Bank of England

Alas, by ignoring Keynes in 1925, Churchill triggered a calamity so severe that it not only inspired one man to kill himself beneath the British statesman’s very window but, more insidiously, also provided the impetus for the economics profession’s rejection of the “classical” axioms.

Central bankers are beginning to see what it has been like for their colleagues in Japan, where for twenty-five years with zero interest rates nothing tried seems to work. Welcome to Keynes's world of euthanized savers and state-sponsored funding. Welcome to the world of ZIRP zombies.

• China central bank under pressure to weaken yuan further (Reuters)
• Currency Rout Goes Global as Jen Sees Risk of 50% Loss on China (BBG)
• Europe Stocks Fall Most in Two Weeks as China Sparks Growth Fear (BBG)
• German Yields Drop to Record as China Boosts Bonds Around World (BBG)
• FT to Japan, Economist to Italy: Agnelli Family Raises Stake in Economist as Pearson Exits (BBG)
• Goldman Sachs to Give Out ‘Secret Sauce’ on Trading (WSJ)
• Greece's Preliminary Bailout Deal Faces German Turbulence (BBG)

To help remind readers of what happens when the entire world engages in wholesale currency war, here is a complete list of all the recent FX interventions, courtesy of Stone McCarthy.

If yesterday it was the turn of the upside stop hunting algos to crush anyone who was even modestly bearishly positioned in what ended up being the biggest short squeeze of 2015, then today it is the downside trailing stops that are about to be taken out in what remains the most vicious rangebound market in years, in the aftermath of the Chinese currency devaluation which weakened the CNY reference rate against the USD by the most on record, in what some have said was an attempt by China to spark its flailing SDR inclusion chances, but what was really a long overdue reaction by an exporter country having pegged to the strongest currency in the world in the past year.

Here is an overview of next week's events and data placed in the larger context.  

A rising interest rate trend would, according to Gibson, encourage prices to rise towards and likely through the Fed's 2% target inflation rate. This is not how financial traders see it, nor does the Fed. They expect the exact opposite, believing that rising interest rates are bad for demand and commodity prices, which is why the decision has been deferred for so long. The evidence tells us this view is mistaken and that rising interest rates will be accompanied by rising commodity prices.

The demise of the dollar has been greatly exaggerated.  Here is how I see the near-term outlook. 

• July job gains may favor September interest rate rise (Reuters)
• It's all about Trump at raucous Republican debate (Reuters)
• The 5 Most Important Takeaways From the First Debate of 2016 (BBG)
• Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina wins the Web (Reuters)
• Hedge Fund Losses From Commodity Slump Sparking Investor Exodus (BBG)
• Winners and losers from the first Republican presidential debate (WaPo)
• Bush turns in workmanlike debate performance, but will it be enough? (Reuters)

Six years ago, hardly anybody outside financial circles had any idea what Quantitative Easing was – hell, many within financial circles had no idea what QE entailed. The success of the narrative created around QE; that it is the mythical ‘free lunch’ that we all intuitively know can’t exist but secretly hope does, has played perfectly to the public and now, having endured for two electoral cycles, the next wave of politicians also believe it will have no consequences and are actually using it when planning the message they feel will endear them to the electorate. What plays better than free money?

The veracity of China's economic data has long been the subject of debate and when FT called out the country’s National Bureau of Statistics for employing what we called "deficient deflator math" the NBS responded, saying the data reflected the "real situation." Now, virtually no one believes Beijing, with some analysts simply dismissing the "official" figures out of hand. 

Reading through the August inflation report two things seem to stand out:

1. The MPC is more optimistic on (domestic demand-driven) GDP growth – supported by growing wages, cheaper bank funding and growing house prices.  Indeed, they revised their growth projections slightly to the upside compared to May.
2.  The MPC has turned more cautious on inflation because of persistent commodity price weakness and, indeed, FX appreciation. This is reflected in their lower inflation projections.

• Trump at center stage as Republicans square off in first debate (Reuters)
• Cleveland Debate Offers GOP Hopefuls a Chance to Break Away from the Pack (WSJ)
• Bank of England Keeps Key Interest Rate at 0.5% in 8-1 Vote (BBG)
• Emerging stocks submerged, UK gears up for 'Super Thursday' (Reuters)
• No IMF decision on Greek bailout until autumn, Swedish rep tells paper (Reuters)
• Japan Heads Toward Nuclear Unknown With Post-Fukushima Restarts (BBG)
• Activist Ackman Takes $5.5 Billion Stake in Snacks Giant Mondelez (WSJ)

Today the Bank of England releases its rate decision, minutes and quarterly inflation report (QIR) all at 1200BST with the QIR press conference to be held by Governor Carney at 1245BST. Given the volume of information on offer, the release is likely to be met with volatility.

• All surveyed analysts expect the Bank of England to keep monetary policy unchanged, with the bank rate at 0.5% and the Asset Purchase Facility at GBP 375bln

• Focus expected to instead by on minutes and Quarterly Inflation Report (QIR) release with minutes expected to show a 7-2 vote split on keeping rates on hold

• QIR will be analysed to see if it compares or contrasts to recent hawkish BoE rhetoric