why no government has tried them"...

With Yellen's speech a bit of a letdown for the doves - she did not go full-dovish - markets anxiously await Mario Draghi to promise whetever for ever and ever... While financial markets don’t expect bombshells, his speech is an opportunity to underscore that ECB policy will stay looser for longer than that of the Fed and the Bank of England.

DRAGHI SAYS HE'S 'CONFIDENT' JUNE STIMULUS WILL BOOST DEMAND, SEES 'REAL RISK' MONETARY POLICY LOSES EFFECTIVENESS

While today's key events were supposed to be the Jackson speeches first by Janet Yellen at 10:00am Eastern and then by Mario Draghi at 2:30 pm, Ukraine quickly managed to steal the spotlight yet again when moments after the first Russian humanitarian aid convoys entered Ukraine allegedly without permission, Kiev first accused Russia of staging a direct invasion, even if moments later it changed its tune and said it had allowed the convoy in to "avoid provocations." In other words, your daily dose of Ukraine disinformation, which initially managed to push futures down some 0.3% before futs regained virtually all losses on the subsequent clarifications. Expect much more conflicting, confusing and very provocative headlines out of Kiev as the local government and the CIA try to get their story straight.

• FTW: Europe Stocks Rise as Data Signals Need for Stimulus (BBG)
• More de-escalation: Dozens die in Ukraine in street battles, Donetsk shelling (Reuters)
• Calm largely holds in Missouri after grand jury opens shooting investigation (Reuters)
• Attorney General Eric Holder Vows Thorough Probe of Ferguson Shooting (WSJ)
• World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Slows Emerging Market Investment (BBG)
• Market Chilly to Argentine Debt Proposal (WSJ)
• Israeli air strike kills three Hamas commanders in Gaza (Reuters)
• Retooled Hamas Bloodies Israel With Help From Hezbollah (BBG)
• Investors Pour Into Vanguard, Eschewing Stock Pickers (WSJ)
• Fed Debates Early Rate Increases (WSJ)

With the FOMC Minutes in the books, the only remaining major event for the week is the Jackson Hole conference, where Yellen is now expected to talk back any Hawkish aftertaste left from the Minutes, and which starts today but no speeches are due until tomorrow. And while the Minutes were generally seen as hawkish, stocks continue to levitate, blissfully oblivious what tighter monetary conditions would mean to an asset bubble, which according to many, is now the biggest in history. And speaking of equities, US futures climbed to a fresh record high overnight on just the right mix of bad news.

• Ferguson at Turning Point After Night of Relative Calm (BBG)
• Gaza war rages on, Hamas says Israel tried to kill its military chief (Reuters)
• Surge in Putin Patriotism Masks Pain of Sanctions (BBG)
• Bank of England splits over rate hike for first time in 3 years (Reuters)
• Putin Meeting Leaves Kiev With Tough Choices (WSJ)
• European Gas Reverses Biggest Drop Since 2009 on Ukraine (BBG)
• "Isolation"  Mongolia Seeks Economic Lifeline With Pivot to China, Russia (BBG)
• Uber Picks David Plouffe to Wage Regulatory Fight (NYT)
• China Levies Record Antitrust Fine on Japanese Firms (BBG)

While everyone's (algorithmic) attention will be focused on today's minutes from the July 29-30 FOMC meeting for views on remaining slack in U.S. economy following recent changes in the labor market (especially a particularly solid JOLTS report which indicates that at least on the openings front, there is no more) and any signal of policy change by the Fed ahead of Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s speech in Jackson Hole on Aug. 22, a curious thing happened overnight when a few hours ago the BoE's own minutes show the first vote split since 2011, as Weale and McCafferty argue for a 0.75% bank rate. Then again, if the Russians are finally bailing on London real estate, the inflationary pressures at the top of UK housing may finally be easing. In any event, every FOMC "minute" will be overanalyzed for hints of what Yellen's speech on Friday morning will say, even if stocks just shy of all time highs know quite well she won't dare say anything to tip the boat despite her warnings of a biotech and social network bubble.

A quick reminder of how geopolitics governs markets: on Friday, the market plunged 0.005% over fears Ukraine and Russia may be about to go at it all out after a fake report Ukraine shelled a Russian military convoy. On Monday, the same "market" soared just under 1% as the news that had caused the "crash" was refuted. That has been the dominant rinse, repeat theme for the past month and will continue to be well after Yellen's Friday speech at Jackson Hole (although one does wonder why she is not speaking on Wednesday when the symposium begins). Not surprisingly, with only modest re-escalation news overnight (that Russia is preparing further retaliatory sanctions against the West), which is simply "pent up de-escalation" in the eyes of Keynesian algos, futures are again up a solid 0.2% and rising, and the way the rampy USDJPY is being manipulated before its pre-market blast off, we may well see the S&P hit 1980, if not a new all time high before 9:30am, let alone during today's cash session. In any event, whatever you do, don't you dare suggest that algos should care one bit about Ferguson and its implications for US society.

• Yellen Dashboard Warning Light Glows as Millions Work Part Time (BBG)
• More US drones boosting global GDP: Unidentified war planes, explosions heard in Libyan capital (Reuters)
• London Home Asking Prices Plunge Most in More Than Six Years (BBG)
• Carney - Rate Hike before Pay Recovers (Times)
• No Fed fireworks, but plenty of clues, expected at Jackson Hole (Reuters)
• Kurdish, Iraqi forces in control of Mosul dam (Reuters)
• China Pushes Cleanup of Banks (WSJ)
• Russia Widens Ruble Trading Band in Move Away From Managed Rate (BBG)
• Dollar General Makes $9.7 Billion Family Dollar Counterbid (BBG)
• Autopsy finds unarmed teen killed by police was shot six times (NYT)
• Bull Market Waning as Barclays Sees 1% Gain for S&P 500 (BBG)
• Credit Suisse Caught Up in Espírito Santo Mess (WSJ)

Friday's main event, Ukraine's alleged attack of a Russian military convoy, has come and gone, and as we mused on Friday has promptly faded into the memory of all other fabricated headlines released by the country engaged in a major civil war and an even more major disinformation war. To be sure, Germany's DAX has recovered virtually all losses, US futures are up about 9 points, and the 10 Year is back to 2.37%. One wonders what algo-slamming headline amusement Ukraine has in stock for us today, although anyone hoping for a quick "de-escalation" (there's that word again) will have to wait following yesterday's meeting of Russian, Ukraine, German and French ministers in Berlin where Russia's Lavrov said he saw no progress on Ukraine cease-fire, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says in Berlin, adding that a cease-fire should be unconditional.

The farcical process and complete lack of transparency would have to make any fair minded person concerned about the new LBMA Gold Price. The Gold Anti Trust Action Committee (GATA) will allege that the LBMA and the western bullion banks are engaged in a rebranding and repackaging exercise in order to maintain a cosy gold and silver cartel of bullion banks and ultimately control over precious metal prices.

“It’s a Little Misleading to JUST Call This a Depression. It’s WORSE Than That”

• Barack Obama's 'vacation from hell' (Politico)
• Russian aid convoy checked; military vehicles mass near Ukraine (Reuters)
• Ukraine Says APCs Entered From Russia to Aid Insurgents (BBG)
• Islamic State Said to Challenge Al-Qaeda for Leadership (BBG)
• Missouri protests calmer after governor puts black police captain in charge (Reuters)
• Finally someone will prove the US is a pyramid scheme (in a 1000 page presentation): Ackman’s Pershing Square Sues U.S. Over Fannie, Freddie (BBG)
• Banks, Financial Firms Load Up on Cheap Debt (WSJ)
• Putin to Meet Finnish President as Threat of Cold War Grows (BBG)