Posts Tagged ‘ECB’
April 17, 2018
The market has several themes it is trying to digest, which made Tuesday’s price action interesting. Reported earnings have been as strong as whispered and with the Syrian bombing over the weekend, the markets had time to analyze the outcome (and as usual it was treated as a minimal event with no proliferation).
On Sunday night there was an immediate rally as the SPOOS gained 0.5 percent on the open. Strong earnings kept the rally in gear but what’s interesting that the financials failed to hold their initial rallies. This is important because most analysts were predicting significant growth in bank ROES, especially for the large Wall Street banks. Goldman’s FICC revenue increased by more than 20 percent as trading volatility provided an opportunity for one of the few remaining large prop shops remaining on the Street. The Goldman rallied fizzled and finished 2 percent down on the day.
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Tags:bank earnings, ECB, euro/chf, Fed, Gold, Robert Kaplan, silver, SPS, Swiss Franc, U.S. Dollar, U.S. yield curves
Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments »
March 6, 2018
Let’s discuss the concept of tariffs with a wider historical perspective:
The Bretton Woods system crafted at the end of World War II provided the U.S. with both an enormous privilege and an enormous burden (a blessing and a curse, if you will). The U.S. acted as the provider with massive amounts of global liquidity but it also became the repository of the FREE world’s excess capacity. The Marshall Plan and the Alliance For Progress acted to spread dollars to our allies in an effort to counteract COMECON and the influence of the Soviet Empire.
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Tags:BOC, BOJ, Bretton Woods, Chinese Yuan, currency manipulation, ECB, NAFTA, Pax Americana, trade, trade war, U.S. Dollar
Posted in Currency, trade | 21 Comments »
February 26, 2018
There are several important areas for discussion but first I wanted to post a podcast from the Financial Repression Authority that I participated in last Wednesday with Jim Bianco and Peter Boockvar. Pour your libation of choice and have a listen. Please post any questions or points on information on the blog in order to stimulate a discussion that creates potential profitable trading ideas.The moderator Richard Bonugli does a great job of provoking discourse but allows the conversation to freely flow in search for high quality dialectic. Enjoy.
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Tags:currency war, ECB, Euro, Fed, growth, inflation, Jerome Powell, Mario Draghi, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, U.S. Dollar
Posted in Currency, ECB, Fed | 3 Comments »
February 20, 2018
On Tuesday the news was filled with the release of an analysis by the research combine at Goldman Sachs warning about the negative outcomes from the increasing amount of debt as interest rates rise, lifting the negative percentage of interest payments relative to GDP. (See the CNBC story, “Goldman Sachs Sees Red Ink Everywhere,Warns U.S. Spending Could Push Up Rates and Debt Levels.”) This is another voice warning about the ill-timed fiscal stimulus and budget deficit increase late in the economic cycle. In an interesting juxtaposition, the WSJ had an article published last week titled, “Cohn Downplays Concerns Over Rising Inflation, Bond Yields.” Speaking in his position as Trump’s top economic advisor, Cohn maintained that the White House is not worried about an overheating economy. Cohn emphasized, “We know how to deal with inflation. We don’t know how to deal with deflation in this country.”
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Tags:asset purchase program, deficits, ECB, Fed, Gary Cohn, LIBOR, Putin, Russia
Posted in ECB, Fed, Russia, United States | 16 Comments »
January 25, 2018
It seems that the White House emptied and traveled to Davos in an effort to gain control at ground zero for access journalism. The fawning media has been the epicenter for President Trump’s assault of the airwaves. The anti-globalist, drainer-of-the-swamp has become the story emanating from the Alps in an effort to destroy the memory of Chinese leader XI at last year’s conclave. President Donald was the perfect foil for the globalist masquerade party just after his inauguration but in 12 months he has hijacked the entire soiree. On Wednesday it was Trump’s minions, Mnuchin and Ross, threatening the world’s money lords with the commencement of a global trade/currency war as the U.S. Commerce Secretary was sending soldiers to the ramparts with threats of throwing dead green presidents to their doom.
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Tags:Davos, ECB, Euro, Mario Draghi, Mnuchin, President Trump, Ross
Posted in ECB | 16 Comments »
January 24, 2018
The U.S. dollar fiduciaries wreaked havoc on markets as Secretary Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross hit dollar bulls with a one-two punch that sent the dollar index to three-year lows. I sure hope that Mrs. Mnuchin mirrored the behavior of previous Swiss National Bank (SNB) Chairman Phillip Hildebrand, who was forced to resign in January 2012 when it was discovered his wife made a currency trade three weeks prior to an SNB policy announcement. I am sure that no White House Davos participants acted in any kleptocratic fashion (sarcasm intended). The price of a $650,000 ticket to Davos has to be of some value. Now, moving beyond sarcasm, Secretary Mnuchin broke with tradition to openly suggesting that a weaker DOLLAR is good for American trade and thus economic performance.
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Tags:Davos, ECB, Euro, Mario Draghi, Steve Mnuchin, trade war, U.S. Dollar, Wilbur Ross
Posted in Currency, Davos, United States | 16 Comments »
January 15, 2018
It is always a pleasure to talk with the Richard Bonugli at the Financial Repression Authority. Like Anthony Cruedele of Futures Radio, Richard is a very astute financial mind, which allows for deep discussions in a longer format. We cover several issues discussed in Notes From Underground so I’m sorry if it seems redundant, but I will say that we take a deeper dive on the issues. The segment taped on Wednesday, January 10 so from a trading perspective the information may be stale. But from an investors’ perspective it will still be relevant as the markets begin to unravel the mysteries of a new year. We dive deeper into Europe as I am certain the continent will provide much of the tinder for market volatility in 2018. This weekend proved the case as several stories from Europe propelled the DOLLAR lower as U.S. markets were on holiday for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
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Tags:Angela Merkel, Bundesbank, CDU, CSU, ECB, Euro, Financial Repression Authority, German, Mario Draghi, SPD, U.S. Dollar
Posted in Currency, ECB, Europe | 13 Comments »
January 4, 2018
After a sharp selloff late on December 29 the market has regained its mojo and rallied 2%. While the first two days of trading for the European markets were not confirming the S&P rally, the DAX and Euro Stoxx 50 rallied with the EURO STOXX 50 closing back above its 200-day moving average on Thursday. The consensus from Wall Street analysts is for emerging markets and Europe to be better alternatives to U.S. investment prospects. Many quality strategists believe the U.S. equity markets are stretched in its valuation while Europe’s recovery is gaining momentum and emerging economies should be the major beneficiary of a synchronized global expansion.
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Tags:average hourly earnings, Canadian unemployment, DAX, ECB, EU, Euro, Euro Stoxx, Eurobond, Germany, inflation, Mario Draghi, SPS, U.S. unemployment report
Posted in Canada, ECB, Europe, Fed, United States | 23 Comments »
December 28, 2017
Happy and healthy New Year to all of my readers! Thank you for another GREAT year of contributions to make this BLOG a voice of reason in an effort to undermine the accepted NARRATIVE of conventional media investment pabulum. Today, one of the more astute anchors sustained the nonsense that the ECB and Mario Draghi have a SINGLE MANDATE (inflation), which renders the ECB policy easier to decipher as the FED has its self-defined DUAL MANDATE. This narrative as opined by the mainstream analysts is JUST DEAD WRONG. When Mario Draghi seized control of European fiscal and monetary policy in 2012, he said, “WE will do whatever it takes to preserve the EURO ….” and there would be no TABOOS. The ECB’s MANDATE is UNLIMITED and OPEN-ENDED whiles Draghi works to sustain QE and NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES. Economic data has no weight in thwarting the WILL of the ECB.This is going to be a major story in global finance 2018 as the Italians head to the polls.
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Tags:Angela Merkel, DAX, ECB, Equities, Euro, Germany, Mario Draghi, QE
Posted in Currency, ECB, Germany | 28 Comments »
December 19, 2017
The long-end of the U.S. Treasury curve steepened Monday and Tuesday as bond futures did some technical damage, closing under the 200-day moving average. It joined the 2-, 5- and 10-year Treasuries, which have been below the important technical level since September. U.S.Treasury yields rose as the ECB failed to lift European sovereigns. The BUNDS, FRENCH OATS and Italian BTPs all saw significant increases in their yields. BUT I ADVISE PATIENCE AND CAUTION BECAUSE THE ECB IS SUPPOSEDLY SET TO FINISH ITS MONTHLY PURCHASES BY DECEMBER 21. As of the close of last Friday the ECB had bought ONLY 33 billion of assets leaving it 27 billion EUROS of its QE quota. It has two days in which to push yields lower and we don’t know how much they have purchased over the past two days.
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Tags:Bill White, ECB, monetary policy, sovereign debt
Posted in Central Banks, Debt Market | 8 Comments »
