Tag Archives: #unemployment

New Standard-Bearers

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The largest of all Latin nations
This weekend confirmed its frustrations
Electing a man
Whose stated game plan
Is changing the country’s foundations

Meanwhile in a key German state
Frau Merkel and friends felt the weight
Of policy errors
So new standard-bearers
Like AfD now resonate

This weekend brought two key elections internationally, with Brazil voting in Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing firebrand and nationalist who has promised to clean up the corruption rampant in the country. Not unlike New Jersey and Illinois, Brazil has several former politicians imprisoned for corruption. Bolsonaro represented a change from the status quo of the past fifteen years, and in similar fashion to people throughout the Western world, Brazilians were willing to take a chance to see a change. Markets have been cheering Bolsonaro on, as he has a free-market oriented FinMin in mind, and both Brazilian equities and the real have rallied more than 10% during the past month. The early price action this morning has BRL rising by another 1.65%, continuing its recent rally, and that seems likely to continue until Bolsonaro changes tack to a more populist stance, something I imagine we will see within the first year of his presidency.

Just prior to those results, the German elections in the state of Hesse, one of the wealthiest states in Germany and the home of Frankfurt and the financial industry, showed disdain for the ruling coalition of Chancellor Merkel’s CDU and the Social Democrats, with their combined share of the vote falling to just 39%, from well above 50% at the last election. The big winners were the far left Green Party and the far right AfD, both of whom saw significant gains in the state house there, and both of whom will make it difficult to find a ruling coalition. But more importantly, it is yet another sign that Frau Merkel may be on her last legs. This was confirmed this morning when Merkel announced she was stepping down as leader of her party, the CDU, but claimed she will serve out her term as Chancellor, which runs until 2021.

One other Eurozone story came out Friday afternoon as Standard & Poors released their updated ratings on Italy’s sovereign debt, leaving the rating intact but cutting the outlook to negative. This was slightly better than expected as there were many who worried that S&P would follow Moody’s and cut the rating as well. Italian debt markets rallied on the opening with 10-year yields falling 10bps and the spread with German Bunds narrowing accordingly. So net, there was a euro negative, with Merkel stepping down, and a euro positive, from S&P, and not surprisingly, the euro wound up little changed so far, although that reflects a rebound from the early price action. My concern is that the positive story was really the absence of a more negative story, and one that could well be simply a timing delay, rather than an endorsement of the current situation in Italy. The budget situation remains uncertain there, and if the government chooses to ignore the EU and implement their proposed budget, I expect there will be more pressure on the euro. After all, what good are rules if they are ignored by those required to follow them? None of this bodes well for the euro going forward.

Two other key stories have impacted markets, first from Mexico, the government canceled the construction of a new airport for Mexico City. This was part of the departing administration’s infrastructure program, but, not surprisingly, it has seen its cost explode over time and the incoming president has determined the money is better spent elsewhere. The upshot is that the peso has fallen a bit more than 1% on the news, and I would be wary going forward as we approach AMLO’s inauguration. By cutting the investment spending, not only will the country’s infrastructure remain substandard, but its growth potential will suffer as well. I think this is a very negative sign for the peso.

The other story comes from China, where early Q4 data continues to show the economy slowing further. The government there, ever willing to do anything necessary to achieve their growth target, has proposed a 50% cut in auto sales taxes in order to spur the market. Auto sales are on track for their first annual decline ever this year, as growth slows throughout the country. Interestingly, the market impact was seen by rallies in auto shares throughout Europe and the US, but Chinese equity markets continued to slide, with the Shanghai Index falling another 2.2% overnight. This also has put further pressure on the renminbi with CNY falling another 0.2% early in the session before recently paring some of those losses. USDCNY continues to hover just below 7.00, the level deemed critical by the PBOC as they struggle to prevent an increase in capital outflows. The last time the currency traded at this level, it cost China more than $1 trillion to staunch the outflow, so they are really working to prevent that from happening again.

And those are the big stories from the weekend. Overall, the dollar is actually little changed as you can see that there have been individual issues across specific currencies rather than a broad dollar theme today. Looking ahead to the US session, we get the first of a number of important data points this morning with the full list here:

Today Personal Income 0.4%
  Personal Spending 0.4%
  PCE 0.1% (2.2% Y/Y)
  Core PCE 0.1% (2.0% Y/Y)
Tuesday Case-Shlller Home Prices 5.8%
Wednesday ADP Employment 189K
  Chicago PMI 60.0
Thursday Initial Claims 213K
  Nonfarm Productivity 2.2%
  Unit Labor Costs 1.1%
  ISM Manufacturing 59.0
  ISM Prices Paid 65.0
  Construction Spending 0.1%
Friday Nonfarm Payrolls 190K
  Private Payrolls 184K
  Manufacturing Payrolls 15K
  Unemployment Rate 3.7%
  Average Hourly Earnings 0.2% (3.1% Y/Y)
  Average Weekly Hours 34.5
  Trade Balance -$53.6B
  Factory Orders 0.4%

So there is a ton of data upcoming, with this morning’s PCE and Friday’s Payrolls the key numbers. Last week’s GDP data had a better than expected headline print but the entire weekend press was a discussion as to why the harbingers of weaker future growth were evident. And one other thing we have seen is the equity market dismiss better than expected Q3 earnings data from many companies, selling those stocks after the release, as the benefits from the tax cut at the beginning of the year are starting to get priced out of the future.

The market structure is changing, that much is clear. The combination of central bank actions to reduce accommodation, and an expansion that is exceedingly long in the tooth, as well as increased political uncertainty throughout the world has made investors nervous. It is these investors who will continue to support US Treasuries, the dollar, the yen and perhaps, gold,; the traditional safe havens. At this point, there is nothing evident that will change that theme.

Good luck
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Still Under Stress

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As traders are forced to assess
A bond market still under stress
Today’s jobs report
Might be of the sort
That causes some further regress

Global bond markets are still reeling after the past several sessions have seen yields explode higher. The proximate cause seems to have been the much stronger data released Wednesday in the US, where the ADP Employment and ISM Non-Manufacturing reports were stellar. Adding to the mix were comments by Fed Chairman Powell that continue to sing the praises of the US economy, and giving every indication that the Fed was going to continue to raise rates steadily for the next year. In fact, the Fed funds futures market finally got the message and has now priced in about 60bps of rate hikes for next year, on top of the 25bps more for this year. So in the past few sessions, that market has added essentially one full hike into their calculations. It can be no surprise that bond markets sold off, or that what started in the US led to a global impact. After all, despite efforts by some pundits to declare that the ECB was the critical global central bank as they continue their QE process, the reality is that the Fed remains top of the heap, and what they do will impact everybody else around the world.

Which of course brings us to this morning’s jobs data. Despite the strong data on Wednesday, there has been no meaningful change in the current analyst expectations, which are as follows:

Nonfarm Payrolls 185K
Private Payrolls 180K
Manufacturing Payrolls 12K
Unemployment Rate 3.8%
Participation Rate 62.7%
Average Hourly Earnings (AHE) 0.3% (2.8% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.5
Trade Balance -$53.5B

The market risk appears to be that the release will show better than expected numbers today, which would encourage further selling in Treasuries and continuation of the cycle that has driven markets this week. What is becoming abundantly clear is that the Treasury market has become the pre-eminent driver of global markets for now. Based on the data we have seen lately, there is no reason to suspect that today’s releases will be weak. In fact, I suspect that we are going to see much better than expected numbers, with a chance for AHE to touch 3.0%. Any outcome like that should be met with another sharp decline in Treasuries as well as equities, while the dollar finds further support.

Away from the payroll data, there have been other noteworthy things ongoing around the world, so lets touch on a few here. First, there is growing optimism that with the Tory Party conference now past, and PM May still in control, that now a Brexit deal will be hashed out. One thing that speaks to this possibility is the recent recognition by Brussels that the $125 trillion worth of derivatives contracts that are cleared in London might become a problem if there is no Brexit deal, with payment issues needing to be sorted, and have a quite deleterious impact on all EU economies. As I have maintained, a fudge deal was always the most likely outcome, but it is by no means certain. However, today the market is feeling better about things and the pound has responded by rallying more than a penny. The idea is that with a deal in place, the BOE will have the leeway to continue raising rates thus supporting the pound.

Meanwhile, stronger than expected German Factory orders have helped the euro recoup some of its recent losses with a 0.25% gain since yesterday’s close. But the G10 has not been all rosy as the commodity bloc (AUD, NZD and CAD) are all weaker this morning by roughly 0.4%. Other currencies under stress include INR (-0.6%) after the RBI failed to raise interest rates as expected, although they explained there would be “calibrated tightening” going forward. I assume that means slow and steady, but sounds better. We have also seen further pressure on RUB (-1.3%) as revelations about Russian hacking efforts draw increased scrutiny and the idea of yet more sanctions on the Russian economy make the rounds. ZAR (-0.75%) and TRY (-2.0%) remain under pressure, as do IDR (-0.7%) and TWD (-0.5%), all of which are suffering from a combination of broad dollar strength and domestic issues, notably weak financial situations and current account deficits. However, there is one currency that has been on a roll lately, other than the dollar, and that is BRL, which is higher by 3.4% in the past week and 8.0% since the middle of September. This story is all about the presidential election there, where vast uncertainty has slowly morphed into a compelling lead for Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing firebrand who is attacking the pervasive corruption in the country, and also has University of Chicago trained economists as his financial advisors. The market sees his election as the best hope for market-friendly policies going forward.

But for today, it is all about payrolls. Based on what we have heard from Chairman Powell lately, there is no reason to believe that the Fed is going to adjust its policy trajectory any time soon, and if they do, it is likely only because they need to move tighter, faster. Today’s data could be a step in that direction. All of this points to continued strength in the dollar.

Good luck and good weekend
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Goldilocks Ain’t Dead Yet

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The Chairman said, no need to fret
Our low unemployment’s no threat
To driving up prices
And so my advice is
Relax, Goldilocks ain’t dead yet

Chairman Powell’s message yesterday was that things were pretty much as good as anyone could possibly hope. The current situation of unemployment remaining below every estimate of NAIRU while inflation remains contained is a terrific outcome. Not only that, there are virtually no forecasts for inflation to rise meaningfully beyond the 2.0% target, despite the fact that historically, unemployment levels this low have always led to sharper rises in inflation. In essence, he nearly dislocated his shoulder while patting himself on the back.

But as things stand now, he is not incorrect. Measured inflationary pressures remain muted despite consistently strong employment data. Perhaps that will change on Friday, when the September employment report is released, but consensus forecasts call for the recent trend to be maintained. Last evening’s news that Amazon was raising its minimum wage to $15/hour will almost certainly have an impact at the margin given the size of its workforce (>575,000), but the impact will be muted unless other companies feel compelled to match them, and then raise prices to cover the cost. It will take some time for that process to play out, so I imagine we won’t really know the impact until December at the earliest. In the meantime, the Goldilocks economy of modest inflation and strong growth continues apace. And with it, the Fed’s trajectory of rate hikes remains on track. The impact on the dollar should also remain on track, with the US economy clearly still outpacing those of most others around the world, and with the Fed remaining in the vanguard of tightening policy, there is no good reason for the dollar to suffer, at least in the short run.

However, that does not mean it won’t fall periodically, and today is one of those days. After a weeklong rally, the dollar appears to be consolidating those gains. The euro has been one of today’s beneficiaries as news that the Italian government is backing off its threats of destroying EU budget rules has been seen as a great relief. You may recall yesterday’s euro weakness was driven by news that the Italians would present a budget that forecast a 2.4% deficit, well above the previously agreed 1.9% target. The new government needs to spend a lot of money to cut taxes and increase benefits simultaneously. But this morning, after feeling a great deal of pressure, it seems they have backed off those deficit forecasts for 2020 and 2021, reducing those and looking to receive approval. In addition, Claudio Borghi, the man who yesterday said Italy would be better off without the euro, backed away from those comments. The upshot is that despite continued weakening PMI data (this time services data printed modestly weaker than expected across most of the Eurozone) the euro managed to rally 0.35% early on. Although in the past few minutes, it has given up those gains and is now flat on the day.

Elsewhere the picture is mixed, with the pound edging lower as ongoing Brexit concerns continue to weigh on the currency. The Tory party conference has made no headway and time is slipping away for a deal. Both Aussie and Kiwi are softer this morning as traders continue to focus on the interest rate story. Both nations have essentially promised to maintain their current interest rate regimes for at least the next year and so as the Fed continues raising rates, that interest rate differential keeps moving in the USD’s favor. It is easy to see these two currencies continuing their decline going forward.

In the emerging markets, Turkish inflation data was released at a horrific 24.5% in September, much higher than even the most bearish forecast, and TRY has fallen another 1.2% on the back of the news. Away from that, the only other currency with a significant decline is INR, which has fallen 0.65% after a large non-bank lender, IL&FS, had its entire board and management team replaced by the government as it struggles to manage its >$12 billion of debt. But away from those two, there has been only modest movement seen in the currency space.

One of the interesting things that is ongoing right now is the fact that crude oil prices have been rallying alongside the dollar’s rebound. Historically, this is an inverse relationship and given the pressure that so many emerging market economies have felt from the rising dollar already, for those that are energy importers, this pain is now being doubled. If this process continues, look for even more anxiety in some sectors and further pressure on a series of EMG currencies, particularly EEMEA, where they are net oil importers.

Keeping all this in mind, it appears that today is shaping up to be a day of consolidation, where without some significant new news, the dollar will remain in its recent trading range as we all wait for Friday’s NFP data. Speaking of data, this morning brings ADP Employment (exp 185K) and ISM Non-Manufacturing (58.0), along with speeches by Fed members Lael Brainerd, Loretta Mester and Chairman Powell again. However, there is no evidence that the Fed is prepared to change its tune. Overall, it doesn’t appear that US news is likely to move markets. So unless something changes with either Brexit or Italy, I expect a pretty dull day.

Good luck
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Compromising

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It cannot be very surprising
That Canada is compromising
Their views about trade
Thus now they have made
A deal markets find stabilizing

This morning, as the fourth quarter begins, arguably the biggest story is that Canada and the US have agreed terms to the trade pact designed to replace NAFTA. Canada held out to the last possible moment, but in the end, it was always clear that they are far too reliant on trade with the US to actually allow NAFTA to disintegrate without a replacement. The upshot is that there will be a new pact, awkwardly named the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which is expected to be ratified by both Canada and Mexico quite easily, but must still run the gauntlet of the US Congress. In the end, it would be shocking if the US did not ratify this treaty, and I expect it will be completed with current estimates that it will be signed early next year. The market impact is entirely predictable and consistent with the obvious benefits that will accrue to both Canada and Mexico; namely both of those currencies have rallied sharply this morning with each higher by approximately 0.9%. I expect that both of these currencies will maintain a stronger tone vs. the dollar than others as the ending of trade concerns here will be a definite positive.

There is another trade related story this morning, although it does not entail a new trade pact. Rather, Chinese PMI data was released over the weekend with both the official number (50.8) and the Caixin small business number (50.0) falling far more sharply than expected. The implication is that the trade situation is beginning to have a real impact on the Chinese economy. This puts the Chinese government and the PBOC (no hint of independent central banking here) in a difficult position.

Much of China’s recent growth has been fueled by significant increases in leverage. Last year, the PBOC unveiled a campaign to seek to reduce this leverage, changing regulations and even beginning to tighten monetary policy. But now they are caught between a desire to add stability to the system by reducing leverage further (needing to tighten monetary policy); and a desire to address a slowing domestic economy starting to feel the pinch of the trade war with the US (needing to loosen monetary policy). It is abundantly clear that they will loosen policy further as the political imperative is to insure that GDP growth does not slow too rapidly during President Xi’s reign. The problem with this choice is that it will build up further instabilities in the economy with almost certain future problems in store. Of course, there is no way to know when these problems will manifest themselves, and so they will likely not receive much attention until such time as they explode. A perfect analogy would be the sub-prime mortgage crisis here ten years ago, where leading up to the collapse; every official described the potential problem as too small to matter. We all know how that worked out! At any rate, while the CNY has barely moved this morning, and in fact has remained remarkably stable since the PBOC stepped in six weeks ago to halt its weakening trend, it only makes sense that they will allow it to fall further as a pressure release valve for the economy.

Away from those two stories though, the FX market has been fairly dull. PMI data throughout the Eurozone was softer than expected, but not hugely so, and even though there are ongoing questions about the Italian budget situation, the euro is essentially unchanged this morning. In the past week, the single currency is down just under 2%, but my feeling is we will need to see something new to push us away from the 1.16 level, either a break in the Italy story or some new data or comments to alter views. The next big data print is Friday’s payroll report, but I expect we might learn a few things before then.

In the UK, while the Brexit deadline swiftly approaches, all eyes are now focused on the Tory party conference this week to see if there is a leadership challenge to PM May. Given that the PM’s ‘Chequers’ proposal has been dismissed by both the EU and half the Tory party, it seems they will need to find another way to move forward. While the best guess remains there will be some sort of fudge agreed to before the date, I am growing more concerned that the UK is going to exit with no deal in place. If that is what happens, the pound will be much lower in six-months’ time. But for today, UK Manufacturing PMI data was actually a surprising positive, rising to 53.8, and so the signals from the UK economy continue to be that it is not yet collapsing.

Away from those stories, though, I am hard pressed to find new and exciting news. As this is the first week of the month, there is a raft of data coming our way.

Today ISM Manufacturing 60.1
  ISM Prices Paid 71.0
  Construction Spending 0.4%
Wednesday ADP Employment 185K
  ISM Non-Manufacturing 58.0
Thursday Initial Claims 213K
  Factory Orders 2.0%
Friday Nonfarm Payroll 185K
  Private Payroll 183K
  Manufacturing Payroll 11K
  Unemployment Rate 3.8%
  Average Hourly Earnings 0.3% (2.8% Y/Y)
  Average Weekly Hours 34.5
  Trade Balance -$53.5B

On top of the payroll data, we hear from eight Fed speakers this week, including more comments from Chairman Powell tomorrow. At this point, however, there is no reason to believe that anything is going to change. The Fed remains in tightening mode and will raise rates again in December. The rest of the world continues to lag the US with respect to growth, and trade issues are likely to remain top of mind. While the USMCA is definitely a positive, its benefits will only accrue to Mexico and Canada as far as the currency markets are concerned. We will need to see some significant changes in the data stream or the commentary in order to alter the dollar’s trend. Until then, the dollar should maintain an underlying strong tone.

Good luck
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Realistic

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As far as the market’s concerned
The mood out of Brussels has turned
They’re quite optimistic
A deal is “realistic”
By early November, we’ve learned

Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator for Brexit has lately changed his tune. Last month, ostensibly at the direction of his political masters, he was playing hardball, shooting down every UK proposal as inadequate and saying there was no negotiating room on the EU’s positions. Not surprisingly, the pound came under pressure during this period, trading to its lowest level in more than a year and approaching the post-vote lows. But a funny thing happened during the past week, Europe suddenly figured out they didn’t really want a no-deal Brexit. The first inkling came from comments by German officials who indicated that compromises were available. That changed the tone of the negotiations and suddenly, as I mentioned last week, it seemed that a deal was more likely. Those comments last week helped the pound rally more than 1%. Then yesterday morning Barnier explained that a deal is both “realistic” and “possible” within 6-8 weeks. It should be no surprise that the pound rallied yet again on the news, jumping another 1% during the US session and maintaining those gains ever since.

Regular readers will know that I have been quite bearish on the pound for two reasons; first is the fact that I continue to see the dollar strengthening over the medium term as the Fed’s tighter monetary policy leads all developed nations and will continue to do so. But the other reason was that I have been quite skeptical that a Brexit deal would be agreed and that the initial concern over damage to the UK economy would undermine the currency. However, this change in tone by the EU over Brexit is almost certainly going to have a significant positive impact on the pound’s value vs. both the euro and the dollar. And even though any deal is likely to be short on details, I expect that we will see the pound outperform the euro for the next several months at least. So any dollar strength will be less reflected vs. the pound than the euro, while any dollar weakness should see the pound as the top performer. The thing is, the details of the deal still matter a great deal, and at some point in the future, the UK and the EU are going to need to figure out how they are going to deal with the Irish border situation, even if they have kicked that particular can further down the road for now.

While on the topic of the UK, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the employment situation there remains robust. Unemployment data was released this morning showing the Unemployment Rate remained at 4.0%, the lowest level since 1975, while wage growth accelerated to 2.9%. The latter potentially presages further inflation, as measured productivity in the UK remains quite soft at 1.5% per annum. If this continues, higher wages amid low productivity, the BOE may find itself forced to raise rates regardless of the Brexit situation. Yet another positive for the beleaguered pound. Perhaps the bottom is in after all.

However, away from yesterday’s news on the pound, the FX markets have been quite uninteresting in the past twenty-four hours. Arguably, the dollar is a touch stronger, but the movement has been minute. Even the emerging market bloc has been less active with perhaps the most notable feature the fact that INR continues to trade to new historic lows (dollar highs) every day. As to the group of currencies that has led the turmoil, TRY, ARS and ZAR, all of them are slightly firmer this morning as they continue to consolidate their losses over the past month. In addition, we hear from the central banks of both Argentina (today) and Turkey (tomorrow), with more attention focused on the latter than the former. Recall that Argentine interest rates are already the world’s highest at 60% and no move is anticipated. However, Turkey’s meeting is anxiously awaited as the market is looking for a 300bp rate hike to help stem rising inflation and the currency’s weakness. The problem is that Turkish President Erdogan has been quite adamant that he is strongly against higher interest rates and given his apparent control over the central bank, it is by no means assured that they will act according to the market’s expectations. Be prepared for another leg lower in the lira if the Bank of Turkey disappoints.

As to today’s session, the NFIB Small Business Index was released at 108.8, stronger than expected and a new record high for the release. Despite the trade concerns and the political circus in Washington, small businesses have never been more confident in their future. I will admit that this almost seems like whistling past the graveyard, but for now everything is great. Later this morning we see the JOLTs Job report (exp 6.68M), which should simply reconfirm that the employment situation in the US remains robust.

And that’s really it for today. Equity futures are flat although the 10-year Treasury is continuing its recent trend lower (higher yields), albeit at a slow rate. There is certainly no evidence that the Fed is going to change its path, but for today, it seems unlikely that we will see much movement in either direction beyond what has already occurred. Barring, of course, any surprising new comments.

Good luck
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Soared Like a Jet

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On Friday the jobs report showed
More money, to more people flowed
Earnings per hour
Has gained firepower
So interest rate hikes won’t be slowed

The market response, though, was bleak
With equity prices quite weak
However the buck
Had much better luck
And soared like a jet, so to speak

As the week begins, we have seen the dollar cede some of the gains it made in Friday’s session. That move was a direct result of the payroll data, where not only did NFP beat expectations at 201K, but the Average Hourly Earnings number printed at 0.4% for the month and 2.9% annualized. That result was the fastest pace of wage growth since 2009 and significantly higher than the market anticipated. It should be no surprise that the market response was higher interest rates and a concurrently stronger dollar. Overall, the dollar was higher by a solid 0.5% and 10-year Treasury yields jumped 5bps on the day.

Wage growth has been the key missing ingredient from the economic data for the past several years as economists continue to try to figure out why record low unemployment has not been able to drive wages higher. The Fed reaction function has always been predicated on the idea that once unemployment declines past NAIRU (Non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment), more frequently known as the natural rate of unemployment, that wages will rise based on increased demand for a shrinking supply of workers. Yet the Fed’s models have been unable to explain the situation this cycle, where unemployment has fallen to 50 year lows without the expected wage inflation. And of course, the one thing every politician wants (and Fed members are clearly politicians regardless of what they say) is for the population to make more money. So, if Friday’s data is an indication that wage growth is finally starting to pick up, it will encourage Powell and friends to continue hiking rates.

This was made clear on Friday by Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, who had been a reliable dovish voice for a long time, when he explained to the WSJ that the Fed’s current pace of quarterly rate hikes was clearly appropriate and that there need to be at least four more before they start to consider any policy changes. There was no discussion of inverting the yield curve, nor did he speak about the trade situation. It should not be surprising that the Fed Funds futures market responded by bidding up the probability of a December rate hike to 81% with the September hike already a virtual certainty.

But that was then and this is now. This morning has seen a much less exciting session with the dollar edging slightly lower overall, although still showing strength against its emerging market counterparts. Looking at the G10, the picture is mixed, with the euro and pound both firmer by 0.15% or so. The former looks to be a trading response to Friday’s decline, while the latter is benefitting, ever so slightly, from better than expected GDP data with July’s print at 0.3% and the 3-month rate at 0.6%. We’ve also seen AUD rally 0.25%, as firmer commodity prices seem to be underpinning the currency today. However, both CHF and JPY are softer this morning, with the Swiss franc the weakest of the bunch, down 0.65%.

In the EMG space, however, the picture is quite different, with INR making yet another new historic low as the market continues to respond to Friday’s worse than expected current account deficit. The rupee has fallen a further 0.85% on the day. We’ve also seen weakness in CNY (-0.25%), RUB (-0.45%) and MXN (-0.2%). But some of the biggest decliners of recent vintage, TRY and ZAR, have rebounded from their worst levels, although they are still off significantly this year.

Looking ahead to this week, the data is fairly light with just CPI and Retail Sales in the back half of the week, although we also get the Fed’s Beige Book on Wednesday.

Tuesday NFIB Business Optimism 108.2
  JOLT’s Job Openings 6.68M
Wednesday PPI 0.2% (3.2% Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.2% (2.8% Y/Y)
  Beige Book  
Thursday Initial Claims 210K
  CPI 0.3% (2.8% (Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.2% (2.4% Y/Y)
Friday Retail Sales 0.4%
  -ex autos 0.5%
  IP 0.3%
  Capacity Utilization 78.4%
  Michigan Sentiment 96.9

There are also a number of Fed speakers this week, but I have to say that it seems increasingly unlikely that there will be any new views coming from them. The doves have already made their case, and the hawks continue to be in the ascendancy.

Net, I see no reason to believe that anything in the market has really changed for now. Rate expectations remain for higher US rates, and growth elsewhere continues to be okay but not great. Ultimately, things still point to a higher dollar in my view. Not forever, but for now.

Good luck
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Mostly At Peace

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Ahead of the payroll release
The market is mostly at peace
But there is no sign
The recent decline
In values is set to decrease

While I apologize for the double negative, this morning’s price action is a story of consolidation of recent losses across emerging market currencies and their respective equity markets. In fact, the biggest gainers in the FX markets today are some of the currencies that have been suffering the most recently. For example, the South African rand is higher by 1.4% on the day, but still down nearly 3.0% this week. Meanwhile in Brazil, in the wake of the assassination attempt on Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, the real has rebounded 1.75%, essentially recouping the week’s losses, although is still down almost 8.0% this month. The story here is that Bolsonaro, who was leading in the polls and is favored by markets due to his free-market leanings, is expected to receive a sympathy vote along with more press coverage, and has increased his odds of winning the election next month. And of course, everyone’s favorite pair of losers, TRY and ARS, are both firmer this morning as well, by 3.5% and 2.75% respectively, but both remain down substantially in the past month. And there is no sign that policy is going to change sufficiently to have any positive impact in the short term. In other words, while many EMG currencies have performed well overnight, there is little reason to believe that the unfolding crisis in the space has ended.

Turning to the biggest news of the day, the payroll report is due with the following expectations:

Nonfarm Payrolls 191K
Private Payrolls 190K
Manufacturing Payrolls 24K
Unemployment Rate 3.8%
Average Hourly Earnings 0.2% (2.7% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.5

If forecasts are on the mark, it will simply represent a continuation of the current US expansion and cement the case for two more rate hikes by the Fed this year. In fact, we would need to see substantially weaker numbers to derail that process on a domestic basis. And given yesterday’s Initial Claims data of 203K, the lowest print since 1969, it seems highly unlikely that this data will be weak.

A second factor reinforcing the view that the Fed will remain on their current rate-raising path was a comment by NY Fed President John Williams. Yesterday, after a speech in Buffalo, he said that he would not be deterred from raising rates simply because it might drive the yield curve into an inversion. This is quite a turn of events for Williams who had historically leaned more dovish when he was at the San Francisco Fed. In addition, it is exactly the opposite from what we have recently heard from two separate Fed presidents, Atlanta’s Bostic and St Louis’ Bullard, both of who were explicit in saying they would not vote for a rate hike if that would cause an inversion. Of course, neither of them is a voter right now while Williams is, so his voice is even more important.

While it is not clear whether Chairman Powell is of a like mind on this subject, there is certainly no evidence that Powell is going to be deterred from his current belief set that further gradual rate hikes are necessary and appropriate. The one thing that is very clear is that the current Fed is focused almost entirely on the US economy, to the exclusion of much of the rest of the world. And this focus reduces the chance that Powell will respond to further emerging market instability unless it reaches a point where the US economy is likely to be impacted. As far as I can tell, the Fed’s focus remains on the impact of the recent increase in fiscal stimulus and how that might impact the inflation situation.

There is one other thing to keep in mind today, and going forward, and that is that yesterday was the last day of comment period on President Trump’s mooted tariff increase on a further $200 Billion of Chinese imports. If he does follow through by implementing these tariffs, look for significant market impact with the dollar resuming its climb and a much bigger negative impact on equity markets as investors try to determine the impact on company results. Also look for commodity prices to decline on the news.

But that is really it for the day. Ahead of the data there is little reason for much of a move. However, even after the data, assuming the forecasts are reasonably accurate, I would expect the dollar’s consolidation to continue. In the end, though, all signs still point to a stronger dollar over time.

Good luck
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Uncomfortably High

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Said Carney, exhaling a sigh
The odds are “uncomfortably high”
More pain will we feel
If there is no deal
When England waves Europe bye-bye

Yesterday the BOE, in a unanimous decision, raised its base rate by 25bps. This outcome was widely expected by the markets and resulted in a very short-term boost for the pound. However, after the meeting, Governor Carney described the odds of the UK leaving the EU next March with no transition deal in hand as “uncomfortably high.” That was enough to spook markets and the pound sold off pretty aggressively afterwards, closing the day lower by 0.9%. And this morning, it has continued that trend, falling a further 0.2% and is now trading back below 1.30 again.

By this time, you are all well aware that I believe there will be no deal, and that the market response, as that becomes increasingly clear, will be to drive the pound still lower. In the months after the Brexit vote, January 2017 to be precise, the pound touched a low of 1.1986, but had risen fairly steadily since then until it peaked well above 1.40 in April of this year. However, we have been falling back since that time, as the prospects for a deal seem to have receded. The thing is, there is no evidence that points to any willingness to compromise among the Tory faithful and so it appears increasingly likely that no deal will be agreed by next March. Carney put the odds at 20%, personally I see them as at least 50% and probably higher than that. In the meantime, the combination of ongoing tightening by the Fed and Brexit uncertainty impacting the UK economy points to the pound falling further. Do not be surprised if we test those lows below 1.20 seen eighteen months ago.

This morning also brought news about the continuing slowdown in Eurozone growth as PMI data was released slightly softer than expected. French, German and therefore, not surprisingly, Eurozone Services data was all softer than expected, and in each case has continued the trend in evidence all year long. It is very clear that Eurozone growth peaked in Q4 2017 and despite Signor Draghi’s confidence that steady growth will lead inflation to rise to the ECB target of just below 2.0%, the evidence is pointing in the opposite direction. While the ECB may well stop QE by the end of the year, it appears that there will be no ability to raise rates at all in 2019, and if the current growth trajectory continues, perhaps in 2020 as well. Yesterday saw the euro decline 0.7%, amid a broad-based dollar rally. So far this morning, after an early extension of that move, it has rebounded slightly and now sits +0.1% on the day. But in the end, the euro, too, will remain under pressure from the combination of tighter Fed policy and a decreasing probability of the ECB ever matching that activity. We remain in the 1.1500-1.1800 trading range, which has existed since April, but as we push toward the lower end of that range, be prepared for a breakout.

Finally, the other mover of note overnight was CNY, with the renminbi falling to new lows for the move and testing 6.90. The currency has declined more than 8% since the middle of June as it has become increasingly clear that the PBOC is willing to allow it to adjust along with most other emerging market currencies. While the movement has been steady, it has not been disorderly, and as yet, there is no evidence that capital outflows are ramping up quickly, so it is hard to make the case the PBOC will step in anytime soon. And that is really the key; increases in capital outflows will be the issue that triggers any intervention. But while many pundits point to 7.00 as the level where that is expected to occur, given the still restrictive capital controls that exist there, it may take a much bigger decline to drive the process. With the Chinese economy slowing as well (last night’s Caixin Services PMI fell to 52.8, below expectations and continuing the declining trend this year) a weaker yuan remains one of China’s most important and effective policy tools. There is no reason for this trend to end soon and accordingly, I believe 7.50 is reasonable as a target in the medium term.

Turning to this morning’s payroll report, here are the current expectations:

Nonfarm Payrolls 190K
Private Payrolls 189K
Manufacturing Payrolls 22K
Unemployment Rate 3.9%
Average Hourly Earnings (AHE) 0.3% (2.7% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.5
Trade Balance -$46.5B
ISM Non-Manufacturing 58.6

Wednesday’s ADP number was much stronger than expected at 213K, and the whisper number is now 205K for this morning. As long as this data set continues to show a strong labor market, and there is every indication it will do so, the only question regarding the Fed is how quickly they will be raising rates. All of this points to continued dollar strength going forward as the divergence between the US economy and the rest of the world continues. While increasing angst over trade may have a modest impact, we will need to see an actual increase in tariffs, like the mooted 25% on $200 billion in Chinese imports, to really affect the economy and perhaps change the Fed’s thinking. Until then, it is still a green light for dollar buyers.

Good luck and good weekend
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Percent Twenty-Five

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The story, once more’s about trade
As Trump, a new threat, has conveyed
Percent twenty-five
This fall may arrive
Lest progress in trade talks is made

President Trump shook things up yesterday by threatening 25% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports unless a trade deal can be reached. This is up from the initial discussion of a 10% tariff on those goods, and would almost certainly have a larger negative impact on GDP growth while pushing inflation higher in both the US and China, and by extension the rest of the world. It appears that the combination of strong US growth and already weakening Chinese growth, has led the President to believe he is in a stronger position to obtain a better deal. Not surprisingly the Chinese weren’t amused, loudly claiming they would not be blackmailed. In the background, it appears that efforts to restart trade talks between the two nations have thus far been unsuccessful, although those efforts continue.

Clearly, this is not good news for the global economy, nor is it good news for financial markets, which have no way to determine just how big an impact trade ructions are going to have on equities, currencies, commodities and interest rates. In other words, things are likely more uncertain now than in more ‘normal’ times. And that means that market volatility across markets is likely to increase. After all, not only is there the potential for greater surprises, but the uncertainty prevailing has reduced liquidity overall as many investors and traders hew to the sidelines until they have a better idea of what to do. And, of course, it is August 1st, a period where summer vacations leave trading desks with reduced staffing levels and so liquidity is generally less robust in any event.

Moving past trade brings us straight to the central bank story, where the relative hawkishness or dovishnes of yesterday’s BOJ announcement continues to be debated. There are those who believe it was a stealth tightening, allowing higher 10-year yields (JGB yields rose 8bps last night to their highest level in more than 18 months) and cutting in half the amount of reserves subject to earning -0.10%. And there are those who believe the increased flexibility and addition of forward guidance are signals that the BOJ is keen to ease further. Yesterday’s price action in USDJPY clearly favored the doves, as the yen fell a solid 0.8% in the session. But there has been no follow-through this morning.

As to the other G10 currencies, the dollar is modestly firmer against most of them this morning in the wake of PMI data from around the world showing that the overall growth picture remains mixed, but more troubling, the trend appears to be continuing toward slower growth.

The emerging market picture is similar, with the dollar performing reasonably well this morning, although, here too, there are few outliers. The most notable is KRW, which has fallen 0.75% overnight despite strong trade data as inflation unexpectedly fell and views of an additional rate hike by the BOK dimmed. However, beyond that, modest dollar strength was the general rule.

At this point in the session, the focus will turn to some US data including; ADP Employment (exp 185K), ISM Manufacturing (59.5) and its Prices Paid indicator (75.8), before the 2:00pm release of the FOMC statement as the Fed concludes its two day meeting. As there is no press conference, and the Fed has not made any changes to policy without a press conference following the meeting in years, I think it is safe to say there is a vanishingly small probability that anything new will come from the meeting. The statement will be heavily parsed, but given that we heard from Chairman Powell just two weeks ago, and the biggest data point, Q2 GDP, was released right on expectations, it seems unlikely that they will make any substantive changes.

It feels far more likely that this meeting will have been focused on technical questions about how future Fed policies will be enacted. Consider that QE has completely warped the old framework, where the Fed would actually adjust reserves in order to drive interest rates. Now, however, given the trillions of dollars of excess reserves, they can no longer use that strategy. The question that has been raised is will they try to go back to the old way, or is the new, much larger balance sheet going to remain with us forever. For hard money advocates, I fear the answer will not be to their liking, as it appears increasingly likely that QE is with us to stay. Of course, since this is a global phenomenon, I expect the impact on the relative value of any one currency is likely to be muted. After all, if everybody has changed the way they manage their economy in the same manner, then relative values are unlikely to change.

Flash, ADP Employment prints at a better than expected 219K, but the initial dollar impact is limited. Friday’s NFP report is of far more interest, but for today, all eyes will wait for the Fed. I expect very limited movement in the dollar ahead of then, and afterwards to be truthful.

Good luck
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Still At Its Peak

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Three central bank meetings this week
Seem unlikely, havoc to wreak
When they all adjourn
Attention will turn
To joblessness, still at its peak

In the current central bank calendric cycle, the ECB meeting was the first to be completed, and last Thursday we learned virtually nothing new about Mario Draghi’s plans. The ECB is going to reduce QE further starting in October and is due to end it completely by year end. As to interest rates, ‘through summer’ remains the watchword, with markets forecasting a 10bp rate rise in either September or October of next year.

This week brings us the other three big central bank meetings, starting with the BOJ’s announcement tomorrow evening, then the FOMC on Wednesday and finally the BOE on Thursday. Going in reverse order, the market remains convinced that Governor Carney will raise rates 25bps, with a more than 80% probability priced in by futures traders. While I think it is a mistake, it does seem increasingly likely it will be the outcome. As to the Fed, there are no expectations of any policy adjustments at this meeting, and as there is no press conference following, I expect that the statement, when released Wednesday afternoon, will have little market impact.

This takes us to tomorrow evening’s BOJ meeting, which is the only one where there seems to be any real uncertainty. Last week I discussed the questions at hand which boil down to whether or not Kuroda and company have come to believe that QQE is not only ineffective, but actually beginning to have a detrimental impact on the Japanese economy. After all, they have been at it for the better part of five years and have still had zero success in achieving their 2.0% inflation goal. The three biggest problems are that Japanese banks have seen their business models decimated by increasingly narrow lending spreads; the ETF purchase program has had an increasingly large distortive impact on the Japanese stock markets as the BOJ now owns roughly 4% of all Japanese equities; and finally, the yield curve control plan has essentially broken the JGB market as evidenced by the fact that they continue to see sessions where there are actually no trades in the 10-year JGB. (Consider what would happen if there were no trades in 10-year Treasuries one day!)

With all of this as baggage, there has been increasing discussion that the BOJ may seek to tweak the program to try to make it more effective. However, they have painted themselves into a corner because if they reduce their activity in the JGB market, the market is likely to see it as a reduced commitment to QE and it is likely to result in higher yields there, which can easily lead to two separate but related outcomes. First, USDJPY is likely to fall further, as higher JGB yields lead to more interest for Japanese investors to bring their funds home. Given the disinflationary impact of a stronger currency, this would be a disaster. And second, if there is less support for JGB’s, given the fungibility of money and the open capital markets that exist, we are likely to see yields rise in US, UK, European and other developed markets. While Chairman Powell may welcome this as it will reduce concern over the Fed inverting the yield curve, the rest of the world, which retains far easier monetary policy, is likely to be somewhat less welcoming of that outcome. And this is all based on anonymous reports that the BOJ is going to make some technical adjustments to their program, not change the nature of what they are doing. So if you are looking for some fireworks this week, the BOJ is your best bet.

However, beyond the central banks, the market will turn its attention to Friday’s employment report here in the US. Last Friday saw a robust GDP report, as widely expected, and further proof of the divergence between the US and the rest of the global economy. This Friday could simply add to that impression. Here is the full listing of this week’s data, which is quite robust:

Tuesday BOJ Rate Decision -0.10% (unchanged)
  Personal Income 0.4%
  Personal Spending 0.4%
  PCE 0.1% (2.3% Y/Y)
  Core PCE 0.1% (2.0% Y/Y)
  Case-Shiller Home Prices 6.4%
  Chicago PMI 62.0
Wednesday ADP Employment 185K
  ISM Manufacturing 59.5
  ISM Prices Paid 75.8
  FOMC Rate Decision 2.00% (unchanged)
Thursday BOE Rate Decision 0.75% (+0.25%)
  Initial Claims 221K
  Factory Orders 0.7%
Friday Nonfarm Payrolls 190K
  Private Payrolls 185K
  Manufacturing Payrolls 22K
  Unemployment Rate 3.9%
  Average Hourly Earnings 0.3% (2.7% Y/Y)
  Average Weekly Hours 34.5
  Trade Balance -$46.2B
  ISM Non-Manufacturing 58.7

So, as you can see there is much to be learned this week. With the focus on the central banks and Friday’s payroll data, don’t lose sight of tomorrow’s PCE report, because remember, that is the Fed’s go-to number on inflation. Overall, looking at forecasts, things remain remarkably strong in the US economy this long into an expansion, which is something that has many folks concerned. We also continue to see important corporate earnings releases this week for Q2, which given the high profile misses we had last week, could well impact markets beyond individual equity names.

As to the dollar through all this, it is a touch softer this morning, but remains on the strong side of its recent trading range. While I still like it higher, there is so much potential new information coming this week, it is probably wisest to remain as neutral as possible for now. For hedgers, that means the 50% rule is in effect.

Good luck
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