Tag Archives: #macron

The Winds of Change

Posted on by

Takaichi-san
Her pronouns so very clear
Brings the winds of change

 

Japan has a new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, the first woman to hold the position.  She was deemed by most of the press as the most right-wing of the candidates, which fits with a growing worldwide narrative regarding nationalism, antagonism toward immigration and concerns over China and its plans in the region.  However, in the waning days of the campaign, she moderated a number of her stances as she does not have a majority in either house of the Diet, and will need to persuade other, less rigid members to vote with her in order to pass legislation.

However, the initial market response has been remarkable.  The Nikkei opened in Tokyo +5.5% and held most of those gains, closing higher by 4.75%.  USDJPY gapped 1.3% on the Tokyo opening and is currently higher by 2.0% and back above 150.  Perhaps the most interesting thing is that despite dollar strength, the precious metals have roared higher with both gold and silver gaining 1.4% as gold touches yet another new all-time high and silver pushes ever closer to $50/oz. Meanwhile, JGB yields are little changed as I imagine it will take a few days, at least, for investors to get a better sense of just how effective she will be at governing in a minority role.

Below is the chart for USDJPY, demonstrating just how big the gap was.  This appears to be another chink in the ‘end of the dollar’s dominance’ armor.  Just sayin’!

Source: tradingeconomics.com

In Europe, the powers that be
Have found citizens disagree
With most of their actions
Thus, building up factions
That want nothing but to be free
 
The most recent story is France
Where Macron’s PM blew his chance
He’s now stepped aside
But Macron’s denied
He’ll willingly exit the dance

However, the dollar’s gains today are not merely against the yen, but also, we have seen the euro (-0.7%) slide sharply with the proximate cause here being the sudden resignation of French PM LeCornu.  And the reason it seems like it was only yesterday that France got a new PM after a no-confidence vote in September, is because it basically was only yesterday.  PM LeCornu lasted just one month in the role as President Macron didn’t want to change the cabinet there, thus making LeCornu’s job impossible.  While the next presidential election is not scheduled until April 2027, and Macron is grasping to his role as tightly as possible, it appears, at least from the cheap seats over here in the US, that the vote will happen far sooner than that.  He appears to have lost whatever credibility he had when first elected, and France has now had 4 PM’s in the past twelve months, hardly the sign of a stable and successful presidency.

Like the bulk of the current European leadership, Macron has decided that nearly half the country should not have their voices heard by banning Madame LePen’s RN from government.  And while President Biden was never successful imprisoning President Trump, in France, they managed to convict LePen on some charge and ban her from running.  But that has not dissuaded her followers one iota.  We see the same behavior in Germany with AfD, and the Merz government’s attempts to ban them as a party, and similar behavior throughout Europe as the unelected Brussels contingent in the European Commission struggles to do all they can to retain power.

In fact, if you look at the most recent polls I can find for France, from Politico, you can see that RN, LePen’s party, is leading the polls while ENS, Macron’s centrist party has just 15% support.  The far left NFP is in second place and the center-right LRLC is at 12%.  It is difficult for me to believe that Macron can hold on until 2027, at least 18 months away, and if he does, what type of damage will he do to France?

The point of the story is that whatever you may think of Donald Trump, he has the reins of government and is doing the things he promised on the border and immigration, reducing government and reducing regulations.  In Europe, the entrenched bureaucracy is fighting tooth and nail to prevent that from happening with the result that economic activity is suffering and prospects for future growth are stunted.  And all that was before the US change in trade policy.  With that in mind, absent a massive Fed turnaround to dovishness, which doesn’t seem likely in the near term, the euro has more minuses than pluses I think and should struggle going forward.

Ok, two political stories are the driver today, and neither one has to do with Trump!  Meanwhile, let’s look at how everything else has behaved overnight.  Friday saw a mixed session in the US, and all I read and heard over the weekend was that the denouement was coming, perhaps sooner than we think.  The recurring analogy is Hemingway’s description of going into bankruptcy, gradually, then suddenly, and the punditry is trying to make the case that the ‘suddenly’ part is upon us.  I’m not convinced, and would argue that, at least in the US, things can go on longer than they should.  This is not to say the US doesn’t have serious fiscal issues, just that we have better tools to address them than anyone else.

Elsewhere in Asia, China is still on holiday while HK (-0.7%) could find no joy in the Japanese election.  But Korea (+2.7%), India (+0.7%) and Taiwan (+1.5%) all rallied nicely with only the Philippines (-1.8%) showing contrary price action as investors grew increasingly concerned over a growing corruption scandal with the government there and infrastructure embezzlment allegations.  I didn’t mention above but the rationale behind the Japanese jump is that Takaichi-san is expected to push for significant fiscal expansion on an unfunded basis, great for stocks, not as much for bonds.

In Europe, though, you won’t be surprised that France (-1.6%) is leading the charge lower, although in fairness, the rest of the continent is doing very little with the other major exchanges +/- 0.1% basically.  As to US futures, at this hour (7:15), they are all pointing higher by 0.5% or so.

In the bond market, Treasury yields have moved higher by 4bps this morning, adding to a similar gain on Friday as it appears there are lingering concerns over what happens with the government shutdown.  (Think about it, that issue hasn’t even been a topic of discussion yet this morning!). But remember, the government shutdown does not impact the payment of coupons on Treasury debt, so the issues are very different than the debt ceiling.  As to European sovereigns, not surprisingly, French OATs are the wors performers, with yields jumping 8bps (they have real fiscal problems) but the rest of the continent has tracked Treasury yields and are higher by 3bps to 4bps as well.

I’ve already highlighted precious metals, although copper (-0.7%) is bucking the trend, albeit after having risen more than 10% in the past month.  Oil (+1.4%) is also continuing to bounce off the bottom of the range trade and remains firmly ensconced in the $61.50 to $65.50 range as it has been for the past six months.  In fact, looking at the chart below from Yahoo finance, you can see that except for the twelve-day war between Israel and Iran, nothing has gone on here.  The net price change in the past six months has been just -0.19% as you can see in the upper left corner.  While this will not go on forever, I have no idea what will break this range trade.

Finally, the dollar is stronger across the board with the pound (-0.4%) and SEK (-0.5%) the next worst performers in the G10 while CAD and NOK are both unchanged on the day, reflecting the benefits of stronger oil and commodity prices.  In the EMG bloc, the CE4 are all softer by between -0.6% and -0.9%, tracking the euro, and we have seen APAC currencies slip as well (KRW -0.5%, CNY -0.15%).  MXN (-0.2%) and ZAR (-0.3%) seem to be holding in better than others given their commodity linkages.

And that’s all we have today.  With the shutdown ongoing, there are no government statistics coming but we will hear from 8 different Fed speakers, including Chairman Powell on Thursday morning, over a total of 15 different venues this week.  Again, there is a wide dispersion of views currently on the FOMC, so unless we start to see some coalescing, which given the lack of data seems unlikely in the near term, I don’t think we will learn very much new.  As far as the shutdown is concerned, the next vote is scheduled for today, but thus far, it doesn’t seem the Democratic leadership is willing to change their views.  Funnily, I don’t think the markets really care.

Overall, I see more reasons to like the dollar than not these days, and it will take a major Fed dovish turn to change that view.

Good luck

Adf

To Further Debase

Posted on by

Said Jay, “The economy’s strong”
But rate cuts before weren’t wrong
We’re in a good place
To further debase
Your dollars and will before long
As we slow the pace
Of policy ease all year long

 

Chairman Powell regaled the market for the last time before the Fed’s quiet period begins tomorrow evening and here are the three comments that seem to explain his current views. 

  • “We wanted to send a strong signal that we were going to support the labor market if it continued to weaken.”
  • “The economy is strong, and it’s stronger than we thought it was going to be in September.”
  • “The good news is that we can afford to be a little more cautious as we try to find a rate-setting that neither spurs nor slows growth.”

My read is he was trying to make an excuse for the 50bp cut that started the process in September as there is still no justification for that move.  However, he essentially reiterated his last remarks of the Fed not being in a hurry to cut rates further.  As it happens, SF Fed president Mary Daly also explained, “We do not need to be urgent. There’s no sense of urgency, but we do need to continue to carefully calibrate our policy and make sure it’s in line with the economy we have today the one we expect to have going forward.” 

Now, a funny thing happened to me yesterday as I read those comments, and my expectation was that the Fed funds futures market might reduce the probability of a December rate cut.  After all, we just heard from the Chairman that things are good and they can be cautious about further cuts, while another member expressly said there was no urgency to cut.  But in fact, the 74% probability this morning is unchanged from yesterday’s level and the punditry remains very convinced that they are going to cut next week despite their caution.  It seems that my understanding of caution and Powell’s are somewhat different.  However, his understanding is the one that matters, so it appears absent a major upside surprise in both NFP tomorrow and CPI next week, a cut is coming on the 18th.

The French president, M. Macron
May soon find himself overthrown
His PM is out
And there is great doubt
‘Bout any new views he has shown

The other topic of note this morning is the collapse of Monsieur Macron’s minority government in France.  This was the widely expected outcome that markets had priced in, so there has been little in the way of impact there.  However, the bigger picture impact is about the structure of the Eurozone (and EU) and its rules.  After all, if the second largest economy in the group is not merely floundering economically, but essentially leaderless, the concept of a coherent set of plans to oversee the Eurozone seems a bit of a stretch.

Macron’s term is not up until 2027, and he has consistently maintained he will not step down early, but there are increasing calls for him to do just that.  Members of parliament on both the left and right, although not Marine Le Pen, the RN’s leader, have been vocal on the subject and a recent poll by Cluster17 for Le Point magazine showed that 54% of the French public wanted him to step down as well.  Now, you know as well as I that absent a criminal conviction, the odds of an elected official stepping down anywhere in the world approach zero and I expect nothing less from Macron.  At the same time, French law prevents another parliamentary election for 12 months after the last, which means July.  At that time, one will almost certainly be called, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.  

However, in the meantime, it seems likely that France will be floundering with no ability to address fiscal issues, be they spending or deficit focused.  This cannot be a positive for the single currency, especially if France slips into recession.  Again, despite all the concerns over the dollar and the untenable fiscal deficits, things in Europe appear far worse.  Parity in the euro and below seems a far better bet over the next 6 months than the opposite.  While the euro (+0.2%) has bounced slightly this morning, a look at the chart below indicates, at least to me, that the trend is distinctly lower.

Source: tradingeconomics.com

And with that, let’s look at the overnight session in markets.  Continuing in the FX world, that modest euro gain is descriptive of the market as a whole, with the dollar slightly softer this morning, although few currencies showing any notable strength.  I suspect much of this is based on the idea that the Fed will cut rates soon despite the “strong economy”.  In truth, in the G10, no currency has moved more than 0.2% and even in the EMG space, only ZAR (+0.4%) and HUF (+0.5%) have climbed more.  Those moves, which don’t appear to have any fundamental drivers, seem more likely to be expressions of the fact those markets are more volatile than the G10.

In the equity markets, yesterday’s US rally, to new all-time highs across the board, saw a mixed review in Asia with the Nikkei (+0.3%) edging higher but both Hong Kong (-0.9%) and Shanghai (-0.25%) slipping a bit.  The rest of Asia was also mixed with Korea (-0.9%) still suffering from the bizarre happenings there yesterday but other markets performing well (India +1.0%, Singapore +0.6%).  In Europe, only the UK (-0.1%) is under water this morning although the CAC (+0.2%) is the continental laggard.  Spain’s IBEX (+1.2%) is the leader on the back of stronger IP, and although Eurozone Retail Sales were much weaker than expected, it has not seemed to impact investor views.  As to US futures, they are little changed at this hour (7:30).

In the bond market, Treasury yields have backed up 3bps and I am beginning to sense that there is a negative correlation to the probability of a Fed rate cut and the 10-year yield.  As that probability rises, bonds sell off further, but that is merely an anecdotal observation, I have not done the math.  In Europe, yields are mixed, but within 1bp of yesterday’s closing levels with even French yields slipping 1bp. It will be very interesting to see how the European Commission handles the fact that the French budget deficit is so far above the targeted 3% level and now without a government, there is no way to address the situation.  The original idea when the euro was formed was that governments would be fined if they broke the policy caps on debt and deficits.  Of course, no fine has ever been imposed and I don’t suppose one will be now.  (However, if Marine Le Pen’s RN wins the election next summer, you can be sure they will seek to impose fines on her government!)

Finally, in the commodity markets, it is very quiet this morning.  Oil (+0.3%) is edging higher after a big rise and fall yesterday.  The rise was the result of a steep draw in US inventories, but the decline seemed to be a response to OPEC+ confirming they will be increasing production at some point in 2025.  Meanwhile, metals markets are basically unchanged this morning.

One other thing I have not discussed but is obviously getting a lot of press this morning, is Bitcoin which traded through $100K yesterday after President-elect Trump named Paul Atkins to be his new SEC Chair.  Atkins has a very pro crypto bias, and I expect we will see far more impetus in the crypto space going forward, not just in Bitcoin.

On the data front, yesterday’s ISM data was a bit softer than forecast while the Beige Book explained that economic activity rose slightly in the past month along with employment and prices, but all movements were quite modest.  This morning, we see Initial (exp 215K) and Continuing (1910K) Claims as well as the Trade Balance (-$75.0B) and later we hear from Richmond Fed president Barkin.  

Looking at the overall situation, investors continue to ignore any potential problems and run to risk assets, as evidenced by the rally in Bitcoin and new highs in stock prices.  Unless we see some really surprising data, either crazy strong implying the Fed is going to stop easing, or crazy weak implying we are in a recession, I see no reason for this process to end heading into the new year and President Trump’s inauguration.  Again, in that scenario, I think you have to like the dollar higher.

Good luck

Adf

Won’t Be Repaid

Posted on by

Said Merkel and French Prez Macron
This calls for a grant, not a loan
When speaking of aid
That won’t be repaid
By nations where Covid’s full-blown

The euro is firmer this morning, up a further 0.35% after yesterday’s 0.9% rally, as the market responds to the news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emanuel Macron have agreed on a plan for EU-wide assistance to all members. This is the first time that there has been German support for a plan that includes grants to nations, not loans to be repaid, and that these grants are to be distributed to the membership, not based on the capital key, but rather based on where the money is needed most. The funding will come from debt issued by the European Commission and paid out of that entity’s budget. In sum, while this is not actually Eurozone bond issuance, it is a clear step in that direction.

Of course, nothing in the EU is easy, and this is no different. Immediately upon the announcement, Austrian Chancellor Kurz explained that there is no path forward for grants, and that Austria is happy to lend money to those countries in need. Too, the Dutch, Danes and Finns are none too happy about this outcome, but with Germany on board, it will be very difficult to fight. Even so, French FinMin LeMaire made it clear that it will take time to complete the procedure (and he is 100% behind the idea) with the first funds not likely available before early 2021.

However, the importance of this step cannot be underestimated. The tension within the Eurozone has always revolved around how much Germany and its frugal northern neighbors would be willing to pay to the more profligate south in order to maintain the euro as a functioning currency. When looking at which nations benefit most from the single currency, Germany tops the list as the euro is certainly weaker than the Deutschemark would have been in its stead, and thus Germany’s export industries, and by extension its economic performance, have benefitted significantly. It appears that Chancellor Merkel and her administration have now done the math and decided that spending some money to maintain that export advantage is a smart investment. While in the past I have been suspect of the euro’s longevity, this appears to be the first step toward a joint fiscal policy resulting in a far stronger basis for the euro. While there will no doubt be rough seas for this process ahead, if Germany and France are on board, they will ultimately drag everyone else along. This is arguably the most bullish long-term euro story since its creation two decades ago.

The other bullish news for markets yesterday was the announcement that a tiny biotech company in Massachusetts, Moderna Inc, with just 25 employees (although a $29 billion market cap) has seen extremely positive results from a Covid vaccine trial. Apparently, it not only does the job, but does so with limited side effects to boot. While it has yet to undergo larger phase 2 and phase 3 trials, it is certainly extremely bullish news.

The combination of these stories was extremely beneficial for risk assets yesterday, which explains the 3+% rallies in US equity indices, the sell-off in Treasuries (10-year yields rose 7bps) and the dollar’s overall weakness. That bullishness followed through overnight with Asian equity markets gaining nicely (Nikkei +1.5%, Hang Seng +1.9%, Shanghai +0.8%) and Europe starting in the green as well. However, those early gains in Europe have turned red now, with what appears to be profit taking after yesterday’s substantial gains. Clearly, European equity markets were the main beneficiaries of the Franco-German announcement on debt although Italian debt has not done too badly either, with yields on 10-year BTP’s falling 22bps since Friday’s close.

Put it all together and we have a very positive backdrop for the near-term. While data continues to be dreadful, with today’s poster child being the 856K jump in Jobless Claims in the UK last month, we already know the market is looking through the bad news toward the recovery. Of much more importance to market sentiment is the prospect for the reopening of economies around the world. This is where the vaccine story supports everything, because undoubtedly, if there was a widely available vaccine, the stories of devastation would diminish and confidence would quickly return. And while there will certainly be changes in the way people behave going forward, they are not likely to be as dramatic as once imagined. After all, if people are confident they are immune to Covid-19 after a vaccination, they will likely return to their previous lifestyle as quickly as they can.

So, with that overall bullish framework, we cannot be surprised that the other key haven assets, the dollar and the yen, are under pressure this morning. Yesterday’s dollar weakness has extended this morning virtually across the board. In the G10 space, it is the high beta currencies, NZD (+0.85%) and SEK (+0.6%) leading the way, but even the pound, after that terrible employment data, is higher by 0.5%. Only the yen (-0.2%) has ceded ground to the dollar this morning in what is clearly a straight risk-on session.

The EMG bloc is much the same, with every currency on the board firmer vs. the dollar this morning led by HUF (+1.4%) and CZK (+1.2%) as clear beneficiaries of the mooted EU financing program. Remember, this €500 billion can be spent anywhere desired by the Commission. But we are also seeing commodity currencies benefit as MXN (+1.0%) and ZAR (+0.8%) continue to perform well. In fact, over the past two sessions, one is hard-pressed to find a currency that has not appreciated vs. the dollar.

On the data front, beyond the awful UK data, we did see a much better than expected German ZEW Expectations outcome, printing at 51.0, although the current conditions index remains horrendous at -93.5. But the future is much brighter this morning, adding to the euro’s strength. At home, we see Housing Starts (exp 900K) and Building Permits (1000K), neither of which is likely to have a big impact, although stronger than expected data would surely add to the overall positive risk feeling this morning.

As well, Chairman Powell will be testifying to the Senate Banking Committee, but after Sunday night’s performance it is not clear what they will ask that he has not already answered. The Fed is all-in to do everything possible to support the economy. Arguably, the bigger question is will they be able to stop once things have evidently turned better. History shows that once government programs get going, they are virtually indestructible. In this instance, that implies ongoing Fed largesse far past when it is needed, thus much lower interest rates than are appropriate. Combine negative real rates in the US with a bullish structural story in the EU and we have the recipe for a much weaker dollar over time. This week could well be the beginning of a new trend.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

 

Toadies Galore

Posted on by

There once was a time in the past
When jobs like PM were a blast
With toadies galore
And laws you’d ignore
While scheming, all foes, to outlast

But these days when leading a nation
The role has outgrown bloviation
Consider Ms. May
Who just yesterday
Was subject to near ruination

Well, Brexit managed to not be the headline story for the several days between the time the current deal was tentatively agreed with the rest of the EU and the scheduled vote by the House of Commons to approve said deal. During that period, PM May made the rounds to try to sell her deal to the people of the UK. Alas, apparently she’s not a very good saleswoman. Under extreme duress, yesterday she indefinitely delayed the vote that was originally to be held this evening. Amid jeering from the floor of the House of Commons, she tried to make her case, but was singularly unable to do so. As has been the problem all along, the Irish border issue remains intractable with the opposing goals of separating the two nations legally and, more importantly, for customs purposes, while not installing a border between the two. As it currently stands, I will argue there is no compromise solution that is viable. One side is going to have to accept the other side’s demands and frankly, that doesn’t seem very likely. The upshot is that the market has once again begun to assume a no-deal Brexit with all the hyperbolic consequences that entails. And the pound? It was not a happy day if you were long as it fell 2% at its worst point, although only closed down by about 1.5%. This morning, it has regained a further 0.4%, but remains near its weakest levels since April 2017. Unless you believe in miracles (and in fairness there is no better time to do so than this time of year), my strong belief is the UK is going to exit the EU with nothing in place. The pound has further to fall, so hedgers beware.

Let’s pivot to the euro for a moment and discuss all the benefits of the single currency. First, there is the prospect of its third largest trading partner, the UK, leaving the fold and suddenly imposing tariffs on those exports. Next we have France literally on fire, as the gilets jaunes continue to run riot throughout the country while protesting President Macron’s mooted fuel tax increase. In the end, that seems to have been pulled and now he is offering tax cuts! Fiscal probity has been tossed aside in the name of political expediency. Thirdly, we have the ongoing Italian opera over the budget. The antiestablishment coalition government remains adamant that it is going to inject fiscal stimulus to the country, which is slipping into recession as we speak, but the EU powers-that-be are chuffed by the fact that the Italian budget doesn’t meet their criteria. In fact, those same powers continue down the road of seeking to impose fines on Italy for the audacity of trying to manage their own country. (Will someone please explain to me why when the French make outlandish promises that will expand their budget deficit, the EU remains mum, but when the Italians do so, it is an international crisis?)

At the same time as all of this is ongoing, the ECB is bound and determined to end QE this month and keeps talking about starting to normalize interest rates next autumn. Whistling past the graveyard anyone? When three of the four biggest nations in the EU are under significant duress, it seems impossible to consider that owning the euro is the best position. While it is clear that the situation in the US is not nearly as robust as had been believed just a month ago, and the Fed seems to be responding to that by softening their tone; at some point, the ECB is going to recognize that things in the Eurozone are also much worse, and that talk of tightening policy is going to fade from the scene. Rather, the discussion will be how large to make the new TLTRO loan program and what else can the ECB do to help support the economy since cutting rates seems out of the question given the starting point. None of that is priced into the market right now, and so as that unfolds, the euro will fall. However, in today’s session, the euro has recouped about half its losses from yesterday, rebounding by 0.4% after a more than 0.8% decline Monday. As much as there is a building discussion over the impending collapse of the dollar, it continues to seem to me that there are much bigger problems elsewhere in the world, which will help the dollar retain its haven status.

Away from those two stories, I would be remiss if I did not mention that the Reserve Bank of India’s widely respected governor, Urjit Patel, resigned suddenly Monday evening leading to a 1.5% decline in the rupee and a sharp fall in Indian equity markets Tuesday. But then, results from recent local elections seemed to shift toward the ruling BJP, instilling a bit more confidence that PM Modi will be able to be reelected next year. Given the perception of his market/business friendliness, that change precipitated a sharp reversal in markets with the rupee actually rallying 0.9% and Indian equity markets closing higher by 0.6%.

In fact, despite my warnings above, the dollar is under pressure across the board this morning while global equity markets are looking up. It seems there was a call between the US and China restarting the trade negotiation process, which was taken by investors as a sign that all would be well going forward. And while that is certainly encouraging, it seems a leap to believe a solution is at hand. However, there is no question the market is responding to that news as equity markets in Europe are all higher by between 1.0% and 2.0%, US equity futures are pointing to a 1% gain on the open, government bonds are softer across the board and the dollar is down. Even commodities are playing nice today with most rallying between 0.5%-1.0%. So everyone, RISK IS ON!!

Turning to the data story, first let me say that the euro has been helped by a better than expected German ZEW Index (-17.5 vs. exp -25), while the pound has benefitted from a modestly better than expected employment report, with Average earnings rising 3.3% and the Employment Change jumping 79K. At the same time, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index was just released at a worse than expected 104.8, indicating that the peak may well be behind us in the US economy. At 8:30 we see PPI data (exp 2.5%, 2.6% core) however, that tends not to be a significant market mover. Rather, today is shaping up as a risk-on day and unless there is a change in the tone of the trade talks, there is no reason to believe that will change. Accordingly, for hedgers, take advantage of the pop in currencies as the big picture continues to point toward eventual further dollar strength.

Good luck
Adf