Monthly Archives: September 2021

A Beginning, a Middle and End

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“A beginning, a middle and end”
Is how Powell outlined the trend
Of current inflation
Which has caused frustration
For central banks who overspend

As Ralph Waldo Emerson so notably observed, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”  I am reminded of this each time I read that (little statesman) Jay Powell or (the divine) Madame Lagarde explain that inflation is largely transitory.  Little-minded they certainly appear to be, no?  Every day the evidence grows that inflation is trending higher yet despite this information, they remain consistent in their belief (or at least in their comments) that all of this price appreciation will quickly pass.  Yesterday, at an ECB held virtual symposium, Powell expressed frustration that supply chain bottlenecks have not been resolved as quickly as the Fed’s models indicate they should be.  Or perhaps the frustration stems from the fact that they have been completely wrong about inflation and it is starting to have a serious impact on their idealized world.  Whatever the case, each time they try to gloss over the implications of inflation, they lose just a touch more credibility (to the extent they have any remaining) in the markets’ collective eyes.  While the Fed’s track record for forecasting has always been awful, the current situation appears to be one of either intransigence in the face of new evidence, or more likely, a recognition that a change in their narrative has the potential to lead to much worse outcomes.

Fortunately, they continue to explain that if inflation were to get out of hand, they have the tools to address the issue and they are not afraid to use them!  However, history indicates that is not the case.  Consider that those ‘tools’ consist of the ability to raise interest rates and tighten monetary policy.  We all recall that just 3 years ago, as the Fed was attempting to normalize its balance sheet, allowing purchased assets to mature without being replaced, as well as slowly move interest rates higher, the equity market tumbled 20% in Q4 2018.  This led to the Powell pivot, where he decided that a declining stock market was a negative for his personal balance sheet the economy and instead, the FOMC cut rates in January to mitigate the damage already done.  The situation today appears far more dangerous with market leverage and valuations at historic highs.  Tightening policy in this market condition is likely to result in at least a 20% revaluation of equities, something the Fed can clearly not countenance.  Hence, it is far easier to ignore inflation than to respond to it.  Meanwhile, Paul Volcker spins in his grave!

In the meantime, Eurozone inflation readings released thus far this morning have shown virtually every one at the highest levels since before the GFC, at the very least, if not the highest readings in three decades.  For instance, French CPI printed at 2.7%, its highest print since June 2008.  Italian CPI, at 3.0%, is merely its highest since 2012, but in fairness, prior to the euro’s creation, Italian CPI regularly ran at much higher levels resulting in a continuing depreciation of the lire. Shortly we will see German inflation, with some of its States already reporting levels above 4.2%, their highest prints since the mid 1990’s, which is also the current forecast for the nation as a whole.  The point is, there is absolutely no evidence that inflation is peaking, and while Powell and Lagarde twiddle their thumbs, things are going to get worse before they get better.

So, what does this mean for markets?  Well, we have already seen yield curves steepen in the US and throughout Europe as there is a strong belief that despite rising inflation, neither the Fed nor ECB is going to respond.  Yes, the Fed said they would think about tapering come November, but if anything, that is likely to simply steepen the curve further as the price-insensitive buyer of last resort reduces its purchases.  The real question is, at what point will the Fed decide that yields are too high and adjust policy to rein them in?  SMBC’s house forecast is for 1.80% by the end of the year, which is in line with much of the Street.  The conundrum, however, is that Street forecasts are for continued higher prices in equities as well, and it seems to me that the two scenarios are unlikely to be achieved simultaneously.  If rates do continue higher, while I think the short-term impact will be USD positive, I fear the equity market may not be quite as sanguine.

Overnight, markets continue to wrestle with the conflicting ideas of rising inflation and central bank sanguinity on its transitory nature.  While we have seen a sharp rise in yields over the past week, last night was a consolidating session with bond market movement quite limited.  Treasury yields have edged higher by 1.2bps, but at 1.53% remain a few ticks below the peak seen Monday.  We have seen similar, modest, price action on the continent (Bunds +0.5bps, OATs +0.4bps) although Gilts (+2.4bps) have responded to better-than-expected GDP results for Q2, which showed year on year growth of 23.6%.  Not surprisingly, this has helped the pound as well, which is firmer this morning by 0.1%.

Equity markets have also had mixed reviews with Asia (Nikkei -0.3%, Hang Seng -0.4%, Shanghai +0.9%) not giving consistent direction and Europe following suit (DAX -0.2%, CAC 0.0%, FTSE 100 +0.2%).  US futures are higher by about 0.5% at this hour as traders await this morning’s data releases.

While oil prices have slipped a bit this morning (WTI -0.8%) the same cannot be said for NatGas (+2.7%) as the energy situation remains fraught in Europe and the UK (and Asia).  The rest of the commodity space is generally under pressure as well with copper (-1.7%) and aluminum (-0.4%) both falling while the precious sector is essentially unchanged on the day.

The dollar, while mixed in the overnight session, saw significant strength yesterday which has seen the euro fall below 1.1600 for the first time since July 2020, and looking for all the world like it has further to run.  Unless yields in the US stop rising, my take is we could well see 1.12 before long.  But in the past two days we have seen some sharp declines; NOK (-1.5%), NZD (-1.3%) and EUR (-0.9%) have all suffered.  Even the yen (-0.45%) is declining here despite some evidence of risk mitigation.  In fact, it has weakened to its lowest point since the beginning of the Covid situation in February 2020, and here, too, looks as though it as room to run.  115 anyone?

EMG currencies have shown similar price behavior, falling sharply yesterday with a more mixed overnight session.  But the breadth of the decline is indicative of a dollar story, not any idiosyncratic issues in particular countries.  While those clearly exist, they are not driving the market right now.

This morning’s data calendar brings the weekly Initial (exp 330K) and Continuing (2790K) Claims data as well as the third look at Q2 GDP (6.6%).  Then at 9:45 we see Chicago PMI (65.0).  While the GDP data contains inflation information, it is not widely followed or used in models.  However, it is interesting to note that the Core PCE calculation there is at 6.1%, which happens to be the highest print since Q3 1983!  Perhaps this is why it is ignored.

We also hear from six Fed speakers in addition to Powell and Yellen sitting down in front of the House Financial Services Committee.  Of course, Powell has made clear his views on the transitory nature of inflation and I’m confident no question from a Congressman will get him to admit anything different.  Rather, I expect a staunch defense of the two disgraced Fed regional presidents who resigned after their insider trading was made known, and both he and Yellen to beseech Congress to raise the debt ceiling and not allow the government to shut down.  In other words, nothing new will occur.

The dollar has pretty clearly broken out of its recent range and I expect that this move has some legs.  I would be buying dollars on dips when the opportunity arises.  For payables hedgers, pick your spots and lock in comfortable rates.  The trend is now your friend.

Good luck and stay safe
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Raring to Spend

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Japan’s new PM
Fumio Kishida is
Raring to spend yen

The LDP elected Fumio Kishida as its new president, thereby assuring him of the job of Japan’s 65th Prime Minister.  Relacing Yoshihide Suga, Kishida-san has a tall task ahead of him in leading the nation back to a growth trajectory.  In addition, he must face the voters by November as well as rally his supporters in an upper house election next year.  Apparently, his plan is…spend more money!  He has promised to spend tens of trillions of yen (hundreds of billions of dollars equivalent) in order to help resuscitate the Japanese economy and bolster the middle class.

As refreshing as it is to have a new administration, it seems as though the policy playbook continues to consist of a single page…spend more yen.  Perhaps something will change in Japan, but it seems unlikely.  Rather, the nation will continue to struggle with the same macroeconomic issues that have plagued it for the past decades; excess debt driving slower growth amid an aging population.  The yen (+0.1%) has stabilized this morning but appears to be trending pretty sharply lower.  While support (USD resistance) is strong at 111.65-85, should we breech that level, a move toward 115.00 appears quite reasonable as well as likely.

As energy prices rise higher
Most governments seek a supplier
Of power that will
Completely fulfil
The orders that they all desire

In other news, it is becoming abundantly clear that the combination of energy policies that have been enacted recently are not having the desired outcome, assuming that outcome is to develop clean energy in abundance.  This is made evident by the dramatically rising prices of things like natural gas in Europe (+400% since 1Mar21) and the US (+130% YTD) and coal (+160% YTD).  Of course, the latter is rarely considered ‘clean’ but it is reliable.  And that is the crux of the matter.  Reliability of both wind and solar power has been called into question lately and reliance on baseload power sources like coal, which Europe, China, and India have in abundance, and NatGas, which they don’t, is driving policy decisions.

For instance, China is mulling energy price hikes for industry in an effort to reduce demand.  And if that doesn’t work, they will raise prices for residential users.  Go figure, a communist nation using price signals to adjust behavior!  At any rate, the immediate impact is likely to be downgraded growth prospects for China’s economy as rising energy prices will lead to rising export prices, lower exports, and lower growth.  We have already seen Chinese equity markets under pressure recently as the energy situation worsens.  Shanghai (-1.8%, -5.5% in past two weeks) is leading the way lower amid growing concern that Evergrande is not the biggest problem impacting China.  At some point, I expect the renminbi is going to suffer a bit more than its recent price action has shown.  Slowing growth and continued monetary expansion are going to add a great deal of pressure to the currency as it may be the only outlet available for the economy.  I fear it could be a “long cold lonely winter” in China this year.

Of course, it’s not just China where energy prices are rising, they are higher everywhere.  I’m sure you see it when you refill your gas tank, or when you pay your electric bill.  And this is a problem for economic growth as higher energy costs feed into product and service pricing directly, as well as reduce the amount of disposable income available for spending by the population.  Higher prices and slower growth (i.e. stagflation) are a very real risk, and by some measures have already arrived.

Beyond the direct discomfort we all will feel from its impacts, the policy questions are critical.  Consider, last time stagflation was upon us, then Fed Chairman Paul Volcker raised interest rates sharply in order to attack the inflation issue driving the US economy into a severe double-dip recession.  Oh yeah, the S&P 500 fell nearly 30% over the two-year period.  But ask yourself if, given the current zeitgeist as well as the current makeup of the Fed, there is any possibility that Chairman Powell (or his successor) will attack inflation in the same way.  It seems highly unlikely that would be the case.  Rather, it is a virtual certainty that the focus will be on the ‘stag’ part of the term and more money printing and spending will be recommended.  After all, given the increasing acceptance of the MMT mindset, that’s all that needs to be done.  Remember, policies matter, and if policies are designed to achieve short-term goals at the expense of longer-term needs, the ultimate outcome tends to be poor.  As in China, the currency is likely to be the relief valve for the economy which is what informs my view of longer-term USD weakness.  However, for now, the dollar is following 10-year Treasury yields, which seem to be trending higher, albeit not today when they have fallen 4.2 basis points.

Summing it all up, rising energy prices are starting to have deleterious effects on all parts of the global economy and the financial market implications are only going to grow.  In addition, the policy actions going forward are critical, and the chance of a policy error seem to grow daily.  The idea of short-term pain for long-term gain is obsolete in the year 2021.  Be prepared for more problems in the future.

Ok, a quick run around markets shows that after yesterday’s sharp US equity sell-off, Japan (Nikkei -2.1%) followed suit as did Shanghai although the Hang Seng managed to rally 0.7%.  Europe, on the other hand has decided that central banks will come to the rescue, as we are seeing a nice rebound from yesterday’s price action (DAX +1.1%, CAC +1.2%, FTSE 100 +1.0%).  US futures, too, are higher led by the NASDAQ (+1.0%) as declining yields are helping out.

But are yields really declining?  The fact that the bond market has bounced slightly after a dramatic 1-week decline is hardly a sign of a rebound.  Rather, it is normal trading activity.  While the trend remains for higher yields, today, all of Europe has seen yields slide on the order of 2 basis points alongside the Treasury yield declines.  This feels very much like a lull in the action, not a top/bottom in the market.

Commodity prices are behaving in a similar manner as oil (-0.8%) and NatGas (-1.2%) are leading the way lower, consolidating what has been an impressive rally.  Metals prices are mixed with gold (+0.6%) rebounding but base metals (Cu -0.4%, Al -0.2%, Sn -0.6%) all sliding.  Agricultural prices are mixed as the overall session seems to be one of position adjustments after a big move.

As to the dollar, it is mixed, albeit slightly firmer if anything.  In the G10, NOK (-0.35%) is falling alongside oil prices with NZD (-0.3%) the next worst performer on weakening commodity prices.  JPY (+0.1%) and CHF (+0.1%) are both modestly firmer, but here, too, things seem more position oriented than trend worthy.  EMG currencies are mixed with an equal number of gainers and losers, but the notable thing is that the biggest movers have only seen price adjustments of 0.3% or less.  In other words, there are precious few stories here to think about.

There is no data of note this morning, but we do hear from a lot of central bankers, notably Chairman Powell alongside Lagarde, Kuroda and Bailey (BOE) at an ECB forum.  We also hear from Harker, Daly and Bostic, but the narrative remains tapering is coming in November, and none of these three will be able to change that narrative.

In truth, I would have expected the dollar to soften today given the bond market, so the fact it remains reasonably well bid is a sign that there is further strength in this move.  The euro is pushing to critical technical support at 1.1650, a break of which is likely to see a much sharper decline.  Hedgers, keep that in mind.

Good luck and stay safe
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QE Galore

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With Kaplan and Rosengren out
The hawks have lost much of their clout
This opens the door
For QE galore
With tapering now more in doubt

As well, has Jay’s rep now been stained
So much that he won’t be retained
As Chair of the Fed
With Brainerd, instead
The one that progressives ordained?

All the action is in the bond market these days as investors and traders focus on the idea that the Fed is going to begin tapering its asset purchases in November.  Not surprisingly, demand for Treasuries has diminished on these prospects with the yield curve bear steepening as 10-year and 30-year yields climb more rapidly than the front end of the curve.  In fact, this morning, 10-year Treasury yields have risen a further 3.5 basis points, which makes 22bps since the FOMC meeting, and is now trading at 1.52%, its highest level since June.  Yields are rising elsewhere in the world as well, just not quite as rapidly as in the US.  For instance, Bunds (+3.2bps today, +13bps since Wednesday), OATs (+3.1bps today, 15bps since Wednesday) and Gilts (+4.8bps today, +20bps since Wednesday) are also under severe pressure.  While the BOE has absolutely discussed the idea of tapering, the same is not true with the ECB, which instead is discussing how it is going to replace PEPP when it expires in March 2022.

By the way, there is another victim to these rate rises, the NASDAQ, (futures -1.6%) where the tech sector lives and whose valuations have moved to extraordinary heights based on their long duration characteristics.

But let us consider how recent, sudden, changes in the makeup of the Fed may impact the current narrative.  It seems that two of the more hawkish Regional Fed presidents, Boston’s Rosengren and Dallas’ Kaplan, were actively trading their personal accounts at the same time they were privy to the inside discussions at the FOMC.  I can’t imagine more useful information short of knowledge of an acquisition, with respect to how to position my personal portfolio.  When this news broke last week, there was an initial uproar and then a slow boil rose such that both clearly felt pressured to step down.  (Of course, they had already sold out their positions ahead of the tapering discussion, so don’t worry, they kept their gains!)

There are a couple of things here which I have not yet seen widely discussed, but which must be considered when looking ahead.  First, the two of them were amongst the more hawkish FOMC members, with Kaplan the first to talk about tapering and Rosengren climbing on that bandwagon several months ago with vocal support.  So, will their replacements be quite as hawkish?  It would not surprise if Dallas goes for another hawk but given the progressivity of the bulk of New England, the new Boston Fed president seems far more likely to lean dovish in my view.  So, the tone of the FOMC seems likely to change.

Perhaps of more importance, though, is that this went on under Chairman Powell’s nose with no issues raised until it became public.  That is hardly a sign of strong leadership, and the very idea that two FOMC members were trading their personal accounts on the back of inside information is a huge black mark on his chairmanship.  You can be certain that when he sits down before the Senate Banking Panel today, Senator Warren is going to be tenacious in her attacks.  The point is, the idea that Powell will be reappointed may just have been squashed.  This means that Lael Brainerd, currently a Fed governor, may well get the (poison) chalice.  Governor Brainerd, just yesterday, explained that she was not nearly ready to taper, rather that the labor market was still “a bit short of the mark” of the “substantial further progress” threshold.  In fact, she is convinced that the economy will revert to its pre-pandemic characteristics soon after the delta variant dissipates.

If you consider the implications of this new information, we could well wind up with a more dovish FOMC generally with a much more dovish Fed chair.  Ask yourself if that scenario is likely to produce a consensus to taper asset purchases?  While Jay may get the process started, assuming economic activity holds up through November, they will never end QE with that type of FOMC bias.  In fact, it would not be surprising if the Biden administration nominated someone like Professor Stephanie Kelton, the queen of MMT, for one of the open governorships.

Summing up, recent surprising actions have now opened the door for a much more dovish Fed going forward.  This means that the fight against inflation, which even Powell has begun to admit could last a bit longer than initially anticipated, is of secondary, if not tertiary, importance.  For now, the dollar is following US rates higher as spreads widen in the dollar’s favor, but if the Fed gets reconstructed in a more dovish manner, which seems far more likely this morning than last week, I would expect the dollar to find a top sooner rather than later.

However, that is all prognostication of what may happen.  What is happening right now is that yields are rising on the taper talk and risk is being jettisoned as a result.  So, equity markets are generally under pressure.  Last night saw the Nikkei (-0.2%) slip a bit while the bulk of the rest of the region suffered more acutely (Australia -1.5%), although Shanghai (+0.5%) and the Hang Seng (+1.2%) were the positive outliers.  However, that seemed more like dip buying than fundamentally led activity.  Europe is really under the gun (DAX -1.15%, CAC -1.75%, FTSE 100 -0.5%) as yields, as discussed above, rise everywhere.

Commodity prices continue to show mixed behavior as oil (WTI +0.95%) and Nat Gas (+7.5%), rise sharply on supply concerns while metals (Au -0.9%, Cu -1.3%) all suffer on the back of concerns over economic growth and the dollar’s strength.

Speaking of the dollar, it is universally higher this morning against both G10 and EMG counterparts.  NZD (-0.8%) and GBP (-0.7%) are the downside leaders this morning, with kiwi feeling pressure from falling iron ore prices while the pound turned tail recently on position adjustments as traders await a dovish BOE speaker’s comments later in the session.  But, AUD (-0.6%) is also feeling the pressure from declining metals prices and in a more surprising outcome, NOK (-0.5%) is floundering despite rising oil prices and the fact that the Norgesbank was the First G10 central bank to actually raise rates!  As well, don’t forget JPY (-0.4%) which is now pushing to its highest levels of the year and not far from multi-year highs.  Remember, high energy prices are a distinct yen negative.

EMG currencies are being led lower by ZAR (-1.0%) on weaker metals prices and THB (-0.75%) which is continuing to feel pressure from its fiscal accounts.  But here too, the weakness is widespread (KRW -0.65%, MXN -0.6%, PLN -0.6%) as the dollar is simply in substantial demand on the back of the yield benefit.

On the data front, yesterday’s Durable Goods numbers were much stronger than expected, clearly helping the rate/dollar story.  This morning brings Case Shiller House Prices (exp 20.0%) as well as Consumer Confidence (115.0) and the Advanced Goods Trade Balance (-$87.3B).  But the feature event will be the 10:00am sit down by Powell and Yellen at the Senate.  We do hear from four other FOMC members, but none will garner the same attention.  It will be interesting to hear how he parries what are almost certain to be questions about the insider trading scandal as well as more persistent inflation.  Stay tuned!

The correlation of the dollar to the 10-year yield has risen sharply in the past several sessions and is now above 60%.  I see no reason for that to change, nor any reason for yields to stop climbing right now.  While I doubt we even get back to the March highs of 1.75%, that doesn’t mean we won’t see some more fireworks in the meantime.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

More Price Inflation

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The story of civilization
Is growth due to carbonization
But fears about warming
Have started transforming
Some policies ‘cross most each nation

Alas, despite recent fixation
On policy coordination
Alternatives to
Nat Gas are too few
Resulting in more price inflation

Perhaps there is no greater irony (at least currently) than the fact that governments around the world must secretly be praying for a very warm winter as their policies designed to forestall global warming have resulted in a growing shortage of fuels for heating and transportation.  Evergrande has become a passé discussion point as the overwhelming consensus is that the Chinese government will not allow things to get out of hand.  (I hope they’re right!)  This has allowed the market to turn its attention to other issues with the new number one concern the rapidly rising price of natural gas.  One of the top stories over the weekend has been the shuttering of petrol stations in the UK as they simply ran out of gasoline to pump.  Meanwhile, Nat Gas prices have been climbing steadily and are now $5.35/mmBTU in the US, up 4.2% today and 110% YTD.  As to the Europeans, they would kill for gas that cheap as it is currently running 3x that, above $16.00/mmBTU.

Apparently, policies designed to reduce the production of fossil fuels have effectively reduced fossil fuel production.  At the same time, greater reliance on less stable energy sources, like wind and solar power, have resulted in insufficient overall energy production.  While during the initial stages of Covid shutdowns, when economic activity cratered, this didn’t pose any problems, now that economies around the world are reopening with substantial pent-up demand for various goods and services, it has become increasingly clear that well-intentioned policies have resulted in dramatically bad outcomes.  While Europe appears to be the epicenter of this problem, it is being felt worldwide and the result is that real economic activity will decline across the board.  Hand-in-hand with that outcome will be even more price pressures higher throughout the world.  Policymakers, especially central bankers, will have an increasingly difficult time addressing these issues with their available toolkits.  After all, central banks cannot print natural gas, only more money to chase after the limited amount available.

The important question for market observers is, how will rising energy prices impact financial markets?  It appears that the first impacts are being felt in the bond markets, where in the wake of the FOMC meeting last week, yields have been climbing steadily around the world.  In the first instance, the belief is that starting in November, the Fed will begin reducing its QE purchases, which will lead to higher yields from the belly to the back of the curve.  But as we continue to see yields climb (Treasuries +3.3bps today), you can be sure the rationale will include rising inflation.  After all, our textbooks all taught us that higher inflation expectations lead to higher yields.

The problem for every government around the world, given pretty much all of them are massively overindebted, is that higher yields are unaffordable.  Consider that, as of the end of 2020, the global government debt / GDP ratio was 105%, while the total debt /GDP ratio was 356% (according to Axios).  That is not an environment into which central banks can blithely raise interest rates to address inflation in the manner then Fed Chair Volcker did in the late 1970’s. In fact, it is far more likely they will do what they can to prevent interest rates from rising too high.  This is the reason I continue to believe that while the Fed may begin to taper at some point, tapering will not last very long.  They simply cannot afford it.  So, while bond markets around the world are under pressure today (Bunds +1.8bps, OATs +2.8bps, Gilts +2.9bps), and by rights should have significant room to decline, this movement will almost certainly be capped.

Equity markets, on the other hand, have room to run somewhat further, as despite both significant overvaluation by virtually every traditional metric, as well as record high margin debt, in an inflationary environment, a claim on real assets is better than a claim on ‘paper’ assets like bonds.  While Asian markets (Nikkei 0.0%, Hang Seng +0.1%, Shanghai -0.8%) have not been amused by the rise in energy prices, European bourses are behaving far better (DAX +0.6%, CAC +0.4%, FTSE 100 +0.2%).  As an aside, part of the German story is clearly the election, where the Social Democrats appear to have won a small plurality of seats, but where there is no obvious coalition to be formed to run the country.  It appears Germany’s role on the global stage will be interrupted as the nation tries to determine what it wants to do domestically over the next few weeks/months.  In the meantime, early session strength in the US futures markets has faded away with NASDAQ futures (-0.4%) now leading the way lower.

Turning to the key driver of markets today, commodity prices, we see oil (WTI +1.25%) continuing its recent rally, and pushing back to $75/bbl.  We’ve already discussed Nat Gas and generally all energy prices are higher.  But this is not a broad-based commodity rally, as we are seeing weakness throughout the metals complex (Au -0.1%, Cu -0.3%, Al -0.2% and Sn -4.8%).  Agricultural prices are slightly softer as well.  It seems that the idea energy will cost more is having a negative impact everywhere.

Finally, the dollar is a beneficiary of this price action on the basis of a few threads.  First, given energy is priced in dollars, they remain in demand given higher prices.  Second, the energy situation in the US is far less problematic than elsewhere in the world, thus on a relative basis, this is a more attractive place to hold assets.  So, in the G10 we see SEK (-0.5%) as the laggard, followed by the traditional havens (CHF -0.25%, JPY -0.2%), as the dollar seems to be showing off its haven bona fides today. In the EMG bloc, THB (-0.8%) leads the way lower followed by ZAR (-0.7%) and PHP (-0.7%), with other currencies mostly softer and only TRY (+0.5%) showing any strength on the day.  The baht has suffered on traditional macro issues with concerns continuing to grow regarding its current account status, with the Philippines seeing the same issues.  Rand appears to have reacted to the metals complex.  As to TRY, part of this is clearly a rebound from an extremely weak run last week, and part may be attributed to news of a Nat Gas find in the Black Sea which is forecast to be able to provide up to one-third of Turkey’s requirements in a few years.

As it is the last week of the month, we do get some interesting data, although payrolls are not released until October 8th.

Today Durable Goods 0.6%
-ex Transportation 0.5%
Tuesday Case Shiller Home Prices 20.0%
Consumer Confidence 115.0
Thursday Initial Claims 330K
Continuing Claims 2805K
GDP Q2 6.6%
Chicago PMI 65.0
Friday Personal Income 0.2%
Personal Spending 0.6%
Core PCE 0.2% (3.5% Y/Y)
Michigan Sentiment 71.0
ISM Manufacturing 59.5
ISM Prices Paid 77.5

Source: Bloomberg

Naturally, all eyes will be on Friday’s PCE data as the Fed will want to be able to show that price pressures are moderating, hence their transitory story is correct (it’s not.) But I cannot help but see the House Price index looking at a 20.0% rise in the past twelve months and think about how the Fed’s inflation measures just don’t seem to capture reality.

Rising yields in the US seem to be beginning to attract international investors, specifically Japanese investors as USDJPY has been moving steadily higher over the past two weeks.  The YTD high has been 111.66, not far from current levels.  Watch that for a potential breakout and perhaps, the beginning of a sharp move higher in the dollar.

Good luck and stay safe
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Flames of Concern

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The story is still Evergrande
Whose actions last night have now fanned
The flames of concern
‘Til bondholders learn
If coupons will be paid as planned

Though pundits have spilled lots of ink
Explaining there’s really no link
Twixt Evergrande’s woes
And fears of new lows
The truth is they’re linked I would think

It must be very frustrating to be a government financial official these days as despite all their efforts to lead investors to a desired outcome, regardless of minor details like reality, investors and traders continue to respond to things like cash flows and liquidity, or lack thereof.  Hence, this morning we find ourselves in a situation where China Evergrande officially failed to pay an $83.2 million coupon yesterday and now has a 30-day grace period before they can be forced into default on the bond.  The concern arises because China Evergrande has more than $300 billion in bonds outstanding and another $300 billion in other liabilities and it is pretty clear they are not going to be able to even service that debt, let alone repay it.

At the same time, the number of articles written about how this is an isolated situation and how the PBOC will step in to prevent a disorderly outcome and protect the individuals who are on the hook continue to grow by leaps and bounds.  The true victims here are the many thousands of Chinese people who contracted with Evergrande to build their home, some of whom prepaid for the entire project while others merely put down significant (>50%) deposits, and who now stand to lose all their money.  Arguably, the question is whether or not the Chinese government is going to bail them out, even if they allow Evergrande to go to the wall.  Sanguinity in this situation seems optimistic.  Remember, the PBOC has been working very hard to delever the Chinese property market, and there is no quicker way to accomplish that than by allowing the market to reprice the outstanding debt of an insolvent entity.  As well, part of President Xi’s calculus will be what type of pain will be felt elsewhere in the world.  After all, if adversaries, like the US, suffer because of this, I doubt Xi would lose any sleep.

But in the end, markets this morning are demonstrating that they are beginning to get concerned over this situation.  While it may not be a Lehman moment, given that when Lehman was allowed to fail it was truly a surprise to the markets, the breadth of this problem is quite significant and the spillover into the entire Chinese property market, which represents ~25% of the Chinese economy, is enormous.  If you recall my discussion regarding “fingers of instability” from last week (Wednesday 9/15), this is exactly the type of thing I was describing.  There is no way, ex ante, to know what might trigger a more significant market adjustment (read decline), but the interconnectedness of Chinese property developers, Chinese banks, Chinese shadow financiers and the rest of the world’s financial system is far too complex to parse.  However, it is reasonable to estimate that there will be multiple knock-on effects from this default, and that the PBOC, no matter how well intentioned, may not be able to maintain control of an orderly market.  Risk should be off, and it is this morning.

It ought not be surprising that Chinese shares were lower last night with the Hang Seng (-1.3%) leading the way but Shanghai (-0.8%) not that far behind.  Interestingly, the only real winner overnight was the Nikkei (+2.1%) which seemed to be making up for their holiday yesterday.  European shares are having a rough go of it as well, with the DAX (-0.8%), CAC (-1.0%) and FTSE 100 (-0.3%) all under the gun.  There seem to be several concerns in these markets with the primary issue the fact that these economies, especially Germany’s, are hugely dependent on Chinese economic growth for their own success, so signs that China will be slowing down due to the Evergrande mess are weighing on these markets.  In addition, the German IFO surveys were all released this morning at weaker than expected levels and continue to slide from their peaks in June.  Slowing growth is quickly becoming a market meme.  After yesterday’s rally in the US, futures this morning are all leaning lower as well, on the order of -0.3% or so.

The bond market this morning, though, is a bit of a head-scratcher.  While Treasuries are doing what they are supposed to, rallying with yields down 2.6bps, the European sovereign market is all selling off despite the fall in equity prices.  So, yields are higher in Germany (Bunds +1.4bps) and France (OATs +2.2bps), with Italy (BTPs +5.0bps) really seeing some aggressive selling.  Gilts are essentially unchanged on the day.  But this is a bit unusual, that a clear risk off session would see alleged haven assets sell off as well.

Commodity markets are having a mixed day with oil unchanged at this hour while gold (+0.75%) is rebounding somewhat from yesterday’s sharp decline.  Copper (+0.1%) has edged higher, but aluminum (-1.4%) is soft this morning.  Agricultural prices are all lower by between 0.25% and 0.5%.  In other words, it is hard to detect much signal here.

As to the dollar, it is broadly stronger with only CHF +0.1%) able to rally this morning.  While the euro is little changed, we are seeing weakness in the Antipodean currencies (AUD, NZD -0.4%) and commodity currencies (CAC -0.2%, NOK -0.15%).  Granted, the moves have not been large, but they have been consistent.

In the EMG bloc, the dollar has put on a more impressive show with ZAR (-1.3%) and TRY (-0.9%) leading the way, although we have seen other currencies (PHP -0.6%, MXN -0.4%) also slide during the session.  The rand story seems to be a hangover from yesterday’s SARB meeting, where they left rates on hold despite rising inflation there.  TRY, too, is still responding to the surprise interest rate cut by the central bank yesterday.  In Manila, concern seems to be growing that the Philippines external balances are worsening too rapidly and will present trouble going forward.  (I’m not sure you remember what it means to run a current account deficit and have markets discipline your actions as it no longer occurs in the US, but it is still the reality for every emerging market economy.)

On the data front, we see only New Home Sales (exp 715K), a number unlikely to have an impact on markets.  However, we hear from six different Fed speakers today, including Chairman Powell, so I expect that there will be a real effort at fine-tuning their message.  Three of the speakers are amongst the most hawkish (Mester, George and Bostic), but of this group, only Bostic is a voter.  You can expect more definitive tapering talk from these three, but in the end, Powell’s words still carry the most weight.

The dollar remains in a trading range and we are going to need some exogenous catalyst to change that.  An Evergrande collapse could have that type of impact, but I believe it will take a lot more contagion for that to be the case.  So, using the euro as a proxy, 1.17-1.19 is still the right idea in my view.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
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Far From Surreal

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The Fed explained that they all feel
A taper is far from surreal
The goal for inflation
Has reached satiation
While job growth ought soon seal the deal

Heading into the FOMC meeting, the consensus was growing around the idea that the Fed would begin tapering later this year, and the consensus feels gratified this morning.  Chairman Powell explained that, if things go as anticipated, tapering “could come as soon as the next meeting.”  That meeting is slated for November 2nd and 3rd, and so the market has now built this into their models and pricing.  In fact, they were pretty clear that the inflation part of the mandate has already been fulfilled, and they were just waiting on the jobs numbers.

An interesting aspect of the jobs situation, though, is how they have subtly adjusted their goals.  Back in December, when they first laid out their test of “substantial further progress”, the employment situation showed that some 10 million jobs had been lost due to Covid-19.  Since then, the economy has created 4.7 million jobs, less than half the losses.  Certainly, back then, the idea that recovering half the lost jobs would have been considered “substantial further progress” seems unlikely.  Expectations were rampant that once vaccinations were widely implemented at least 80% of those jobs would return.  Yet here we are with the Fed explaining that recovering only half of the lost jobs is now defined as substantial.  I don’t know about you, but that seems a pretty weak definition of substantial.

Now, given Powell’s hyper focus on maximum employment, one might ask why a 50% recovery of lost jobs is sufficient to move the needle on policy.  Of course, the only answer is that despite the Fed’s insistence that recent inflation readings are transitory and caused by supply chain bottlenecks and reopening of the economy, the reality is they have begun to realize that prices are rising a lot faster than they thought likely.  In addition, they must recognize that both housing price and rent inflation haven’t even been a significant part of the CPI/PCE readings to date and will only drive things higher.  in other words, they are clearly beginning to figure out that they are falling much further behind the curve than they had anticipated.

Turning to the other key release from the FOMC, the dot plot, it now appears that an internal consensus is growing that the first rate hike will occur in Q4 2022 with three more hikes in 2023 and an additional three or four in 2024.  The thing about this rate trajectory is that it still only takes Fed Funds to 2.00% after three more years.  That is not nearly enough to impact the inflationary impulse, which even they acknowledge will still be above their 2.0% target in 2024.  In essence, the dot plot is explaining that real interest rates in the US are going to be negative for a very long time.  Just how negative, though, remains the $64 trillion question.  Given inflation’s trajectory and the current school of thought regarding monetary policy (that lower rates leads to higher growth), I fear that the gap between Fed Funds and inflation is likely to be much larger than the 0.2% they anticipate in 2024.  While this will continue to support asset prices, and especially commodity prices, the impact on the dollar will depend on how other central banks respond to growing inflation in their respective economies.

Said China to its Evergrande
Defaulting on bonds is now banned
So, sell your assets
And pay dollar debts
Take seriously this command

CHINA TELLS EVERGRANDE TO AVOID NEAR-TERM DEFAULT ON BONDS

This headline flashed across the screens a short time ago and I could not resist a few words on the subject.  It speaks to the arrogance of the Xi administration that they believe commanding Evergrande not to default is sufficient to prevent Evergrande from defaulting.  One cannot help but recall the story of King Canute as he commanded the incoming tide to halt, except Canute was using that effort as an example of the limits of power, while Xi is clearly expecting Evergrande to obey him.  With Evergrande debt trading around 25₵ on the dollar, and the PBOC continuing in their efforts to wring leverage out of the system, it is a virtual guaranty that Evergrande is going under.  I wouldn’t want to be Hui Yan Ka, its Chairman, when he fails to follow a direct order.  Recall what happened to the Chairman of China Huarong when that company failed.

Ok, how are markets behaving in the wake of the FOMC meeting?  Pretty darn well!  Powell successfully explained that at some point they would begin slowing their infusion of liquidity without crashing markets.  No tantrum this time.  So, US equities rallied after the FOMC meeting with all three indices closing higher by about 1%.  Overnight in Asia we saw the Hang Seng (+1.2%) and Shanghai (+0.4%) both rally (Japan was closed for Autumnal Equinox Day), and we have seen strength throughout Europe this morning as well.  Gains on the continent (DAX and CAC +0.8%) are more impressive than in the UK (FTSE 100 +0.2%), although every market is higher on the day.  US futures are all currently about 0.5% higher, although that is a bit off the earlier session highs.  Overall, risk remains in vogue and we still have not had a 5% decline in the S&P in more than 200 trading days.

With risk in the fore, it is no surprise that bond yields are higher, but the reality is that they continue to trade in a pretty tight range.  Hence, Treasury yields are higher by 2.4bps this morning, but just back to 1.324%.  Essentially, we have been in a 1.20%-1.40%% trading range since July 4th and show no sign of that changing.  In Europe, yields have also edged higher, with Bunds (+1.6bps) showing the biggest move while both OATs (+0.9bps) and Gilts (+0.6bps) have moved less aggressively.

Commodity prices are mixed this morning with oil lower (-0.7%) along with copper (-0.25%) although the rest of the base metal complex (Al +0.6%, Sn +0.55%) are firmer along with gold (+0.3%).  Not surprisingly given the lack of consistency, agricultural prices are also mixed this morning.

The dollar, however, is clearly under pressure this morning with only JPY failing to gain, while the commodity bloc performs well (CAD +0.8%, NOK +0.6%, SEK +0.5%).  EMG currencies are also largely firmer led by ZAR (+0.9%) on the back of gold’s strength and PLN (+0.6%) which was simply reversing some of its recent weakness vs. the euro.  On the downside, the only notable decliner is TRY (-1.4%), which tumbled after the central bank cut its base rate by 100 basis points to 18% in a surprise move.  In fact, TRY has now reached a record low vs. the dollar and shows no signs of rebounding as long as President Erdogan continues to pressure the central bank to keep rates low amid spiraling inflation.  (This could be a harbinger of the US going forward if we aren’t careful!)

It is Flash PMI day and the European and UK data showed weaker than expected output readings though higher than expected price readings.  We shall see what happens in the US at 9:45. Prior to that we see Initial Claims (exp 320K) and Continuing Claims (2.6M) and we also see Leading Indicators at 10:00 (0.7%).  The BOE left policy on hold, as expected, but did raise their forecast for peak inflation this year above 4%.  However, they are also in the transitory camp, so clearly not overly concerned on the matter.

There are no Fed speakers today although we hear from six of them tomorrow as they continue to try to finetune their message.  The dollar pushed up to its recent highs in the immediate aftermath of the FOMC meeting, but as risk was embraced, it fell back off.  If the market is convinced that the Fed really will taper, and if they actually do, I expect it to support the dollar, at least in the near term.  However, my sense is that slowing economic data will halt any initial progress they make which could well see the dollar decline as long positions are unwound.  For today, though, a modest drift higher from current levels seems reasonable.

Good luck and stay safe
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Avoiding a Crash

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The Chinese have taken a stand
Regarding the firm, Evergrande
They’ve added more cash
Avoiding a crash
And now feel they’ve got things in hand

So, now all eyes turn to the Fed
And tapering timing, instead
The question at hand
Is can they withstand
Slow growth while still moving ahead?

Fear was palpable on Monday as China Evergrande missed an interest payment and concerns grew that a major disruption in Chinese debt markets, with the ability to spread elsewhere, was around the corner.  Yesterday, however, investors collectively decided that the world was not, in fact, going to end, and dip buyers got to work supporting equity markets.  The buyers’ faith has been rewarded as last night, the PBOC added net CNY70 billion to the markets to help tide over financing issues.  In addition, an oddly worded statement was released that Evergrande had addressed the interest payment due tomorrow via private negotiations with bondholders.  (Critically, that doesn’t mean they paid, just that the bondholders aren’t going to sue for repayment, hence avoiding a bankruptcy filing.)  As is always the case in a situation of this nature, nothing has actually changed at Evergrande so they are still bankrupt with a massive amount of debt that they will never repay in full, but no government, whether communist or democratic, ever wants to actually deal with the problem and liquidate.  This is the enduring lesson of Lehman Brothers.

Which means…it’s Fed day!  As we all know, this afternoon at 2:00 the FOMC will release the statement with their latest views and 30 minutes later, Chairman Powell will face the press.  At this time, the topic of most interest to everyone is the timing of the Fed’s reduction in asset purchases, aka tapering.  When we last left this story (prior to the Fed’s quiet period a week and a half ago, pretty much every Fed regional president (Kashkari excluded) and a few minor governors had indicated that tapering was appropriate soon.  On the other hand, the power center, Powell, Brainerd and Williams, had said no such thing, but had admitted that the conversation had begun.

You may recall that at the August FOMC meeting, the Fed indicated that the goal of “substantial further progress” had not yet been met with regard to the maximum employment mandate, although they begrudgingly admitted that the inflation side of the coin had been achieved.  (As an aside, while there has never been an answer to the question of how long an averaging period the Fed would consider with respect to their revamped average inflation target, simple arithmetic shows that if one averages the core PCE data from May 2020 through July 2021, the result is 2.0%.  If the forecast for the August core number, to be released on October 1, is correct at 3.6%, that means that one can head back to March 2020 and still show an average of 2.0%.  And remember, core PCE is not about to collapse back down to 2.0% or lower anytime soon, so this exercise will continue to expand the averaging period.)

Current expectations are that the initial tapering will start in either November or December of this year, and certainly by January 2022.  Clearly, based on the inflation mandate, we are already behind schedule, but the problem the Fed has is that the recent growth data has been far less impressive.  The August NFP data was quite disappointing at 235K, a 500K miss to estimates.  Not only that, while the July data was strong, the June data was also a major miss, which begs the question, was July the aberration or August?  Ask yourself this, will Chairman Powell, who is up for reappointment shortly, tighten policy into an economy where employment growth is slowing?  There is every possibility that tapering is put on hold for a few more months in order to be sure that monetary stimulus withdrawal is not premature.  The fact that a decision like that will only stoke the inflationary fires further will be addressed by an even more strident statement that inflation is transitory, dammit!  My point is, it is not a slam dunk that they announce tapering today.

For a perfect example as to why this is the case, look no further than the ECB, where today we heard another ECB member, the Estonian central bank chief, explain that when the PEPP runs out in March, it would be appropriate to expand the older APP program to pick up the slack.  In other words, they will technically keep their word and let the PEPP expire, but they will not stop QE.  The Fed, ECB and BOJ have all realized that their respective economies are addicted to QE and that withdrawal symptoms will be remarkably painful, so none of them are inclined to go through that process.  Can-kicking remains these central banks’ strongest talent.

OK, to markets ahead of the Fed.  Asia was mixed as the Nikkei (-0.7%) remains under pressure, clearly unimpressed by the BOJ’s ongoing efforts which were reiterated last night after their meeting.  However, Chinese equities (Hang Seng +0.5%, Shanghai +0.4%), not surprisingly, fared better after the liquidity injection.  In Europe, it is all green as further hints that the ECB will let the PEPP lapse in name only has investors confident that monetary support is a permanent situation.  So, the DAX (+0.55%), CAC (+1.1%) and FTSE 100 (+1.2%) are all poppin’.  US futures have also gotten the message and are firmer by about 0.5% this morning.

Bond markets are ever so slightly softer with yields edging up a bit.  Treasuries have been the worst performer although yields are only higher by 1.4bps.  In Europe, Bunds are unchanged while OATs and Gilts have risen 0.5bps each.

Commodity prices, on the other hand, have performed quite well this morning with oil (WTI +1.5%) leading energy higher and base metals (Cu +2.4%, Al +1.6%, Sn +3.6%) all much firmer although gold (0.0%) is not taking part in the fun.  Ags are also firmer this morning as the commodity space is finding buyers everywhere.

The dollar is somewhat softer this morning with NOK (+0.5%) leading the G10 and the rest of the commodity bloc also strong (CAD +0.3%, AUD +0.25%, NZXD +0.25%).  The one true laggard is JPY (-0.3%) which is suffering from the lack of a need for a haven along with general malaise after the BOJ.  In the EMG space, HUF (-0.75%) is the outlier, falling after the central bank raised rates a less than expected 15 basis points after three consecutive 30 basis point hikes, and hinted that despite inflation’s rise, less hikes would be coming in the future.  Away from that, though, there is a mix of gainers and loser with the commodity bloc strong (CLP +0.45%, ZAR +0.4%, RUB +0.4%) while commodity importers are suffering (INR -0.35%, PHP -0.25%, PLN -0.2%).

Ahead of the Fed we see Existing Home Sales (exp 5.89M), but really, look for a quiet market until 2:00 and the FOMC statement.  My view is they will be less hawkish than the market seems to expect, and I think that will be a negative for the dollar, but at this point, all we can do is wait.

Good luck and stay safe
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Far From Benign

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There once was a market decline
That seemed, at the time, to consign
Investors with shares
To turn into bears
An outcome quite far from benign

But that was a long time ago
As by afternoon all the flow
Was buying the dip
Thus, proving this blip
Was not a bull market deathblow

I wonder if stock prices declining for 18 hours now counts as a correction.  What had appeared to be the beginnings of a more protracted fall in stocks turned into nothing more than a modest blip in the ongoing bull market.  Some teeth were gnashed, and some positions lightened, but by 3:15pm, it was all over with a 1.3% rebound from that time to the close.  Granted, the S&P 500 did decline 1.7% on the day, but given the substantial buying impulse seen at the end of the day, as well as the change in tone of the market narrative, it certainly feels this morning like the worst is behind us.  While China Evergrande continues to be bankrupt, the new story is that despite its large size, it is not large enough to be a real catalyst for market destruction and, anyway, the PBOC would never let things get to a point where its bankruptcy would lead to contagion elsewhere in the Chinese markets/economy.

As to the last point, be careful with your assumptions.  While this is not meant to be a prediction, consider that President Xi Jinping has spent the last year cracking down on successful firms in China as they have amassed both wealth and power, something that an autocrat of Xi’s nature cannot abide.  So, a fair question to ask is, would Xi let the Chinese economy crash in order to consolidate his power even further?  While I don’t believe he would purposely do that, I would not rule out him allowing things to unfold in a manner he sees as beneficial to his ultimate plans, thus financial distress in China could well be in our future.  And if you are Xi Jinping, the idea that Western markets would react badly to an Evergrande collapse would only be a positive.  My point is, I don’t think you can rule out other motives in this situation.

At any rate, this literally seems like ancient history at this time, with markets all in the green and the market narrative of ‘buy the dip’ proving itself once again to be the proper course of action.  Pavlov himself could not have conditioned retail investors any better than the Fed and other central banks have done over the past decade.

So, with Evergrande in the rearview mirror, the market gets to (re)turn its focus to the FOMC meeting, which begins this morning and whose outcome will be announced at 2pm tomorrow.  That means we are back to talking about tapering.  Will they, or won’t they?  And if they do, when will they start?

The market consensus is clearly that tapering is coming with about two-thirds of market economists forecasting the first reduction in asset purchases will occur in November.  While there are some differing views on how they will taper, the consensus appears to be a reduction of $10 billion of Treasuries and $5 billion of mortgage-backed securities each month until they are done.  So, eight months of reductions takes us to next June if we start in November.  Of course, this assumes that there are no interruptions, and that the Fed leadership remains intact.

First, remember, Chairman Powell’s term is up in February, and while he remains the favorite to be reappointed, it seems the most progressive wing of the Democratic party wants to see someone else, with Lael Brainerd, a current Fed governor and past Treasury Undersecretary, seen as the leading alternative.  Ms Brainerd has consistently been even more dovish than Powell, and if she were to be confirmed for the Chair, it would be easy to believe she halted any tapering at that point.  After all, if one believes in MMT, (which by all accounts Ms Brainerd embraces), why would the Fed ever stop buying Treasuries?  Again, this is not predictive, just something to keep in mind.

Second, the tapering narrative is based on the idea that economic growth coming out of the Covid recession is self-sustaining and no longer needs central bank support.  But what if the recovery is more anemic than currently forecast.  The one consistency we have seen over the course of the past months is that forecasts for economic growth in Q3 and Q4 have declined dramatically.  For instance, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast model is pointing to 3.65% currently, down from 5.3% at the beginning of the month and 7.6% just two months ago.  Shortages of certain things still abound and prices on staples like beef, pork, and poultry, continue to rise rapidly.  In short, the situation in the economy is anything but clear.

In this case, the question really becomes, will the Fed turn its attention to inflation, or will it remain focused only on unemployment?  If the inflation heat reaches too high a temperature, then it would be easy to believe tapering will occur far more rapidly.  However, if growth remains the focus, then any reason to delay tapering will be sought.  I remain in the camp that while they may initiate tapering, the Fed will be buying bonds long after June 2022.  We shall see.

A quick turn to markets shows that all is right with the world!  Stocks are almost universally higher as Asia (Hang Seng +0.5%, Shanghai +0.2%) led the beginning of the rebound although Japan (Nikkei -2.1%) was still coming to grips with yesterday’s narrative coming out of their holiday.  Europe is strongly higher this morning (DAX +1.45%, CAC +1.4%, FTSE 100 +1.15%) as fear has rapidly dissipated.  And after the worst US equity session in months, futures this morning are higher by about 0.8% across the board.

It should be no surprise that bonds are for sale this morning with yields mostly higher.   Treasury yields, which fell 6bps yesterday, have bounced slightly, up 1.7bps this morning.  European sovereigns, which saw a lesser rally yesterday have barely sold off with nothing rebounding even a full basis point.  One noteworthy outlier is Greece, whose bonds are sharply higher with 10-year yields declining 4.6bps, after Greek central bank comments that the ECB would never stop buying Greek paper.

Commodity prices are generally firmer with oil (WTI +1.2%) leading although gold (+0.2%), copper (+0.95%) and aluminum (+1.0%) are all embracing the risk rebound.

And finally, the dollar, which had rallied so sharply yesterday morning, has given back all of those gains.  NOK (+0.8%) leads the G10 charge higher with CAD (+0.5%) next in line as oil’s rebound supports both currencies.  The rest of the bloc has seen less exuberance, generally between 0.1% and 0.25%, although JPY (-0.1%) has slipped as its haven status is no longer a benefit.

EMG currencies have seen a little less dramatic movement with the leading gainer CZK (+0.3%) followed by RUB (+0.25%) with the latter benefitting from oil while the former continues to find support based on views its central bank remains hawkish enough to raise rates.  Otherwise, the gainers have been quite modest, 0.2% or less with two currencies falling on the day, ZAR (-0.2%) and PLN (-0.25%).  In both cases, it appears the concerns lie with central bank policy prospects.  However, given the modest size of the decline, it is hardly a key issue.

On the data front, this morning brings Housing Starts (exp 1550K) and Building Permits (1600K), although with the FOMC meeting in the background, neither is likely to move the needle.  And that’s really it for the day as there are no speakers.  As long as we don’t see a bombshell from Evergrande, which seems unlikely in our time zone, today feels like a quiet session with potential modest further dollar weakness.  All eyes will continue to be on tomorrow’s FOMC announcement, and, more importantly, Chairman Powell’s comments at the press conference.  Until then, slow going is likely.

Good luck and stay safe
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Would That, Fear, Provoke?

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Remember when everyone said
That Jay and his friends at the Fed
Would taper their buying
While still pacifying
Investors, lest screens all turn red?

Well, what if before the Fed spoke
That Evergrande quickly went broke?
Would traders still bet
The buying of debt
Will end? Or would that, fear, provoke?

Fear is in the air this morning as concerns over the status of China Evergrande’s ability to repay its mountain of debt seriously escalate.  Remember, Evergrande is the Chinese property developer with more than $300 billion in debt outstanding, and that has said they will not be repaying an $84 million loan due today, with the prospect for interest payments due this Thursday also gravely in doubt.  One cannot be surprised that the Hang Seng (-3.3%) reacted so negatively this morning, after all, that is the Evergrande’s main listing exchange.  Other property developers listed there came under substantial pressure as well, with one (Sinic Holdings Group) seeing its price fall 87% before trading was suspended.

Of equal interest to the fact that equity markets are trembling on the Evergrande story is the plethora of press that continues to explain that even if Evergrande goes bust, any fallout will be limited.  Columnists and pundits point to the damage that occurred when the Fed allowed Lehman Brothers to go bust and explain that will never be allowed again.  And while I’m certain they are correct, financial officials have exactly zero interest in allowing that type of situation to repeat, it remains far from clear they can prevent it.  That is, of course, unless the Chinese government is going to step in and pay the debts, something that seems highly unlikely.  As I continue to read and hear how this situation is nothing like Lehman, having had a front row seat to that disaster, I cannot help but see a great many parallels, including many assurances that the underlying cause of that contagion, subprime mortgage loans, was a small portion of the market and any fallout would be controlled.  We all know how well that worked out.

Remember, too, that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been aggressively attacking different sectors of the Chinese economy, specifically those sectors where great wealth (and power) was amassed and has implemented numerous changes to the previous rules.  This is the key reason the Shanghai stock market has underperformed the S&P 500 by 25% over the past year.  One of Xi’s problems is that property development has been a critical part of the growth of China’s economy and a source of significant income to all the provinces and cities.  Proceeds from the sales of property have funded infrastructure as well as helped moderate taxes.  If Evergrande goes under, the impact on the entire Chinese economy seems likely to be significant.  And all this is happening while the growth in China’s credit impulse has been declining rapidly, portending slower growth there anyway.

History has shown that situations of this nature are rarely effectively contained and there is usually fallout across numerous different areas.  Consider that global equity market indices have been hovering just below all-time high levels with stretched valuations on any measure on the basis of TINA and FOMO.  But between the two key emotions evident in investing, fear and greed, I assure you, fear is by far the more powerful.  While anything can still happen, fear is starting to spread more widely today than last week as evidenced by the sea of red across all equity markets today.

If you think that the Fed is going to taper their asset purchases into a period of market weakness, you are gravely mistaken.  The combination of slowing growth and market fear will induce a call for more support, not less, and history has shown that ever since October 1987 and Alan Greenspan’s response to Black Monday, the Fed will respond with more money.  The question this time is, will it be enough to stop the fall?  Interesting times lie ahead.

Most of Asia was on holiday last night, with only Hong Kong and Australia (ASX 200 -2.1%) open.  But Europe is open for business and the picture is not pretty.  The FTSE 100 (-1.55%) is the best performing market today with the continent (DAX -2.15%, CAC -2.1%) emblematic of every market currently open.  US futures, meanwhile, are the relative winners with losses ‘only’ ranging from the NASDAQ (-1.1%) to the Dow (-1.6%).  Now, don’t you feel better?

It can be no surprise that bonds are in demand this morning as risk is undeniably ‘off’ across all markets.  Treasury yields have fallen 3.6bps amid a flattening yield curve, while European sovereigns have all seen price gains as well with yields there slipping between 2.6bps (OATs) and 3.2 bps (Bunds).  In every case, we are seeing yield curves flatten, which tends to imply an increasing expectation of weaker economic activity.

Commodity prices are broadly under pressure as well this morning, with oil (-2.0%) leading the way but weakness across industrial metals (Cu -2.0%, Al -0.65%, Sn -1.2%) and agriculturals (corn -1.6%, wheat -0.9%, soybeans -1.0%) as well.  Gold (+0.2%) on the other hand, seems to have retained some of its haven status.

Speaking of havens, the dollar, yen and Swiss franc remain the currencies of choice in a crisis, so it should be no surprise they are today’s leaders.  Versus the dollar, the yen (+0.4%) and franc (+0.2%) are the only gainers on the day.  Elsewhere in the G10, AUD (-0.55%), SEK (-0.5%), CAD (-0.5%) and NOK (-0.4%) are the worst performers.  Obviously, oil’s decline is weighing on the krone and Loonie, but AUD is feeling it from the rest of the commodity complex, notably iron ore (Australia’s largest export by value) which has fallen to $105/ton, less than half its price on July 15th!

In the emerging markets, RUB (-0.8%) is feeling the heat from oil, while ZAR (-0.55%) has metals fatigue.  But every EMG currency that was open last night or is trading right now is down versus the dollar, with no prospects of a rebound unless risk attitude changes.  And that seems unlikely today.

On the data front, aside from the Fed on Wednesday, it is a housing related week.

Tuesday Housing Starts 1550K
Building Permits 1600K
Wednesday Existing Home Sales 5.88M
FOMC Rate Decision 0.00%-0.25%
Thursday Initial Claims 320K
Continuing Claims 2630K
Flash PMI Manufacturing 60.8
Friday New Home Sales 710K

Source: Bloomberg

As well as the Fed, on Thursday the Bank of England meets and while there is no expectation of a policy move then, there is increasing talk of tighter policy there as well.  Again, if fear continues to dominate markets, central banks are highly unlikely to tighten, and, in fact, far more likely to add yet more liquidity to the system.  Once the Fed meeting has passed, the FOMC members will get back out on the circuit to insure we understand what they are trying to do.  so, we will hear from five of them on Friday, and then a bunch more activity next week.

Today’s watchword is fear.  Markets are afraid and risk is being tossed overboard.  Absent a comment or event that can offset the China Evergrande led story, I see no reason for the dollar to do anything but rally.

Good luck and stay safe
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Reason to Fear

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In Europe, the price of Nat Gas
Has risen to new highs, alas
As winter comes near
There’s reason to fear
A rebound will not come to pass

As well the impact on inflation
Is likely to add to frustration
Of Madame Lagarde
As she tries so hard
To hide the debt monetization

Some days are simply less interesting than others, and thus far, today falls into the fairly dull category.  There has been limited new news in financial markets overall.  While the ongoing concerns over the imminent failure of China Evergrande continue to weigh on Asian stocks (Nikkei -0.6%, Hang Seng -1.5%, Shanghai -1.3%), the story that is beginning to see some light in Europe is focused on the extraordinary rise in Natural Gas prices.  As a point of reference, in the US, Nat Gas closed yesterday at $5.34/MMBtu, itself a significant rise in price over the past six months, nearly doubling in that time.  Europeans, however, would give their eye teeth for such a low price as the price in the Netherlands for TTF (a contract standard) is $22.61/MMBtu!  This price has risen nearly fourfold during the past six months and now stands more thar four times as costly as in the US.  Whatever concerns you may have had about your personal energy costs rising in the US, they are dwarfed by the situation in Europe.

This matters for a number of reasons beyond the economic (for instance, how will people in Europe afford to heat their homes in the fast approaching winter and continue to feed their families as well?)  but our focus here is on markets and economics.  Thus, consider the following:  Europe remains a manufacturing and exporting powerhouse and is reliant on stable supply and pricing of natural gas to power their factories.  Obviously, recent price action has been anything but stable, and given the European dependence on Russian gas supplies, there is a geopolitical element overhanging the market as well.  LNG can be a substitute, but Asian buyers have been paying up to purchase most of those cargoes, so Europe is finding itself with reduced supply and correspondingly rising prices.

The first big industrial impact came yesterday when a major manufacturer of fertilizer shut down two UK plants because the cost of Nat Gas had risen too far to allow them to be competitive.  Consider the chain of events here: first, closure of the plant means reduced overall output, as well as furloughed, if not fired, workers. Second, reduction in the supply of fertilizer means that the price for farmers will almost certainly rise higher, thus forcing farmers to either raise their prices or reduce production (or go out of business).  Higher food prices, which have already risen dramatically, will result in reduced non-food consumption and strain family budgets as it feeds into inflation.  Net, slower growth and higher prices are the exact wrong combination for any economy and one to be avoided at all costs.  Alas, this is very likely the type of future that awaits many, if not most, European countries, the dreaded stagflation.  The ECB has its work cut out to combat this issue effectively while the Eurozone economy sits on more than €11.3 trillion in debt.  I don’t envy Madame Lagarde’s current position.

Beyond the macroeconomic issues, what are the potential market impacts?  Here things, as always, are less clear, but thus far, we have seen one impact, and that is a declining euro (-0.4%).  In fact, all European currencies are falling today as it becomes clearer that economic activity across the pond is going to be further impaired by this situation.  It has been sufficient to offset perceived benefits of European economies reopening in the wake of the spread of the delta variant of Covid.  However, the upshot of this currency weakness has been equity market strength.  It seems that any concerns of the ECB considering tighter policy have been pushed even further into the future thus encouraging investors to continue to add risk to their portfolios.  Hence, this morning, in the wake of the ongoing rise in Nat Gas prices, we see European equities all in the green (DAX +0.5%, CAC +1.0%, FTSE 100 +0.45%).  Under the guise of TINA, weaker growth leads to continued low rates and higher stock prices.  What could possibly go wrong?

US markets are biding their time at this hour, with futures essentially unchanged and really, so are bond markets.  Of the major sovereigns, only Gilts (+1.8bps) have moved more than a fraction of a basis point this morning.  While risk may be on, it is not aggressively so.  Either that, or European banks are back to buying more and more of their national bonds tightening the doom loop that ultimately led to the Eurozone crisis in 2012.

Commodities?  Well, as it happens, after a multi-day rally, oil prices are consolidating with WTI (-0.25%) basically holding the bulk of the $10 in gains it has made in the past month.  Nat Gas, too, is consolidating this morning, down $0.16/MMBtu, although that represents 3% (Natty is very, very volatile!)  With the dollar rocking, we are also seeing weakness across the metals’ markets, both precious (gold -0.75%) and industrial (Cu -2.0%, Al -0.6%, Pb -1.6%).  In fact, the only commodity that is performing well today is Uranium, which is higher by a further 8.1%.

Finally, the dollar is king today, rising against 9 of its G10 counterparts with CHF (-0.5%) the laggard and only NZD (+0.1%) able to show any strength today.  The Kiwi story has been a much better than expected GDP print (2.8% vs 1.1% expected) leading to growing expectations of a 0.50% rate hike next month.  Meanwhile, the rest of the bloc is suffering from the aforementioned cracks in the rebound theory as well as broad-based dollar strength.  This strength has been universal in EMG markets, with every currency sliding against the greenback.  Thus far, the worst performer has been PLN (-0.6%) followed by THB (-0.5%) and HUF (-0.5%).  Beyond that, most currencies are down in the 0.2% range.  Interestingly, for both PLN and HUF, the market discussion is about raising interest rates with Hungary looking at 50bps while Poland has called for a “gentle” rise, assumed to be 0.25%.  As to THB, it seems the market has been reacting to a rise in the number of Covid cases which is perpetuating the Asian risk-off theme.

We have a full slate of data today at 8:30 with Initial (exp 323K) and Continuing (2740K) Claims; Philly Fed (19.0) and the biggest of the day, Retail Sales (-0.7%, 0.0% ex autos).  Tuesday’s Empire Manufacturing data was MUCH stronger than expected, so there will be some hope for Philly to beat.  But the Retail Sales data is the key.  Remember, this number started to slide once the stimulus checks stopped, and last month we saw a much worse than expected -1.1% outcome.  Given the uncertainty over the near-term trajectory of the economy, this will be seen as an important number.

Well, the dollar managed to strengthen despite lacking support from yields, certainly a blow to the dollar bears out there.  The thing is, against the G10, I continue to see the dollar in a range (1.17/1.19) and will need to see a break of either side to change views.  If forced to opine, I would say the medium-term trend for the dollar is gradually higher, but would need to see the euro below 1.17, or the DXY above 93.50 before getting too excited.

I will be out of the office tomorrow so no poetry until Monday.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
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