In a surprise visit with Rick Santelli on Wednesday, we picked up where we left off in our discussion about rising interest rates. This time we had live ammunition as the data releases revealed suggested robustness in the U.S. economy. Now that the “accommodative” language was removed from the FOMC statement, Chairman Powell will have the luxury of FLEXIBILITY in reacting to economic signals. The markets responded to Powell’s new policy by sending interest rates higher, taking out long-time technical resistance on the U.S. 10- and 30-year Treasuries. Is the rise in yields sustainable? Friday’s unemployment report will provide a powerful test for the markets because if wages increase more than anticipated there will be renewed selling all along the curve.
Click on the image to watch me and Rick discuss the rise in Treasury yields.
Just a few quick points that are relevant to the markets at the end of the year:
1. Tonight I am including charts of the U.S/German two-year yield differentials. The U.S. two-year note is yielding 256 basis points above the German rate. This is relevant because both instruments are high quality assets that play an important role as collateral in the funding markets. I’ve also included a 25-year chart of the U.S. 2/10 yield curve. Note that the last two INVERSIONS occurred before significant equity market corrections. Does this current flattening portend a stock market correction? We can’t be certain because the role of the central banks has certainly created an investment environment where markets suffer from a lack of RISK PREMIA in all asset prices.
The BOJ released its policy statement on Tuesday and it was as expected. The central bank sustained its yield curve control (YCC) policy as the BOJ seeks to ensure that inflation reaches its 2% target. The 8-1 vote by the Governing Committee was a bit dovish as one of the two new members, Goushi Kataoka, voted to extend the purchases further out the curve to prevent 15-year yields from rising. The bank will also have REITS and ETFS to buy if JGB supply runs short. Bottom line is that the NIKKEI made new 27-year highs and the dollar/YEN rallied as the currency gave up some of its recent gains against the U.S. and euro currencies.
First, for all those in the Notes From Underground community who celebrate Rosh Hashanah, have a happy and healthy New Year. For those who don’t I also wish you a happy and healthy New Year. Thanks for your continued support and if I angered you with my thoughts I have to say it was not done to be hurtful but rather to provoke a high-quality discussion around issues in the realm of global-macro finance. When I listened to the Ray Dalio interview on CNBC today it was comforting to know that the mission of this BLOG is similar to what Dalio tries to accomplish with his employees. NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND is not about PERSONAL VALIDATION but about discourse in the crucible of financial ideas, striving to refine the GOLD from the DROSS. Let’s hope the SHOFAR BLAST shatters the complacency of our static thoughts in all matters of our lives.
First things first, let’s talk about the gorilla in the room, former Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker leaked confidential information and the entire FED has had its reputation tarnished (stifle your laughter). The bigger question is how much is being covered up. Who else was involved in discussing matters of great sensitivity? As my readers know I have raised the issue of the G-30 and Davos being convocations for the exchange of very privileged information. Just google the G-30 and look to see its membership. The dissemination of potentially sensitive market-moving information to highly paid analysts raises serious questions of impropriety. In an effort to the level the playing field (and yes, I was most probably harmed by the leaks to Medley), the FED should not release its speeches or market information to any journalists covering the Federal Reserve.
Before entering my thoughts on the significance of the year’s lowest close on the U.S. 2/10 curve, let me state that a Bloomberg news article by Alexandra Harris and TJ Marta is a must read in order to put perspective to the erratic nature of the markets recent moves. (It’s titled, “Traders Pull ‘Singed Fingertips’ From Markets As Risks Escalate.”) Every hedge fund of qualitative significance is struggling in an effort to make sense of all the potential “prairie fires” that exist around the world. Several months ago I blogged about the many risky bundles of dry tinder that could be ignited by a single spark. The Harris/Marta article provides an up-to-the-moment recap. (Full disclosure: Harris is one of my progeny, while Marta will have to blame others for his shortcomings.)
First, tomorrow morning Goldman’s Lloyd Blankfein will be rolled out on CNBC to share his wisdom about the state of global markets. Maybe he will remind investors that Goldman and other banks are doing GOD’S WORK. I will write what I wrote recently: Noah and the flood were also GOD’s work so it is important for the world’s banks to signal which part of GOD’s work in which they are involved. The European bank stocks are under stress again. Deutsche Bank and many other EU money center banks continue to make new lows every day. What are investors fleeing from? Probably the huge amount of NON-PERFORMING LOANS that exist on bank balance sheet and will have to be met with NEW CAPITAL to meet the more stringent regulatory requirements from the European oversight authority, as well as increased capital requirements under Basel III. There is a great effort to initiate a FDIC-type of deposit insurance program for all of Europe–a single agency–but the Germans will not allow their CREDIT CARD TO BE USED UNTIL THE PRESENT BALANCE SHEETS OF ALL THE FINANCIALLY STRESSED INSTITUTIONS ARE PURGED OF INSOLVENT, ZOMBIE TYPE LOANS. The lack of any banking guarantee is creating an underlying tension throughout the European financial system and without a robust corporate bond market there is nothing to disintermediate the financial power of the banks. The ECB is vacuuming up all the high quality collateral so finding adequate borrowing instruments to facilitate lending is adding to the drag on the EU economy.
Today was not like the other days for the break in the equity markets came early. As all the global markets were in sell mode St. Louis Fed President James Bullard hit the airwaves with thoughts about being wrong in his inflation projections. It appears that the selloff in crude oil is providing the Fed hawk with concerns that the SUMMARY of ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS may be softer than the December FOMC meeting revealed. Bullard sounded as if he would not be in favor of the Fed raising rates because of the inflation rate turning away from the spurious 2 percent mandate. The unsavoriness of Bullard’s comment is not that he fears a downturn in inflation, and maybe lower growth, but that Bullard seemed to find his DOVISH posture as the U.S. markets were heading toward the August lows. Bullard in unsavory because he called out CNBC’s Jim Cramer for “cheerleading for low rates twenty-four hours a day.”
You don’t have to be a weather man to know which way the wind is blowing, or so says Bob Dylan. As long as all things are emanating out of China it may be the time to dust off the sayings of Mao for as the talking heads are reminding us daily: “The East Wind Is Prevailing Over the West” in all things financial. THE PROBLEM FOR ME IS I DON’T ACCEPT THAT VIEW AND AM IN THE CAMP OF FORMER DALLAS FED PRESIDENT RICHARD FISHER that all roads lead to the FED and certainly the European Union for providing the tinder for a financial prairie fire. There has been so much volatility during the first six trading days of the year it is difficult to get a handle on what is algo-driven non-fundamental and what may be the commencement of a change in previous momentum trades. Today I will go through a list of POTENTIAL SPARKS TO IGNITE THE FLAMES OF A FINANCIAL FIRE so that we can be aware of what constitutes a genuine change in momentum:
One of my favorite songs by Simon and Garfunkel is “A Simple Desultory Philippic” in which the duo takes the time to mock and criticize the world of culture and politics that surround them. Desultory means lacking a style or plan, while Philippic connotes a word for a tirade or rant. Will my readers entertain my desire to craft my own simple desultory philippic?
