The current market temperament is causing angst among investors. A relatively strong earnings season is failing to provide support to the U.S. equity markets that many analysts have been promoting. The media is wondering what will halt the continuing slide in stocks around the globe. We at Notes From Underground have pondered what the primary catalyst would be
Posts Tagged ‘equity markets’
Notes From Underground: Tell Me Why You Are Crying
October 23, 2018Notes From Underground: Nothing New to See, Except the Equity Markets Finally Added Some Risk Premium
May 17, 2017The market did not selloff today. Risk was merely repriced and greater premiums were being offered in an effort to attract buyers. Everything discussed in this blog during the past six months was brought to light and the most important outcome was that the narrative has changed. The Trump agenda of tax and health care reform, and regulatory rollbacks was seen being delayed by the possible legal issues confronting the White House. Notes From Underground is apolitical and is solely vested in understanding the policy impact of any political outcomes, which is why it is geared toward political economy. Or, as Deng Xiaoping would say: “I don’t care if the cat is white or black as long as it catches mice.” Since Trump’s inauguration, the mainstream media has been relentless in its effort to cast Trump in a negative light and the Tweeter-in-chief has certainly provided the tinder to keep the fires lit.
Notes From Underground: A (Wo)man Hears What (S)he Wants to Hear and Disregards the Rest
November 16, 2016Noise fills the airwaves and so many “pundits” keep the outlets from going dark by providing opinions that are less than ridiculous. These are the same people who failed to identify many of the significant political dynamics during the last few years. There is a viral video of Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo interviewing the much-maligned Jonathan Gruber. I have no opinion on the politics of the interview but I do offer this criticism of Gruber’s hypothesis of the positive outcome from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Gruber raises the counterfactual that insurance costs and medical care would be at the same levels as now and maybe even higher and with the addition of 22 million people on the health insurance rolls, the ACA is a success.
Notes From Underground: Enduring the Doldrums of a Central Bank-Controlled Market Structure
July 27, 2015Never has such calm winds cause so much turbulence. The markets have been grinding up and down during the last four weeks as traders and investors weigh the consequences of the Greek resolution and the Chinese intervention into their equity markets. ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN, THE CHINESE EQUITY MARKET IS AN OXYMORON. If a government can set the price of individual stocks or the price of bonds it is not a MARKET but a plaything for the ruling party. The Chinese Government can try to mandate rising stock prices but ultimately it will take more than a mandate but actually spending of capital to support prices, or else invoking the fear of capital punishment for all short sellers of equities (PUN INTENDED). The talking heads are concerned that the Chinese weakness is causing selling in all global equity markets. The DOW JONES did close under the 200-day moving average last Friday and continued its downward path today. The SPOOs tested the 200-day and managed to save itself by the market close.
Notes From Underground: The Alfred E. Neuman Equity Markets, “What, Me Worry?”
July 20, 2014
Alfred E. Neuman, the beloved character of Mad Magazine, was famous for his deadpan look while espousing the philosophy, “What, Me Worry?”
While the world has certainly entered the madness zone, the world’s equity markets remain in bull mode, floating on a sea of central-bank provided liquidity. Russian support and arming of “rebel” groups results in the downing of a commercial airliner … no problem. An Israeli invasion of Gaza to thwart the nihilistic behavior of Hamas, and the markets shrug and offer up a bland response of, “whatever.”
Notes From Underground: At the End of Q1, Global Equity Markets Are Floating on a Sea of Liquidity
April 1, 2012The tale of the first quarter tape is in and evidenced by the large gains of the equity markets, global investors have benefited from the sea of liquidity provided by the CENTRAL BANKS OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD. Global stock markets have been calmed by the massive liquidity injections provided by the BOJ, ECB, FED and BOE.The German DAX closed the quarter up more than 15%. The long dormant NIKKEI was up almost 20% powered, by the new inflation mandate of the BOJ/MOF; and, of course, the S&Ps were up almost 12%, while the tech-ladened NASDAQ climbed more than 20%.
Notes From Underground: The Fed Steps Into the Light???
January 3, 2012The release of the FOMC minutes today revealed that the FED plans to be more transparent as it will “publish forecasts of its own interest rates for years into the future.” Previous FED forecasts have proved to be very poor at predicting the path of the economy over the near term or yet for any longer period of time. On first read, this attempt at transparency ought to be labeled the VOLUME ENHANCEMENT FOR THE CME EURODOLLAR CURVE. FED prognostications will move the 3-5 year part of the curve all over the place and be very productive at increasing futures and options volume.
Notes From Underground: Today, LTRO Was Nitro
December 20, 2011The power of the ECB’s 3-yr LTRO program was in full force today as the Spanish 3-month BILL AUCTION provided the spark to ignite the kindling of the massive amount of liquidity provided to the banks via the LONG-TERM REFINANCING OPERATION. This has not been a secret as we have repeatedly discussed how the 2/10 YIELD CURVES HAVE RECENTLY GONE FROM INVERTED TO POSITIVELY SLOPED. The move has been so dramatic that the Italian and Spanish curves are almost the same as the German. Bloomberg had the closes on the Italian at +164, the Spanish at +172 and the German at +174. This movement is quite dramatic and the Spanish auction today merely confirmed the power of the recent ECB action.
Notes From Underground: The CHINESE ARE THE RUMOR DE JOUR TO BUY EFSF DEBT
October 26, 2011(AN HOUR LATER THE MARKETS WILL BE HUNGRY FOR MORE RUMORS)
Another day and another round of rumors. As the financial markets awaited the EU LEADERS’ statement, the rumor of China agreeing to buy European SOVEREIGN DEBT and EFSF paper provided a boost to a falling EURO and a BID TO the U.S. EQUITY MARKETS. It seems that the market wants to BELIEVE that the Chinese are going to ride to the rescue of the EU and provide the backstop that the Germans are so reticent to bankroll.
Notes From Underground: Marco Polo returns to Italy, Bringing Chinese Riches
September 12, 2011Well, the media was running wild in the last hour of U.S. equity trading with a rumor of the Chinese offering to purchase Italian bondsx. Every time the Euro debt crisis comes to a full boil, rumors arise about the Chinese riding to the rescue and buying beleaguered sovereign debt. In December 2009, the rumors were that the Chinese Investment Corporation [CIC] was interested in acquiring the 25 billion euros of Greek debt that was being road-showed–that was prior to the Greek Debt Crisis and the expected rate was roughly 6.5%.