Monthly Archives: September 2020

We Won’t Acquiesce

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Said Madame Lagarde to the press
In Frankfurt, we won’t acquiesce
To prices not rising
So, it’s not surprising
That average inflation we’ll stress

Raise your hand if you had, ‘the ECB will copy the Fed’s average inflation framework’ when announcing their own policy initiatives.  That’s right folks, I’m sure you are all shocked to learn that the ECB is now considering (read has already decided) to follow in the Fed’s footsteps and target an average inflation rate over an indeterminate time in their own policy review.  As Lagarde pointed out, “If credible, such a strategy can strengthen the capacity of monetary policy to stabilize the economy when faced with the lower bound.”  Perhaps the key words to this statement are the first two, if credible.  After all, given the ECB’s demonstrated futility at achieving their targeted inflation rate since its creation in 1997, why would it be credible that the ECB is going to generate inflation now that will run above target.  In fact, over the entire history of ECB policymaking, there was a single stretch of 15 months (October 2001 – December 2002) where their favorite measure, Core CPI, rose above 2.0%.  Otherwise, during the other 270 months, they have seen inflation below their target, oftentimes well below.  The average inflation rate since the ECB’s founding has been 1.4%.  But now we are supposed to believe that because they claim they will allow inflation to run hot, suddenly that makes policy easier.  Personally, I don’t find their claim credible.

But from the market perspective, the importance of her comments, as well as agreement by other ECB members on the subject, is that the Fed has ceased to be the central bank with the easiest money around.  With the ECB and the Fed now both following the same path on inflation targeting, there is not much to choose between the two.  This is especially so given that neither one has been able to approach their current target, let alone exceed it in more than a decade.  But for dollar bears, this is bad news because a key part of the bearish thesis was the idea that the Fed was the easiest money around.  Average inflation targeting meant interest rates would remain near zero for at least three more years.  Well I have news for you, ECB rates will remain negative far longer than that.  Just as a man with a hammer sees every problem as a nail, a central bank with a single policy tool (QE) sees every problem solvable by more bond purchases.

Adding to the euro’s medium-term woes is the situation in Italy, where despite more than €209 billion euros of EU aid, the debt/GDP ratio is destined to head ever higher, rising to 158% this year.  That cements its current third place worldwide status (Japan 234%, Greece 182%) and starts to bring Greece’s number two slot into sight.  With a history of slow growth and a rapidly aging population, it becomes ever harder to envision a solution to Italy’s macroeconomic woes that doesn’t include either debt relief or debt monetization.  And I assure you, that is not a currency positive for the euro.  The point here is that the many negatives that underlie the euro’s construction are likely to become a greater topic of market conversation going forward, and it appears the odds of a significant rally from current levels has greatly diminished, regardless of your views of US policies.

Speaking of US policies, I will admit that I could only tolerate a few minutes of last night’s presidential debate, as the name-calling and interruptions became far too annoying.  Equity futures declined, seemingly on the view that Biden cemented his lead, at least so that’s what the punditry is explaining this morning.  Perhaps equity futures declined as investors decided that no outcome is positive for the US.  But while clearly the presidential campaign will have some market impact over the next five weeks, at this point, it seems unlikely the polls will change much, nor the betting markets.  And yet, we cannot forget that in 2016, the polls and betting markets were pointing to the exact same outcome and turned out to be spectacularly wrong.  In the end, regardless of who wins the election, the Fed is going to continue their current policy mix and more fiscal stimulus is destined to arrive.  As such, I am hard-pressed to say it will impact the dollar.

One other thing of note overnight was Chinese PMI data (Mfg 51.5, Services 55.9), which showed that growth on the mainland continued to expand moderately on the strength of increases across both manufacturing and services sectors.  Even the Caixin PMI (53.0), which focuses on small companies, put in a solid performance.  Interestingly, neither the Shanghai Composite (-0.2%) nor the renminbi (unchanged) reflected any positivity in the outcome.  And neither was that news sufficient to generate any risk taking elsewhere in the world, at least on any sustained basis.

Looking at the rest of the equity markets, we see the Nikkei (-1.5%) fell sharply although the Hang Seng (+0.8%) managed to show the only rise amongst major equity indices.  European bourses are all in the red (DAX -0.5%, CAC -0.6%, FTSE 100 -0.3%) and US futures continue to point lower, with all three indices down about -0.6% at this hour.  Bond market movement continues to largely be absent as 10-year Treasury yields are still 0.65%, unchanged, and both Bunds and Gilts are less than 1 basis point different than yesterday’s levels.  Even Italian BTP’s are unchanged despite the increasing concerns over their fiscal situation.  In other words, the central banks have done an excellent job in controlling yield curves and thus preventing the bond market from offering any economic signals.

As to the dollar, it is broadly, albeit mildly, stronger this morning against its G10 counterparts.  NOK and SEK (both -0.5%) are the leading decliners with Norway suffering from oil’s slide back below $40/bbl, while SEK is simply demonstrating its higher beta to broad movements.  But the whole space is feeling it today, with the exception of CAD, which is essentially unchanged.  Clearly, the Lagarde comments have served to soften the euro (-0.3%) at the margin.

As to the emerging market bloc, things are a bit more mixed.  The notable movers include RUB (+0.9%) and TRY (+0.5%) on what appears to be the first attempts by both nations to de-escalate the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.  As well, we see MXN (+0.8%) and ZAR (+0.7%) on the positive side, which is more difficult to justify given the lack of risk appetite, but is likely related to the calendar, as investors rebalance positions into month-end, and so are reducing shorts in those currencies.  On the negative side sits the CE4, following the euro’s decline with their usual ability to outpace the single currency.  Interestingly, APAC currencies have done little overnight, with most movement less than 10 basis points.

On the data front this morning we get ADP Employment (exp 649K), Q2 GDP’s final revision (-31.7%) and Chicago PMI (52.0).  Arguably, the market will be more concerned with the ADP data than anything else as investors try to get a picture of the employment situation.  We also have three more Fed speakers, Kashkari, Bowman and Bullard, but based on yesterday’s outcome, where the message is that the Fed is moderately optimistic that growth will continue but that more fiscal support would be useful, it seems unlikely that these comments will interest many people.

Overall, the big story remains the indication that the ECB is going to match the Fed every step of the way going forward, as will, eventually, every other key central bank, and so the dollar’s value will need to be determined by other means.  But for now, it points to a bit more dollar strength as short positions start to get unwound.

Good luck and stay safe
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All Doom and Gloom

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As talks over Brexit resume
The headlines are all doom and gloom
But pound traders seem
To think that the dream
Is real, helping cable to zoom

Once again, the overnight session has been uninspiring, although there seem to be a few conundrums this morning.  The most interesting one is the dichotomy between the pound’s recent performance (+0.2% today, +1.0% this week), and the headlines regarding the difficulty in reaching a Brexit deal.  Time is clearly running short as the two sides get together once again to hash out issues as wide-ranging as access to UK waters for fishing to questions over the application of state aid for companies.  Clearly, there are no easy answers, and in the end, at least one side is going to need to adjust their current views for a deal to be reached.  And arguably, this is a two-week drill, as the details need to be agreed in time for the EU summit, to be held on October 15th, in order to allow enough time for all 27 other EU members to ratify the deal.

The question at hand, though, is what is priced into the market given the pound’s current level of 1.2850.  A quick look at the pound’s price history since the historic vote back in June 2016 shows that the range of trading has been 1.1412 (reached during the initial Covid panic) to 1.5018 (reached in the first minutes after the Brexit vote when the belief was Bremain had won.)  However, if we remove the Covid panic, which was clearly an exogenous event, then the low was 1.1841, reached in October 2016 during the leadership change in the UK.

With this as our framework, it is then worthwhile looking at valuation models, none of which really line up, but perhaps offer some modest insight.  For instance, a PPP valuation based on CPI shows the pound is undervalued by less than 4%, but based on the Big Mac index, Sterling is cheap by 28.5%.  When looking at Effective Exchange rates (REER and NEER), the evidence points to the Big Mac index being a better indicator, with measures for both showing the pound is roughly 24% undervalued.  However, it hardly seems likely that the true value of the pound is near 1.70, which is what those adjustments would imply.  Finally, simply taking a longer term look at the pound’s value (1983-2020) shows that the average price is around 1.5850.  Of course, during all of this time, the UK has been a member of the EU so upon its exit, there will be a significant change in its terms of trade, even if there is a deal.

What conclusions can be drawn from this information?  No matter the backdrop, the pound is in the lowest quartile of its historic price levels, which implies the market is anticipating some bad news.  In the event of a hard Brexit, will the pound trade to new lows, below those seen in 1985?  That seems unlikely.  After all, the UK is not going to sink into the North Sea, it is simply going to change the terms on which it deals with the EU.  Rather, a hard Brexit seems more likely to see a movement toward 1.15-1.20, in my view, as long positions get squeezed and a general gloom settles over the economy, at least initially.  On the other hand, successful negotiations may well see a move toward 1.40-1.45, still undervalued based on some of the indicators, but moving back toward its long-term average.  All in all, I would estimate the market has priced in a two-thirds probability of a hard Brexit, so while further declines are possible, parity with the dollar seems unlikely.  Parity with the euro, however, could well arrive in that scenario.

Turning to the rest of the market, though, shows the entire FX complex appears out of sync with the risk framework.  Equity markets are lower throughout Europe (DAX -0.4%, CAC -0.2%, FTSE 100 -0.5%) after an uninspiring session in Asia (Nikkei +0.1%, Hang Seng -0.85%, Shanghai -0.2%).  US futures are essentially flat, although have spent the bulk of the evening session modestly lower.  Bond prices are a bit firmer this morning, at least in Europe, where Bunds, OATs and Gilts have all seen yields edge 1basis point lower on the day.  Treasury yields, however, are essentially unchanged, still right around 0.65%,

Commodity markets show oil prices softer (WTI -0.65%) but precious metals slightly firmer (Gold +0.4%).  In fact, all metals prices are a bit higher, but agricultural prices are softer.  In other words, signals here are mixed as well.

Finally, the dollar, despite what appears to be a mild risk-off session, is weaker pretty much vs. all its G10 brethren with only the JPY (-0.1%) the outlier.  Arguably, that looks more like a risk-on day than a risk-off one.  The leading gainer in the bloc is AUD (+0.7%) which has been the beneficiary of demand for AGB’s, a slightly higher confidence index reading and a change in view regarding further RBA stimulus by Westpac, one of the big four Australian banks. It should be no surprise that NZD (+0.55%) has followed the Aussie higher, but the rest of the bloc is having a solid day amidst broad-based dollar weakness.

EMG currencies are starting to show more strength at this hour, led by PLN (+1.15%), although gains in MXN (+0.9%), HUF (+0.7%) and CZK (+0.65%) are solid as well.  The zloty has been responding to comments from one of the central bank’s members, Eugeniusz Gatnar, describing near zero interest rates as hurting the economy and calling for normalization by next year.  Meanwhile, MXN seems to be benefitting from an increase in the carry trade, where despite recent volatility, the search for yield is forcing many investors to areas they would not have previously considered.  Overall, the only currencies that have been under pressure remain RUB and TRY as the escalation of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan weighs on their sponsors.

On the data front, there was precious little overnight, Tokyo CPI ex Fresh Food fell -0.2%, while European data was all second tier.  This morning we see Case Shiller Home Prices (exp 3.60%) as well as Consumer Confidence (90.0), however, neither of these seem likely to change views.  Of more importance, we have four more Fed speakers, although yesterday’s had little impact.  Arguably, the thing which has the market’s attention is tonight’s first presidential debate, but at this point, it is difficult to determine what type of impact it may have.  Ultimately, a change in the White House is likely to have some significant market implications, with the dollar’s value being clearly impacted.  But it is far too early to discuss this issue.

For today, it appears that the FX market is leading the equity markets, a highly unusual situation, but I expect that we will continue to see modest USD weakness while equity markets edge higher.

Good luck and stay safe
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Signs of Dissension

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In China they claim that firms grew
Their profits and gross revenue
Encouraged by this
The bulls added risk
While bears had to rethink their view

Quite frankly, it has been a fairly dull session overnight with virtually no data and only a handful of comments.  Risk appetite is in the ascension after the Chinese reported, Saturday night, that Industrial Profits rose 19.1% Y/Y.  What’s truly remarkable about that statistic, and perhaps what makes it difficult to accept, is that throughout most of 2019, those numbers were negative.  In other words, prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, Chinese firms were struggling mightily to make money.  But since the very sharp dip in March, the rebound there, at least in this statistic, has been substantial.  While it is certainly possible that organic growth is the reason for this sharp rebound, it seems far more likely that PBOC support has been a key factor.  Remember, while they don’t get as much press as the Fed or ECB, they are extremely involved in the economy as well as financial markets.  After all, there is no semblance of independence from the government.

According to those in the know
The ECB’s starting to show
Some signs of dissension
Amid apprehension
The rate of inflation’s too low

In one camp the PIGS all believe
More money they ought to receive
But further up north
The hawks have put forth
The view PEPP should end New Year’s Eve

Meanwhile, the other story that is building is the growing split in the ECB between the hawks and doves regarding how to react to the evolving situation.  The breakdown is exactly as expected, with Italian, Spanish and Portuguese members calling for more support, via an expansion of the PEPP by December, latest, in order to assure those economies still suffering the aftereffects of the Covid shutdowns, that the ECB will prevent borrowing costs from rising.  Meanwhile, the hawkish set, led by Yves Mersch, the Luxembourgish ECB governor, sees the glass half full and has explained there is no need for further action as the economy looks much better.  Naturally, German, Dutch and Austrian members are on board with the latter view.  Madame Lagarde, the consensus builder, certainly has her work cut out to get policy agreement by the next meeting at the end of October.

Adding to the difficulty for the ECB is the apparent strength of the second wave of the virus that is truly sweeping the Continent.  While France has been the worst hit, with more than 11,000 new cases reported yesterday, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany are all seeing caseloads as high, or higher, than the initial wave back in March.  European governments are reluctant to force another shutdown as the economic consequences are too severe, but they feel the need to do something that will demonstrate they are in control of the situation.  Look for more rules, but no mandatory shutdowns.

And remarkably, those are the only economically focused stories of the session.  The ongoing US presidential campaigns, especially now that the first debate is nearly upon us, has captured the bulk of the US press’s attention, although the angst over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett has probably been the cause of more spilled digital ink in the past several days.

So, a turn toward markets shows that Asian markets generally performed well (Nikkei +1.3%, Hang Seng +1.0%) although interestingly, despite the Chinese profits data, Shanghai actually fell -0.1%.  Europe, on the other hand, is uniformly green, led by the DAX (+2.7%) and CAC (+2.0%), with the FTSE 100 higher by a mere 1.5%.  US futures have taken their cues from all this and are currently pointing to openings nearly 1.5% higher than Friday’s closing levels.

Bond markets continue to offer little in the way of price signals as central bank activity continues to be the dominant force.  I find it laughable that Fed members are explaining they don’t want to increase QE because they don’t want to have an impact on the bond market.  Really?  Between the Fed and the ECB, the one thing in which both have been successful is preventing virtually any movement, up or down, in yields.  This morning sees the risk-on characteristic of a rise in Treasury and Bund yields, but by just 1.5bps each, and both remain well within their recent trading ranges.  Yield curve control is here in all but name.

As to the dollar, it is softer vs. its G10 counterparts with the pound (+1.25%) rising sharply in the past few minutes as the tone leading up to the restart of Brexit negotiations tomorrow has suddenly become quite conciliatory on both sides.  But we have also seen solid gains in SEK (+0.7%), NOK (+0.6%) and AUD (+0.5%).  The Stocky story has to do with the fact that the Riksbank did not receive any bids for credit by the banking community, implying the situation in the economy is improving.  As to NOK and AUD, a reversal in oil and commodity prices has been seen as a positive in both these currencies.

In the emerging markets, the picture is a bit more mixed with ZAR (+0.3%) as the leading gainer, although given the relative movement in the G10 space, one would have expected something more exciting.  On the downside, TRY (-1.65%) and RUB (-0.85%) are outliers as the declaration of war between Armenia (Russian-backed) and Azerbaijan (Turkish-backed), has raised further concerns about both nations’ financial capabilities to wage a hot war at this time.

On the data front, while the week has started off slowly, we have a lot to absorb culminating in Friday’s NFP numbers.

Tuesday Case Shiller Home Prices 3.60%
Consumer Confidence 90.0
Wednesday ADP Employment 630K
Q2 GDP -31.7%
Chicago PMI 52.0
Thursday Initial Claims 850K
Continuing Claims 12.25M
Personal Income -2.5%
Personal Spending 0.8%
Core PCE 0.3% (1.4% Y/Y)
Construction Spending 0.7%
ISM Manufacturing 56.3
ISM Prices Paid 59.0
Friday Non Farm Payrolls 850K
Private Payrolls 850K
Manufacturing Payrolls 38K
Unemployment Rate 8.2%
Average Hourly Earnings 0.2% (4.8% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.6
Participation Rate 61.9%
Michigan Sentiment 78.9
Factory Orders 1.0%

Source: Bloomberg

On top of the data, we have thirteen Fed speeches by eight different Fed speakers, although the Chairman is mute this week.  It seems unlikely that we will get a mixed message from this group, but it is not impossible.  After all, we have both the most hawkish (Mester today) and the most dovish (Kashkari on Wednesday) due, so the chance for some disagreement there.  As to the data, it would appear that the payroll data will be most important, but do not ignore the PCE data.  Remember, both PPI and CPI have been surprising on the high side the past two months, so a surprise here might get some tongues wagging, although I wouldn’t expect a policy change, that’s for sure.

Net, with a positive risk backdrop, it is no surprise to see the dollar under pressure.  However, I expect that we are more likely to see a modest reversal than a large extension of the move unless stocks can go up sharply from their already elevated levels.

Good luck and stay safe
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The New Weasel Word

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The bulk of the FOMC
Explained their preferred policy
More government spending,
Perhaps never ending,
Is what almost all want to see

Meanwhile, ‘cross the pond, what we heard
Is ‘bove 2% is preferred
They’ll soon change their stance
To give growth a chance
Inflation’s the new weasel word

Another day, another central bank explanation that higher inflation is just what the doctor ordered to improve the economy.  This time, Banque de France’s Governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, explained that the current formulation used by the ECB, “below, but close to, 2%”, is misunderstood.  Rather than 2% being a ceiling, what they have meant all along is that it is a symmetrical target.  Uh huh!  I’ve been around long enough to remember that back in 1988, when the ECB was first being considered, Germany was adamant that they would not accept a central bank that would allow inflation, and so forced the ECB to look just like the Bundesbank.  That meant closely monitoring price pressures and preventing them from ever getting out of hand.  Hence, the ECB remit, was absolutely designed as a ceiling, with the Germans reluctant to even allow 2% inflation.  Of course, for most of the rest of Europe, inflation was the saving grace for their economies.  Higher inflation begat weaker currencies which allowed France, Italy, Spain, et.al. to continue to compete with a German economy that became ever more efficient.

But twenty-some years into the experiment of the single currency, and despite the fact that the German economy remains the largest and most important in the Eurozone, the inflationistas of Southern Europe are gaining the upper hand.  These comments by Villeroy are just the latest sign that the ECB is going to abandon its price stability rules, although you can be sure that they will never say that.  Of course, the problem the ECB has is similar to that of Japan and the US, goosing measured inflation has been beyond their capabilities for the past decade (more than two decades for the BOJ), so simply changing their target hardly seems like it will be sufficient to do the job.  My fear, and that of all of Germany, is that one day they will be successful in achieving this new goal and will not be able to stop inflation at their preferred level, but instead will see it rise much higher.  But that is not today’s problem.  Just be aware that we are likely to begin hearing many other ECB members start discussing how inflation running hot for a while is a good thing.  Arguably, the only exceptions to this will be the Bundesbank and Dutch central bank.

And once again, I will remind you all that there is literally no chance that the ECB will sit back and watch, rather than act, if the Fed actually succeeds in raising inflation and weakening the dollar.

Speaking of the Fed, this week has seen a significant amount of Fedspeak already, with Chairman Powell on the stand in Congress for the past three days.  What he, and virtually every other Fed speaker explained, was that more fiscal stimulus was required if the government wanted to help boost growth.  The Fed has done all they can, and to listen to Powell, they have been extremely effective, but the next step was Congress’s to take.  The exception to this thought process came from St Louis Fed President Bullard, who explained that based on his forecasts, the worst is behind us and no further fiscal stimulus is needed.  What makes this so surprising is that he has been one of the most dovish of all Fed members, while this is a distinctly hawkish sentiment.  But he is the outlier and will not affect the ultimate outcome at this stage.

Powell was on the stand next to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, who made the comment with the biggest impact on markets.  He mentioned that he and House Speaker Pelosi were back to negotiating on a new stimulus package, which the equity market took as a sign a deal would be reached quickly.  We shall see.  Clearly, there is a great deal of angst in Congress right now, so the ability to agree on anything across the aisle is highly questionable.

With that in mind, a look at markets shows what had been a mixed opening is turning into a more negative session.  Overnight saw Asian equity markets with minimal gains and losses (Nikkei +0.5%, Hang Seng -0.3%, Shanghai -0.2%), but Europe, which had been behaving in a similar manner early in the session has turned sharply lower.  At this time, the DAX (-1.95%) and CAC (-2.0%) are leading the way lower, with the FTSE 100 (-0.8%) having a relatively better day.  At the same time, US futures turned from flat to lower, with all three indices now pointing to -0.6% losses at the open.

It is difficult to point to a specific comment or piece of news driving this new sentiment, but it appears that the bond market is in the same camp as stocks.  Treasury yields, while they remain in a narrow range, have slipped 1bp, to 0.65%, and we are seeing Bunds (-2bps) and Gilts (-3bps) also garner demand as havens are in play.  Apparently, central bank desire for inflation is not seen as a serious situation quite yet.

Commodity prices have turned around as well, with oil falling 2% from morning highs, and gold dropping 1%.  In other words, this is a uniform risk reduction, although I would suspect that gold prices should lag the decline elsewhere.

As to the dollar, it is starting to pick up a more substantial bid with EUR (-0.3%) and GBP (-0.35%) sliding from earlier levels.  NOK (-1.15%) remains the worst performer in the G10, which given the decline in oil prices and evolving risk sentiment should be no surprise.  But at this point in the day, the entire bloc is weaker vs. the buck.  EMG currencies, too, have completely reversed some modest early morning strength, and, once again, ZAR (-1.2%) and MXN (-1.0%) lead the way lower.  One must be impressed with the increased volatility in those currencies, as they start to approach levels seen in the initial stages of the Covid crisis.  For anyone who thought that the dollar had lost its haven status, recent price action should put paid to that notion.

On the data front, today brings Durable Goods (exp 1.4%, 1.0% ex Transport) and we hear from two more Fed speakers, Williams and Esther George.  While Williams is almost certain to repeat Powell’s current mantra of more fiscal support, Ms George is one of the more hawkish Fed members and could well sound more like James Bullard than Jay Powell.  We shall see.

This has been a risk-off week, with equity markets down across the board and the dollar higher vs. every major currency in the world.  It seems highly unlikely that the Durable Goods number will change that broader sentiment, and so the ongoing equity market correction, as well as USD rebound seems likely to continue into the weekend.  Remember, short USD positions are still the rule, so there is plenty of ammunition for a further short covering.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
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Further To Go

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The contrast could not be more clear
Twixt Powell and Christine this year
The Fed jumped in first
But now they’ve disbursed
As much aid as like to appear

Meanwhile Ms Lagarde in Berlin
Was clearly quite slow to begin
But Europe depends
On banks to extend
Its aid, so can still underpin

More growth by increasing the flow
Of cash, through TLTRO
Thus, traders now see
The buck vis-à-vis
The euro, has further to go

It was less than two months ago when the most prominent theme in the market was the imminent demise of the dollar, not merely in the short-term, but in the long run.  The idea that was being circulated was that because of the US’s excessive and growing twin deficits (Budget and Current Account), investors would soon decide that holding dollar’s would be too risky and thus demand a different unit of account and store of value.  During this period, we did see the dollar sell off, with the greenback falling nearly 6.5% vs. the euro during the month of July.  But that was basically that.  It was a great story, and probably a good trade for some early movers, but explaining short term market volatility by referring to ultra-long-term financial theory was always destined to fail.  And fail it has.  After all, since then, the dollar has actually appreciated (+2.2% vs. the euro) and yet, if anything, the US has seen its budget and current account deficits widen further.

Rather, short-term dollar movement tends to be driven by things like relative monetary policy and relative macroeconomic performance.  Looking back at that time, the prevailing sentiment was that the Fed, despite having already implemented an unfathomable amount of monetary ease already, was preparing to do even more.  Recall, leading up to, and through, the Jackson Hole symposium, market participants were sure that the Fed was going to not merely allow inflation to run hot, but help it do so.  Meanwhile, the ECB, in its typical plodding manner, was very quiet and the punditry saw little in the way of additional ease on the horizon.  In fact, there were complaints that the ECB was not doing nearly enough.

However, as seems to happen quite frequently, the punditry turns out to have gotten things backwards.  Last week, the Fed announced their new policy goals, counting on average inflation targeting to help them achieve significantly lower unemployment, although they still couldn’t didn’t explain how they were going to achieve said higher inflation.  And then earlier this week, Chairman Powell, in as much, admitted that the Fed has done all they can and that it was up to Congress to expand fiscal stimulus in order to give the economy the support it needed to cope with the Covid inspired recession.  In other words, the Fed is out of bullets.

One of the problems the Fed has is that transmission of monetary policy is effected by banks, that is the way the system is designed.  But the bulk of the Fed programs have only supported markets, by them buying Treasuries, Mortgage-backed securities, Corporates (IG and Junk) and Munis.  But for small companies who don’t access the capital markets directly, virtually none of the Fed’s activities have had an impact as the bank’s are reluctant to lend in this environment of economic uncertainty.  Europe, on the other hand, relies on banks for the majority of capital flow to its economy, as European corporate debt markets remain much smaller and more fragmented across countries.  So, when the ECB created the TLTRO, targeted lending facility, where they PAY banks 1.00% to lend money to companies, who also pay the banks interest, it turns out to be a more efficient way to prosecute monetary policy ease.  And this morning, the latest tranche of this program saw an additional €174.5 billion taken up.  This is on top of the €1.3 trillion that was taken up last time there was a tender, three months ago.

The point is, suddenly investors and traders are figuring out that the ECB has the ability to promulgate policy ease more effectively than the Fed, and just as importantly, are doing so.  Add it all up and you have ECB policy looking easier than Fed policy at the margin, a clear recipe for the euro’s decline.  This move in the euro is just beginning, and it would not be surprising to see the single currency head back toward 1.12 before the end of the year.  As I have written in the past, there was no way the ECB would sit back and allow the dollar to fall unhindered.  They simply cannot afford that outcome to occur.

Which brings us to today’s session, where risk is being jettisoned across equity markets globally, although several European markets are starting to turn things around.  Overnight, following a very weak US session, Asia was red across the board led by the Hang Seng (-1.8%), but with weakness in Shanghai (-1.7%) and the Nikkei (-1.1%). Europe, however, while starting lower in every market has now seen a little positivity as the DAX (+0.15%) and Italy’s FTSE MIB (+0.7%) are offsetting increasingly modest weakness in the CAC (-0.1%) and FTSE 100 (-0.4%).  Finally, US futures, which had also been lower by more than 0.5% earlier in the session, have rebounded to flat.

The bond market, however, remains enigmatic lately, with yields continuing to trade in extremely tight ranges regardless of the movement in risk assets.  At this time, Treasury yields are unchanged, after remaining essentially unchanged during yesterday’s US equity sell-off.  Bunds have seen yields edge lower by 1.5 basis points, while Gilt yields have edged higher by less than a basis point.  It seems that the bond markets, globally, are unwilling to follow every twist and turn of the recent stock market manias.

As to the dollar, it is firmer vs. most of its counterparts, but just like we are seeing in European equities, we are beginning to see a bit of a rebound in some currencies as well.  In the G10, the biggest story is NOK (-0.65%) where the Norgesbank disappointed one and all by seeming to be more dovish than anticipated.  Many had come to believe they would be putting a timeline on raising interest rates, but they did no such thing, thus the krone has continued its recent poor performance (-5.8% vs. the dollar in the past month).  But we are seeing weakness elsewhere with SEK (-0.8%) actually the worst performer, albeit absent any specific news, and both NZD (-0.5%) and AUD (-0.3%) suffering at this point.

In the EMG bloc, overnight saw weakness across the Asian currencies led by KRW (-0.7%) and THB, IDR and TWD (all -0.5%) as risk was shed across the board.  But with the recent turn in events, early losses by ZAR (+0.7%) and MXN (+0.3%) have turned to gains.  It is those two currencies, however, which remain the most volatile around, so be careful if hedging there.

On the data front, yesterday’s US PMI data was right on expectations and showed continued progress in the economy, a sharp contrast to the European situation.  This morning saw modestly weaker than expected German IFO data (Expectations 97.7), which is not helping the euro.  Later today we see Initial Claims (exp 840K), Continuing Claims (12.275M) and finally New Home Sales (890K) at 10:00.  Once again, the tapes will be painted with Fedspeak, led by Powell at 10:00 in front of the Senate Banking Committee, but also hearing from six more FOMC members. While I would not be surprised if Powell tried to walk back his comments about the Fed being done, it’s not clear he will be able to do so.

For now, the dollar’s trend remains pretty solid, and I expect that it will continue to grind higher until we get a substantive change in policies.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Growth Has Now Faltered

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The working assumption had been
That governments soon would begin
To lift their restrictions
Across jurisdictions
From Lisbon to well past Berlin
 
But Covid had other designs
By spreading, despite strict guidelines
So, growth has now faltered
And views have been altered
Regarding recovery times
 
Remember how smug so many publications around the world seemed when comparing the spread of Covid in the US and throughout Europe?  The narrative was that despite a devastating first wave in Italy and Spain, nations on the Continent handled the situation significantly better than the chaos occurring in the US.  Much was blamed on the different types of healthcare systems, and of course, there was significant opprobrium set aside for the US president. But a funny thing has happened to that narrative lately, and it was reinforced this morning by the preliminary PMI data that was released.  Suddenly, the growth in Covid cases throughout Europe is expanding to what seems very much like a true second wave, with France and Spain leading the way, each reporting more than 10,000 cases yesterday, while in the US, we continue to see a true flattening of the curve.  The discussion in many European countries is whether or not to impose a second lockdown, as governments there try to decide if their economies and budgets can withstand such an outcome.  (I don’t envy them their choice as no matter the outcome, some people will suffer and scream loudly about the decision.)
 
But a funny thing seems to be happening within economies, despite this government wariness to act, people are making the decisions for themselves.  And so, service businesses are seeing real declines in activity as people naturally avoid restaurants, travel and entertainment companies.  And that’s just what the data shows.  PMI Services surveys showed significantly worse outcomes in France (47.5 vs. 51.5 expected), Germany (49.1 vs. 53.0) and the Eurozone as a whole (47.6 vs. 50.6).  In other words, it appears that people are pretty good at self-preservation, and will not put themselves knowingly at risk without a good reason.  Getting a pint at the local pub is clearly not a good enough reason.
 
For elected policymakers, however, this is the worst of all worlds.  Not only does economic activity contract, for which they will be blamed, but they are not making the decisions for the people, which appears to be their primary motivation in so many cases.  Of course, there is a class of policymakers to whom this outcome is seen as a pure benefit…central bankers.  It is this group who gets to continue to preen about all they have done to support the markets economy, and while the Fintwit community blasts them regularly, the bulk of the population sees them as saviors.  Central banking continues to be a pretty good gig.  Lots of power, no responsibility.
 
Meanwhile, the investment community, including those blasting the central bankers on Fintwit, continue to take advantage of the ongoing central bank largesse and pump asset prices ever higher.  While there was a very short correction back at the beginning of the month, now that merely seems like a bad dream.  And if the data continues to turn lower, the one thing we know is that central banks will step further on the accelerator, announcing greater asset purchase programs, and potentially dragging a few more countries (is the UK next?) into the negative rate world.
 
But that is the world in which we live, whether or not we like it, or agree with the policies.  And as our focus is on markets, we need to be able to describe them and try to understand the evolving trends.  Today, and really this week, that trend continues to see the dollar grind higher despite the fact that we have seen both up and down equity market activity.  In other words, this does not appear to be simply a risk-off related USD rally.  Rather, this appears to be a USD rally built on short-term economic fundamentals.  Remember, FX is a relative game, and even if things in the US are not great, if they are perceived as better than elsewhere, that is sufficient to help drive the value of the dollar higher.  One other thing to note regarding the current market activity is that the hysteria over the dollar’s ‘imminent collapse’, which was all the rage throughout the summer, seems to have completely disappeared. 
 
So, turning to this morning’s session, we find equity markets in the green around the world.  Yesterday’s US rally was followed by a fairly dull Asian session (Nikkei -0.1%, Hang Seng +0.1%) but Europe has really exploded higher.  It seems that the weakening economic data has convinced investors the ECB will be even more active in their policy mix, thus adding more support to equity markets there.  Hence today’s gains (DAX +1.6%, CAC +1.8%, FTSE 100 +2.3%) are a direct response to the weaker data.  It appears we are in the bad news is good phase for investors.  Not to worry, US futures are also pointing higher, albeit not quite as aggressively as we are seeing in Europe.
 
Bond markets remain somnolent as 10-year Treasury yields are at 0.675%, essentially unchanged from yesterday and right in the middle of the tiny 7 basis point range we have seen since September 1st.  (For those of you who were disappointed the Fed did not announce yield curve control, the reason is that they already have it, there is no need to announce it!)  At the same time, German bunds are unchanged on the day, and also mired within a fairly tight, 10bp range.  But the ongoing winners are Italy and Greece, who have seen their 10-year yields decline by 2 and 3 basis points, respectively today, with Italy’s down more than 25 basis points since the beginning of the month.
 
The strong dollar is having a deleterious impact in one market, gold, which has fallen 0.4% today and is now lower by nearly 10% from the highs seen in early August.  The driving forces of the rally remain in place, with real rates still under pressure and inflation still percolating, but it was a very overcrowded trade that seems to be getting unwound lately.
 
Finally, a look at the dollar vs. its G10 brethren shows that commodity currencies are the worst performers today with AUD and NZD both lower by -0.6%, while NOK (-0.5%) and CAD (-0.2%) complete the list.  However, at this hour, the entire bloc is softer vs. the dollar.  In the emerging markets, one needn’t be prescient to have guessed that MXN (-0.85%) and ZAR (-0.75%) are the leading decliners given the combination of their recent volatility and connection to commodity prices.  RUB (-0.6%) is also a leading decliner, suffering from the commodity market malaise, but frankly, APAC and CE4 currencies are also somewhat softer this morning.  This is all about USD strength though, not specific currency story weakness.
 
On the data front, yesterday’s Existing Home Sales were right on the button at 6.0M, as I mentioned, the highest reading since the middle of 2007.  Today the only thing to see is Markit’s US PMI data, expected to print at 53.5 for Manufacturing and 54.5 for Services.  Given the European readings, it will be quite interesting to see if the same pattern is evolving here.
 
Yesterday we also heard from Chairman Powell, but all he said was that the Fed has plenty of ammo and has done a great job, but things would be better if Congress passed another fiscal stimulus bill.  No surprises there.
 
This morning’s USD strength, while broad-based, is shallow.  Perhaps the biggest thing working in the dollar’s favor right now is the size of the short-USD positioning and the fact that recent price action is starting to warm up the technicians for a more sustained move higher.  I think that trend remains but believe we will need to see some real confirmational data to help it extend.
 
Good luck and stay safe
Adf
 
 

Congressional Sloth

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The Chairman is set to appear
Near Mnuchin, and both will make clear
Congressional sloth
Is killing off growth
Thus, action’s required this year

The subtext, though, is that the Chair
Has realized his cupboard is bare
No ammo remains
To prop up the gains
That stocks have made ‘midst much fanfare

Yesterday’s risk-off session may well have set the tone for the week, as there has been precious little rebound yet seen.  In addition to the virus story, and the news of large bank misdeeds, the US election story remains a critical factor, although at this point, any impact remains difficult to discern.  The one thing that is quite clear is that there is a very stark choice between candidates.  Given the prevailing meme that it is going to be a very close election, and the outcome could be in doubt for weeks following November 3rd, and assuming that the market response will be quite different depending on who eventually wins, one cannot blame traders and investors for omitting the issue from their current calculations.  While eventually, there is likely to be a significant market response, at this point, it seems there is little to be gained by positioning early.

In the meantime, however, the current administration continues to seek to do what it thinks best for the economy, and today we will get to hear from Chairman Powell, as well as Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, in Congressional testimony.  As is always the case in these situations, the text of Powell’s speech has been pre-released and it continues to focus on the one (apparently only) thing that is out of his control, more fiscal stimulus.  In his opening remarks he will describe the economy as improving but with still many problems ongoing.  He will also explain that monetary stimulus needs the help of fiscal stimulus to be truly effective.  In other words, he will explain that the Fed is now ‘pushing on a string’ and if Congress doesn’t enact new stimulus measures, there is little the Fed will be able to do to achieve their statutory goals.  Of course, he won’t actually use those words, but that will be the meaning.  It is abundantly clear that the Fed’s ability to support the real economy, as opposed to financial markets, has reached its end.

However, it is not just the Fed that has reached its limit, essentially every G10 central bank has reached the limit of effective central banking.  It has been argued, and I agree with the sentiment, that the difference between ‘normal’ positive interest rates and the zero and negative rates we currently see around the world is similar to the difference between Newtonian and Quantum mechanics in Physics.  In the positive rate environment, things are exactly as they seem.  Investment decisions are based on estimated returns, and risk of repayment is factored into the rate charged. There is a concept called the time value of money, where one dollar today is worth more than that same dollar in the future.  It is the basis on which Economics, the subject, was formulated.  This is akin to Newton’s well-known laws like; Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, or a body in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by another force.  They are even, dare I say, intuitive.

But in the zero (or negative) interest rate world, investment decisions are completely different.  First, the time value of money doesn’t make sense as it becomes, a dollar today is worth less than a dollar in the future.  As well, the addition of forward guidance is self-defeating.  After all, if they know that interest rates are going to remain zero for the next three years, what is the hurry for a company to borrow money now? Especially given the extreme lack of demand for so many products.  Instead, managements have realized that there is no need to worry about increasing production, they will always be able to do that when demand increases.  Rather, their time can be better spent reconfiguring their capital structure to reduce equity (lever up) and show ever increasing EPS growth without risking a poor investment decision.  This is akin to the difficulty in understanding the quantum realm, where uncertainty reigns (thank you Heisenberg) and the accuracy of measuring the position (EPS) and momentum (growth) of a particle are inversely related.

The problem is that central bankers are all Newtonians (or Keynesians), and so simply plug zero and negative numbers into their models and expect the same reactions as when they plug in positive numbers. And the output is garbage, which is a key reason they have been unable to stimulate economic activity effectively.  Alas, as long as problems persist, central bankers will feel compelled to “do something” when doing nothing may be the best course of action.  In the end, look for more monetary stimulus as it is the only tool they have.  Unfortunately, its effectiveness has been diminished to near zero, like their interest rates.

In the meantime, a look around markets shows that risk is neither off nor on this morning, but mostly confused.  Asian equity markets followed yesterday’s US losses, with declines of around 1% in those markets open.  (The Nikkei remained closed).  But European bourses have turned modestly higher on the day as the results of some regional elections in Italy have been taken quite positively.  There, the League’s Matteo Salvini lost seats to the current government, thus reducing the probability of a toppling government and easing pressure on Italian assets.  In fact, the FTSE MIB is the leading gainer today, higher by 1.2%, but we also see the DAX (+1.0%) and CAC (+0.5%) shaking off early losses to turn up.  US futures are mixed at this time, although well off the lows seen during the Asia session.

In the bond market, yesterday saw Treasury yields decline about 3 basis points amidst the ongoing risk reduction, but this morning, prices are edging lower and the yield has backed up just about 1bp.  In Europe, things have been much more interesting as Italian BTP’s have rallied sharply during the day, with yields now down 3.5 basis points, after opening with a similar sized rise in yields.  Bunds, meanwhile, are selling off a bit, as fears of an eruption of Italian trouble recede.

And finally, the dollar, which had been firmer much of the evening, is now ceding much of those gains, and at this hour I would have to describe as mixed.  In the G10, NOK (-0.5%) remains under the most pressure as oil prices continue to soften and there is now a controversy brewing with respect to the investment strategy of the Norwegian oil fund.  But away from NOK, the G10 is +/- 0.15%, which means it is hard to describe the situation as significant.

In the emerging markets, ZAR (+1.1%) continues to be the most volatile currency around, with daily movements in excess of 1%.  It has become, perhaps, the best sentiment gauge out there.  When investors are feeling good, ZAR is in demand, and it is quick to be sold in the event that risk is under pressure.  CNY (+0.45%) is the next best performer.  This is at odds with what appears to be the PBOC’s intentions as they set the fix at a much weaker than expected 6.7872, or 0.4% weaker than yesterday.  It seems the PBOC may be getting concerned over the speed with which the renminbi has been rising, as in the end, they cannot afford for the currency to appreciate too far.  On the red side of the ledger, KRW and IDR both fell 0.6% last night as risk mitigation was the story at the time.

Aside from Chairman Powell speaking today, we also see Existing Home Sales (exp 6.0M), which if it reaches expectations would be the highest print since 2007.  If risk is back in vogue, then I would look for the dollar to continue to edge lower.  And you can be sure that Chairman Powell will not do anything to upset that apple cart.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Absent Demand

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With Autumn’s arrival at hand
The virus has taken a stand
It won’t be defeated
Nor barely depleted
Thus, markets are absent demand

Risk is definitely on the back foot this morning as concerns grow over the increase in Covid-19 cases around the world.  Adding to the downward pressure on risk assets is the news that a number of major global banks are under increased scrutiny for their inability (unwillingness?) to stop aiding and abetting money laundering.  And, of course, in the background is the growing sense that monetary authorities around the world, notably the Fed, have run out of ammunition in their ongoing efforts to support economic growth in the wake of the government imposed shutdowns.  All in all, things look pretty dire this morning.

Starting with the virus, you may recall that one of the fears voiced early on was that, like the flu, it would fade somewhat in the summer and then reassert itself as the weather cooled.  Well, it appears that was a pretty accurate analysis as we have definitely seen the number of new cases rising in numerous countries around the world.  Europe finds itself in particularly difficult straits as the early self-congratulatory talk about how well they handled things vis-à-vis the US seems to be coming undone.  India has taken the lead with respect to the growth in cases, with more than 130,000 reported in the past two days.  The big concern is that government’s around the world are going to reimpose new lockdowns to try to stifle growth in the number of cases, but we all know how severely that can impact the economy.  So, the question with which the markets are grappling is, will the potential long-term benefit of a lockdown, which may reduce the overall caseload outweigh the short-term distress to the economy, profits and solvency?

At least for today, investors and traders are coming down on the side that the lockdowns are more destructive than the disease and so we have seen equity markets around the world come under pressure, with Europe really feeling the pain.  Last night saw the Hang Seng (-2.1%) and Shanghai (-0.6%) sell off pretty steadily.  (The Nikkei was closed for Autumnal Equinox Day.)  But the situation in Europe has been far more severe with the DAX (-3.2%), CAC (-3.1%) and FTSE 100 (-3.5%) all under severe pressure.  All three of those nations are stressing from an increase in Covid cases, but this is where we are seeing a second catalyst, the story about major banks and their money laundering habits.  A new report has been released that describes movement of more than $2 trillion in illicit funds by major (many European) banks, even after sanctions and fines have been imposed.  It can be no surprise that bank stocks throughout Europe are lower, nor that pre-market activity in the US is pointing in the same direction.  As such, US future markets showing declines of 1.5%-2.0% are right in line with reasonable expectations.

And finally, we cannot ignore Chairman Powell and the Fed.  The Chairman will be speaking before Congress three times this week, on both the need for more fiscal stimulus as well as the impact of Covid on the economy.  Now we already know that the Fed has implemented “powerful” new tools to help support the US, after all, Powell told us that about ten times last week in his press conference.  Unfortunately, the market is a bit less confident in the power of those tools.  At the same time, it seems the ECB has launched a review of its PEPP program, to try to determine if it has been effective and how much longer it should continue.  One other question they will address is whether the original QE program, APP, should be modified to be more like PEPP.  It is not hard to guess what the answers will be; PEPP has been a huge success, it should be expanded and extended because of its success, and more consideration will be given to changing APP to be like PEPP (no capital key).  After all, the ECB cannot sit by idly and watch the Fed ease policy more aggressively and allow the euro to appreciate in value, that would be truly catastrophic to their stated goal of raising the cost of living inflation on the Continent.

With all that in mind, a look at FX markets highlights that the traditional risk-off movement is the order of the day.  In other words, the dollar is broadly stronger vs. just about everything except the yen.  For instance, in the G10 space, NOK (-1.45%) is falling sharply as the combination of risk aversion and a sharply lower oil price (WTI -2.5%) has taken the wind out of the krone’s sails.  But the weakness here is across the board as SEK (-0.8%) and the big two, GBP (-0.5%) and EUR (-0.45%) are all under pressure.  It’s funny, it wasn’t that long ago when the entire world was convinced that the dollar was about to collapse.  Perhaps that attitude was a bit premature.  In fact, the euro bulls need to hope that 1.1765 (50-day moving average) holds because if the technicians jump in, we could see the single currency fall a lot more.

As to the emerging markets, the story is the same, the dollar is broadly higher with recent large gainers; ZAR (-2.0%) and MXN (-1.4%), leading the way lower.  But the weakness is broad-based as the CE4 are all under pressure (CZK -1.3%, HUF -1.1%, PLN -0.95%) and even CNY (-0.2%) which has been rallying steadily since its nadir at the end of May, has suffered.  In fact, the only positive was KRW (+0.2%) which benefitted from data showing that exports finally grew, rising above 0.0% for the first time since before Covid.

As to the data this week, it is quite light with just the following to watch:

Tuesday Existing Home Sales 6.01M
Wednesday PMI Manufacturing (Prelim) 53.3
Thursday Initial Claims 840K
Continuing Claims 12.45M
New Home Sales 890K
Friday Durable Goods 1.1%
-ex Transport 1.0%

Source: Bloomberg

The market will be far more interested in Powell’s statements, as well as his answers in the Q&A from both the House and Senate.  The thing is, we already know what he is going to say.  The Fed has plenty of ammunition, but with interest rates already at zero, monetary policy needs help from fiscal policy.  In addition to Powell, nine other Fed members speak a total of twelve times this week.  But with Powell as the headliner, it is unlikely they will have an impact.

The risk meme is today’s story.  If US equity markets play out as the futures indicate, and follow Europe lower, there is no reason to expect the dollar to do anything but continue to rally.  After all, while short dollar positions are not at record highs, they are within spitting distance of being so, which means there is plenty of ammunition for a dollar rally as shorts get covered.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Prices Keep Falling

Posted on by

Suga-san’s ascent
Has not altered the landscape
Prices keep falling

The distance between stated economic goals and actual economic outcomes remains wide as the economic impact of the many pandemic inspired government ordered lockdowns continues to be felt around the world.  The latest example comes from Japan, where August’s CPI readings fell, as expected, to 0.2% Y/Y at the headline level while the ex-fresh food measure (the one the BOJ prefers) fell to -0.4%.  Although pundits in the US have become fond of ridiculing the Fed’s efforts at raising inflation to 2.0%, especially given their inability to do so since defining that level as stable prices in 2012, to see real ineptitude, one must turn east and look at the BOJ’s track record on inflation.  In the land of the rising sun, the favored measure of CPI ex-fresh food has averaged 0.5% for the last 35 years!  The point is the Fed is not the first, nor only, central bank to fail in its mission to generate inflation via monetary policy.

(As an aside, it is an entirely different argument to discuss the merits of seeking to drive inflation higher to begin with, as there is a strong case to be made that limited inflation is a necessary condition for economic success at the national level.)  But 2.0% inflation has become the global central banking mantra. And though the favored inflation measure across nations often differs, the one key similarity is that every G10 nation, as well as many in the emerging markets, has been unable to achieve their goal.  The few exceptions are those nations like Venezuela, Argentina and Turkey that have the opposite problem, soaring inflation and no ability to control that.

But back to Japan, where decades of futility on the inflation front have put paid to the idea that printing money is all that is needed to generate rising prices.  The missing ingredient for all central banks is that they need to pump money into places that result in lending and spending, not simply asset purchases, or those excess funds will simply sit on bank balance sheets with no impact.

Remember, GDP growth, in the long run, comes from a combination of population growth and productivity growth.  Japan has the misfortune, in this case, of being one of the few nations on earth where the population is actually shrinking.  It is also the oldest nation, meaning the average and median age is higher there than any other country on earth (except Monaco which really doesn’t matter in this context).  The point here is that as people age, they tend to consume less stuff, spending less money and therefore driving less growth in the economy.  It is these two factors that will prevent Japan from achieving a much higher rate of inflation until such time as the country’s demographics change.  A new Prime Minister will not solve this problem, regardless of what policies he supports and implements.

Keeping this in mind, the idea that Japan is far more likely to cope with ongoing deflation rather than rising inflation, if we turn our attention to how that impacts the Japanese yen, we quickly realize that the currency is likely to appreciate over time.  Dusting off your Finance 101 textbooks, you will see that inflation has the side effect of weakening a nation’s currency, which quickly feeds into driving further inflation.  Adding to this impact is if the nation runs a current account deficit, which is generally the case when inflation is high and rising.  Harking back to Argentina and Venezuela, this is exactly the behavior we see in those economies.  The flip side of that, though, is that deflation should lead to a nation’s currency appreciating.  This is especially so when that nation runs a current account surplus.  And of course, you cannot find a nation that fits that bill better than Japan (well maybe Switzerland).  The upshot of this is, further JPY appreciation seems to be an extremely likely outcome.  Therefore, as long as prices cease to rise in Japan, there will be upward pressure on the currency.  We have seen this for years, and there is no reason for it to stop now.

Of course, as I always remind everyone, FX is a relative game, so it matters a great deal what is happening in both nations on a relative basis.  And in this case, when comparing the US, where prices are rising and the current account has been in deficit for the past two decades, and Japan, where prices are falling and the current account has been in surplus for the past four decades, the outcome seems clear.  However, the market is already aware of that situation and so the current level of USDJPY reflects that information.  However, as we look ahead, either negative surprises in Japanese prices or positive surprises in the US are going to be important drivers in the FX market.  This is likely to be seen in interest rate spreads, which have narrowed significantly since March when the Fed cut rates aggressively but have stabilized lately.  If the Fed is, in fact, going to put forth the easiest monetary policy around, then a further narrowing of this spread is quite possible, if not likely, and further JPY appreciation will ultimately be the result.  This is what we have seen broadly since the middle of 2015, a steady trend lower in USDJPY, and there is no reason to believe that is going to change.

Whew!  That turned out to be more involved than I expected at the start.  So let me quickly survey the situation today.  Risk is under modest pressure generally, although there were several equity markets that put in a good performance overnight.  After a weak US session, Asia saw modest gains in most places (Nikkei +0.2%, Hang Seng +0.5%) although Shanghai (+2.1%) was quite strong.  European markets are far less convinced of the positives with the DAX (+0.4%) and CAC (-0.1%) not showing much movement, and some of the fringe markets (Spain -1.3%) having a bit more difficulty.  US futures are mixed, although the top performer is the NASDAQ (+0.4%).

Bond markets continue to trade in a tight range, as central bank purchases offset ongoing issuance by governments, and we are going to need some new news or policies to change this story.  Something like an increase in the ECB’s PEPP program, or the BOE increasing its purchases will be necessary to change this, as the Fed is already purchasing a huge amount of paper each month.

And finally, the rest of the FX market shows that the dollar is broadly, but not universally under pressure.  G10 activity shows that NZD (+0.4%) is the leader, although JPY (+0.3%) is having another good day, while NOK (-0.25%) is the laggard.  But as can be seen by the modest movements, and given the fact it is Friday, this is likely position adjustments rather than data driven.

In the EMG space, KRW (+1.2%) was the biggest gainer overnight, which was hard to explain based on outside influences.  The KOSPI rose 0.25%, hardly a huge rally, and interest rates were unchanged.  The best estimate here is that ongoing strength in China is seen as a distinct positive for the won, as South Korea remains highly dependent on the mainland for economic activity.  Beyond the won, though, while there were more gainers than losers, the size of movement was not that significant.

On the data front, speaking of the current account, we see the Q2 reading this morning (exp -$160.0B), as well as Leading Indicators (1.3%) and Michigan Sentiment (75.0).  We also hear from three Fed speakers (Bullard, Bostic and Kashkari) but having just heard from Powell on Wednesday, it seems unlikely they will give us any new information. Rather, today appears to be a consolidation day, with marginal movements as weak positions get unwound into the weekend.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
Adf

Risk is in Doubt

Posted on by

The chatter before the Fed met
Was Powell and friends were all set
To ease even more
Until they restore
Inflation to lessen the debt

And while Jay attempted just that
His efforts have seemed to fall flat
Now risk is in doubt
As traders clear out
Positions from stocks to Thai baht

Well, the Fed meeting is now history and in what cannot be very surprising, the Chairman found out that once you have established a stance of maximum policy ease, it is very difficult to sound even more dovish.  So, yes, the Fed promised to maintain current policy “…until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Committee’s assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.”  And if you really parse those words compared to the previous statement’s “…maintain this target range until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals”, you could make the case it is more dovish.  But the one thing at which market participants are not very good is splitting hairs.  And I would argue that is what you are doing here.  Between the old statement and Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, everybody already knew the Fed was not going to raise rates for a very long time.  Yesterday was merely confirmation.

In fact, ironically, I think the fact that there were two dissents on the vote, Kaplan and Kashkari, made things worse.  The reason is that both of them sought even easier policy and so as dovish as one might believe the new statement sounds, clearly some members felt it could be even more dovish than that.  At the same time, the dot plot added virtually nothing to the discussion as the vast majority believe that through 2023 the policy rate will remain pegged between 0.00%-0.25% where it is now.  Also, while generating inflation remains the animating force of the committee, according to the Summary of Economic Projections released yesterday, even their own members don’t believe that core PCE will ever rise above 2.0% and not even touch that level until 2023.

Add it all up and it seems pretty clear that the Fed is out of bullets, at least as currently configured with respect to their Congressional mandate and restrictions.  It will require Congress to amend the Federal Reserve Act and allow them to purchase equities in order to truly change the playing field and there is no evidence that anything of that nature is in the cards.  A look at the history of the effectiveness of QE and either zero or negative interest rates shows that neither one does much for the economy, although both do support asset markets.  Given those are the only tools the Fed has, and they are both already in full use (and not just at the Fed, but everywhere in the G10), it is abundantly clear why central bankers worldwide are willing to sacrifice their independence in order to cajole governments to apply further fiscal stimulus.  Central banks seem to have reached the limit of their capabilities to address the real economy.  And if (when) things turn back down, they are going to shoulder as much blame as elected officials can give with respect to who is responsible for the bad news.

With that as background, let’s take a peek at how markets have responded to the news.  Net-net, it hasn’t been pretty.  Equity markets are in the red worldwide with losses overnight (Nikkei -0.7%, Hang Seng -1.6%, Shanghai -0.4%) and in Europe (DAX -0.7%, CAC -0.8%, FTSE 100 -1.0%).  US futures are pointing lower after equity markets in the US ceded all their gains after the FOMC and closed lower yesterday.  At this time, all three futures indices are lower by about 1.0%.

Meanwhile, bond markets, which if you recall have not been tracking the equity market risk sentiment very closely over the past several weeks, are edging higher, at least in those markets truly seen as havens.  So, Treasury yields are lower by 2bps, while German bunds and French OATS are both seeing yields edge lower, but by less than one basis point.  However, the rest of the European government bond market is under modest pressure, with the PIGS seeing their bonds sell off and yields rising between one and two basis points.  Of course, as long as the ECB continues to buy bonds via the PEPP, none of these are likely to fall that far in price, thus yields there are certainly capped for the time being.  I mean even Greek 10-year yields are 1.06%!  This from a country that has defaulted six times in the modern era, the most recent being less than ten years ago.

Finally, if we look to the FX markets, it can be no surprise to see the dollar has begun to reverse some of its recent losses.  Remember, the meme here has been that the Fed would be the easiest of all central banks with respect to monetary policy and so the dollar had much further to fall.  Combine that with the long-term theme of macroeconomic concerns over the US twin deficits (budget and current account) and short dollars was the most popular position in the market for the past three to four months.  Thus, yesterday’s FOMC outcome, where it has become increasingly clear that the Fed has little else to do in the way of policy ease, means that other nations now have an opportunity to ease further at the margin, changing the relationship and ultimately watching their currency weaken versus the dollar.  Remember, too, that essentially no country is comfortable with a strong currency at this point, as stoking inflation and driving export growth are the top two goals around the world.  The dollar’s rebound has only just begun.

Specifically, in the G10, we see NOK (-0.5%) as the laggard this morning, as it responds not just to the dollar’s strength today, but also to the stalling oil prices, whose recent rally has been cut short.  As to the rest of the bloc, losses are generally between 0.15%-0.25% with no specific stories to drive anything.  The exception is JPY (+0.2%) which is performing its role as a haven asset today.  While this is a slow start, do not be surprised to see the dollar start to gain momentum as technical indicators give way.

Emerging market currencies are also under pressure this morning led by MXN (-0.7%) and ZAR (-0.6%).  If you recall, these have been two of the best performing currencies over the past month, with significant long positions in each driving gains of 5.3% and 7.1% respectively.  As such, it can be no surprise that they are the first positions being unwound in this process.  But throughout this bloc, we are seeing weakness across the board with average declines on the order of 0.3%-0.4%.  Again, given the overall risk framework, there is no need for specific stories to drive things.

On the data front, yesterday’s Retail Sales data was a bit softer than expected, although was generally overlooked ahead of the FOMC.  This morning saw Eurozone CPI print at -0.2%, 0.4% core, both still miles below their target, and highlighting that we can expect further action from the ECB.  At home, we are awaiting Initial Claims (exp 850K), Continuing Claims (13.0M), Housing Starts (1483K), Building Permits (1512K) and the Philly Fed index (15.0).

Back on the policy front, the BOE announced no change in policy at all, leaving the base rate at 0.10% and not expanding their asset purchase program.  However, in their effort to ease further they did two things, explicitly said they won’t tighten until there is significant progress on the inflation goal, but more importantly, said that they will “engage with regulators on how to implement negative rates.”  This is a huge change, and, not surprisingly the market sees it as another central bank easing further than the Fed.  The pound has fallen sharply on the news, down 0.6% and likely has further to go.  Last night the BOJ left policy on hold, as they too are out of ammunition.  The fear animating that group is that risk appetite wanes and haven demand drives the yen much higher, something which they can ill afford and yet something which they are essentially powerless to prevent.  But not today.  Today, look for a modest continuation of the dollar’s gains as more positions get unwound.

Good luck and stay safe
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