Tag Archives: #riskon

Truly a Beast

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The PMI data released
Showed just how fast growth has decreased
Tis services that
Have fallen so flat
This virus is truly a beast

But yesterday two bits of news
May help prevent any more blues
The Fed started things
By spreading their wings
And buying all debt that accrues

As well, in a break from the past
The Germans decided at last
To open the taps
As well as, perhaps
Support debt Italians amassed

And finally, where it began
The virus, that is, in Wuhan
Two months from their dawn
Restrictions are gone
Defining the lockdown’s lifespan

Markets have a much better tone this morning as traders and investors react to two very important responses to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The first thing that is getting a positive, albeit delayed, response is the Fed’s enactment of a series of new programs including support for CP, mortgage-backed securities, primary dealers and money market funds as well as embarking on QE Infinity, buying $75 billion of Treasuries and $50 billion of mortgage-backed securities every day this week, and then on into the future. Previous concerns about the size of the Fed’s balance sheet relative to the US economy have been completely dismissed, and you can bet that we will soon see a Fed balance sheet with $10 trillion in assets, nearly 50% as large as the economy. But the announcement, while at first not getting quite the positive impact desired, seems to be filtering through into analysis and is definitely seen in a more positive light this morning than yesterday at this time.

The second piece of news was that not only is Germany going to embark on a €750 billion spending program to help the economy, but, more importantly, they are willing to support Italy via European wide programs like the European Stability Mechanism, and even jointly issued coronaviru bonds, to prevent a further catastrophe there. In truth, that seems to be a bigger deal than the Fed, as the long-term implications are much greater and point to a real chance that the European experiment of integration could eventually work. If they move down the path to jointly issue and support debt available to all members, that is a massive change, and likely a long term positive for the single currency. We have to see if they will actually go forward, but it is the most promising structural comment in Europe in years, perhaps even since the euro was formed.

However, we cannot forget that the current reality remains harsh, and were reminded of such by this morning’s Flash PMI data, which, unsurprisingly, fell to record lows throughout Europe and the UK. Services were hit much harder than Manufacturing with readings of 29.0 in France, 34.5 in Germany, 31.4 in the Eurozone and 35.7 in the UK. Japan also released their data, which was equally dismal at 32.7 for Services PMI there. And they added to the story by releasing Department Store Sales, which fell a healthy 12.2%. Of course, everyone knows that the data is going to be awful for the time being, and since we saw China’s PMI data last month, this was expected. Granted, analysts had penciled in slightly higher numbers, but let’s face it, everybody was simply guessing. Let’s put it this way, we are going to see horrific data for at least the next month, so it will have to be extraordinarily bad to really garner a negative market reaction. This is already built into the price structure. While the US has historically looked far more closely at ISM data, to be released next week, than PMI data, we do see the US numbers later this morning, with forecasts at 42.0 for Services and 43.5 for Manufacturing.

So the data is not the driver today, which has seen a more classic risk-on framework, rather I think it is not only the absorption of the Fed and German actions, but also, perhaps, the news from Wuhan that the restrictions on travel, imposed on January 23, are being lifted, nearly two months to the day after imposition. Arguably, that defines the maximum lockdown period, although yesterday President Trump hinted that the US period will be much shorter, with 14 or 15 days mooted. If that is the case, and I would place the start date as this week, we are looking at heading back to our offices come April 6. If the Fed is successful in preventing financial institution collapse, and Congress finally passes a stimulus bill to address the massive income dislocation that is ongoing, (which they will almost certainly do in the next two days), there is every chance that while Q2 GDP will be hit hard, the panic inducing numbers of -30% GDP growth (Morgan Stanley’s forecast) or -50% GDP growth (St Louis Fed President Bullard’s forecast), will be referred to as the height of the panic. We shall see.

But taking a look at markets this morning, we see the dollar under pressure across the board, with the Norwegian krone today’s champion, rallying 5.4% as a follow on to yesterday’s reversal and ultimate 1.2% gain. But the pound has bounced 2.0% this morning along with SEK and AUD is higher by 1.7%. It is entirely possible that what we are seeing is a relief in the funding markets as the Fed’s actions have made USD available more widely around the world and reduced some of that pressure.

EMG markets are seeing similar strength in their currencies, led by MXN (+2.6%) and HUF (+2.3%), but every currency in both blocs is higher vs. the greenback today. Equity markets are all green as well, with major rallies in Asia (Nikkei +7.1%, Hang Seng +4.5%, Shanghai +2.7%) and Europe (DAX +6.25%, CAC +5.25%, FTSE 100 +4.0%) with US equity futures limit up in all three indices. Bonds, meanwhile, have sold off slightly, with yields higher in both the US and Germany by 2bps. I think given the overall backdrop, bonds are unlikely to sell off sharply anytime soon, especially given the central bank promises to buy unlimited quantities of them.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention gold, which is up 2.5% today and 6.2% since Friday’s close as investors realize that all the money printing and fiscal stimulus is likely to lead to a much different view on inflation, namely that it is going to rise in the future.

Volatility remains the watchword as 5% daily moves in the equity market, even when they are up moves, remain extremely taxing on all trading activities. Market liquidity remains suspect in most markets, with bid-ask spreads still far wider than we’ve come to expect. Forward FX spreads of 5-10 pips for dates under 1 year are not uncommon in the majors, let alone in things like MXN or BRL. Keep that in mind as you prepare for your balance sheet rolling programs later this week.

Good luck and stay safe
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Has Panic Subsided?

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This morning a look at the screen
Shows everything coming up green
Has panic subsided?
Or is it misguided
To think that a bottom’s been seen?

It certainly feels less frightening in markets this morning as assets of all nature, equity, commodity and fixed income, are rallying nicely and the panic buying of dollars seems to have ended for the time being. Of course, this is an interesting outcome if one reads the news, given that virus stories have not only continued apace, but the statistics and government responses are getting more draconian. Arguably, the biggest story is that the entire state of California, with its population of 40 million, has been put on lockdown, with stay-at-home restrictions imposed by the Governor. By itself, California is, famously, the fifth largest economy in the world, just ahead of the UK, so the idea that economic activity there is going to come screeching to a halt cannot be seen as a positive. At least not in the short term. In addition, virus related deaths in Italy have now surpassed those from China, and further personal restrictions are being contemplated by PM Conte in order to get a handle on the situation. Thus, the fact remains that Italy is in dire straits from an economic perspective, again at least in the short term. Yet the FTSE MIB (the main Italian stock market index) is higher by 3.8% as I type this morning.

This all begs the question, why are markets reversing course from what has been several hellacious weeks of price declines? Let’s consider a few possible reasons:

It could be that the combination of expanded central bank and government activity around the world has finally achieved a point where investors believe that apocalyptic scenarios overstate the case.

While this is possible, it seems a bit far-fetched to believe that in the course of 36 hours, investors have suddenly decided to accept all the actions, and there have been many, have done the job.

A recap of the major actions shows:
• ECB creates €750 billion PEPP as additional QE measures
• Fed extends USD swap lines to 9 additional central banks to allow USD liquidity to reach all G10 nations and several more developed EMG nations like South Korea
• Fed creates money market fund liquidity backstop to insure that CP issuance by US corporates is able to continue and companies are able to fund operations
• BOJ added ¥5.3 trillion in liquidity to markets while snapping up ¥201 billion of new ETF’s
• RBA cut rates by 0.25%, added new liquidity to markets and started a QE program to control the 3-year AGB at a rate of 0.25%

There is no question that this is an impressive list of actions put into place in very short order which demonstrates just how seriously governments are taking the Covid-19 outbreak. And this doesn’t include any of the fiscal stimulus packages which either have been enacted or are on the cusp of being so. In fact, a total of 31 central banks around the world have cut rates, added liquidity or started QE programs in the past week in order to stem the tide. (I have to add that the Danish central bank actually raised its base rate by 0.15%, to -0.60%, yesterday morning in a truly shocking move. Apparently there was growing concern that with the ongoing problems in Italy, investors were flocking to DKK from EUR and driving that cross, which the central bank uses as its monetary benchmark, strongly in favor of the krona. In this instance, strongly represents a 3.5 basis point move, which has since been reversed.) And perhaps the market is telling us, they’ve done enough. But I doubt it.

Remember, the problem is not financial at its heart, it is a medical issue and efforts to contain the virus remain only partially effective thus far. The medical news, however, continues to get worse, at least in Europe and the US, as the caseload continues to increase rapidly, as well as the death toll, and governments are imposing stricter and stricter regulations on the population. So along with California’s action, New York has mandated that no more than 25% of a company’s workforce is allowed to work at the office (at SMBC we are below 15%), while New Jersey has closed all personal service businesses, like hair salons, exercise facilities and tattoo parlors. And these are just the most recent ones that I have seen because of where I live and work. I know there are countless measures throughout the US and Europe. And all of those measures inflict significant pain on the economy.

Yesterday’s Initial Claims number jumped to 281K, significantly higher than model forecasts, but just a fraction of what we are likely to see going forward as small service businesses like restaurants and hair salons and so many others are forced to close for now and cannot afford to continue paying their staff. Hence I’ve seen estimates that we could see those numbers jump as high as 2 million! So while it is not an economic or financial condition at its heart, it is certainly having that impact.

A second thought, one which I think has more substance to it is that during the past three weeks we have seen a substantial amount of position liquidation by highly leveraged fund managers who were forced to sell assets (or cover shorts) at ANY price due to margin calls. The only way to get market movements of 5%-10% or more is to have market participants be price insensitive. In other words, sales (short covers) were mandated, not by choice. However, once those positions are closed, and the evidence is that most have been so, markets revert to price discovery in the normal fashion, with buyers and sellers putting their money to work based on views of the asset. So while there is still significant trepidation by investors, my gut tells me that we have seen the worst of the financial market activity and volatility. It will still be quite a while before things truly settle down, and there is every chance that as the economic data comes over the next weeks and months and shows just how badly things were impacted, we will see sharp market downdrafts. So I am not calling a bottom per se, but think that going forward it will be less dramatic than we have seen during the first three weeks of March.

A quick recap of this morning’s markets shows equity markets around the world higher, with many substantially so (CAC +5.1%, DAX +4.2%, Hang Seng +5.0%); government bond markets also rallying nicely with yields almost everywhere falling (Treasuries -14bps, Gilts -14bps, Bunds -9bps); commodity prices rallying virtually across the board (WTI +2.4%,Copper +1.7%, Gold +2.3%); and finally, the dollar selling off virtually universally, with some of the worst recent performers regaining the most. So KRW (+3.0%), AUD (+2.6%) and GBP (+2.3%) are all unwinding some of the excess movement we saw in the past weeks. If I am correct and the worst has passed, I expect the dollar will cede more of its recent gains. However, given my timeline of May, I expect it will be another month before we see that in any material way. So, if you are a payables hedger, these are likely to be some of the best opportunities you are going to see for quite a while. Don’t miss out!

Good luck, good weekend and please all stay safe and socially distant
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All Stay at Home

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While yesterday was, for most, scary
It seems the moves were temporary
This morning we’ve seen
Our screens filled with green
On hopes of response monetary

Meanwhile, as the virus expands
And spreads across multiple lands
The word out of Rome
Is, ‘all stay at home’
And please don’t go round shaking hands!

What a difference a day makes! After what was a total obliteration of risk on Monday, this morning we have seen equity markets around the world rebound sharply as well as haven assets lose some of their luster. While net, risk assets are still lower than before the oil war broke out, there is a palpable sense of relief in trading rooms around the world.

But is anything really different? Arguably, the big difference this morning is that we have begun to hear from governments around the world about how they are planning to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic epidemic, and more importantly, that they actually do have a response. The most dramatic response is arguably from Italy, where the government has locked down the entire nation. Schools and businesses are closed and travel within as well as in and out of the country is banned save for a dire emergency. Given how badly hit Italy has been hit by Covid, nearly 500 deaths from more than 9,000 cases, and the fact that the case load is increasing, this should be no surprise. At the same time, given the demographics in Italy, only Germany and Japan have older populations, and given the fact that the virus is particularly fatal for elderly people, things are likely to continue to get worse before they get better. I have seen two different descriptions of how dire the situation is there, with both calling the health infrastructure completely overwhelmed. Look for Germany to impose more restrictions later this week as well, given the growing spread of the virus there.

But from a market perspective, what is truly turning things around is the discussion of combined monetary and fiscal response that is making the rounds. Last night President Trump explained the administration was considering payroll tax cuts as well as direct subsidies to hourly workers via increased support for paid sick leave. In addition, the market is certain the Fed will cut at least 50bps next week, and still essentially pricing in 75bps. So, the twin barrels of monetary and fiscal policy should go a long way to helping regain confidence. Of course, neither of these things will solve the problems in the oil patch as shale drillers find themselves under extraordinary financial pressure with oil prices still around $34/bbl. While that is a 10% rebound from yesterday, most of the shale drillers need oil to be near $45-$50/bbl to make a living. But there is very little the government can do about that right now.

And we are hearing about pending support from other governments as well, with the UK, France and Japan all preparing or announcing new measures. However, as long as the virus remains as contagious as it is, all these measures are merely stop-gaps. Lockdowns have serious longer-term consequences and there will be significant lost output that is permanently gone. Recession this year seems a highly likely event in many, if not most, G10 countries, so be prepared.

And with that as a start, let’s take a look around the markets. As I mentioned, equities rebounded in Asia (Nikkei +0.85%, Hang Seng +1.4%, Shanghai +1.8%) and are much higher in Europe (DAX +3.6%, CAC +4.4%, FTSE 100 +4.2%). Of course, that was after significantly larger declines yesterday. US futures are sharply higher as I type, with all three indices more than 4% higher at this time. Meanwhile, bond markets are seeing the opposite price action with 10-year Treasury yields rebounding to 0.71% after touching a low of 0.31% yesterday. Bunds have also rebounded 12bps to -0.74%, and more importantly, both Italian and Greek bonds have rallied (yields falling) sharply. Make no mistake, the bonds of those two nations are not considered havens in any language.

In the FX market, yesterday saw, by far, the most volatile trading we have experienced since the financial crisis in 2008-09. And this morning, along with other markets, much of that is reversing. So we are looking at the yen falling 2.4% this morning, by far the worst performer in the G10, but also seeing weakness in the euro (-0.85%), pound Sterling (-0.7%) and Swiss franc (-0.85%). On the plus side, NOK is higher by 1.05% and CAD has regained a much less impressive 0.35%.

Emerging markets have also seen significant reversals with MXN, yesterday’s worst performer, rebounding 1.8%, ZAR +1.65% and KRW +0.95%. On the downside, RUB is today’s loser extraordinaire, falling 3.5% after Saudi Aramco said they would increase production to a more than expected 12.3 million bbls/day. But the CE4 currencies, which rallied with the euro yesterday, are all softer this morning by roughly 0.8%.

The one thing that seems clear is that volatility remains the base case for now, and although market implied volatilities have fallen today, they remain far higher than we had seen just a week ago. I think there will also be far more market liquidity to be involved in this market as well.

On the data front, the NFIB Small Business Optimism report has already been released at 104.5, rising from last month and far better than expected. Now this survey covers February which means that there had to be at least some virus impact. With that in mind, the result is even more impressive. The thing is that right now, data is just not a market driver, so the FX markets have largely ignored this along with every other release.

Looking ahead to today’s session, the reversal of yesterday’s moves is clearly in place and unless we suddenly get new information that the virus is more widespread, or that there is pushback on support packages and they won’t be forthcoming, I expect this morning’s moves to continue a bit further.

Longer term, we remain dependent on the spread of Covid-19 and government responses as the key driver. After all, the oil news seems pretty fully priced in for now.

Good luck
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A Fig Leaf?

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This morning, the market’s motif
Is central banks’ promised relief
The all-clear has sounded
And stocks have rebounded
But is this more than a fig leaf?

In case you were curious what central bank relief looked or sounded like, I have included the statements from each of the four major central banks addressing Covid-19, starting with the Fed’s statement Friday afternoon that was able to turn the equity market around (all are my emphases). Since then, we have heard from the other three major banks, as per below, and we have also been informed that G7 FinMins would be having a conference call this week to discuss a coordinated response.

“The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity. The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook. We will use our tools and act as appropriate to support the economy.”

“Global financial and capital markets have been unstable recently with growing uncertainties about the outlook for economic activity due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Bank of Japan will closely monitor future developments and will strive to provide ample liquidity and ensure stability in financial markets through appropriate market operations and asset purchases.”

The Bank of England is working with the UK Treasury as well as international partners to ensure all necessary steps are taken to protect financial and monetary stability amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus. The bank continues to monitor developments and is assessing its potential impacts on the global and UK economies and financial systems.

The European Central Bank is vigilant and mobilized when it comes to the fallout from the outbreak of the coronavirus. Any response needs to be calm and proportionate. ECB policy is already very accommodative.

And this has essentially been this morning’s market story, a major relief rally. Friday night, late, China released its PMI data and it was dreadful, with Manufacturing PMI at 35.7 while the Non-manufacturing figure was even worse, at 29.6! This should dispel was any doubts that growth in China has nearly ground to a halt. However, despite the promised support by central banks around the world, and you can be sure pretty much all of them, not just the big four, will be jumping in, if quarantines remain in place as the infection continues to spread, supply lines will remain broken and growth will be feeble. The OECD just released a report regarding the coronavirus with updated GDP forecasts and it is not pretty. Naturally, China is the hardest hit, with Q1 GDP now forecast to turn negative, and 2020 GDP growth to fall to 4.9% before rebounding next year. Meanwhile, global GDP growth is now forecast to fall to 2.4%, its slowest pace since the financial crisis in 2009. And the working assumption is that the virus is contained before the end of Q1. If we continue to see the virus spread, these numbers will be revised still lower.

So, with this as our backdrop, let’s turn our attention to actual market activity. Despite all the promises of support, equity investors remain uncertain as to how to proceed at this time. Support may be helpful, but if companies earnings plummet because of the disruption, then current market valuations are likely still a bit rich. Looking at Asian markets, China was the best performer, with Shanghai rising more than 3.1% as promises of support by the PBOC encouraged investors there. But we also saw the Nikkei (+0.95%) and the Hang Seng (+0.6%) rise although Australia’s ASX 200 (-0.8%) didn’t share in the enthusiasm. Europe has been far less positive with the DAX (-0.45%) and CAC (-0.25%) in the red along with Italy’s FTSE MIB (-2.25%) which is really feeling the brunt of the problems on the continent. The lone equity bright spot is the UK, where the FTSE 100 is higher by 0.5%, largely due to the fact that the pound is today’s worst performing currency, having fallen 0.5% vs. the dollar, and more than 1% vs. the euro.

The British pound story is entirely Brexit related as trade negotiations started today with concerns raised that the red lines both sides have defined may end the chance of any agreement as early as next month. Given the international nature of the FTSE 100 members, a weaker pound is usually a benefit for the stock market. But clearly, if the trade talks collapse, the impact on UK companies would be significant.

But other than the pound, the FX market is the only one that has responded in the manner the central banks were hoping, as the dollar has fallen sharply vs. pretty much every other currency. In the G10 space, SEK (+0.7%) and EUR (+0.65%) are leading the way although even AUD and NZD have managed to gain 0.3% this morning.

In the EMG space, KRW was the BIG winner, rallying 1.7% overnight, but almost every APAC currency jumped on the concerted central bank message. The two exceptions here this morning are INR and MXN, both currently lower by 0.7%, with both suffering from the same disease, new Covid-19 infections where there hadn’t been any before.

Meanwhile, bond markets continue to price in much slower growth as 10-year Treasury yields have tumbled to 1.05%, another new historic low, while German bunds fall to -0.66%, near its historic lows. There is discernment in the market though, as Italian yields have risen 7.5bps as concerns over the safety of those bonds, given Italy’s dubious distinction of being the European country worst hit by the virus, has called into question its financing capabilities.

Adding to all this enjoyment is a very busy data week culminating in the payroll report on Friday.

Today ISM Manufacturing 50.5
  ISM Prices Paid 50.5
  Construction Spending 0.6%
Wednesday ADP Employment 170K
  ISM Non-Manufacturing 55.0
  Fed’s Beige Book  
Thursday Initial Claims 216K
  Nonfarm Productivity 1.4%
  Unit Labor Costs 1.4%
  Factory Orders -0.2%
Friday Trade Balance -$47.0B
  Nonfarm Payrolls 175K
  Private Payrolls 160K
  Manufacturing Payrolls -4K
  Unemployment Rate 3.6%
  Average Hourly Earnings 0.3% (3.0% Y/Y)
  Average Weekly Hours 34.3
  Participation Rate 63.4%
  Consumer Credit $17.0B

Source: Bloomberg

At this point, Covid-19 stories are going to be the primary driver of market activity as investors across all markets try to figure out how to react. Havens remain in demand, although the dollar has clearly suffered. Arguably the dollar’s weakness is predicated on the fact that, of all the nations around, the US is the one with the ability to cut rates the furthest. In fact, futures markets are now pricing in 100bps of rate cuts this year, with between 25bps and 50bps for the March meeting in two weeks’ time. Nobody else has that much room, and so the dollar is definitely feeling the pressure. Of course, I continue to believe that if things get much worse, the dollar will rally regardless of the Fed funds rate, as Treasury bonds remain the single safest and most liquid asset available anywhere in the world. For today however, unless there is additional new information, the dollar is likely to remain under pressure, and in truth, that seems likely all week.

Good luck
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Fears Melt

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As Covid fears melt
Like the snowpack during spring
The yen, too, recedes

Remember when there was a universal idea that if the world’s second largest economy, and its fastest growing one at that, essentially shut down due to complications from an exogenous force (Covid-19), it would force investors to show concern over their risk allocations and seek out haven assets? Me neither! Remarkably, equity investors have become so convinced that central banks collectively have their “backs” that there is virtually no interest in limiting positions. This is certainly true across all equity markets, where after a mere twenty-four hours of modest concern over the fact that Q1 iPhone sales would be negatively impacted by Covid-19, the all clear signal was given. This time that signal took the form of the Chinese government announcing that they would be supporting the domestic airline industry, either encouraging takeovers of smaller airlines in financial trouble by their larger brethren, or via direct capital injections into companies. My sense is we will see both of those actions in order to be certain that no airlines go under.

Headlines like the following: “Chinese Companies Say They Can’t Afford to Pay Workers Now” from a Bloomberg story are seen as irrelevant and have no impact on risk assessment. Apparently the idea that the Chinese private sector, which accounts for two-thirds of GDP growth and 90% of new jobs, has basically been shuttered is not relevant in the calculations made by equity investors. Let me just say that the idea of risk has certainly evolved lately.

But this is the story. Equity investors are convinced that central banks will never allow stock markets to decline again and will do everything in their power to prevent any such decline. And while that may be true with regard to central bank efforts, there is a potential flaw in the theory. Central bank power, just like virtually everything else, is subject to the law of diminishing returns, and we are already seeing that situation in Europe and Japan. So even though central bankers may try to stop all declines, do not be surprised when a situation arises where they cannot do so.

Interestingly, bond market investors have a somewhat different view of the landscape as we continue to see interest in Treasuries and bunds with yields in both instruments continuing to grind slowly lower. However, for now, the equity markets are in the spotlight and driving the narrative.

So, with this in mind, it is easier to understand that Asian markets mostly rallied last night (Nikkei +0.9%, Hang Seng +0.5) although Shanghai edged lower by -0.15%. European markets are rocking this morning with the DAX (+0.55%), CAC (+0.7%) and FTSE100 (+0.8%) leading the way higher despite news that Adidas and Puma have seen sales collapse to virtually zero in China. US futures are also pointing higher, on the order of 0.3% as we would not want to be left out of the action here.

Treasury yields continue to sink, however, with the 10-year down to 1.56% while German bunds have fallen to -0.42%. So there is clearly some demand for haven assets, perhaps just not as much as we would expect. And finally, in the FX market, havens have lost their appeal. Most notably, the yen has tumbled 0.5% this morning, trading well back through 110 and touching its weakest point since last May. Clearly, there is no fear in FX traders’ collective minds. Funnily enough, gold prices continue to rally, having closed above $1600/oz yesterday for the first time since March 2013, and are higher by a further 0.5% this morning.

With this as a backdrop, it is very difficult to paint a coherent picture of the markets today, at least the FX markets. In the G10 space, we have already discussed the yen’s decline, marking it as the worst performing major currency today. On the flip side, NOK is the big winner, +0.5% as oil prices rebound on the news that Chinese airlines are not all going to disappear. CAD is the second best performer, also on the back of the oil news, although it has only managed a 0.25% gain. And other than those three currencies, nothing else has moved more than 10 basis points from last night’s closing levels. On the data front overseas, UK CPI was released a tick higher than expected at 1.8%, although the pound has seen exactly zero movement on the back of the data. If nothing else, new BOE Governor Andrew Bailey must be happy that the road to 2% inflation is not quite as steep as previously expected.

In the EMG space, movement has been even more muted with the biggest gainers ZAR (+0.3%) and RUB (+0.25%) on the back stronger commodity and oil prices while the biggest decliners have been HUF (-0.3%) and TRY (-0.25%) with the former seeing profit taking after a nearly 2% rally in the wake of central bank discussions of tighter policy to fight inflation there, while the lira is responding to a rate cut of 50 bps as the central bank seeks to unwind the drastic tightening it implemented in mid-2018 amid major inflationary pressures. And while I wish there were some more interesting stories, the reality is the big narrative of central banks preventing risk sell-offs remains the only theme in the market.

Looking at this morning’s data we see Housing Starts (exp 1428K), Building Permits (1450K) and PPI (1.6%, 1.3% ex food & energy). Then at 2:00 we get a look at the FOMC Minutes from January’s meeting. Fed watchers are focusing on any discussion regarding the balance sheet and repo as it remains clear there is not going to be any interest rate change anytime soon.

So that’s what we have for today. Arguably, the dollar is ever so slightly on its back foot, but the movement has been infinitesimal. While I continue to believe that ultimately the Fed will ease policy further, for now, the dollar remains the brightest bulb in the box, and so should continue to attract buyers.

Good luck
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Rate Cuts They May Soon Espouse

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The Chairman explained to the House
The virus could truthfully dowse
Their growth expectation
As well as inflation
Thus rate cuts they may soon espouse

Chairman Powell testified before the House Financial Services Committee yesterday and there were absolutely no surprises. According to him, the economy remains in a “good place” and current policy settings are appropriate. He did, however, explain that the coronavirus outbreak in China did pose a new risk to their forecasts and has added significant uncertainty overall. He also left no doubt that in the event the economic data started to turn lower due to virus linked issues (or arguably any other issues), the Fed was ready to act as appropriate to support the economy. In other words, they will cut rates in a heartbeat if they think their targets are in danger of being missed. In the meantime, they continue to buy $60 billion of T-bills each month and will do so at least until April, and they continue to expand the balance sheet further via term repos, pumping ever more liquidity into the system and ultimately supporting global equity markets.

If you think about it, that is really what defines the market these days. It is the battle between questions and fears over the spread of the coronavirus and its negative impacts on Chinese and global economic activity vs. central bank largesse and the positive impacts of ever more cash being created and seeking a home by investors. And let’s face it, up until now; except for two days in late January, bookending the Lunar New Year when equity markets fell sharply, the central banks have been dominant.

Will they continue to have success? At this point, there is no reason to believe they won’t in the short run, but ultimately, it will depend on just how deep the shock to China’s economy actually turns out to be. Remember, a key discussion point about China prior to the virus outbreak was the fragility of a large swathe of Chinese industries given their highly leveraged stance. While I imagine we will never learn the true extent of how much the economy there slows, analysts will infer a great deal based on how many companies wind up failing, or at least restructuring their debt. As I have said before, interest remains due even when revenues cease to occur. But for now, the market is backing Powell and his central bank comrades and thus risk appetite continues to grow.

Thus, turning out attention to this morning’s market activity, equity markets are in the green everywhere after solid overnight performance in Asia. Haven assets, notably Treasuries and the yen, are under pressure, and overall, the dollar is on its back foot.

Last night, the RBNZ left rates on hold at 1.0% and explained that while the virus could well have a longer term negative impact, for now, they see no reason to cut rates any time soon. Interest rate markets, which had been pricing in a 40% probability of a rate cut this year, rebalanced to no rate changes and the kiwi dollar jumped 1.2%. Not surprisingly, Aussie is also performing well, up 0.5%, as investors recognize that the two nations are inextricably linked economically, and if New Zealand is feeling better, odds are Australia will be soon as well.

Last night the Swedish Riksbank also left rates on hold, at 0.0%, as widely expected, despite lowering their inflation expectations. You may recall Sweden raising rates by 25bps in December as they sought to exit the NIRP world after concluding it was doing more harm than good. While lowered inflation expectations might seem a reason to reduce rates, the fact that the catalyst for that has been the sharp decline in energy prices due to the virtual closure of China’s economy, allows Riksbank members to cogently make the case that this is a temporary shock, and they need to look through it. This morning, SEK is firmer by 0.2% vs. the dollar after the Riksbank announcement. NOK is higher by 0.4% as oil prices firm up again on a more positive general tone, and the pound is higher by 0.2% as it continues its rebound from last week’s sharp decline, and there was nothing new from the PM regarding a hard Brexit.

You may have noticed that I failed to mention the euro, which is essentially flat on the day, arguably the second biggest underperformer vs. the dollar. Early in the session, it too was firmer as the dollar has few friends during a risk-on session, but then they released Eurozone IP at -2.1%, worse than expected and the worst print in four years. Subsequent trade saw more sellers emerge, weighing on the single currency, which has been under pretty steady pressure for the past week and a half. Madame Lagarde testified to the European Parliament yesterday and basically begged countries to step up their fiscal response as it becomes ever clearer that the ECB has no more bullets.

In the emerging markets, the Russian ruble is the leader of the pack, up 0.5%, also benefitting from oil’s rebound from the lows seen earlier this week. Away from this, there are far more gainers in the space (CLP +0.4%, THB +0.35%, ZAR +0.3%) than losers (TRY -0.4%, HUF -0.3%), but as you can see by the magnitude of the movements, there is not much of interest ongoing. Ultimately, as long as the risk-on attitude prevails, I expect the higher yielding currencies (ZAR, MXN, INR, etc.) should perform well as investors continue to hunt for yield.

There is no data to be released today, but we do hear Chairman Powell in front of the Senate, as well as some comments from Philly Fed President Patrick Harker, arguably one of the more centrist FOMC members. Yesterday’s comments from the bevy of doves who were on the tape were just as expected. Things are fine, but more accommodation is available and if inflation were to rise, they would be comfortable with letting it run hot for a while before acting.

And that’s really all there is. I see no reason for the dollar to change its current trajectory, which is modestly lower this morning. And since we already know what Powell is going to say, unless some Senator pins him down on something, I suspect we will see yet another day of limited movement overall.

Good luck
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Til All Is Clear

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There’s certainly no need to fear
A global pandemic is here
Cause central banks will
Continue to fill
Their balance sheets ‘til all is clear

Once again, investors and traders (and algorithms) have surveyed the landscape, read the government reports, and determined that there’s nothing to see in China and that any impact on economic output from the still spreading coronavirus is diminishing and unimportant in the long run. And who knows, maybe that is the correct attitude. Perhaps all the worrywarts are just that, hanging their hat on the latest potential problem while ignoring how fantastic things are right in front of them.

Or…maybe things are not quite as rosy as government officials would have you believe and the impact on economic output is going to be much more severe than anyone is willing to admit at this time. In fairness, ruling governments are pretty unlikely to release bad news to their constituents for obvious reasons. In fact, this is what causes cover-ups all the time, and why the fallout, when the truth eventually does reveal itself, is so devastating for that government. Added to this reality is that the veracity of information that emanates from China has been called into question for many years, so it is quite easy to believe that the official coronavirus figures are not accurate.

With that in mind, I urge everyone to read the attached link (https://www.epsilontheory.com/body-count/) as Dr. Ben Hunt does a very effective job (far more effective than I ever could) of explaining just how the numbers can be massaged to indicate a slowing rate of infection that ‘seems’ believable, but is in fact complete hogwash. However, as long as this is the official line, and it defines the data that is reported, then trading algorithms will utilize the data and trade accordingly. Right now, any slowdown in reported deaths is clearly seen as a sign that the worst is behind us and with all the monetary stimulus still sloshing around the system, risk needs to be acquired. And that is what we are seeing again today. Clearly, last Friday was an aberration, though when it comes to equities these days, caveat emptor!

Taking this into account, let’s take a tour of markets this morning to see how things are doing. Risk is clearly in favor as equity markets around the world continue to rally following yesterday’s record-setting session in the US. While Japan was closed for National Foundation Day, the rest of Asia rallied pretty nicely with the Hang Seng rising 1.25% and Shanghai + 0.4%. European markets have followed suit (DAX +0.85%, CAC +0.45%, FTSE100 +0.85%) and US futures are all pointing higher as well. Bond markets are on the soft side, although hardly collapsing as 10-year yields in the US are trading at 1.58% as I type, and the dollar is arguably a bit softer rather than firmer this morning. In fact the only two currencies weaker than the dollar this morning are the Swiss franc and Japanese yen, although each has declined by less than 0.10%.

The UK has been the source of the most new information as there was a significant data dump, almost all of which was seen as a positive for the UK, and by extension the pound. Q4 GDP printed at 0.0%, as expected, but the December number was a better than expected 0.3% and the Y/Y number did not fall as expected, but instead printed unchanged at 1.1%. Now, while these are hardly stellar numbers in the broad scheme of things, they are substantially better than the Eurozone story, and more importantly, better than expectations. Exports rose 4.1%, the Trade Balance ticked into a ₤845M surplus, which is actually the largest surplus in the series’ history dating back to 1955! While IP was a little softer than expected at +0.1%, the overall picture was of a UK that is prepared to weather Brexit quite well. And the pound is slightly higher on the day, but just 0.15%.

Rather, the two biggest gainers in the G10 today are NOK (+0.4%) and AUD (+0.3%). The former is benefitting from the rebound in oil on the back of the idea that the coronavirus problem has passed its peak, and the latter is benefitting on the same idea. In fact, all the currencies that have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus story, mostly commodity exporting countries like Australia, Brazil and South Africa, are higher this morning on this idea that things are going great in China. I sure hope that’s the case, but I remain a skeptic.

Today’s other noteworthy event will be the testimony by Chairman Powell to the House Financial Services Committee, starting at 10:00. I’m sure his prepared remarks will simply rehash that the economy is in a good place and that the Fed remains vigilant. He is also likely to mention that the virus is a potential risk to the economy, but one that they feel confident they can handle. (After all, cutting rates and printing money seems to be the cure for everything under the sun.) However, given the distinct lack of financial and economic nous that our duly elected Representatives have continuously shown they possess, I think the Q&A will be more interesting, although ultimately I imagine that Powell will simply have to explain his opening statement in more simplistic terms for them to understand.

We have already seen the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rise to 104.3, a better than expected outcome and certainly a positive fillip to the risk attitude. Right when Powell begins to speak we will see the JOLTs Jobs Report as well (exp 6.925M) which many see as an important indicator of labor market conditions. In addition to Powell, we will hear from SF Fed President Daly as well as Quarles, Bullard and Kashkari, amongst the most dovish of all Fed members, and so be prepared for more discussion of allowing inflation to run hot and the need for quick action in the event the currently reported Chinese data is not complete.

Overall, the dollar is under very modest pressure today, but it would be fair to call it unchanged in the broad scheme of things. Unless Powell makes a gaffe, something which seems less and less likely given his experience now, as long as risk is being acquired, I think EMG currencies are likely to perform well, but vs. the G10, the dollar may maintain its recent momentum.

Good luck
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Truly Surreal

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Said Lagarde, now are options are few
To complete what you’ve asked us to do
Though growth is “resilient”
It’s clearly not brilliant
And we’ve no more tools in the queue

Meanwhile tales from China reveal
The pain they’re beginning to feel
As tariffs they cut
And more ports are shut
Life there now is truly surreal

Poor Christine Lagarde. Amidst great pomp and circumstance she is named President of the ECB, clearly a step up from Managing Director of the IMF, but finds when she finally sits down that there is precious little to do in the job. Signor Draghi created and used all the tools the institution had in his effort to carry out its mission of achieving an inflation rate of “close to, but below 2.0%”. And he failed dismally in reaching that goal. In fairness, he did save the euro from collapse in 2012 with his famous “whatever it takes” remark, and arguably that saved the ECB from complete irrelevance. (After all, if the euro broke up, what would have been the purpose of maintaining a Eurozone central bank?) But in the end, the Eurozone continues to muddle through with desultory growth and almost no inflation impulse whatsoever. And Madame Lagarde is reduced to giving speeches exhorting governments to spend more money, while an army of economics PhD’s tries to come up with some other way to make the ECB relevant.

This morning this problem was on full display as she explained, yet again, to the European Parliament that the ECB has limited scope to act given the current policy stance. Yet it seems that despite the easiest monetary policy in its history, the positive impact is still missing. This was made clear when Germany reported that Factory Orders for December fell 2.1%, taking the annual decline to -8.7%, its lowest level since the financial crisis in 2009. Fortunately for European equity investors, things like economic growth no longer matter to equity markets, but for the poor folks of Germany, the future continues to look pretty grim. The euro, which had initially edged up by 0.15% ahead of the data release on this broader optimism, has since turned tail and given up those modest gains to sit right on the 1.10 level, unchanged on the day.

The thing is, in the short run, the economic fundamentals seem to point to the dollar continuing its recent strength, although longer term, as long as the Fed continues with QE, I expect the dollar to decline. But the market technicians are looking hard at this 1.0950-1.1000 level as critical support for the single currency, with a break of 1.0950 likely to open the door to a move to, and through, October’s lows of 1.0865.

But while things in Europe may not be looking that great, fortunately the rest of the world has decided that the coronavirus is no longer a relevant issue for investors and equity markets, and thus risk appetite, worldwide continue to make new highs. Yes, the number of confirmed deaths has risen to 562 and the number of infections has grown past 28,000, but the narrative is now incorporating a possible breakthrough in a treatment and vaccine to stop this infection in its tracks. And that would be extraordinary given the usual amount of time it takes to find, and test a cure for some disease.

Meanwhile, as more and more countries restrict travel to and from China, President Xi Jinping gets angrier and angrier that they are fomenting panic. Arguably, they are trying to prevent said panic, but I’m sure that is cold comfort for the Chinese. Of more importance economically is the fact that CNOOC, one of China’s major oil companies, declared force majeure to break a contract to take in a LNG cargo. It seems that the virus has led to a situation where there aren’t enough people available to work the LNG terminals, so there is nothing they can do with the gas. Again, my view is the market is taking this outbreak less seriously than it should, but of course, my view incorporates the idea that central banks cannot prop things up forever.

But for the time being, my view remains in the minority. Equity markets around the world continue to rally sharply, especially after China announced they would be cutting tariffs in half on $75 billion worth of imports as they attempt to live up to the phase one deal. Asian markets led the way overnight (Nikkei +2.4%, Hang Seng +2.6%, Shanghai +1.7%) and European markets didn’t want to miss out with both the CAC and DAX higher by 0.7% this morning while the UK’s FTSE 100 is up 0.4%. And US futures are pointing in the same direction, each up between 0.3% and 0.4%. In fairness, we did see much better than expected data yesterday here in NY, with ADP Employment blowing out at 291K while ISM Non-Manufacturing printed a better than expected 55.5.

All this has led to a growing risk appetite in the FX markets as well as equities. Last night’s best performer was KRW, rallying 1.0% as traders and investors have taken to heart the worst of the coronavirus fears are behind us and Chinese growth should rebound and help South Korea accordingly. Away from the won, however, there has been less movement in the EMG space, with an interesting mix of gainers and losers. It appears THB is suffering from yesterday’s rate cut today, having fallen 0.4%, but despite oil’s continued rebound, the RUB is weaker today by 0.3%. On the plus side, it seems commodity exporters BRL and IDR are the other big winners, rallying 0.5% and 0.4% respectively.

In the G10, the pound is the only currency that has moved more than 0.1% today, falling 0.25%, as talk about the difficulties of the UK-EU trade negotiations continue to garner attention. Otherwise, nada.

This morning’s data brings Initial Claims (exp 215K), Nonfarm Productivity (1.6%) and Unit Labor Costs (1.3%) none of which are likely to excite, especially with tomorrow’s payroll data on the horizon. Instead, FX remains beholden to the broad risk sentiment, which implies higher yield currencies should continue to do well, while those with low rates are likely to suffer.

Good luck
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Strength in Their Ranks

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Around the world, all central banks
Are to whom we need to give thanks
By dint of their easing
All shorts they are squeezing
Who knew they’d such strength in their ranks?

Every day that passes it becomes clearer and clearer that central banks truly are omnipotent. Not only do they possess the ability to support economies (or at least stock markets), but apparently, easing monetary policy cures the coronavirus infection. Who knew they had such wide-ranging powers? At least that is certainly the way things seem if you look through a market focused lens.

Let’s recap:

Date # cases / # deceased S&P 500 Close 10-Year Treasury EURUSD USDJPY
31 Dec 1 / 0 3230 1.917% 1.1213 108.61
6 Jan 60 / 0 3246 1.809% 1.1197 108.37
10 Jan 41 / 1 3265 1.82% 1.1121 109.95
20 Jan 219 / 3 3320 1.774% 1.1095 110.18
22 Jan 500 / 17 3321 1.769% 1.1093 109.84
24 Jan 1320 / 41 3295 1.684% 1.1025 108.90
28 Jan 4515 / 107 3276 1.656% 1.1022 109.15
30 Jan 7783 / 170 3283 1.586% 1.1032 108.96
3 Feb 17,386 / 362 3248 1.527% 1.1060 108.69
4 Feb 24,257 / 492 3297 1.599% 1.1044 109.59

Sources: https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/coronavirus-a-timeline-of-how-the-deadly-outbreak-evolved/and Bloomberg

Now obviously, they are not actually creating a medical cure for this latest human affliction (I think), but once it became clear that the coronavirus was going to have a significant impact on the Chinese, and by extension, global economies, they jumped into action. While it was no surprise that the PBOC immediately eased policy to head off an even larger stock market rout upon the (delayed) return from the Lunar New Year holidays, I think there was a larger impact from Chairman Powell, who at the Fed press conference last week, made it clear that the Fed stood ready to react (read cut rates) if the coronavirus impact expanded. And then, just like that, the coronavirus was relegated to the agate type of newspapers.

What is really amazing is how the narrative has been altered from, ‘oh my gosh, we are on the cusp of a global pandemic so sell all risky assets’ to ‘the flu is actually a much bigger problem globally and this coronavirus is small potatoes and will be quickly forgotten, so buy those risky assets back’.

The point here is that market players lead very sheltered lives and really see the world as a binary function, is risk on or is risk off? And as long as the central banks continue to assure traders and investors that they will do whatever it takes to prevent stock markets from declining, at least for any length of time, those central banks will continue to control the narrative.

So, with that as preamble, what is new overnight? In a modest surprise, at least on the timing, the Bank of Thailand cut rates by 25bps to a record low 1.00%. The stated reason was as a prophylactic to prevent economic weakness as the coronavirus spreads. Too, the MAS explained that they have plenty of room to ease policy further (which for them means weakening the SGD) if they deem the potential coronavirus impacts to call for such action. It should be no surprise that SGD is today’s weakest link, having fallen 0.75% but we also saw immediate weakness in THB overnight, with the baht falling nearly 1.0% before a late day recovery on the back of flows into the Thai stock exchange. As to the rest of the EMG space, PHP is also modestly weaker after the central bank there indicated that they would cut rates as needed, but we have seen more strength across the space in general. RUB is leading the pack, up 0.8% on the back of a strong rebound in oil prices (WTI +2.3%), but we are also seeing strength throughout LATAM as CLP (+0.7%), BRL (+0.55%) and MXN (+0.4%) all rebound on renewed risk appetite. ZAR has also had a banner day, rising 0.7% on the positive commodity tone to markets.

In the G10 space, things are a bit less interesting. It should be no surprise that AUD is the top performer, rising 0.4%, as it has the strongest beta relationship to China and risk. NOK is also gaining, +0.25%, with oil’s recovery. On the other side of the blotter, CHF (-0.3%) and JPY -0.15%, but -1.0% since yesterday morning) are taking their lumps as haven assets no longer hold appeal to the investment community. This idea has been reinforced by the 10-year Treasury, which has seen its yield rise from 1.507% on Friday to 1.63% this morning.

And don’t worry, your 401K’s are all green again today with equity markets around the world back on the elevator to the penthouse.

Turning to today’s US session, we start to get some more serious data with ADP Employment (exp 157K), the Trade Balance (-$48.2B) and ISM Non-Manufacturing (55.1). Earlier this morning we saw Services PMI data from both Europe and the UK. Eurozone PMI data was mixed (France weak and Italy strong), while the UK saw a strong rebound. We also saw Eurozone Retail Sales, which were quite disappointing, falling 1.6% in December, and seemingly being the catalyst for the euro’s tepid performance today, -0.2%. Remember, Monday’s US ISM data was much better than expected, and there is no question that the market is willing to believe that today’s data will follow suit.

In sum, continued strong performance by the US economy, at least relative to its peers, as well as the working assumption that should the data start to falter, the Fed will be slashing rates immediately, will continue to support risk assets. At this point, that seems to be taking the form of buying high yield currencies (MXN, ZAR, INR) while buying the dollar to increase positions in the S&P500 (or maybe just in Tesla ). As such, I look for the dollar to hold its own vs. the bulk of the G10, but soften vs. much of the EMG bloc.

Good luck
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Investors Remain Unconcerned

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There once was a time in the past
When market bears quickly amassed
Positions quite short
While they would exhort
Investors, their holdings, to cast

But these days the story has turned
So bears that go short now get burned
A global pandemic?
It’s just academic
Investors remain unconcerned

One has to be impressed with the current frame of mind of global investors as they clearly feel bulletproof. Or perhaps, one has to be impressed with the job that central bankers around the world have done to allow those feelings to exist.

The coronavirus is quickly becoming back page news, where there will be a tally of cases and deaths daily, morphing into weekly, as the investment community turns its attention to much more important things, like how many new streaming customers each of the streaming services picked up in Q4. It seems the fact that China’s economy is going to feel some extreme pain in Q1 is being completely dismissed. At least from the market’s perspective. And this is where the central banks get to take a bow. It turns out that overwhelming liquidity support is all one needs to make people forget about everything else. It is truly the opioid of the market masses.

So as you sit down this morning you will see that equity markets around the world are on a tear higher, with every market that has been open today in the green, most by well more than 1%. And don’t worry; US futures are all more than 1% higher as well. Everything is clearly fantastic!

Last night, the PBOC fixed the renminbi more than 0.5% stronger than the market would have indicated, thus demonstrating they would not let things get out of hand. Then after a weak opening, where equity indices there fell more than 2%, the government stepped in along with official buyers and turned the tide higher. Once this occurred, equity markets elsewhere in Asia took their cues and everything rallied. Risk was no longer anathema and we have seen that across all assets as havens come under pressure and other risk assets, notably oil has rebounded. The lifecycle of a negative event has grown increasingly shorter as central banks continue to demonstrate their willingness to do ‘whatever it takes’ to prevent a sell-off of any magnitude in any equity market.

This is not just a US phenomenon, but a global one. To me the question is: Is this peak financialization of the global economy? By that I mean are we now in a period where the real economy, the one where cars and other stuff are manufactured and food is grown, has become completely secondary to the idea that companies that do those things need to be entirely focused on their capital structure to be sure that they are appropriately overleveraged? While I recognize that I am old-fashioned in my thoughts, I cannot help but believe that we are going to see a pretty significant repricing of assets at some point in the not too distant future. In truth, despite the market’s insouciance with regard to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, it is entirely possible that it continues to expand for several more months and that China, the second largest economy in the world and one representing 16% of total global economic activity, does not grow at all in Q1 while supply chains are closed and manufacturing around the world grinds to a much slower pace. Many recessions have been born of less than that. Just remember, trees don’t grow all the way to the sky, and neither do economies!

So let’s turn back to the other things ongoing in this morning’s session. Broadly speaking, the dollar is under modest pressure along with Treasury bonds and the Japanese yen. After all, safe havens do not boost your returns when Tesla is rallying 20% a day! There has been limited data today (Italian CPI +0.5% Y/Y) so FX markets are watching equities. Yesterday saw a big surprise in the US ISM data, which printed above 50 for the first time since July and has a number of analysts reconsidering their forecasts for slowing growth. The dollar definitely responded to this yesterday, rallying across the board as Fed funds futures backed off taking the probability of a rate cut by the Fed in July down to 85%. Remember, Friday that was at 100%.

Yesterday also saw the pound suffer significantly as the initial saber rattling by both the UK and the EU continued, which helped push the pound back to its key support level of 1.2950-1.3000. But as I said yesterday, this is simply both sides trying to get an advantage in the negotiation. While anything is possible, I continue to believe that a deal will be reached, or at the very least that a delay agreed on a timely basis. Boris is not going to jeopardize his power on this principle, remember he’s a politician first, and principles for them are fluid.

In the EMG bloc, pretty much every currency has rallied today as investors have quickly returned to those currencies with either higher yields (ZAR +0.6%, MXN +0.5%) or the best prospects assuming the coronavirus situation quickly dissipates (KRW +0.6%, CLP +0.6%, THB +0.5%). And in truth, I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that.

In the US this morning we see December Factory Orders (exp 1.2%), generally not a major data point. There are no Fed speakers scheduled today which means that FX is going to be a secondary story. All eyes will be on equity markets and I expect that as risk assets are acquired, the dollar (and yen and Swiss franc) will continue to soften slowly.

Good luck
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