A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of recording a Financial Repression Authority (FRA) podcast–hosted by Richard Bonugli–with one of the world’s foremost Austrian economic analysts, Ronald-Peter Stoeferle. Mr. Stoeferle had just returned from a GOLD conference in China so he was bringing a fresh perspective on the global demand for precious metals. This podcast provides the view from Asia, a region from which we don’t receive enough information. Enjoy and I will return in full next week.
Posts Tagged ‘Gold’
Notes From Underground: A Podcast With Ronald-Peter Stoeferle
January 8, 2019Notes From Underground: Hello, 2019
January 6, 2019“I am a sick man. I am a wicked man.”
So opens the Dostoyevsky novella Notes from Underground. Sometimes I seem to be caught in a similar existential trap as I analyze the global macro data and fundamentals. I am sick because I continue to pursue the opportunities that explode before me. I have taken a turn for the worse and become sick because of the constant flow of manipulated headlines crafted to purposely activate the trading algorithms. Tweets and headlines with no context have become the coin of the realm, especially for high frequency trading operations. But their role in the market jungle does little to dissuade me from honing my craft. The bottom line: Greater preparation and more patience is needed.
Notes From Underground: Not Such Benign Neglect for the Payrolls Report
December 9, 2018In what appeared to be a “soft” unemployment report, the equity markets discarded the traditional Goldilocks response to weaker data and spent the entire session in sell mode. That sent the S&Ps to a 4.5% LOSS for the week. The BULLS are in trouble for the market rejected what was regarded as POSITIVE news and continued the 11-week long correction. The G-20, “dovish” FED and softer data were cast aside as new negative stories, like the arrest of a significant Chinese business leader and the Mueller investigation closing in on the president. OPEC’s agreed cut in oil production sent crude oil prices moderately higher on Friday, which would have given a boost to the S&Ps as energy stocks would have been bid in past occasions.
Notes From Underground: Fed Forecast — 100% Chance of a 0.25% Rate Hike
September 25, 2018The market is absolutely, positively certain that the FOMC will increase the FED funds rate by its Greenspanian 25 basis points, although there are some Wall Street pundits suggesting the possibility of a 50 basis point hike because of the recent return of robust data. I have suggested that the FED would have done well by raising rates in a more aggressive fashion. But with the November elections within polling range, Trump’s trade policy causing angst in the emerging markets and several of U.S. trading partners, it’s looking very unlikely (less than 5 percent chance).
Notes From Underground: The Tweets Controlling the Market Gyrations
July 1, 2018Now that the first six months of the year have come and gone, the markets have a cacophony of events to look forward to as algos react to price, and fundamental macro analysts are trapped between WHAT OUGHT TO BE. The current concerns over tariffs, trade wars, strife between friends/allies, political uncertainty in Europe, Middle East conflagrations, the Russia/Saudi alliance on energy, Chinese growth concerns, RISING U.S. INTEREST RATES AND INCREASED QUANTITATIVE TIGHTENING (along with elevated TREASURY FUNDING NEEDS), decrease in capital inflows into emerging market economies leading to potential dollar funding concerns and U.S. Congressional elections. Yet, the markets remain are not pricing in the relevance of such concerns. Wise traders and investors do not fight markets but profit from the opportunities presented. To do otherwise is mere commentary. So to paraphrase John Maynard Keynes: When the facts change so do I, what do you do madam?
Notes From Underground: Are We Reliving 1930?
June 25, 2018Upon taking some time to reflect on the current state of the global macro world it seems that the most relevant are the years between 1928 and 1933. This was when the U.S. Congress was debating the famed Smoot-Hawley tariffs while the Treasury was reining in spending, and the FED was tightening liquidity and credit. While we don’t have a restricted Treasury (quite the opposite, actually), the Fed seems intent on raising rates to curtail the impact from an ill-advised fiscal stimulus at a time of 3.8% unemployment.
Notes From Underground: Headlines Drive the Algos and the Circle Remains Unbroken
June 12, 2018I’m going to be off for a few days, even if this Fed meeting proves to be the most market-moving week in many years.
The news from North Korea proves to be a non-event (as suspected). On Wednesday, we get the FOMC statement, which OUGHT to meet market expectations with a 25 basis point increase and some sense of the interest on excess reserve (IOER) rate in reference to fed funds. There is much discussion about the FED reaching “normal” interest rates, meaning neither too weak nor too strong to reach its dual mandate.
Notes From Underground: The Importance of Being Lighthizer
May 24, 2018The plot thickens as the media is filled with one leak after another in regards to tariffs or threats to embark on a road to perfidy by invoking section 232 of the 1962 Trade Act: Using the broad cover of national security to justify increased import duties on autos. [In a hat tip to A. Limey] It is time to acknowledge that the “brain” of President Trump’s trade team is Robert Lighthizer.
Notes From Underground: More FRA Podcast
May 2, 2018On Wednesday, I had the great pleasure of talking with David Rosenberg, one of the most prominent financial analysts of the last 30 years. As moderator Richard Bonugli sets the tone, the conversation covered many of the topics discussed in Notes From Underground throughout the past year. The power of podcasts can provide so much information in a condensed format, which would take 100 posts to reproduce. Enjoy the discussion and recognize that this was recorded three hours before the release of the FOMC statement.
Notes From Underground: Another FRA Podcast
May 1, 2018While waiting for the FOMC‘s rate decision on Wednesday, I am posting a new PODCAST in which I discuss the global macro situation with a woman who whose work I had not been familiar. Nomi Prins has written a new book called Collusion, in which she investigates the role of central banks in its current predicament. I thoroughly enjoyed the 51-minute podcast as Richard Bonugli does a fine job of allowing the guests to discuss in deep detail. I will certainly be buying the book (it was released Tuesday) as it explains in detail what the central banks have accomplished in destroying the signalling mechanisms of capitalism and markets. The Financial Repression Authority has been an important platform for allowing deep discussion on matters of global investment concerns. Enjoy the discussion as I await my readers feedback on the issues we covered and hope it will lead to profitable trade opportunities.
