It seems that we have covered the major themes ad nauseam–European debt, U.S. fiscal cliff, Japanese lethargy in confronting an overvalued currency, Chinese slowdown–and the list goes on and on. Today, the IMF let loose a report that detailed the need for Europe to deleverage its banks to the tune of a possible 4.5 TRILLION EUROS. This is not the aid and comfort that a financially stressed European economy needed. The pains of austerity will be minimal compared to the massive selloff of what ever assets will be dumped on the market. Government retrenchment coupled with private sector rebalancing will undoubtedly lead to a new thrust downward in the adverse feedback loop. The significance of the yield curves will be a critical indicator as the quarter begins to reveal all of the potential hazards with which the global financial system has to contend.
Posts Tagged ‘Dilma Rousseff’
Notes From Underground: Nothing New On the Financial Front
October 10, 2012Notes From Underground: All My Words Come Back to Me in Shades of Mediocrity (Homeward Bound)
April 9, 2012Friday’s weaker than expected JOBS REPORT caused AGITA in the BOND and EQUITY MARKETS. Early in the week, the markets had punished the BONDS and EQUITIES as the FOMC MINUTES caused the purveyors of QE3 as a SURE THING to stop, look and listen. The sounds that they had listened to were from the previous speech by Chairman Bernanke as he voiced his deep concerns about the persistent drag of unemployment on GDP. The rush of FED governors and District presidents to any microphone to undermine the chairman’s views caused the market to pause and reconsider its stance on possible FED normalizing rates quicker than the “extended period” language presumed. Stocks were under pressure and U.S. Treasuries were offered as hints of FED buying grabbed traders attention.
Notes From Underground: Paging Dr.Bernanke … The Stress Tests Results Have Arrived
March 12, 2012Tuesday brings the release of the FED’S FOMC STATEMENT. Will it see its shadow or will the light be blocked by an extended period of darkness? Since the January 25 statement that announced the FED‘s intentions of holding rates at ZERO until mid-2014, the employment situation in the U.S. has improved, Europe has been “RESOLVED” and China has lowered reserve requirements. In the same time frame the S&Ps HAVE GAINED ALMOST 4%, while 10-year notes are virtually unchanged in price. Let us all bask in the success of Chairman Bernanke’s PORTFOLIO BALANCE CHANNEL. What now?
Notes From Underground: Today Was International Central Bank Day (Very Little to Celebrate)
March 8, 2012First with a hat tip to RF for e-mailing the JOKE of the DAY:
Overheard in the Athens Airport:
Greek Immigration Official:Nationality?
Tourist: German
Greek Immigration Official: Occupation?
Tourist: No. Just On Holiday
Notes From Underground: Last Week Was The Year That Was
March 20, 2011This weekend brought mixed news about the lessening of RISK in Japan, and possibly Bahrain, while increasing the sense of risk in Libya and other parts of the Middle East. It appears that the threat of nuclear catastrophe has been diminished as some power has been restored to the nuclear plants under stress and the needed cooling is proceeding. The Japanese equity market will be a good source to monitor investor sentiment as weekend news publications were filled with articles about the values abound in the Nikkei and other Japan-based indexes. The YEN will be a much more difficult barometer because of the impact of YEAR END and its ability to cause disruptive volatility in currency markets.
Notes From Underground: In a tribute to the Chantays–PIPELINE
January 2, 2011No major stories this New Year’s weekend. Dilma Rousseff was sworn in as the new president of Brazil and spoke to the need to continue the policies of LULA. She said her influence will be on battling inflation but the markets will watch her cabinet’s actions as she has also voiced concern about the rapid appreciation of the REAL, as the Brazilian currency has appreciated 39 percent during the last two years. The strong REAL has begun to hamper the Brazilian equity markets as it was up a mere 1.25 percent in a year that global commodities were the star performer. Brazilian debt markets are anticipating rates to rise this year so our eyes will be on the Brazilian central bank and watching to see how aggressive it is in stemming inflationary pressures.
Notes From Underground: Where are the jobs? Recent employment report doesn’t jive
December 5, 2010Friday’s U.S. unemployment report was far less robust than anticipated. This consensus miss led to a selloff in the DOLLAR and a rally in commodities as the weak number gave rise to the need for more aggressive FED action. At first blush the GOLD was sold and other commodities also were falling but that didn’t last long as the risk-on trade gained the upper hand on the full execution of QE2. The worst part of the unemployment data was that the RATE INCREASED TO 9.8 PERCENT and this is what drives the FED at this juncture.
Notes From Underground: Did Dudley DO RIGHT on his mounting a possible expansion of monetary easing?
October 4, 2010First things first. The Financial Times ran a weekend front-page story revealing that Sarkozy and the Chinese have been holding secret meetings for the last year on the issue of global currency stability. It was unclear what efforts Sarkozy was pursuing but he was looking to get Chinese support for whatever he is going to try to accomplish when he gets the leadership post of the G-20. The French have been trying to replace the U.S. DOLLAR as the world’s reserve currency since the days of DeGaulle and Jacques Rueff. We have warned that Sarkozy is desperate to make a grand play on the international stage as his political support in France has badly eroded. Wen Jiabao is in Europe this week for talks with the EU on many issues.