Tag Archives: #riskon

Far From Benign

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Outmoded

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In Germany prices exploded
While confidence there has eroded
Now all eyes will turn
Back home where we’ll learn
On Tuesday if QE’s outmoded

The most disturbing aspect of the inflation argument (you know, is it transitory or not) is the fact that those in the transitory camp are willing to completely ignore the damage inflation does to household budgets.  Their attitude was recently articulated by the chief European economist at TS Lombard, Dario Perkins, thusly, “There is nothing inherently dangerous about inflation settling in, say, a 3-5% range instead of the 1-2% that’s been normal for the past decade.”  He continued, “the bigger risk is that hitherto dovish central bankers lose their nerve and raise interest rates until it causes a recession, like they’ve done in the past.”

Let’s consider that for a moment.  The simple math shows that at a 2% inflation rate, the price of something rises about 22% over the course of a decade.  So, that Toyota Camry that cost $25,000 in 2011 would cost $30,475 today.  However, at a 5% inflation rate over that time, it would cost $40,725, a 63% increase.  That’s a pretty big difference.  Add in the fact that wage gains have certainly not been averaging 5% per year and it is easy to see how inflation can be extremely damaging to anybody, let alone to the average wage earner.  The point is, while to an economist, inflation appears to be an abstract concept that is simply a number input into their models, to the rest of us, it is the cost of living.  And there is nothing that indicates the cost of living will stop rising sharply anytime soon.

This was reinforced overnight when Germany released its wholesale price index, which rose 12.3% in the past twelve months.  That is the highest rate of increase since 1974 in the wake of the OPEC oil embargo.  Now fortunately, the ECB is on the case.  Isabel Schnabel, the ECB’s head of markets explained, “The prospect of persistently excessive inflation, as feared by some, remains highly unlikely.  But should inflation sustainably reach our target of 2% unexpectedly soon, we will act equally quickly and resolutely.”  You know, they have tools!

On the subject of Wholesale, or Producer, Prices, while Germany’s were the highest print we’ve seen from a major economy, recall last week that Chinese PPI printed at 9.5%, in the US it was 8.3% and even in Japan, a nation that has not seen inflation in two decades, PPI rose 5.6% last month.  It appears that the cost of making “stuff” is rising pretty rapidly.  And even if the pace of these increases does slow down, the probability of prices declining is essentially nil.  Remember, the current central bank mantra is deflation is the worst possible outcome and they will do all they can to prevent it.  All I can say is, I sure hope everyone’s wages can keep pace with inflation, because otherwise, we are all at a permanent disadvantage compared to where things had been just a year or two ago.

Well, I guess there is one beneficiary of higher inflation…governments issuing debt.  As long as inflation grows faster than the size of their debt, a government’s real obligations decline.  And you wonder why the Fed insists inflation is transitory.  Oh yeah, for all of you who think that higher inflation will lead to higher interest rates, I wouldn’t count on that outcome either.  Whether or not the Fed actually tapers, they have exactly zero incentive to raise rates anytime soon.  And as to bonds, they have shown before (post WWII) that they are willing to cap yields at a rate well below inflation if it suits their needs.  And I assure you, it suits their needs right now.

So, what will all this do to the currency markets?  As always, FX is a relative game so what matters is the degree of change from one currency to the next.  The medium-term bearish case for the dollar is that inflation in the US will run hotter than in Europe, Japan or elsewhere, while the Fed caps yields in some manner.  The resultant expansion of negative real yields will have a significant negative impact on the dollar.  This argument will fail if one of two things occurs; either other central banks shoot for even greater negative yields, or, more likely, the Fed allows the back end of the curve to rise thus moderating the impact of negative real yields.  In either case, the dollar should benefit.  In fact, this is why the taper discussion is of such importance to the FX market, tapering implies higher yields in the back end of the US yield curve and therefore an opportunity for a stronger dollar.  Remember, though, there are many moving pieces, so even if the Fed does taper, that is not necessarily going to support the dollar all that much.

Ok, let’s look at this morning’s markets, where risk is largely being acquired, although there is no obvious reason why that is the case.  Equity markets in Asia were mixed with both gainers (Nikkei +0.2%, Shanghai +0.3%) and Losers (Hang Seng (-1.5%) as the ongoing Chinese crackdown on internet companies received new news.  It seems that the Chinese government is going to split up Ant Financial such that its lending business is a separate company under stricter government control.  Ali Baba, which is listed in HK, not Shanghai, fell sharply, as did other tech companies in China, hence the dichotomy between the Hang Seng and Shanghai indices.  But excluding Chinese tech, stocks were in demand.  The same is true in Europe where the screen is entirely green (DAX +1.1%, CAC +0.8%, FTSE 100 +0.8%) as it seems there is little concern about a passthrough of inflation, but great hope that reopening economies will perform well.  US futures are also looking robust this morning, with all three major indices higher by at least 0.5% as I type.

Funnily enough, despite the risk appetite in equities, bond prices are rallying as well, with 10-year Treasury yields lower by 1.7bps, and European sovereigns also seeing modest yield declines of between 0.5 and 1.0 bps. Apparently, as concerns grow over the possibility of a technical US default due to a debt ceiling issue, the safety trade is to buy Treasuries.  At least that is the explanation being offered today.

On the commodity front, oil (WTI +0.8%) is leading the way higher although we are seeing gains in many of the industrial metals as well, notably aluminum (+1.6%), which seems to be feeling some supply shortages.  Copper (-0.45%), surprisingly, is softer on the day, but the rest of that space is firmer.  I mentioned Uranium last week, and as an FYI, it is higher by 5% this morning as more and more people begin to understand the combination of a structural shortage of the metal and the increasing likelihood that any carbonless future will require nuclear power to be far more prevalent.

Finally, the dollar is broadly, although not universally, stronger this morning.  In the G10, only NOK (+0.2%) and CAD (+0.1%) have managed to hold their own this morning on the strength of oil’s rally.  Meanwhile, CHF (-0.7%) is under the most pressure as havens lose their luster, although the rest of the bloc has only seen declines of between -0.1% and -0.3%.  In the EMG bloc, THB (-0.75%) and KRW (-0.6%) lead the way lower as both nations saw equity market outflows on weakness in Asian tech stocks.  But generally, almost all currencies here are softer by between -0.2% and -0.4%.  the exceptions are TRY (+0.3%) and RUB (+0.25%) with the latter supported by oil while the former is benefitting from hope that the central bank will maintain tight policy to fight inflation.

On the data front, we have both CPI and Retail Sales leading a busy week:

Today Monthly Budget Statement -$175B
Tuesday NFIB Small Biz Optimism 99.0
CPI 0.4% (5.3% Y/Y)
-ex food & energy 0.3% (4.2% Y/Y)
Wednesday Empire Manufacturing 18.0
IP 0.4%
Capacity Utilization 76.4%
Thursday Initial Claims 320K
Continuing Claims 2740K
Retail Sales -0.8%
-ex auto -0.1%
Philly Fed 19.0
Friday Michigan Sentiment 72.0

Source: Bloomberg

With no recent stimulus checks, Retail Sales are forecast to suffer greatly.  Meanwhile, the CPI readings are forecast to be a tick lower than last month, but still above 5.0% for the third consecutive month.  Certainly, my personal experience is that prices continue to rise quite rapidly, and I would not be surprised to see a higher print.  Mercifully, the Fed is in its quiet period ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting, so we no longer need to hear about when anybody thinks tapering should occur.  The next information will be the real deal from Chairman Powell.

The tapering argument seems to be the driver right now, with a growing belief the Fed will reduce its QE purchases and US rates will rise, at least in the back end.  That seems to be the genesis of the dollar’s support.  As long as that attitude exists, the dollar should do well.  But if the data this week points to further slowing in the US economy, I would expect the taper story to fade along with the dollar.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Recalibrate

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Christine said she’d recalibrate
The PEPP, but she clearly did state
No taper’s occurring
Because we’re still spurring
Inflation to reach our mandate

I felt it was important for all of us to be reminded of what tapering means, hence this definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

taper   verb

1               : to become progressively smaller toward one end
2               : to diminish gradually (emphasis added)

But perhaps there is a better source to explain Madame Lagarde’s dissembling comments yesterday; Lewis Carrol.

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory,’ ” Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course, you don’t—till I tell you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!'”
“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘a nice knock-down argument’,” Alice objected.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”

Apparently, Madame Lagarde was channeling Humpty Dumpty in her press conference yesterday when she said that while the ECB would be gradually reducing the rate of purchases in the PEPP program in the coming quarter, it was definitely not tapering.  One of the problems this author has with centralbankspeak is that my education taught me based on the plain meaning of the words used.  Hence, claiming that a reduced rate of purchases is not tapering is simply dishonest.  However, central bankers everywhere, led by the Fed and ECB, have come to rely on redefining terms in order to placate both of their masters, markets and governments, who frequently require opposing policies to achieve their goals.

Remember, too, what happened to Humpty Dumpty, a lesson I daresay has been lost on Powell, Lagarde and their comrades-in-arms:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

As economist Herbert Stein explained in 1986, “if something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”  Central bank balance sheets cannot grow indefinitely, at least not without other repercussions.  The most likely relief valve will be the currency, but do not be surprised if there is significant damage to all financial assets at the time investors and markets cease to accept centralbankspeak as a valid guide to the future.

Ever since the GFC, central banks around the world have been aggressively adding liquidity to economies at a far faster pace than those economies create goods and services.  For the first decade of this process, that liquidity mostly found its way into financial markets resulting in the longest bull market in history.  But lately, that liquidity has begun to seep into the real economy on the back of a massive uptick in fiscal stimulus.  The result, you may have noticed, is that financial markets have stopped rising at their previous rate, but the price of stuff you buy every day/week, has started to rise much more rapidly. It is this fact that was the genesis of the ‘transitory’ inflation story, as central banks, notably the Fed, recognize they cannot afford to be blamed for rising consumer inflation, but also cannot afford to fight inflation in the traditional manner of raising interest rates as they are terrified adjusting their current policy will result in a massive market decline.  Hence, I fear the Humpty Dumpty metaphor will wind up being very accurate.  However, he hasn’t fallen yet.

And so, Madame Lagarde did exactly what she set out to do; she was able to explain the ECB would be slowing their PEPP purchases without the market responding in a knee-jerk sell-off.  She placated the hawks on the ECB Council, and watched as Italian BTPs outperformed German bunds thus reducing pressure on the biggest potential problem in Europe.  In the end, kudos are due, at least for now.  I sure hope it lasts, but fear there is much turmoil in our future.

In the meantime, the overall market response to Lagarde has been…buy risk!  Equity markets everywhere are in the green with Asia (Nikkei +1.25%, Hang Seng +1.9%, Shanghai +0.3%) charging ahead and Europe (DAX +0.3%, CAC +0.3%, FTSE 100 +0.3%) following, albeit at a bit slower rate.  US futures, after two lackluster sessions in NY, are pointing higher by 0.4% to start the day.

Of course, with risk appetites whetted, there is no need to hold havens like bonds and so prices there have fallen everywhere with corresponding rises in yields.  Treasuries (+2.9bps) are leading the way but we are seeing Europe (Bunds +1.8bps, OATs +1.9bps, Gilts +1.1bps) all under some pressure as well.  As long as risk is in the ascendancy, I expect that bond yields will continue to edge higher.

Commodity prices are also firmer this morning led by oil (+1.7%) and the entire energy complex.  But metals, too, are up, at least industrial metals with copper (+1.9%), aluminum (+1.6%) and tin (+1.2%) all much stronger and with the latter two pushing to multi-year highs.  While gold is flat on the day, and has been doing very little lately, broadly speaking, the commodity complex continues to perform well.

Finally, the dollar, not surprisingly, is under significant pressure this morning, down versus most of its G10 counterparts, notably the commodity bloc.  NZD (+0.6%), NOK (+0.45%) and AUD and CAD (+0.4%) are all looking strong today bolstered by broad dollar weakness and strong commodity price action.  On the flip side, JPY (-0.2%) is the only real decliner as haven assets are sold, although CHF is also modestly softer.  In the emerging markets, the screen is entirely green led by ZAR (+0.75%), CZK (+0.5%) and IDR (+0.35%).  Rand is clearly in thrall to commodity prices while the koruna is rallying on the back of a much higher than expected CPI print of 4.1%, which has traders looking for a central bank rate increase at the next meeting at the end of the month.  As to the rupiah, it seems this is entirely a result of the risk-on attitude in markets this morning.

On the data front, early this morning the UK released its monthly GDP print at a worse than expected 0.1%, blamed now on the increase of the delta variant.  German CPI was confirmed at 3.9% in August, and Italian IP managed to rise 0.8% in July, a bit better than expected.  Here at home we will see PPI (exp 8.2%, 6.6% ex food & energy) which will continue to challenge the transitory narrative but will not have nearly the impact of next Tuesday’s CPI release.  As well, we hear from the Cleveland Fed’s Loretta Mester this morning, but she has already explained she is ready to taper QE purchases, so unless that story changes, I don’t foresee any impact.

While the dollar is softer this morning, there is no indication it is going to decline substantially at any point in the near future.  Rather, we remain in the middle of the 1.17/1.20 trading range that has capped movement since June.  I see no reason for anything to change here and expect the week to finish in a quiet manner.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
Adf

Down in Flames

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The nation that built the Great Wall
Has lately begun to blackball
Its best and its brightest
For even the slightest
Concerns, causing prices to fall

Last night it was TenCent’s new games
Which suffered some unfounded claims
Concerns have now grown
They’ll need to atone
So their stock price went down in flames

The hits keep coming from China where last night, once again we were witness to a government sanctioned hit on a large private company, in this case Tencent.  In fact, Tencent is was the largest company in China by market cap but has since fallen to number two, after an article in an official paper, Xinhua News Agency’s “The Economic Information Daily” wrote about online gaming and how it has become “spiritual opium” for young people there.  While the government did not actually impose any restrictions, the warning shot’s meaning was abundantly clear.  Tencent’s stock fell 6.5% and Asian equity markets overall fell (Nikkei -0.5%, Hang Seng -0.2%, Shanghai -0.5%) as investors continue to fret over President Xi’s almost nightly attacks on what had been considered some of the greatest success stories in the country.  Apparently, that has been the problem; when companies are considered a greater success than the government (read communist party) they cease to serve their purpose.  It seems that capitalism with Chinese characteristics is undergoing some changes.

There is, perhaps, another lesson that we can learn from the ongoing purge of private sector success in China, that it has far less impact on global risk opinion than the activities in other geographies, namely the US.  While China has grown to the second largest economy in the world and is widely tipped to become the largest in the next decade or two, its capital markets remain significantly smaller on the world stage than those elsewhere.  So, when idiotic idiosyncratic situations arise like we have seen lately, with ideological attacks on successful companies, investors may reduce risk in China, but not necessarily everywhere else.  This is evident this morning where we see gains throughout Europe (DAX +0.15%, CAC +0.9%, FTE 100 +0.4%) as well as in the US futures markets (DOW and SPX +0.4%, NASDAQ +0.2%).  Despite last night’s poor performance in Asia, risk remains in vogue elsewhere in the world.

Away from the ongoing theatrics in China, last night we also heard from the RBA, who not only left policy on hold, as universally expected, but explained that they remain on track to begin tapering their QE purchases, down from A$ 5 billion/week to $A 4 billion/week, come September, despite the recent Covid lockdowns in response to the spread of the delta variant.  They see enough positive news and incipient credit demand to believe that tapering remains the proper course of action.  While there were no expectations of a policy change currently, many pundits were expecting the lockdowns to force a delay in tapering and the result was a nice little rally in the Aussie dollar, rising 0.5% overnight.

But, as we have just entered August, the month where vacations are prominent and government activity slows to a crawl, there were few other interesting tidbits overnight.  At this point, markets are looking ahead to Thursday’s BOE meeting, where there is some thought that tapering will be on the agenda, as well as Friday’s NFP report.  One final story that is gaining interest is the US financing situation with the debt ceiling back in place as of last Saturday.  Congress is on its summer recess, and Treasury Secretary Yellen has been forced to adjust certain cash outlays in order to continue to honor the government’s debt obligations.  As it stands right now, Treasury cannot issue new debt, although it can roll over existing debt.  However, that will not be enough to pay the bills come October.  There is no reason to believe this will come to a messy conclusion, but stranger things have happened.

As to the rest of the markets, bonds are under a bit of pressure today with Treasury yields rising 1.5bps, and similar size moves throughout Europe.  Of course, this is in the wake of yesterday’s powerful bond rally where yields fell 5bps after ISM data once again missed estimates.  In fact, we continue to see a pattern of good data that fails to match forecasts which is a strong indication that we have seen the peak in economic growth, and it is all downhill from here.  Trend GDP growth prior to Covid was in the 1.5%-1.7% range, and I fear we will soon be right back at those levels with the unhappy consequence of higher inflation alongside.  It is an outcome of this nature that will put the most stress on the Fed as the policy prescriptions for weak growth and high inflation are opposite in nature.  And it is this reason that allowing inflation to run hot on the transitory story is likely to come back to haunt every member of the FOMC.

Commodity markets today are offering less clarity in their risk signals as while oil prices are higher, (WTI +0.5%), we are seeing weakness throughout the rest of the space with precious metals (Au -0.2%), base metals (Cu -0.85%, Al -0.5%) and agriculturals (Soybeans -0.7%, Corn -0.9%, Wheat -0.5%) all under pressure today.

Finally, the dollar is falling versus virtually all its main counterparts today, with the entire G10 space firmer and the bulk of the EMG bloc as well.  NOK (+0.75%) leads the G10 group as oil’s rally bolsters the currency along with general dollar weakness.  Otherwise, NZD (+0.6%) and AUD (+0.5%) have benefitted from the RBA’s relative hawkishness.  The rest of the bloc is also higher, but by much lesser amounts.  I do want to give a shout out to JPY (+0.1% today, +2.3% in the past month) as it seems to be performing well despite the risk preferences being displayed in the market.  something unusual seems to be happening in Japan, and I have not yet been able to determine the underlying causes.  However, I also must note that last night, exactly zero 10-year JGB’s traded in the market, despite a JGB auction.  If you were wondering what a dysfunctional market looked like, JGB’s are exhibit A.  The BOJ owns 50% of the outstanding issuance, and the idea that there is a true market price of interest rates is laughable.

As to emerging markets, we are seeing strength throughout all three regional blocs led by ZAR (+0.8%), HUF (+0.7%) and PHP (+0.6%), with the story in all places the sharp decline in US rates leading to investors seeking additional carry.  While BRL is not yet open, it rallied 0.7% yesterday as the market is beginning to believe the central bank may hike rates by 100 bps tomorrow, a shockingly large move in the current environment, but one that is being driven by rapidly rising inflation in the country.

Data today brings Factory Orders (exp 1.0%) and Vehicle Sales (15.25M), neither of which is likely to distract us from Friday’s payroll report.  We also hear from one Fed speaker, governor Bowman, who appears to be slightly dovish, but has not make public her opinions on the tapering question as of yet.

Yesterday saw modest dollar strength despite lower interest rates.  Today that strength is being unwound, but net, we are not really going anywhere.  And that seems to be the best bet, not much direction overall, but continued choppy trading.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Jay Powell’s Story

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This weekend the Chinese reported
That PMI growth has been thwarted
This likely implies
They’ll increase the size
Of stimulus, when all is sorted

Meanwhile, as the week doth progress
Investors will need to assess
If Jay Powell’s story
About transitory
Inflation means more joblessness

The conventional five-day work week clearly does not apply to China.  On a regular basis, economic data is released outside of traditional working hours as was the case this past weekend when both sets of PMI data, official and Caixin (targeting small companies), were reported.  And, as it happens, the picture was not very pretty.  In fact, it becomes easier to understand why the PBOC reduced the reserve requirement for banks several weeks ago as growth on the mainland is quite evidently slowing.  The damage can be seen not only in the headline manufacturing numbers (PMI 50.4, Caixin 50.3) but also in the underlying pieces which showed, for example, new export orders fell to 47.7, well below the expansion/contraction line.

While it is one of Xi’s key goals to wean China from the dominance of exports as an economic driver, the reality is that goal has come nowhere near being met.  China remains a mercantilist, export focused economy, where growth is defined by its export sector.  The fact that manufacturing is slowing and export orders shrinking does not bode well for China’s economy in the second half of the year.  To the extent that the delta variant of Covid is responsible for slowing growth elsewhere in the world, apparently, China has not escaped the impact as they claim.

However, in today’s upside-down world, weakening Chinese growth is seen as a positive for risk assets.  The ongoing ‘bad news is good’ meme continues to drive markets and this weaker Chinese data was no exception.  Clearly, investors believe that the Chinese are going to add more stimulus, whether fiscal or monetary being irrelevant, and have responded by snapping up risk assets.  The result was higher equity prices in Asia (Nikkei +1.8%, Hang Seng +1.1%, Shanghai +2.0%) as well as throughout Europe (CAC +0.8%, FTSE 100 +0.95%, DAX +0.1%) with the DAX having the most trouble this morning.  And don’t worry, US futures are all higher by around 0.5% as I type.

But it was not just Chinese equities that benefitted last night, investors snapped up Chinese 10-year bonds as well, driving yields lower by 5bps as expectations of further policy ease are widespread in the investment community there. That performance is juxtaposed versus what we are witnessing in developed market bonds, where yields are actually slightly firmer, although by less than 1 basis point, as the risk-on attitude encourages investors to shift from fixed income to equity weightings.

Of course, all this price action continues to reflect the fact that the Fed, last week, was not nearly as hawkish as many had expected with the tapering question remaining wide open, and no timetable whatsoever with regard to rate movement.  And that brings us to the month’s most important data point, Non-farm Payrolls, which will be released this Friday.  At this early point in the week, the median forecast, according to Bloomberg, is 900K with the Unemployment Rate falling to 5.7%.

Given we appear to be at an inflection point in some FOMC members’ thinking, I believe Friday’s number may have more importance than an August release would ordinarily demand.  Recall, the recent trend of US data has been good, but below expectations.  Another below expectations outcome here would almost certainly result in a strong equity and bond rally as investors would conclude that the tapering story was fading.  After all, the Fed seems highly unlikely to begin tapering into a softening economy.  Last week’s GDP data (6.5%, exp 8.5%) and core PCE (3.5%, exp 3.7%) are just the two latest examples of a slowing growth impulse in the US.  That is not the time when the Fed would historically tighten policy, and I don’t believe this time will be different.

There is, however, a lot of time between now and Friday, with the opportunity for many new things to occur.  Granted, it is the beginning of August, a time when most of Europe goes on vacation along with a good portion of the Wall Street crowd and investment community as a whole, so the odds of very little happening are high.  But recall that market liquidity tends to be much less robust during August as well, so any new information could well lead to an outsized impact.  And finally, historically, August is one of the worst month for US equities, with an average decline of 0.12% over the past 50 years.

Keeping this in mind, what else has occurred overnight?  While bad news may be good for stock prices, as it implies lower rates for even longer, slowing growth is not an energy positive as evidenced by WTI’s (-1.8%) sharp decline.  Interestingly, gold (-0.25%) is not benefitting either, as arguably the reduced inflation story implies less negative real yields.  More surprisingly, copper (+0.7%) and Aluminum (+0.6%) are both firmer this morning, which is a bit incongruous on a weaker growth story.

As to the dollar, it is broadly weaker, albeit not by much, with G10 moves all less than 0.2% although we have seen some much larger gains in the EMG space.  On top of that list sits ZAR (+1.15%) and TRY (+1.1).  The former is quite surprising given the PMI data fell by a record amount to 43.5, 14 points below last month’s reading as rioting in the wake of the Zuma arrest had a huge negative impact on business sentiment and expectations.  Turkey, on the other hand, showed a solid gain in PMI data, which bodes well for the economy amid slowing growth in many other places.  After those two, the gains were far more modest with HUF (+0.5%) and RUB (+0.35%) the next best performers with both the forint and the ruble benefitting from more hawkish central bank comments.

Obviously, it is a big data week as follows:

Today ISM Manufacturing 60.9
ISM Prices Paid 88.0
Construction Spending 0.5%
Tuesday Factory Orders 1.0%
Wednesday ADP Employment 650K
ISM Services 60.5
Thursday Initial Claims 382K
Coninuing Claims 3260K
Trade Balance -$74.0B
Friday Nonfarm Payrolls 900K
Private Payrolls 750K
Manufacturing Payrolls 28K
Unemployment Rate 5.7%
Average Hourly Earnings 0.3% (3.9% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.7
Participation Rate 61.7%
Consumer Credit $22.0B

Source: Bloomberg

Beyond the data, surprisingly, we only hear from three Fed speakers as many must be on holiday.  But at this point, the market is pretty sure that it is only a matter of time before the Fed starts to taper, so unless they want to really change that message, which I don’t believe is the case, they can sit on the sidelines for now.  of course, that doesn’t mean they are going to taper, just that the market expects it.

While the dollar is opening the week on its back foot, I don’t expect much follow through weakness, although neither do I expect much strength.  I suspect many participants will be biding their time ahead of Friday’s report unless there is some exogenous signal received.

Good luck and stay safe
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The Tapering Walk

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For those who expected a hawk
When Powell completed his talk
T’was somewhat depressing
That Jay was professing
They’d not walk the tapering walk

Then last night, from China, we learned
A falling stock market concerned
The powers that be
Thus, they did agree
To pander to those who’d been burned

Apparently, the Fed is not yet ready to alter its policy in any way.  That is the message Chairman Powell delivered yesterday through the FOMC statement and following press conference.  Though it seems clear there was a decent amount of discussion regarding the tapering of asset purchases, in the end, not only was there no commitment on the timing of such tapering, there was no commitment on the timing of any potential decision.  Instead, Chairman Powell explained that while progress had been made toward their goals, “substantial further progress” was still a ways away, especially regarding the employment situation.

When asked specifically about the fact that inflation was currently much higher than the FOMC’s target and whether or not that met the criteria for averaging 2%, he once again assured us that recent price rises would be transitory.  Remember, the dictionary definition of transitory is simply, ‘not permanent’.  Of course, the question is exactly what does the Fed mean is not going to be permanent?  It was here that Powell enlightened us most.  He explained that while price rises that have already occurred would likely not be reversed, he was concerned only with the ongoing pace of those price rises.  The Fed’s contention is that the pace of rising prices will slow down and fall back to levels seen prior to the onset of the Covid pandemic.

Of course, no Powell Q&A would be complete without a mention of the “tools” the Fed possesses in the event their inflation views turn out to be wrong.  Jay did not disappoint here, once again holding that on the off chance inflation seems not to be transitory, they will address it appropriately.  This, however, remains very questionable.  As the tools of which they speak, higher interest rates, will have a decisively negative impact on asset markets worldwide, it is difficult to believe the Fed will raise rates aggressively enough to combat rising inflation and allow asset markets to fall sharply.  In order to combat inflation effectively, history has shown real interest rates need to be significantly positive, which means if inflation is running at 5%, nominal rates above 6% will be required.  Ask yourself how the global economy, with more than $280 Trillion of debt outstanding, will respond to interest rates rising 600 basis points. Depression anyone?

At any rate, the upshot of the FOMC meeting was that the overall impression was one of a more dovish hue than expected going in, and the market response was exactly as one might expect.  Equity markets rebounded in the US and have continued that path overnight.  Bond markets rallied a bit in the US, although with risk appetite back in vogue, have ceded some ground this morning.  Commodity prices are rising and the dollar is under pressure.

Speaking of risk appetite, the other key story this week had been China and the apparent crackdown on specific industries like payments and education.  While Tuesday night’s comments by the Chinese helped to stabilize markets there, that was clearly not enough.  So, last night we understand that the China Securities Regulatory Commission gathered a group of bankers to explain that China was not seeking to disengage from the world nor prevent its companies from accessing capital markets elsewhere.  They went on to explain that recent crackdowns on tech and educational companies were designed to help those companies “grow in the proper manner”, a statement that could only be made by a communist apparatchik.  But in the end, the assurances given were effective as equity markets in Hong Kong and China were sharply higher and those specific companies that had come under significant pressure rebounded on the order of 7%-10%.  So, clearly there is no reason to worry.

Now, I’m sure you all feel better that things are just peachy everywhere.  The combination of Chairman Powell removing any concerns over inflation getting out of hand and the Chinese looking out for our best interests regarding the method of growth in its economy has led to a strongly positive risk sentiment.  As such, it should be no surprise that equity prices are higher around the world.  Asia started things (Nikkei +0.75%, Hang Seng +3.3%, Shanghai +1.5%) and Europe has followed suit (DAX +0.45%, CAC +0.7%, FTSE 100 +0.9%).  US futures have not quite caught the fever with the NASDAQ (-0.2%) lagging, although the other two main indices are slightly higher.

In the bond market, investors are selling as they no longer feel the need of the relative safety there, with Treasury yields higher by 3bps, while Bunds (+2bps), AOTs (+1bp) and Gilts (+2.7bps) are all under pressure.  But remember, yields remain at extremely low levels and real yields remain deeply negative, so a few bps here is hardly a concern.

Commodity prices have waived off concerns over the delta variant slowing the economy down and are higher across the board.  Oil (+0.25%), gold (+0.85%), copper (+1.1%) and the entire agricultural space are embracing the renewed growth narrative.

Finally, the dollar, as would be expected during a clear risk-on session and in the wake of the Fed explaining that tapering is not coming to a screen near you anytime soon, is lower across the board.  In the G10 space, NZD (+0.6%) and NOK (+0.55%) are leading the way higher, which is to be expected given the movement in commodity prices.  CAD (+0.45%) is next in line.  But even the yen (+0.1%) has edged higher despite the positive risk attitude.  One could easily describe this as a pure dollar sell-off.

In the emerging markets, HUF (+0.85%) is the leader as traders are back focused on the hawkishness of the central bank and an imminent rate hike, now ignoring the lack of EU funding that remains an open issue.  ZAR (+0.8%) is next on the commodity story with KRW (+0.7%) in the bronze medal position as exporters took advantage of the weakest won in nearly a year to sell dollars and then Samsung’s earnings blew away expectations on the huge demand for semiconductors, and funds flowed into the equity market.

We get our first look at Q2 GDP this morning (exp 8.5%) with the Consumption component expected to rise 10.5% on a SAAR basis.  We also see Initial Claims (385K) and Continuing Claims (3183K).  Recall, last week Initial Claims were a much higher than expected 419K, so weakness here could easily start to cause some additional concern at the Fed and delay the tapering discussion even further.  With the FOMC behind us, we can look forward to a great deal more Fedspeak, although it appears many of the committee members are on vacation, as we only have two scheduled in the next week, and they come tomorrow.  I imagine that calendar will fill in as time passes.

Putting it all together shows that any Fed hawks remain in the distinct minority, and that the party will continue for the foreseeable future.  Overall, the dollar has been trading in a range and had been weakly testing the top of that range.  It appears that move is over, and we seem likely to drift lower for the next several sessions at least, but there is no breakout on the horizon.

Good luck and stay safe
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Jay’s Watershed

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The PMI data released
This morning show prices increased
As bottlenecks build
With orders unfilled
Inflation has shown it’s a beast

The question is, how will the Fed
Respond as they’re looking ahead
Will prices be tamed
Or else be inflamed
This may well be Jay’s watershed

Yesterday’s ECB meeting pretty much went according to plan.  There is exactly zero expectation that Lagarde and her crew will be tightening policy at any point in the remote future.  In fact, while she tried to be diplomatic over a description of when they would consider tightening policy; when they see inflation achieving their 2.0% target at the “midpoint” of their forecast horizon of two to three years, this morning Banque de France Governor Villeroy was quite explicit in saying the ECB’s projections must show inflation stable at 2.0% in 12-18 months.  In truth, it is rare for a central banker to give an explicit timeframe on anything, so this is a bit unusual.  But, in the end, the ECB essentially promised that they are not going to consider tightening policy anytime soon.  They will deal with the asset purchase programs at the next meeting, but there is no indication they are going to reduce the pace of purchases, whatever name they call the program.

One cannot be surprised that the euro fell in the wake of the ECB meeting as the market received confirmation of their previous bias that the Fed will be tightening policy before the ECB.  But will they?

Before we speak of the Fed let’s take a quick look at this morning’s PMI data out of Europe.  The most notable feature of the releases, for Germany France and the Eurozone as a whole was the rapid increase in prices.  Remember, this is a diffusion index, where the outcome is the difference between the number of companies saying they are doing something (in this case raising prices) and the number saying they are not.  In Europe, the input price index was 89, while the selling price index rose to 71.  Both of these are record high levels and both indicate that price pressures are very real in Europe despite much less robust growth than in the US.  And remember, the ECB has promised not to tighten until they see stable inflation in their forecasts 18 months ahead.  (I wonder what they will do if they see sharply rising inflation in that time frame?)

While the latest CPI reading from the Eurozone was relatively modest at 2.0%, it strikes me that price pressures of the type described by the PMI data will change those numbers pretty quickly.  Will the ECB respond if growth is still lagging?  My money is on, no, they will let prices fly, but who knows, maybe Madame Lagarde is closer in temperament to Paul Volcker than Arthur Burns.

Which brings us back to the Fed and their meeting next week.  The market discussion continues to be on the timing of any tapering of asset purchases as well as the details of how they will taper (stop buying MBS first or everything in proportion).  But I wonder if the market is missing the boat on this question.  It seems to me the question is not when will they taper but will they taper at all?  While we have not heard from any FOMC member for a week, this week’s data continues to paint a picture of an economy that has topped out and is beginning to roll over.  The most concerning number was yesterday’s Initial Claims at a much higher than expected 419K.  Not only does that break the recent downtrend, but it came in the week of the monthly survey which means there is some likelihood that the July NFP report will be quite disappointing.  Given the Fed’s hyper focus on employment, that will certainly not encourage tapering.  The other disappointing data release was the Chicago Fed National Activity Index, a number that does not get a huge amount of play, but one that is a pretty good descriptor of overall activity.  It fell sharply, to 0.09, well below both expectations and last month’s reading, again indicating slowing growth momentum.

This morning we will see the flash PMI data for the US (exp 62.0 Mfg, 64.5 Services) but of more interest will be the price components here.  Something tells me they will be in the 80’s or 90’s as prices continue to rise everywhere.  While I believe the Fed should be tapering, and raising rates too, I continue to expect them to do nothing of the sort.  History has shown that when put in these circumstances, the Fed, and most major central banks, respond far too slowly to prevent inflation getting out of hand and then ultimately are required to become very aggressive, à la Paul Volcker from 1979-82, to turn things around.  But that is a long way off in the future.

But for now, we wait for Wednesday’s FOMC statement and the following press conference.  Until then, the narrative remains the Fed is going to begin tapering sometime in 2022 and raising rates in 2023.  With that narrative, the dollar is going to remain well-bid.

Ok, on a summer Friday, it should be no surprise that markets are not very exciting.  We did see some weakness in Asia (Hang Seng -1.45%, Shanghai -0.7%, Nikkei still closed) but Europe feels good about the ECB’s promise of easy money forever with indices there all nicely higher (DAX +1.0%, CAC /-1.0%, FTSE 100 +0.8%).  US futures are higher by about 0.5% at this hour, adding to yesterday’s modest gains.

Bond markets are behaving as one would expect in a risk-on session, with yields edging higher.  Treasuries are seeing a gain of 1.3bps while Europe has seen a bit more selling pressure with yields higher by about 2bps across the board.

Commodity price are broadly higher this morning with oil (+0.1%) consolidating its recent rebound but base metals (Cu +0.4%, Al +0.7% and Sn +1.1%) all performing well.  All that manufacturing activity is driving those metals higher.  Precious metals, meanwhile, are under pressure (Au -0.5%. Ag -1.1%).

Finally, the dollar is doing well this morning despite the positive risk attitude.  In the G10, JPY (-0.3%) is the laggard as Covid infections spread, notably in the Olympic village, and concerns over the situation grow.  But both GBP (-0.25%) and CHF (-0.25%) are also under pressure, largely for the same reasons as Covid infections continue to mount.  The only gainer of note is NZD (+0.2%) which is the beneficiary of short covering going into the weekend.

In the emerging markets, ZAR (-0.55%) is the worst performer, falling as concerns grow that the SARB will remain too dovish as inflation rises there.  Recall, they just saw a higher than expected CPI print, but there is no indication that policy tightening is on the way.  HUF (-0.5%) is the other noteworthy laggard as the ongoing philosophical differences between President Orban and the EU have resulted in delays for Hungary to receive further Covid related aid that is clearly needed in the country.  The forint remains weak despite a much more hawkish tone from the central bank as well.

Other than the PMI data, there is nothing else to be released and we remain in the Fed’s quiet period, so no comments either.  Right now, the market is accumulating dollars on the basis of the idea the Fed will begin tapering soon.  If equities continue to rally, this goldilocks narrative could well help the dollar into the weekend.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
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Christine Lagarde’s Goal

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This morning, Christine Lagarde’s goal
Is focused on how to cajole
The market to see
That her ECB
Has total command and control

Ahead of the ECB statement and the subsequent press conference this morning, markets are mostly biding their time.  Monday’s risk-off session is but a hazy memory and everyone is completely back on board for the reflation trade despite rising numbers of Covid cases as well as newly imposed lockdowns by governments throughout the world.  While that may seem incongruous, apparently, the belief is that any such lockdowns will be for a much shorter period this time than we saw last year, and so the impact on economic activity will be much smaller.

With a benign backdrop, it is worthwhile, I believe, to consider what we are likely to see and hear from the ECB and how it may impact markets.  We already know that they have changed their inflation target from, “close to, but below 2.0%” to ‘2.0%’.  In addition, we have been told that there is a willingness to accept a period of time where inflation runs above their target as the ECB seeks to fine-tune both the message and the outcome.  Of course, when you think about what CPI measures, it is designed to measure the average rate of price increases for the population as a whole, the idea of fine-tuning something of this nature is ridiculous.  Add to that the extreme difficulty in measuring the data (after all, what exactly makes up the consumer basket? and how does it change over time?  and isn’t it different for literally every person?) and the fact that central banks are concerned if inflation prints at 1.7% or 2.0% is ludicrous.  As my friend @inflation_guy (you should follow him on Twitter) always explains, you cannot reject the null hypothesis that 1.7% and 2.0% are essentially the same thing in this context.  In other words, there is no difference between 2.0% inflation, where central bankers apparently feel comfortable, and 1.7% inflation, where central bankers bemoan the impending deflationary crisis.

As well, the ECB is going to explain their new asset purchase process.  Currently, there are two programs, the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP) which is the original QE program and had rules about adhering to the capital key and not purchasing more than 33% of the outstanding debt of any nation in order to prevent monetizing that debt.  Covid brought a second program, the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP), which had no such restrictions regarding what was eligible and how much of any particular nation’s bonds could be acquired but was limited in size and time.  Granted they both expanded the size of the program twice and extended its maturity, but at least they tried to make believe it was temporary.  The recent framework review is likely to allow PEPP to expire in March 2022, as currently planned, but at the same time expand the PSPP and its pace of purchases so that there will be no difference at all to the market.  In other words, though they will attempt to describe their policies as ‘new’, nothing is likely to change at all.

Finally, they apparently will be altering their forward guidance to promise interest rates will remain unchanged at current levels until inflation is forecast to reach or slightly surpass 2% and remain there for some time within the central bank’s projection period of two to three years.  Given the decades long lack of inflationary impulse in the Eurozone due to anemic underlying economic growth and ongoing high unemployment, this essentially means that the ECB will never raise rates again.  The ongoing financial repression being practiced by central banks shows no sign of abating and the ECB’s big framework adjustment will do nothing to change that outcome.

Will any of this matter?  That is debatable.  First, the market is already fully aware of all these mooted changes, so any price impact has arguably already been seen.  And second, have they really changed anything?  I would argue the answer to that is no.  While the descriptions of policies may have changed, the actions forthcoming will remain identical.  Interest rates will not move, and they will continue to purchase the same number of bonds that they are buying now.  As such, despite a lot of tongue wagging, I expect that the impact on the euro will be exactly zero.  Instead, the single currency will remain focused on the Fed’s (remember the FOMC meets next week), interest rate policy and the overall risk appetite in the market.

Turning to markets ahead of the ECB announcement we see that risk remains in vogue with strong gains in Asia (Hang Seng +1.85, Shanghai +0.35%, Nikkei closed) and Europe (DAX +0.9%, CAC +0.8%) although the FTSE 100 is barely changed on the day.  US futures are all green and higher by about 0.2% at this hour.

Bond markets have calmed down after a few very choppy days with Treasury yields backing up 1bp and now back to 1.30%, nearly 18 basis points above the low print seen Monday.  European sovereigns are mixed with Gilts seeing yields edge up by 0.8bps, while OATs have seen yields slide 0.8bps and Bunds are unchanged on the day.  Of course, with the ECB imminent, traders are waiting to see if there is any surprise forthcoming so are being cautious.

Oil prices continue their sharp rebound from Monday’s virtual collapse, rising another 0.6% and now firmly back above $70/bbl.  It turns out that Monday was a great opportunity to buy oil on the cheap!  Precious metals continue to disappoint with gold (-0.4%) slipping back below $1800/oz, although really just chopping around in a range.  Copper is firmer by 0.8% this morning but the rest of the non-ferrous group is slightly softer.

As to the dollar, it is under pressure virtually across the board this morning as there is certainly no fear visible in markets.  In the G10, NOK (+0.9%) is the leader on the back of oil’s rebound with the rest of the bloc seeing broad-based, but shallow, gains.  In the emerging markets, HUF (+0.55%) is the leader after recent comments from a central banker that they will be raising rates until their inflation goal is met.  (So old school!)  Meanwhile, overnight saw strength in APAC currencies (PHP +0.45%, IDR +0.4%, KRW +0.35%) as positive risk sentiment saw foreign inflows into the entire region’s stock markets.

We do get some data this morning starting with Initial (exp 350K) and Continuing (3.1M) Claims at 8:30 as well as Leading Indicators (0.8%) and Existing Home Sales (5.90M).  Fed speakers remain incommunicado due to the quiet period so as long as the ECB meets expectations the dollar should continue to follow its risk theme, which today is risk-on => dollar lower.

Good luck and stay safe
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On Command

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As Covid infections expand
Worldwide, and more meetings get banned
The worry is that
Growth’s surge will fall flat
And stocks will not rise on command

But Monday’s price action was fleeting
As dip buyers now are competing
To add to their stash
Of low value trash
Before the Fed’s next monthly meeting

Come with me on a journey to the past.  A time when investors considered risks as well as rewards and if those risks seemed elevated, those very same investors would consider actually selling stocks and running to the (relative) safety of the government bond market.  Risks could include slower growth, higher inflation or even the recurrence of a global pandemic.  Naturally, under circumstances of that nature, investors displayed caution.  Now, fortunately, situations like that don’t seem to happen very often anymore, although if you think back to…Monday, that seemed to be the developing narrative.   Ahh, but as Dinah Washington crooned so fantastically in 1959, What a Difference a Day Makes.

Monday’s price action and narrative might as well have occurred in 2008 during the GFC given how long ago it seems and how short memories have become over time.  So, all of the angst regarding the spread of the delta variant and additional lockdowns around the world, as well as the impact that would have on the global growth scenario has essentially been expunged from the record and it’s now all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows going forward.  At least, that’s the way it seems this morning.

Yesterday saw a significant rebound in the equity market and a sharp sell-off in Treasury and other government bond markets as the bargain hunters were out in force taking advantage of the 2% dip seen Monday.  After all, it’s not as though there was any new news released to encourage a change in view.  The only data release was Housing Starts which were marginally better than expected, but then everybody knows the housing market is en fuego.  With both the Fed and ECB in their quiet periods ahead of upcoming meetings, there were no central bank statements to help ameliorate concerns that had become manifest on Monday.  Which leads to the conclusion that nothing in the zeitgeist has changed; buy the dip because there is no alternative remains the single most powerful underlying force in markets today.

Which brings us to this morning’s situation, where the rally continues in equity markets, bond markets continue to retreat from their recent highs and commodity markets are getting their feet under themselves again.  What about inflation you may ask?  Bah, old news.  Clearly it is transitory as there hasn’t been a higher than expected print in more than a week!  (Well, that’s not strictly true as this morning South African CPI was released at a higher than expected 4.9% which has pushed back on the growing narrative that the SARB might be able to back off its mooted tightening.)  But South Africa is insignificant in the broad scheme of things, so the combination of increasing infections there along with rioting over the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma has just not been enough to concern investors in other markets.

One has to give props to the central banking community for their ability to convince economists, politicians and investors that the worsening inflation situation is really a very short-term blip, and that the big problem remains deflation.  Of course, it is not hard to convince politicians once they understand this stance allows for more spending.  Economists tend to be lost in their models so aren’t that important anyway.  Investors, however, have historically taken these things with a bit more skepticism, and the fact that the market is responding in exactly the manner central banks want is the truly surprising outcome.  Nothing has changed my view that this entire house-of-cards-like market will come tumbling down at some point, but it is very clear that as John Maynard Keynes explained in 1924, “the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.”  In other words, calling the timing of any significant pullback is a fool’s errand, and I will endeavor not to be foolish today.

As to markets today, it is very clear by now that risk is back on.  Equities in Asia were generally higher (Nikkei +0.6%, Hang Seng -0.1%, Shanghai +0.7%) and are quite strong in Europe (DAX +0.9%, CAC +1.4%, FTSE 100 +1.7%).  US futures you ask?  Generally higher as well, with DOW +0.4%, although NASDAQ futures are actually -0.1% at this hour.  The rotation into value seems to be this morning’s view.

The bond market is behaving as expected with investors quickly getting out of their recently added long positions.  Treasury yields are higher by 2.2bps, while Bunds, OATs and Gilts are all about 1.5bps higher this morning.  There is certainly no reason to own bonds when stocks are on the move!

Commodity markets are mixed this morning, although the most important of the bunch, oil, is higher by 1.5% and continuing to rebound from Monday’s substantial declines.  That price action on Monday was clearly technical in nature and shook out a great many weak hands.  The case for higher oil prices remains strong in my view, as the lack of capex in the sector as well as the ESG efforts to starve the industry of capital will result in a supply demand mismatch over time that will only resolve itself with higher prices.  As to the rest of the commodity space, precious metals are mixed (Au -0.5%, Ag 0.7%), as are base metals (Cu -0.2%, al +0.2%) and Ags (Soybeans -0.4%, Wheat +0.4%).  In other words, there is no directional bias here.

Finally, in the currency markets, movement has been a bit more muted overall, and mixed just like elsewhere.  In the G10 bloc, NOK (+0.35%) is following oil higher and JPY (-0.25%) is seeing its haven status work against it as it reverts to form, with the rest of the bloc +/- 0.1% meaning there is nothing to discuss.  In the emerging markets, there is a bit more weakness with ZAR (-0.4%) still suffering from the increased spread of Covid as are KRW (-0.3%) and the CE4 (HUF -0.3%, CZK -0.3%, PLN -0.25%).  On the plus side there is only CNY (+0.2%) which was supported by comments from the central bank claiming they will keep the yuan “basically stable”.

There is no data and no speakers today which means that the FX market is left to watch other markets for its cues.  With risk back in vogue, I expect that the dollar could cede some ground against the majors, but the ongoing issues throughout different emerging markets are likely to continue to weigh on currencies in that sector.

Good luck and stay safe
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Covid’s Resurgence

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Covid’s resurgence Has begun to detract from Asia’s second spring

It seems the global economic rebound is starting to falter.  At least, that is what one might conclude from the run of data we are seeing from virtually every nation, as well as the signals we are starting to get from the global central banking community.  For instance, on the data front, this morning’s UK numbers showed that growth, while still quite positive, is not quite living up to expectations.  May’s GDP reading was 0.8%, a very good number (it would annualize to nearly 10% GDP growth) but far below analysts forecasts of 1.5%.  Similarly, IP also printed at 0.8%, again well above last month’s data but falling far short of the 1.4% expectations.  The point is that economists’ views of the reopening burst seem to have been a bit overexuberant.  The UK is hardly alone in this situation with Italy also showing disappointing IP data for May (-1.5% vs. +0.3% expected).  And we saw the same thing from both Germany and France earlier this month.  In a nutshell, it appears that the European economy, while certainly growing more robustly than Q1, may well have seen its best days.

Meanwhile, in Asia, the delta variant of Covid-19 has become a much larger problem, with Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand particularly hard hit.  You have probably heard that the Olympics will be spectatorless this year in Tokyo as the Suga government has implemented yet another emergency lockdown order that is not due to expire until the end of August.  In South Korea, infections are rising as well and the government has increased curbs on gatherings of more than 5 people, while Thailand has once again closed ‘non-essential’ businesses to prevent the spread of the disease.  Vaccination rates throughout Asia have been much lower than elsewhere, with most of Europe and the US having seen between 40% and 50% of the population vaccinated while Asian countries are in the 5% – 10% range.  The issue is that while the virus continues to spread, economic activity will continue to be impaired and that means that markets in those economies are going to feel the pain, as likely will their currencies.

Of course, the US has not been immune from this run of disappointing data as virtually every reading in the past month has failed to meet expectations.  Two broader indicators of this slowdown are the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow number, which is currently at 7.78%, obviously a strong number, but down from 13.71% two month’s ago.  As well, the Citi Economic Surprise index has fallen from 270 a year ago to essentially 0.0 today.  This measures actual data vs. median expectations and is indicative of the fact that data continues to miss its targets in the US as well as throughout the rest of the world.

Arguably, it is this downturn in economic activity that has been the key driving force in the bond market’s remarkable rally for the past two months, although this morning, it appears that some profit taking is underway as Treasury yields have backed up 4.8bps.  Keep in mind, though, that yields had fallen more than 25bps at their lowest yesterday in just the past two weeks, so a reprieve is no real surprise.  

The question at hand has become, is this just a pause in activity, or have we already seen the peak and now that fiscal stimulus is behind us, growth is going to revert to its pre-pandemic trend, or worse?  My sense is the latter is more likely and given the extraordinary amount of debt that was issued during the past year, the growth trend is likely to be even worse than before the pandemic.  However, slowing growth is not necessarily going to be the death knell for inflation by any means.  Lack of investment and shortages of key inputs will continue to pressure prices higher, as will the demand from consumers who remain flush with cash.  The worst possible outcome, stagflation, remains entirely realistic as an outcome.

And on that cheery note, let’s survey markets quickly.  While yesterday was a clear risk-off session, this morning it is just the opposite, with equity markets rebounding and bonds under some pressure.  While the Nikkei (-0.6%) failed to rebound, we did see the Hang Seng (+0.7%) pick up some while Shanghai (0.0%) was flat.  The big news in China was the PBOC reduced the RRR for banks by 0.5%, to be implemented next week.  Remember, the Chinese continue to try to fight the blowing up of bubbles in markets, both financial and real estate, but are looking for ways to loosen policy.  Remember, too, that inflation in China remains quite high, at least at the factory gate, with PPI released last night at 8.8% Y/Y.  This reading was exactly as forecast and a touch lower than last month’s reading.  But it is still 8.8%!  If this starts to trend lower over the coming months, that will be a strong signal regarding global inflationary concerns, but we will have to wait to see.

European markets, though, are uniformly stronger, led by the CAC (+1.75%) although the DAX (+0.9%) and FTSE 100 (+0.7%) are both doing well this morning despite the weaker data.  It appears that investors remain comforted by the ECB’s continued commitment to supporting the economy and their commitment to not withdraw that support if inflation readings start to tick higher.  As to US futures, while the NASDAQ is unchanged at this hour, both SPX and DOW futures are higher by around 0.5%.

It is not only Treasuries that are selling off, but we are seeing weakness in Gilts (+3.8bps), Bunds (+1.1bps) and OATs +0.5bps) as well.  After all, every bond market rallied over the past weeks, so profit-taking is widespread.

On the commodity front, oil continues to trade in a hugely volatile manner, currently higher by 1.15% after rebounding more than 3% from its lows yesterday.  Base metals are also moving higher (Cu +1.7%, Al +0.6%, Sn +0.1%) although gold (-0.2%) continues to range trade around the $1800/oz level.

As to currencies, the picture is mixed with commodity currencies strong this morning alongside the commodity rally (NOK +0.8%, AUD +0.55%, NZD +0.3%) while the yen (-0.3%) is giving up some of yesterday’s haven related gains.  EMG currencies are behaving in a similar manner with RUB (+0.75%), ZAR (+0.6%) and MXN (+0.3%) all benefitting from higher commodity prices.  However, we are also seeing HUF (+0.85%) rise sharply as inflation surprised to the high side at 5.3% Y/Y and encouraged traders to bet on tighter monetary policy given its resurgence.  On the downside, the Asian bloc suffered the most (PHP -0.4%, THB -0.4%, KRW -0.3%) as traders sold on the negative Covid news.

There is no data today nor any Fed speakers.  That means that FX markets will be looking to equities and bonds for it’s cues, with equity markets seeming to have the stronger relationship right now.  The bond/dollar correlation seems to have broken down lately.    While the dollar is soft at this time, I see no reason for a major sell-off in any way.  As it is a summer Friday, I would look for a relatively quiet session with a drift lower in the dollar as long as risk assets perform well.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe

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