Tag Archives: #NIRP

The UK’s Current Plight

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In England, the doves are in flight
Explaining that NIRP is alright
But hawks keep maintaining
That zero’s restraining
Despite the UK’s current plight

What we’ve learned thus far in 2021 is that Monday is risk-off day, at least, so far.  Yesterday, for the second consecutive week, risk was under pressure as equity markets everywhere fell, while the dollar rallied sharply.  But just like last week, where risk was avidly sought once Monday passed, this morning has seen a rebound in many equity markets, as well as renewed pressure on the dollar.

But aside from a very early assessment of a potential pattern forming, this morning brings a dearth of market-moving news.  Perhaps the most interesting is the battle playing out inside the BOE, where Silvana Tenreyo, one of the more dovish MPC members, has been making the case that in the current situation, the UK should cut the base rate into negative territory.  Her analysis, as well as that of other central banks like the ECB, SNB and Danish central bank, have shown that there are many benefits to the policy and that it has been quite effective.  Of course, those are three of four central banks (the BOJ is the other) that currently maintain negative rates, so it would be pretty remarkable if those studies said NIRP was a failure.  The claim is that NIRP increases the amount of lending that banks extend, thus encouraging spending and investment as well as weakening the currency to help the export industries in the various countries.  And the studies go on to explain that all these factors help drive inflation higher, a key goal of each of those central banks.

Now, there is no question that those are the theoretical underpinnings of NIRP, alas, it is hard to find the data to support this.  Rather, these studies tend to give counterfactual analyses, that indicate if the central banks had not gone negative, things would have been worse.  For instance, let’s look at CPI in the Eurozone (-0.3%), Switzerland (-0.8%) and Denmark (+0.5%).  Not for nothing, but those hardly seem like data that indicate inflation has been supported.  In fact, in each of these countries, inflation was going nowhere fast before the pandemic, although I will grant that Covid has depressed the numbers further to date.  And how about the currency?  Well, one of the biggest stories of the past six months has been how the dollar has declined nearly 10% against these currencies.  Once again, the concept of a weaker currency seems misplaced.

The point here is that the discussion is heating up in the UK, with the independent MPC members pushing for a move below zero, while the BOE insiders are far more reluctant, explaining that the banking system would see serious harm.  (I think if one looks at the banking system in Europe, it is a fair statement that the banks there are not performing all that well, despite (because of?) 6 years of NIRP.  The BOE counterpoint was made this morning by Governor Bailey who explained there were still many issues to be addressed and implied NIRP was not likely to be implemented in the near future.  With all this as background, it should be no surprise that the pound has been the best performer in the G10 today, rising 0.6%, after Bailey’s comments squashed ideas NIRP was on its way soon.

But the dollar, overall, is softer today, not nearly reversing yesterday’s gains (except vs. the pound), but generally under pressure.  However, there is precious little that seems to be driving markets this morning, other than longer term stories regarding fiscal stimulus and Covid-19.

So, a quick tour of markets shows that Asian equity markets shook off the weakness in the US yesterday and rallied nicely.  The Nikkei (+0.1%) was the laggard, as the Hang Seng (+1.3%) and Shanghai (+2.1%) showed real strength.  Europe, on the other hand, is showing a much more mixed picture, wit the DAX (+0.1%) actually the best performer of the big 3, while the CAC (0.0%) and FTSE 100 (-0.6%) are searching for buying interests.  The FTSE is likely being negatively impacted by the pound’s strength, as there is a narrative that the large exporters in the index are helped by a weak pound and so there is a negative correlation between the pound and the FTSE.  The problem with that is when running the correlation analysis, over the past two years, the correlation is just 0.08% and the sign is positive, meaning they move together, not oppositely.  But it is a nice story!  And one more thing, US futures are green, up about 0.25% or so.

Bond markets are selling off this morning as yields continue to rise on expectations that the future is bright.  10-year Treasury yields are up to 1.16%, which is a new high for the move, having rallied a further 1.2bps this morning.  But we are seeing the same type of price action throughout Europe, with yields higher by between 1.7 bps (Bunds) and 4.0bps (Italian BTP’s), with Gilts (+2.3bps) and OATs (+2.0bps) firmly in between.  What I find interesting about this movement is the constant refrain that H1 2021 is going to be much worse than expected, with the Eurozone heading into a double dip recession and the US seeing much slower than previously expected growth as many analysts have downgraded their estimates to 1.0% from 4.0% before.  At the same time, the message from the Fed continues to be that tighter policy is outcome based, and there is no indication they are anywhere near thinking about raising rates.  With that as background, the best explanation I can give for higher yields is concerns over inflation.  Remember, CPI is released tomorrow morning, and since the summer, almost every release was higher than forecast.  As I have written before, the Fed is going to be tested as to their tolerance for above target inflation far sooner than they believe.

The inflation story is supported, as well, but this morning’s commodity price moves, with oil higher by 1.3% and gold higher by 0.8%.  In fact, I believe that inflation is going to become an increasingly bigger story as the year progresses, perhaps reaching front page news before the end of 2021.

Finally, as mentioned above, the dollar is under broad-based, but generally modest pressure this morning.  After the pound, AUD (+0.35%) and CAD (+0.25%) are the leading gainers, responding to the firmer commodity prices, although NOK (0.0%) is not seeing any benefit from oil’s rise.  In the EMG space, it is also the commodity linked currencies that are leading the way, with ZAR (+0.9%), RUB (+0.8%) and MXN (+0.5%) topping the list.  Also, of note is the CNY (+0.3%) which is back to levels last seen in June 2018, as the strengthening trend their continues.

On the data front, the NFIB Small Business Optimism index showed less optimism, falling to 95.9, well below expectations, again pointing to a slowing growth story in H1.  The only other data point from the US is JOLT’s Job Openings (exp 6.4M), which rarely has any impact.  I would like to highlight, in the inflation theme, that Brazilian inflation was released this morning at a higher than expected 4.52% in December, which is taking it back above target and to levels last seen in early 2019.  If this continues, BRL may become a high yielder again.

Finally, we hear from 6 different Fed speakers today, but again, unless they all start to indicate tighter policy, not just better economic outcomes, in H2, while the dollar may benefit slightly, it will not turn the current trend.  And that’s really the story, the medium-term trend in the dollar remains lower, but for now, absent a catalyst for the next leg (something like discussion of YCC or increased QE), I expect a bit of choppiness.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Macron’s Pet Peeve

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Each day from the UK we learn
The data implies a downturn
Infections keep rising
Yet what’s so surprising
Is Sterling, no trader will spurn

Investors, it seems, all believe
That fishing rights, Macron’s pet peeve
Will soon be agreed
And both sides proceed
Towards Brexit come this New Year’s Eve

Since the last day of September, the pound has been a top performer in the G10 space, rallying 2.0% despite the fact that, literally, every piece of economic data has fallen short of expectations.  Whether it was GDP, PMI, IP or Employment, the entire slate has been disappointing.  At the same time, stories about Brexit negotiations continue to focus on the vast gap between both sides on fishing rights for the French fleet as well as state aid limits for UK companies.  And yet the pound continues to grind higher, trading back to its highest levels in a month.  Granted this morning it has ceded a marginal -0.2%, but that is nothing compared to this steady climb higher.

It seems apparent that traders are not focusing on the macro data right now, but instead are looking toward a successful conclusion of the Brexit negotiations.  Granted, Europe’s history in negotiations is to have both (or all) sides agree at the eleventh hour or later, but agree, nonetheless.  So, perhaps the investor community is correct, there will be no hard Brexit and thus the UK economy will not suffer even more egregiously than it has due to Covid.  But even if a deal is agreed, does it make sense that the pound remains at these levels?

At this stage, the economic prospects for the UK seem pretty awful.  This morning’s employment report showed the 3M/3M Employment change (a key measure in the UK) falling 153K.  While that is not the worst reading ever, which actually came during the financial crisis in June 2009, it is one of the five worst in history and was substantially worse than market expectations.  Of greater concern was that the pace of job cuts rose to the most on record, with 114K redundancies reported in the June-August period.  Adding it all up leaves a pretty poor outlook for the UK economy, especially as further lockdowns are contemplated and enacted to slow the resurgence in Covid infections seen throughout various parts of the country.  And yet the pound continues to perform well.

Perhaps the rally is based on monetary policy expectations.  Alas, the last we heard from the Old Lady was that they were discussing how banks would handle negative interest rates, something which last year Governor Carney explained didn’t make any sense, but now, under new leadership, seems to have gained more adherents.  If history is any guide, the fact that the BOE is talking to banks about NIRP is a VERY strong signal that NIRP is coming to the UK in the next few months.  Again, it strikes me that this is not a positive for the currency.

In sum, all the information I see points to the pound having more downside than upside, and yet upside is what we have seen for the past several weeks.  As a hedger, I would be cautious regarding expectations that the pound has much further to rally.

Turning to the rest of the market, trading has been somewhat mixed, with no clear direction on risk assets seen.  Equity markets in Asia saw gains in the Hang Seng (+2.2%) although the Nikkei (+0.2%) and Shanghai (0.0%) were far less enthusiastic.  Interestingly, the HKMA was forced to intervene in the FX market last night, selling HKD6.27 billion to defend the strong side of the peg.  Clearly, funds are flowing in that direction, arguably directly into the stock market there, which after plummeting 27.5% from January to March on the back of Covid concerns, has only recouped about 42% of those losses, and so potentially offers opportunity.  Perhaps more interestingly, last night China reported some very solid trade data, with imports rising far more than expected (+13.2% Y/Y) and the Trade Balance falling to ‘just’ $37.0B.  Export growth was a bit softer than expected, but it seems clear the Chinese economy is moving forward.

European bourses, however, are all in the red with the DAX (-0.4%) and CAC (-0.3%) representative of the general tone of the market.  Aside from the weak UK employment data, we also saw a much weaker than expected German ZEW reading (56.1 vs. 72.0 expected), indicating that concerns are growing regarding the near-term future of the German economy.

In keeping with the mixed tone to today’s markets, Treasuries have rallied with yields falling 2 basis points after yesterday’s holiday.  Perhaps that is merely catching up to yesterday’s European government bond markets, as this morning, there is no rhyme or reason to movement in this segment.  In fact, the only movement of note here is Greece, which has seen 10-year yields decline by 3bps and which are now sitting almost exactly atop 10-year Treasuries.

As to the dollar, mixed is a good description here as well.  In the G10 space, given the German data, it is no surprise that the euro has edged lower by 0.2% nor that the pound has crept lower as well.  AUD (-0.24%) is actually the worst performer, which looks a response to softness in the commodity space.  SEK (+0.3%) is the best performer after CPI data turned positive across the board, albeit not rising as much as had been forecast.  You may recall the Swedes are the only country that had moved to NIRP and then raised rates back to 0.0%, declaring negative rates to be a bad thing.  The previous few CPI readings, which were negative, had several analysts calling for Swedish rates to head back below zero, but this seems to support the Riksbank’s view that no further rate cuts are needed.

Emerging market currencies are under a bit more pressure, with the CE4 leading the way lower (CZK -0.8%, PLN -0.7%, HUF -0.65%) but the rest of the bloc has seen far less movement, generally +/- 0.2%.  Regarding Eastern Europe, it seems there are growing concerns over a second wave of Covid wreaking further havoc on those nations inspiring more rate cuts by the respective central banks.  Yesterday’s Czech CPI data, showing inflation falling into negative territory was merely a reminder of the potential for lower rates.

Speaking of CPI, that is this morning’s lead data point, with expectations for a 0.2% M/M gain both headline and ex food and energy, which leads to 1.4% headline and 1.7% core on a Y/Y basis.  Remember, these numbers have been running higher than expectations all summer, and while the Fed maintains that inflation is MIA, we all know better.  I see no reason for this streak of higher than expected prints to be broken.  In addition, we hear from two Fed speakers, Barkin and Daly, but we already know what they are likely going to say; we are supporting the economy, but Congress needs to enact a fiscal support package, or the world will end (and it won’t be their fault.)

US equity futures are a perfect metaphor for the day, with DOW futures down 0.4% and NASDAQ futures higher by 0.9%.  In other words, it is a mixed picture with no clear direction.  My fear is the dollar starts to gain more traction, but my sense is that is not in the cards for today.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Congressional Sloth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Deferred

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In Europe, despite what you’ve heard
The rebound could well be deferred
The ECB told
The banks there to hold
More capital lest they’re interred

It seems that the ECB is still a bit concerned about the future of the Eurozone economy.  Perhaps it was the news that the Unemployment rate in Spain jumped up to 15.3%.  Or perhaps it was the news that cases of Covid are growing again in various hot spots across the Continent.  But whatever the reason, the ECB has just informed the Eurozone banking community that dividends are taboo, at least for the rest of 2020, and that they need to continue to bolster their capital ratios.  Now, granted, European banks have been having a difficult time for many years as the fallout from Negative interest rates has been accumulating each year.  So, not only have lending spreads shrunk, but given the Eurozone economy has been so slothful for so long, the opportunities for those banks to lend and earn even that spread have been reduced.  It should be no surprise that the banking community there is in difficult shape.

However, from the banks’ perspective, this is a major problem.  Their equity performance has been dismal, and cutting dividends is not about to help them.  So, the cost of raising more capital continues to rise while the potential profit in the business continues to fall.  This strikes me as a losing proposition, and one that is likely to lead to another wave of European bank mergers.  Do not be surprised if, in a few years, each major country in Europe has only two significant banks, and both are partly owned by the state.  Banking is no longer a private industry, but over the course of the past decade, since the GFC, has become a utility.  But unlike utilities that make a solid return on capital and are known for their steady dividend payouts, these are going to be owned and directed by the state, with any profits going back to the state.  I foresee the conservatorship model the US Treasury used for FNMA and FHLMC as the future of European banking.

The reason I bring this up is because amidst all the cooing about how the EU has finally changed the trajectory of Europe with their groundbreaking Pandemic relief package, and how this will establish the opportunity for the euro to become the world’s favored reserve currency, there are still many fundamental flaws in Europe, and specifically in the Eurozone, which will effectively prevent this from happening.  In fact, there was a recent study by Invesco Ltd, that showed central banks around the world expect to increase their reserve allocation to USD in the next year, not reduce those allocations.  This has been a key plank for the dollar bears, the idea that the world will no longer want dollars as a reserve asset.  Whatever one thinks about the US banking community and whether they serve a valuable purpose properly, the one truth is that they are basically the strongest banks in the world from a capital perspective.  And in the current environment, no country can be dominant without a strong banking sector.

In fact, this may be the strongest argument for the dollar to remain overpriced compared to all those econometric models that focus on the current account and trade flows.  A quick look at China’s banks shows they are likely all insolvent, with massive amounts of unreported, but uncollectable loans outstanding.  China has been the most active user of the extend and pretend model, rolling loans over to insolvent state companies in order to make it appear those loans will eventually be repaid.  Only US banks have the ability to write off significant amounts of their loan portfolio (remember, in Q2 the number was $38 billion) and remain viable and active institutions.  In fact, this is one of the main reasons the US economy has outperformed Europe for the past decade.  Covid or no, European banks will continue to drag the European economy down, mark my words.  And with that, the euro’s opportunity for significant gains will be limited.

But that is a much longer-term view.  Let us look at today’s markets now.  If pressed, I would describe them as ever so slightly risk-off, but the evidence is not that convincing.  Equity markets in around the world have been mixed, with few being able to follow the US markets continued strength.  For example, last night saw the Nikkei (-0.25%) slide along with Sydney (-0.4%) while both Shanghai and the Hang Seng rallied a solid 0.7%.  Europe, on the other hand has much more red than green, with the DAX (-0.35%) and CAC (-0.75%) leading the way, although Spain’s IBEX (+0.3%) seems to be rebounding from yesterday’s losses despite the employment data.  Meanwhile US futures, which were essentially unchanged all evening, have just turned modestly lower.

The bond market, though, is a little out of kilter with the stock market, as yields throughout Europe have moved higher despite the stock market performances there.  Meanwhile, Treasury yields are a half basis point lower than yesterday’s close, although yesterday saw the 10-year yield rise 4bps as risk fears diminished.  Gold and silver are consolidating this morning, with the former down 0.85% as I type, and the latter down 5.0%.  But in the overnight session, gold did trade to a new all-time high, at $1981/oz.  The rally in gold has been extremely impressive this year, and after touching new highs, there are now a few analysts who are growing concerned a correction is imminent.  From a trading perspective, that certainly makes sense, but in the end, the underlying story remains quite positive, and is likely to do so as long as central banks believe it is their duty to print as much money as they can as quickly as they can.

As to the dollar, it is broadly firmer this morning, although the movement has not been that impressive.  In the G10, kiwi is the biggest loser, down 0.5%, as talk of additional QE is heating up there.  But other than SEK (-0.4%), the rest of the block is just a bit softer, with CHF and JPY actually 0.1% firmer at this time.  Emerging market activity shows RUB (-0.8%) as the weakest of the lot, although we are also seeing softness in TRY and ZAR (-0.6% each) and MXN (-0.5%).  Softening oil and commodity prices are clearly not helping either the rand or peso, but as to TRY, it remains unclear what is driving it these days.

On the data front, yesterday saw Durable Goods print largely as expected, showing the initial bounce in the economy.  This morning brings Case Shiller Home Prices (exp 4.05%) and Consumer Confidence (95.0), neither of which seems likely to move the needle.  With the Fed on tap for tomorrow, despite the fact they are likely to leave well enough alone, there will be much ink spilled over the meeting.

In the end, the short-term trend remains for the dollar to soften further, today notwithstanding, but I don’t believe in the dollar collapse theory.  As such, receivables hedgers should really be looking for places to step in and add to your programs.

Good luck and stay safe

Adf

 

 

 

Feeling the Heat

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As tensions continue to flare
Twixt China and Uncle Sam’s heir
The positive feelings
In equity dealings
Could easily turn to a bear

Meanwhile down on Threadneedle Street
The Old Lady’s fairly downbeat
Thus negative rates
Are now on their plates
With bank stocks there feeling the heat

A yoyo may be the best metaphor for market price action thus far in May as we have seen a nearly equal number of up and down days with the pattern nearly perfect of gains followed by losses and vice versa. Today is no different as equity markets are on their back foot, after yesterday’s gains, in response to increasing tensions between Presidents Trump and Xi. Realistically, this is all political, and largely for each President’s domestic audience, but it has taken the form of a blame game, with each nation blaming the other for the instance and severity of the Covid-19 outbreak. What is a bit different this time is that President Trump, who had been quick to condemn China in the past, had also been scrupulous in maintaining that he and President Xi had an excellent working relationship. However, last night’s Twitter tirade included direct attacks on Mr Xi, a new tactic and one over which markets have now shown concern.

Thus, equity markets around the world are lower this morning with modest losses seen in Asia (Nikkei -0.2%, Hang Seng and Shanghai -0.5%) and slightly larger losses throughout the Continent (DAX -1.6%, CAC -1.1%, FTSE 100 -1.0%). US futures are pointing in the same direction with all three indices currently down about 0.7%. Has anything really changed? Arguably not. After all, both broad economic data and corporate earnings numbers remain awful, yet equity market prices, despite today’s dour mood, remain within sight of all-time highs. And of course, the bond market continues to point to a very different future as 10-year Treasury yields (-1bp today) continue to trade near historically low levels. To reiterate, the conundrum between a bond market that is implying extremely slow economic activity for the next decade, with no concomitant inflation seems an odd companion to an equity market where the median P/E ratio has once again moved above 20, well above its long-term average. This dichotomy continues to be a key topic of conversation in the market, and one which history has shown cannot last forever. The trillion-dollar question is, which market adjusts most?

With the increasing dissent between the US and China as a background, we also learned of the specter of the next country to move toward a negative interest rate stance, the UK. When Mark Carney was governor there, he categorically ruled out negative interest rates as an effective tool to help support the economy. He got to closely observe the experiment throughout Europe and concluded the detriments to the banking community outweighed any potential economic positives. (This is something that is gaining more credence within the Eurozone as well although the ECB continues to insist NIRP has been good for the Eurozone.) However, Carney is no longer governor, Andrew Bailey now holds the chair. And he has just informed Parliament, “I have changed my position a bit,” on the subject, and is now willing to consider negative rates after all. This is in concert with other members of the MPC, which implies that NIRP is likely soon to be reality in the UK. It should be no surprise that UK banking stocks are suffering after these comments as banks are the second victims of the process. (Individual savers are the first victims as their savings no longer offer any income, and in extreme cases decline.)

The other natural victim of NIRP is the currency. As discussed earlier this week, there is a pretty solid correlation between negative real rates and a currency’s relative value. Now granted, if real rates are negative everywhere, then we are simply back to the relative amount of negativity that exists, but regardless, this potential policy shift is clearly new, and one would expect the pound to suffer accordingly. Surprisingly, it is little changed this morning, down less than 0.1% amid a modest trading range overnight. However, it certainly raises the question of the future path of the pound.

When the Eurozone first mooted negative interest rates, in 2014, the dollar was already in the midst of a strong rally based on the view that the Fed was getting set to start to raise interest rates at that time. Thus, separating the impact of NIRP from that of expected higher US rates on the EUR/USD exchange rate is no easy task. However, there is no question that the euro’s value has suffered from NIRP as there is limited incentive for fixed income investment by foreigners. It should therefore be expected that the pound will be weaker going forward as foreign investment interest will diminish in the UK. Whether negative rates will help encourage foreign direct investment is another story entirely, and one which we will not understand fully for many years to come. With all this in mind, though, the damage to the pound is not likely to be too great. After all, given the fact that negative real rates are widespread, and already the situation in the UK, a base-rate cut from 0.1% to -0.1% doesn’t seem like that big a deal overall. We shall see how the market behaves.

As to the session today, FX markets have been as quiet as we have seen in several months. In the G10 space, Aussie and Kiwi are the underperformers, but both are lower by a mere 0.35%, quite a small move relative to recent activity, and simply a modest unwind of yesterday’s much more powerful rally in both. But away from those two, the rest of the bloc is less than 0.2% different from the close with both gainers (EUR, DKK) and losers (GBP, JPY) equidistant from those levels.

On the EMG side, there is a bit more constructive performance with oil’s continued rally (+2%) helping RUB (+0.4%) while the CE4 are also modestly firmer simply following the euro higher. APAC currencies seem a bit worse for wear after the Twitter spat between Trump and China, but the losses are miniscule.

Data this morning showed the preliminary PMI data from Europe is still dire, but not quite as bad as last month’s showing. In the US today we see Initial Claims (exp 2.4M), Continuing Claims (24.25M) and Existing Home Sales (4.22M). But as I have been writing all month, at this point data is assumed to be dreadful and only policy decisions seem to have an impact on the market. Yesterday we saw the Minutes of the Fed’s April 29 meeting, where there was a great deal of discussion about the economy’s problems and how they can continue to support it. Ideas floated were firmer forward guidance, attaching rate moves to numeric economic targets, and yield curve control, where the Fed determines to keep the interest rate on a particular tenor of Treasury bonds at a specific level. Both Japan and Australia are currently executing this, and the Fed has done so in its history, keeping long-term yields at 2.50% during WWII. My money is on the 10-year being pegged at 0.25% for as long as necessary. But that is a discussion for another day. For today, the dollar seems more likely to rebound a bit rather than decline, but that, too, is one man’s view.

Good luck and stay safe
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What’s Most Feared

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For almost two days it appeared
That havens were to be revered
But with rates so low
Investors still know
That selling risk is what’s most feared

By yesterday afternoon it had become clear that market participants were no longer concerned over any immediate retaliation by Iran. While there have been a number of comments and threats, the current belief set is that anything that occurs is far more likely to be executed via Iranian proxies, like Hezbollah, rather than any direct attack on the US. And so as the probability of a hot war quickly receded in the minds of the global investment community, all eyes turned back toward what is truly important…central bank largesse!

As I briefly mentioned yesterday, there was a large gathering of economists, including many central bankers past and present, this past weekend in San Diego. The issue that seemed to generate the most interest was the idea of negative interest rates and whether their implementation had been successful, and more importantly, whether they ever might appear as part of the Fed’s policy toolkit.

Chairman Powell has made clear a number of times that there is no place for negative rates in the US. This sentiment has been echoed by most of the current FOMC membership, even the most dovish members like Kashkari and Bullard. And since the US economy is continuing to grow, albeit pretty slowly, it seems unlikely that this will be more than an academic exercise anytime soon. However, a paper presented by some San Francisco Fed economists described how negative rates would have been quite effective during the throes of the financial crisis in 2008-2009, and that stopping at zero likely elongated the pain. Ironically, former Fed chair Bernanke also presented a paper saying negative rates should definitely be part of the toolkit going forward. This is ironic given he was the one in charge when the Fed went to zero and had the opportunity to go negative at what has now been deemed the appropriate time. (Something I have observed of late is that former Fed chairs are quite adept at describing things that should be done by the Fed, but were not enacted when they were in the chair. It seems that the actuality of making decisions, rather than sniping from the peanut gallery, is a lot harder than they make out.)

At any rate, as investors and analysts turn their focus away from a potential war to more mundane issues like growth and earnings, the current situation remains one of positive momentum. The one thing that is abundantly clear is that the central bank community is not about to start tightening policy anytime soon. In fact, arguably the question is when the next bout of policy ease is implemented. The PBOC has already cut the RRR, effective yesterday, and analysts everywhere anticipate further policy ease from China going forward as the government tries to reignite higher growth. While Chairman Powell has indicated the Fed is on hold all year, the reality is that they are continuing to regrow the balance sheet to the tune of $60 billion / month of outright purchases as well as the ongoing repo extravaganza, where yesterday more than $76 billion was taken up. And although this is more of a stealth easing than a process of cutting interest rates, it is liquidity addition nonetheless. Once again, it is this process, which shows no signs of abating, which leads me to believe that the dollar will underperform all year.

Turning to today’s session we have seen equity markets climb around the world following the US markets’ turn higher yesterday afternoon. Bond prices are little changed overall, with 10-year Treasury yields right at 1.80%, and both oil and gold have edged a bit lower on the day. Certainly, to the extent that there was fear of a quick reprisal from Iran, the oil market has discounted that activity dramatically.

Meanwhile, the dollar is actually having a pretty good session today, rallying against the entire G10 space despite some solid data from the Eurozone, and performing well against the bulk of the EMG bloc. The dollar’s largest gains overnight have come vs. the Australian dollar, which is down nearly 1.0% this morning after weak employment data (ANZ Job Adverts -6.7%) reignited fears that the RBA was going to be forced to cut rates further in Q1. But the greenback has outperformed the entire G10 space. The other noteworthy data were Eurozone Retail Sales (+1.0%) and CPI (+1.3% headline and core) with the former beating expectations but the latter merely meeting expectations and the core data showing no impetus toward the ECB’s ‘just below 2.0%’ target. Alas, the euro is lower by 0.15% this morning, dragging its tightly linked EEMEA buddies down by at least that much, and in some cases more. Finally, the pound has dipped 0.3%, but given the dearth of data, that seems more like a simple reaction to its inexplicable two-day rally.

In the EMG space, APAC currencies were the clear winners, with CNY rallying 0.5% as investment flows picked up with one of this year’s growing themes being that China is going to rebound sharply, especially with the trade situation seeming to settle down. It can be no surprise that both KRW and IDR, both countries that rely on stronger Chinese growth for their own growth, have rallied by similar amounts this morning. Meanwhile, EEMEA currencies have been under pressure, as mentioned above, despite the little data released (Hungarian and Romanian Retail Sales) being quite robust.

As to this morning’s session we get our first data of the week with the Trade Balance (exp -$43.6B), ISM Non-Manufacturing (54.5) and Factory Orders (-0.8%). Mercifully, there are no Fed speakers scheduled, so my sense is the market will be focused on the ISM data as well as the equity market. As things currently stand, it is all systems go for a stock market rally and assuming the ISM data simply meets expectations, the narrative is likely to shift toward stabilizing US growth. Of course, with the Fed pumping money into the economy in the background, that should be the worst case no matter what. FWIW it seems the dollar’s rally is a touch overdone here. My sense is that we are going to see it give back some of this morning’s gains as the session progresses.

Good luck
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More Clear

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The contrast could not be more clear
Twixt growth over there and right here
While Europe is slowing
The US is growing
So how come a rate cut is near?

It seems likely that by the time markets close Friday afternoon, investors and traders will have changed some of their opinions on the future given the extraordinary amount of data and the number of policy statements that will be released this week. Three major central banks meet, starting with the BOJ tonight, the Fed tomorrow and Wednesday and then the BOE on Thursday. And then there’s the data download, which includes Eurozone growth and inflation, Chinese PMI and concludes with US payrolls on Friday morning. And those are just the highlights. The point is that this week offers the opportunity for some significant changes of view if things don’t happen as currently forecast.

But before we talk about what is upcoming, perhaps the question at hand is what is driving the Fed to cut rates Wednesday despite a run of better than expected US economic data? The last that we heard from Fed members was a combination of slowing global growth and business uncertainty due to trade friction has been seen as a negative for future US activity. Granted, US GDP grew more slowly in Q2 at 2.1%, than Q1’s 3.1%, but Friday’s data was still better than expected. The reduction was caused by a combination of inventory reduction and a widening trade gap, with consumption maintaining its Q1 pace and even speeding up a bit. The point is that things in the US are hardly collapsing. But there is no doubt that growth elsewhere in the world is slowing down and that prospects for a quick rebound seem limited. And apparently, that is now the driving force. The Fed, which had been described as the world’s central bank in the past, seems to have officially taken on that mantle now.

One fear of this action is that it will essentially synchronize all major economies’ growth cycles, which means that the amplitude of those cycles will increase. In other words, look for higher highs and lower lows over time. Alas, it appears that the first step of that cycle is lower which means that the depths of the next recession will be wider and worse than currently expected. (And likely worse than the last one, which as we all remember was pretty bad.) And it is this prognosis that is driving global rates to zero and below. Phenomenally, more than 25% of all developed market government bonds outstanding now have negative yields, something over $13.4 Trillion worth. And that number is going to continue to grow, especially given the fact that we are about to enter an entirely new rate cutting cycle despite not having finished the last one! It is a strange world indeed!

Looking at markets this morning, ahead of the data onslaught, shows that the dollar continues its winning ways, with the pound the worst performer as more and more traders and investors begin bracing for a no-deal Brexit. As I type, Sterling is lower by 0.55%, taking it near 1.23 and its lowest point since January 2017. As long as PM BoJo continues to approach the EU with a hard-line stance, I expect the pound to remain under pressure. However, I think that at some point the Irish are going to start to scream much louder about just how negative things will be in Ireland if there is no deal, and the EU will buckle. At that point, look for the pound to turn around, but until then, it feels like it can easily breech the 1.20 level before summer’s out.

But the dollar is generally performing well everywhere, albeit not quite to the same extent. Rather we are seeing continued modest strength, on the order of 0.1%-0.2% against most other currencies. This has been the pattern for the past several weeks and it is starting to add up to real movement overall. It is no wonder that the White House has been complaining about currency manipulation elsewhere, but I have to say that doesn’t appear to be the case. Rather, I think despite the international community’s general dislike of President Trump, at least according to the press, investors continue to see the US as the destination with the most profit opportunity and best prospects overall. And that will continue to drive dollar based investment and strengthen the buck.

Away from the FX markets, we have seen pretty inconsequential movement in most equity markets with two exceptions (FTSE +1.50% on the weak pound and KOSPI -1.8% on increasing trade issues and correspondingly weaker growth in South Korea). As to US futures markets, they are pointing to essentially flat openings here this morning, although the earnings data will continue to drive things. And bond markets have seen similarly modest movement with most yields within a basis point or two of Friday’s levels. Consider two bonds in Europe in particular; Italian 10-year BTP’s yield 1.54%, more than 50bps less than Treasuries, and this despite the fact that the government coalition is on the rocks and the country’s fiscal situation continues to deteriorate amid a recession with no ability to cut rates directly; and Greek 10-year yields are 2.05% vs. 2.08% for US Treasuries! Yes, Greek yields are lower than those in the US, despite having defaulted on their debt just 7 years ago! It is a strange world indeed.

A look at the data this week shows a huge amount of information is coming our way as follows:

Tuesday BOJ Rate Decision -0.10% (unchanged)
  Personal Income 0.4%
  Personal Spending 0.3%
  Core PCE 1.7%
  Case-Shiller Home Prices 2.4%
  Consumer Confidence 125.0
Wednesday ADP Employment 150K
  Chicago PMI 50.5
  FOMC Rate Decision 2.25% (-25bps)
Thursday BOE Rate Decision 0.75% (unchanged)
  Initial Claims 214K
  ISM Manufacturing 52.0
  ISM Prices Paid 49.6
  Construction Spending 0.3%
Friday Trade Balance -$54.6B
  Nonfarm Payrolls 165K
  Private Payrolls 160K
  Manufacturing Payrolls 5K
  Unemployment Rate 3.6%
  Average Hourly Earnings 0.2% (3.2% Y/Y)
  Average Weekly Hours 34.4
  Factory Orders 0.8%
  Michigan Sentiment 98.5

And on top of that we see Chinese PMI data Tuesday night, Eurozone GDP and Inflation on Wednesday and a host of other Eurozone and Asian data releases. The point is it is quite possible that the current view of the world changes if the data shows a trend, especially if that trend is faster growth. Right now, the default view is global growth is slowing with the question just how quickly. However, a series of strong prints could well stop that narrative in its tracks. And ironically, that is likely the best opportunity for the dollar to stop what has been an inexorable, if slow, climb higher. However, the prospects of weak data elsewhere are likely to see an acceleration of central bank easing around the world with the dollar benefitting accordingly.

In sum, there is an awful lot happening this week, so be prepared for potentially sharp moves on missed expectations. But unless the data all points to faster growth away from the US while the US is slowing, the dollar’s path of least resistance remains higher.

Good luck
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Constant Hyperbole

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On Wednesday the FOMC
Will offer their latest decree
Will Fed funds be pared?
Or will Jay be scared
By Trump’s constant hyperbole?

The one thing that’s patently clear
Is rates will go lower this year
And lately some clues
Show Powell’s new views
Imply NIRP he’ll soon engineer

Once again, market movement overnight has been muted as traders and investors look ahead to Wednesday’s FOMC meeting and Chairman Powell’s press conference afterwards. Current expectations are for the removal of the word ‘patient’ from the statement and some verbiage that implies rates will be adjusted as necessary to maintain the US growth trajectory. Futures markets are pricing just a 25% probability of a rate cut on Wednesday, but a virtual certainty of one at the July meeting in six weeks’ time. With that said, there are several bank analysts calling for a cut today, or a 50bp cut in July. The one thing that seems abundantly clear is that interest rates in the US have reached their short-term peak, with the next move lower.

However, in the Mariner Eccles building, they have another dilemma, the fact that Fed funds are just 2.50%, the lowest cyclical peak in history. It has been widely recounted that the average amount of rate cutting by the Fed when fighting a recession has been a bit more than 500bps, which given the current rate, results in two possibilities: either they will have to quickly move to use other policy tools, like QE; or interest rates in the US are going to go negative before long! And quite frankly, I expect that it will be a combination of both.

Consider, while the Fed did purchase some $3.5 trillion of assets starting with QE1 in 2009, the Fed balance sheet still represents just 19% of US GDP. This compares quite favorably with the ECB (45%) and the BOJ (103%), but still represents a huge increase from its level prior to the financial crisis. Funnily enough, while there was a great deal of carping in Congress about QE by the (dwindling) hard-money set of Republicans, if the choice comes down to NIRP (Negative Interest Rate Policy) or a larger balance sheet, I assure you the politicians will opt for a larger balance sheet. The thing is, if the economy truly begins to slow, it won’t be a choice, it will be a combination of both, NIRP and QE, as the Fed pulls out all the stops in an effort to prevent a downturn.

And NIRP, in the US, will require an entirely new communications effort because, as in Europe and Japan, investors will find themselves on the wrong side of the curve when looking for short term investments. Money market funds are going to get crushed, and corporate treasuries are going to have to find new places to invest. It will truly change the landscape, and it is not clear it will do so in a net positive way. But regardless, NIRP is coming to a screen near you once the Fed starts cutting, although we are still a number of months away from that.

With that in mind, the obvious next question is how it will impact other markets. I expect that the initial reaction will be for a sharp equity rally, as that is still the default response to rate cuts. However, if the Fed is looking ahead and sees trouble on the horizon, that cannot be a long-term positive for equities. It implies that earnings numbers are going to decline, and no matter how ‘bullish’ interest rate cuts may seem, declining earnings are hard to overcome.

Bonds, on the other hand, are easy to forecast, with a massive rally in Treasuries, a lagging rally in corporates, as spreads widen into a weakening economy, but for high-yield bonds, I would expect significant underperformance. Remember, during the financial crisis, junk bond yield spreads rose to 20.0% over Treasuries. In another economic slowdown, I would look for at least the same, which compares to the current level of about 5.50%.

Finally, the dollar becomes a difficult question. Given the Fed has far more room to ease policy than does the ECB, the BOJ, the BOE or the BOC, it certainly seems as though the first move would be lower in the buck. However, if the Fed is easing policy that aggressively, you can be sure that every other central bank is going to quickly follow. Net I expect that we could see a pretty sharp initial decline, maybe 5%-7%, but that once the rest of the world gets into gear, the dollar will find plenty of support.

A quick look at markets overnight shows that the dollar is little changed overall, with some currencies slightly firmer and others slightly softer. However, there is no trend today, nor likely until we hear from the Fed on Wednesday.

Looking at data this week, it is much less interesting than last week’s and unlikely to sway views.

Today Empire Manufacturing 10.0
Tuesday Housing Starts 1.239M
  Building Permits 1.296M
Wednesday FOMC Rates 2.50% (unchanged)
Thursday BOJ Rates -0.10% (unchanged)
  Initial Claims 220K
  Philly Fed 11.0
  Leading Indicators 0.1%
Friday Existing Home Sales 5.25M

As I said, not too interesting. And of course, once the Fed meeting is done, we will get to hear more from the various Fed members, with two speakers on Friday afternoon (Brainard and Mester) likely to be the beginning of a new onslaught.

Yes, the trade situation still matters, but there is little chance of any change there until the G20 meeting next week, and that assumes President’s Trump and Xi agree to meet. So, for now, it is all about the Fed. One last thing, the ECB has their Sintra meeting (their answer to Jackson Hole) this week, and it is likely that we will hear more about their thinking when it comes to easing policy further given their current policy settings include NIRP and a much larger balance sheet already. Any hint that new policies are coming soon will certainly undermine the single currency. Look for that beginning on Wednesday as well.

Good luck
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A Major Mistake

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There once was a pundit named Fately
Who asked, is Fed policy lately
A major mistake
Or did Yellen break
The mold? If she did t’was sedately

Please sanction my poetic license by listing Janet Yellen as the primary suspect in my inquiry; it was simply that her name fit within the rhyme scheme better than her fellow central bankers, all of whom acted in the same manner. Of course, I am really discussing the group of Bernanke, Draghi, Kuroda and Carney as well as Yellen, the cabal that decided ZIRP (zero interest rate policy), NIRP (negative interest rate policy) and QE (quantitative easing) made sense.

Recently, there has been a decided uptick in warnings from pundits about how current Fed Chair, Jay Powell, is on the verge of a catastrophic policy mistake by raising interest rates consistently. There are complaints about his plainspoken manner lacking the subtleties necessary to ‘guide’ the market to the correct outcome. In this case, the correct outcome does not mean sustainable economic growth and valuation but rather ever higher equity prices. There are complaints that his autonomic methodology (which if you recall was actually instituted by Yellen herself and simply has been followed by Powell), does not take into account other key issues such as wiggles in the data, or more importantly the ongoing rout in non-US equity markets. And of course, there is the constant complaint from the current denizen of the White House that Powell is undermining the economy, and by extension the stock market, by raising rates. You may have noticed a pattern about all the complaints coming back to the fact that Powell’s policy actions are no longer supporting the stock markets around the world. Curious, no?

But I think it is fair to ask if Powell’s policies are the mistake, or if perhaps, those policies he is unwinding, namely QE and ZIRP, were the mistakes. After all, in the scope of history, today’s interest rates remain exceedingly low, somewhere in the bottom decile of all time as can be seen in Chart 1 below.

5000 yr interest rate chart

So maybe the mistake was that the illustrious group of central bankers mentioned above chose to maintain these extraordinary monetary policies for nearly a decade, rather than begin the unwinding process when growth had recovered several years after the recession ended. As the second chart shows, the Fed waited seven years into a recovery before beginning the process of slowly unwinding what had been declared emergency policy measures. Was it really still an emergency in 2015, six years after the end of the recession amid 2.0% GDP growth, which caused the Fed to maintain a policy stance designed to address a severe recession?

Chart 2

real gdp growth

My point is simply that any analysis of the current stance of the Federal Reserve and its current policy trajectory must be seen in the broader context of not only where it is heading, but from whence it came. Ten years of extraordinarily easy monetary policy has served to build up significant imbalances and excesses throughout financial markets. Consider the growth in leveraged loans, especially covenant lite ones, corporate debt or government debt, all of which are now at record levels, as key indicators of the current excesses. The history of economics is replete with examples of excesses leading to shakeouts throughout the world. The boom and bust cycle is the very essence of Schumpeterian capitalism, and as long as we maintain a capitalist economy, those cycles will be with us.

The simple fact is that every central bank is ‘owned’ by its government, and has been for the past thirty years at least. (Paul Volcker is likely the last truly independent Fed Chair we have had, although Chairman Powell is starting to make a name for himself.) And because of that ownership, every central bank has sought to keep rates as low as possible for as long as possible to goose growth above trend. In the past, although that led to excesses, the downturns tended to be fairly short, and the rebounds quite robust. However, the advent of financial engineering has resulted in greater and greater leverage throughout the economy and correspondingly bigger potential problems in the next downturn. The financial crisis was a doozy, but I fear the next one, given the massive growth in debt outstanding, will be much worse.

At that point, I assure you that the first person who will be named as the culprit for ‘causing’ the recession will be Jay Powell. My point here is that, those fingers need to be pointed at Bernanke, Yellen, Draghi, Carney and Kuroda, as it was their actions that led to the current significantly imbalanced economy. The next recession will have us longing for the good old days of 2008 right after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, and the political upheaval that will accompany it, or perhaps follow immediately afterwards, is likely to make what we are seeing now seem mild. While my crystal ball does not give me a date, it is becoming abundantly clear that the date is approaching far faster than most appreciate.

Be careful out there. Markets and politics are going to become much more volatile over the next several years.

One poet’s view!

Trembling With Fear

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The one thing increasingly clear
Is markets are trembling with fear
As stock markets tumble
Most central banks fumble
Their message, then get a Bronx cheer

Being a central banker has become much more difficult recently, especially in the wake of yesterday’s global equity market rout. It seems that policies that they have collectively promulgated, QE and ZIRP/NIRP are now quite long in the tooth, and no longer having the positive impact desired. Let’s recap quickly.

The Great recession in 2008 called for an extraordinary monetary response by central banks around the world, and rightly so. The deepest recession since the Great Depression saw liquidity across many markets completely dry up. Even FX, arguably the most liquid market of them all, had structural problems. So the combination of QE and USD swap lines offered by the Fed to the rest of the world’s central banks was an appropriate response to help untangle the mess. Alas, fiscal policy never chipped in to the recovery and central banks took it upon themselves to do all the lifting, thus relieving governments of the need to make hard decisions. In hindsight, this was a key mistake!

Fast forward ten years to today and the situation, remarkably, is that most of that extraordinary monetary stimulus is still sloshing around the world as other than the Fed and the Bank of Canada (who raised rates yesterday and indicated they would be quickening the pace of doing so in the future), no other major central bank has done anything of note. The ECB, the BOJ and the PBOC are all still adding liquidity to their systems, while the BOE has raised rates just 25bps, net, from the lows established after the crisis. And the same is true of peripheral nations like Switzerland, Sweden and Australia, where interest rates remain at their post crisis nadirs (-0.75%, -0.50% and 1.50% respectively).

The problem for these central banks is that growth is starting to slow on a global basis. Whether it is the increased trade friction between the US and China, concerns over Brexit or simply that the US recovery (which still arguably drives most of the global economy) is now the longest on record and due to end, the situation is increasingly fraught. And that’s the rub. If interest rates are already negative, what can central banks do to stimulate the economy in the event of a recession? The answer, of course, is not much. More QE and even deeper negative interest rates are unlikely to have the same positive impact the first efforts had, in fact they could have the opposite effect by generating greater concern amongst investors and causing a more severe sell-off in markets. But politically, no central bank will be able to sit by and do nothing if a recession does appear. As I said, central banking has become much more difficult lately.

That is all a preamble to discuss what is going on in markets right now. FX is a backburner issue with equities front and center around the world. While European markets have stabilized at this time, one session of stability is not sufficient to declare an end to the rout. In the end, markets remain beholden to broad sentiment, the narrative if you will, and for the past ten years that narrative was that continued low inflation combined with steady growth would allow the central banks to maintain ultra easy monetary policy with no negative side effects. But in the past year, the cracks in that narrative have grown to the point where it is no longer seen as viable. First, inflation has begun to creep higher in certain areas around the world, notably the US and China. At the same time, growth data appears to have peaked last quarter. Tomorrow we will see the first estimate of Q3 GDP growth in the US (exp 3.3%), which is already considerably lower than Q2. In addition, we have seen Chinese growth slow more than expected and German growth fall to 0.0% in Q3. The combination of rising inflation and slower growth has put central banks in a bind forcing them to choose which issue to address first. The problem is by addressing one they are likely to exacerbate the other. So as the Fed fights threats of higher inflation, it impedes growth. Meanwhile, China has opted to support growth, thus feeding faster inflation. In the end, as the next recession looms closer, central banks will find themselves with fewer policy arrows in their quiver.

But this is an FX note, so let’s take a quick look at the market this morning. The dollar is a touch softer, with both the euro and the pound higher by 0.15% while we are seeing similar moves in most emerging market currencies. Activity in the market seems muted relative to the excitement in equities, but my sense is this will not last. Rather, if the equity sell-off continues, the dollar should find itself in a much stronger position. As to the stories that have been driving things in FX, the Italian budget, Brexit, central bank policies, there have been no real changes in the past twenty-four hours. The possible exception is that the interest rate futures market in the US has removed one price hike from the Fed’s expected path as concern grows that a continues slide in the stock market will lead to weaker growth and less need to keep driving rates higher. It seems that the Fed realizes that it began its tightening process far too late (thank you Chair Yellen!) and is now desperately trying to catch up so they can respond to the next downturn. But hey, the ECB is MUCH further behind.

Looking forward to today’s session, we start with the ECB meeting, where they announced no change in policy rates, but we still await Signor Draghi’s press conference at 8:30. It will be interesting if he continues to characterize the Eurozone economy risks as balanced, or if the downside risks are now elevated. If the latter, look for the euro to decline sharply! We also get US data including Durable Goods (exp -1.0%, ex transport +0.5%) and the Goods Trade Balance (-$74.9B). Yesterday’s New Home Sales data was awful, just 553K, well below expectations, and another sign that parts of the economy here are rolling over. I still don’t believe that the data turn has been enough to change the Fed’s mind about a December rate hike, but if numbers start to fall, watch out. Tomorrow’s GDP print will be quite important to the market. But today, I think the ECB dominates the story.

Good luck
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