It has been six weeks since there has been “wisdom” from NOTES as the Jewish Holy Days gave pause to refresh and recharge the cerebral engine. Let’s hope the time away has borne the fruit that I was seeking to consume. We are posting a podcast I recorded with Professor Barry Eichengreen, one of the best economic historians in the land. His work on the GOLD Standard and the Great Depression is worth a read. It was an honor and privilege to be able to sit in conversation with the Financial Repression Authority’s Richard Bonugli as moderator.
Posts Tagged ‘Euro’
Notes From Underground: Shedding Some Light
October 17, 2021Notes From Underground: A Question to Ponder
July 5, 2021Do China and Russia have state authorities investing in the markets?
If the answer is yes then global investors have many issues to consider. The use of massive amounts of leverage (perfectly legal) utilized by Sovereign Wealth Funds and national pension funds have the power to distort prices as much as the involvement by the FED, ECB and BOJ to cause major distortions in the credit markets. Add in the Bank of Canada, Reserve Bank of Australia, the RBNZ and the price of credit is as overvalued as COPPER during the onset of the pandemic.
Notes From Underground: To Russia With Love (Or Blinken Blinked)
May 23, 2021Ten days ago, we published a blog post titled, “Sanctions Are Sanctimonious.” And lo and behold, this past week the U.S. moved to remove sanctions on the completion of the NORDSTREAM 2 pipeline, allowing Russian gas to flow freely and readily into Germany without paying the massive transit fees to the Ukraine. This is the culmination of the project promoted by previous German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.This story is huge for it shows that the world is — as NOTES portrays it — far more dynamic than the static analysts would have us believe.
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: Never Have Been and Never Will Be
December 21, 2020… a supporter of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. In my opinion, he’s another Wall Street hack devoid of any genuine knowledge of the global macro world in which he his sent to do battle on a daily basis. Last week’s decision to label Vietnam and Switzerland as “currency manipulators” is badly timed, badly chosen and badly misinformed. Why would you name Vietnam a currency manipulator when a large part of the Trump administration’s policy is directed toward relocating global supply chains away from China. In addition, labelling Vietnam a “currency manipulator “is an immoral and unconscionable act. Even Bob McNamara is spinning on his “rotisserie in hell.”
Notes From Underground: The Darkness of Foreign Exchange
December 10, 2020There were two central bank meetings in the past two days: The Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank. The BOC stayed its current course with no change in policy. Several analysts were looking for more dovish action because of the appreciation of the Canadian dollar but the BOC was wise in noting that a “broad-based decline” in the U.S. exchange rate has contributed to a “further appreciation of the Canadian dollar.” As a result, the BOC has ZERO concerns about its currency appreciating as long as it is BROAD-BASED.
Notes From Underground: Narcissism Has Consequences
October 1, 2020On Friday, there’s a new dose of unemployment data. While these blog posts have been infrequent, my view remains the same: The Federal Open Market Committee may be keen on promoting inflation while returning to the pre-Covid employment levels, but no amount of robust jobs growth will move the FEDERAL RESERVE off its current policy of lower for longer.
In regards to the year-end data, I want to know: If unemployment is below 9% while the annualized inflation levels were to rise to 6%, would the FED raise rates? If your answer is no then you agree that the data outcomes are benign. At this juncture much more concerned with the next phase of fiscal stimulus and the DOLLAR.
Notes From Underground: A Long, Long Time Ago
August 23, 2020We are back. This is the first blog post after a 10-week break. It has been a nice hiatus from writing as we took some time to reflect and respect the sanctity of motherhood.
I’m linking to an FRA PODCAST hosted by Richard Bonugli taped on Thursday featuring Barry Ritholtz, David Rosenberg and myself. This will be a solid starting point for NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND as it picks up where we left off on June 12: LONG EUROS, LONG GOLD and looking for some vigor in the commodity markets.