In the first post about the YEN/YUAN, we discussed the current significance of the cross, and with it a rising dollar. Now we will provide CONTEXT and NUANCE as to the backdrop of this cross’s significance. It is easy to forget that the Chinese economic miracle is only 40 years old as it began under the direction of DENG in 1978-79 and his rise as China’s leader. By 1994 China is beginning to feel the positive effects of Deng’s policies of white cat/black cat in pursuing modernity and western-style economic growth.
Posts Tagged ‘Chinese Yuan’
Notes From Underground: Into the Weeds on Yen/Yuan
April 28, 2022Notes From Underground: An Open Letter To the G-7
June 2, 2021Every G-7 or G-20 meeting homage is paid to the idea of free markets via the market driven value of each nation’s currency. This is hogwash of the highest order in the world of central bank asset purchase programs. The clarion call is that QE is a domestic-based program meant to meet the inflation target set by the nation’s policy makers and any impact on a nation’s currency is just unintended consequences of keeping a country out of a potential disinflationary cycle. Every central bank statement except the U.S. has a sentence or two about the relative value of a nation’s currency and if too strong then concern about a strong currency being a headwind in meeting the illusion and capriciousness of that 2% inflation target.
Notes From Underground: Is the Fed In a War?
May 16, 2021I pose this question as a challenge to all of those traders and investors, and a call to action. There is so much discussion about the onset of inflation but do the inflationists have the fortitude to attack the FED where it hurts: the long end of the yield curve? The primary focus of the FED has been on the part of the QE purchases has been the shorter end as 80% of the FED‘s balance sheet is five years or less. If the inflation concern is of the magnitude suggested by the mainstream media then market participants OUGHT to be selling the longer duration Treasuries because as we know the Wall Street mantra is DON’T FIGHT THE FED.
Notes From Underground: Sanctions Are Sanctimonious
May 2, 2021In today’s world of DOLLAR domination it is easy for the U.S. Treasury — under the guidance of the president — to place sanctions on many different global actors as they strive to use the conduit of SWIFT and other banking facilities to move money around the globe. The U.S. likes to beat its chest and proclaim that it is operating in a rules-based system and therefore sanctions are an appropriate tool in response to the malevolent actions of autocratic-oriented nationalistic actors. But whose rules? And the invocation of sanctions leads to those subject to the whims of U.S. policy to find ways to operate in international grey areas of commerce.
Notes From Underground: Was It the Fool On the Hill?
February 23, 2021On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Finance Committee in the semi-annual Humphrey-Hawkins Testimony and Report to Congress, in which the Fed has to answer as to how the U.S. economy is performing in relation to its dual mandate. Senator Sherrod Brown, the chair of the finance committee, is very knowledgeable and in similar fashion provided strong leadership but unfortunately he cannot censor stupid questions as politicians use the microphone for political posturing. There were many types of “when did you stop beating your wife” questions as if the Senators wished to trap Powell instead of an honest assessment.
Notes From Underground: Have You All Lost Your Minds?
January 28, 2021No, I am not referring to the gyrations in the realm of heavily shorted stocks and the attacks by the populace of Sherwood Forest to drive valuations ever higher.
The insanity following Wednesday’s FOMC statement and the Powell press conference leaves me contemplating the works of Kindleberger and Minsky. Complacency in financial markets relying on the kindness of strangers is setting the course for continued madness in all financial asset classes. The POWELL PRESS CONFERENCE YIELDED WHAT OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN THE HEADLINE FOR ALL FINANCIAL NEWS: FED CHAIR POWELL SAYS REAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 10%.
Notes From Underground: Central Bank Poker
January 21, 2021This week, three G-7 central banks had meetings and all decided to CHECK and leave policy unchanged. This was widely expected as there was little reason to UPSET the incoming Biden administration with any idea of currency manipulation. However, the Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan and European Central Bank all discussed the fear of a further slowdown from an increased spread of covid-19.
Notes From Underground: Did Xi Just Provide a Clue to China’s Yellow Brick Road?
April 28, 2019In the past week, we have heard from the Bank of Canada and Bank of Japan. There were no surprises as both institutions noted softness in the global economy. The BOC, as reported by Bloomberg, “fully abandoned its bias toward raising interest rates at the economy grapples with a slowdown.” The BOC overnight rate remains at 1.75 percent, which is deemed appropriate by the Governing Council until the global economy removes some of the uncertainties it is struggling to overcome.
Notes From Underground: The Politics of Money
March 3, 2019Over the weekend, President Trump blasted a high note from the Conservative Political Action Conference. Again, the president put pressure on the Federal Reserve as he pointed his finger at Powell. He said, “I want a dollar that does great for our country, but not a dollar that’s so strong that it makes it prohibitive for us to do business with other nations and take their business.” He didn’t mention Powell by name but added noted that the U.S. has “a gentleman that likes raising interest rates in the Fed, we have a gentleman that loves quantitative tightening in the Fed, we have a gentleman that likes a very strong dollar in the Fed.”