Category Archive: 5) Global Macro

Dollar Remains Firm Despite Dovish Fed Hold

The FOMC delivered a dovish hold, as we expected; we get our first look at Q4 GDP; Fed manufacturing surveys for January will continue to roll out; weekly jobless claims data will be closely watched.

Read More »

The Coming Revolt of the Middle Class

That's how Neofeudal systems collapse: the tax donkeys and debt-serfs finally rebel and start demanding the $50 trillion river of capital take a new course. The Great American Middle Class has stood meekly by while the New Nobility stripmined $50 trillion from the middle and working classes. As this RAND report documents, $50 trillion has been siphoned from labor and the lower 90% of the workforce to the New Nobility and their technocrat...

Read More »

Covid-19: what will it take to vaccinate the world? | The Economist

The race to immunise the global population against covid-19 is under way. With the distribution of safe and effective vaccines posing an unprecedented challenge, what are the key obstacles to overcome? Keep up to date with The Economist’s coverage of the coronavirus: https://econ.st/2Y5BxxW Track covid-19 vaccine rollouts around the world: https://econ.st/3o3t74w Sign up to The Economist’s daily newsletter to to read stories about covid-19 and...

Read More »

Dollar Trading Sideways as FOMC Meeting Begins

The FOMC begins its two-day meeting today with a decision out tomorrow afternoon; Senate Minority Leader McConnell has finally agreed to a power-sharing deal based on the 2001 model; President Biden signaled willingness to negotiate his stimulus proposal in order to get a bipartisan deal; Fed manufacturing surveys for January will continue to roll out; Brazil reports mid-January IPCA inflation

Read More »

Dollar Flat as Markets Await Fresh Drivers

Discussions on President Biden’s proposed $1.9 trln fiscal package are getting off to a rocky start; Fed manufacturing surveys for January will continue to roll out. ECB Governing Council member Olli Rehn viewed yield curve control for the region as “not sensible”;

Read More »

Cindy McCain: what next for the Republican Party? | The Economist Podcast

Cindy McCain shocked the Republican Party when she endorsed Joe Biden for president. Now, the widow of John McCain tells The Economist Asks podcast about her prediction that the Republican Party will split and her hopes for a new era of political co-operation in America. 00:00 Why Cindy McCain endorsed Joe Biden 00:42 - President Biden’s inauguration 02:08 - Reaction to invasion of Capitol building 04:56 - McCain’s relationship with the Republican...

Read More »

Dollar Weakness Continues Ahead of ECB Decision

Joe Biden became the 46th President of the US; three Democratic Senators were also sworn in; weekly jobless claims data will be the highlight of an otherwise quiet week; Fed manufacturing surveys for January will continue to roll out; Brazil kept rates on hold at 2.0%, as expected ECB is expected to keep policy unchanged; Norges Bank kept rates steady at 0%, as expected;

Read More »

Dollar Continues to Soften Ahead of Inauguration

President-elect Biden will be inaugurated and becomes the 46th President of the United States at noon; he will hit the ground running by announcing a raft of executive orders upon taking office; Janet Yellen’s confirmation hearing was revealing; Canada and Brazil are expected to keep rates unchanged.

Read More »

The Dangerously Diminishing Returns on Monetary and Fiscal Stimulus

Allow me to translate the risible claims of Jay Powell and Janet Yellen that their stimulus policies haven't boosted wealth inequality to the moon: "Let them eat cake."

Read More »

How Biden can be a global leader | The Economist

Joe Biden's greatest challenge will be to repair America's reputation—currently the lowest it's been for two decades. How can the new president re-boot America's global leadership? Find our latest coverage of the presidential transition: https://econ.st/3bJeoJm Sign up to our weekly newsletter on American politics: https://econ.st/3l5C4dl Listen to Checks and Balance, our podcast about American politics: https://econ.st/2EmBIOU The World in...

Read More »

Drivers for the Week Ahead

President-elect Biden will be inaugurated Wednesday; security in Washington DC and many state capitols has been beefed up due to concerns of violence; the Senate reconvenes Tuesday and will immediately begin work on confirming Biden’s cabinet choices; reports suggest that if asked, Yellen will disavow a weak dollar policy whilst affirming commitment to a market-determined exchange rate.

Read More »

Politics Get Weird, Markets Don’t Care

A mob, led by a shirtless man wearing a Viking helmet, stormed the Capitol building a couple of weeks ago and five people died before order was restored. A man from upstate New York sat in a Senator’s office and smoked a joint. Another roamed the halls of Congress with a Confederate flag.

Read More »

SMART BOURSE – L’invité de la mi-journée : Thomas Costerg (Pictet WM)

Lundi 18 janvier 2021, SMART BOURSE reçoit Thomas Costerg (Économiste sénior US, Pictet WM)

Read More »

Consumers, Producers, and the Unsettled End of 2020

The months of November and December aren’t always easily comparable year to year when it comes to American shopping habits. For a retailer, these are the big ones. The Christmas shopping season and the amount of spending which takes place during it makes or breaks the typical year (though last year, there was that whole thing in March and April which has had a say in each’s final annual condition).

Read More »

If the Fed’s Not In Consumer Prices, Then How About Producer Prices?

It’s not just that there isn’t much inflation evident in consumer prices. Rather, it’s a pretty big deal given the deluge of so much “money printing” this year, begun three-quarters of a year before, that consumer prices are increasing at some of the slowest rates in the data.

Read More »

Rising Probability For A Second Payroll Minus (and its implications)

Revolving consumer credit declined again in November 2020, according to data released by the Federal Reserve last week. Though the monthly seasonally-adjusted change was small, it still represents significant uncertainty and material mistrust of the underlying economic condition among a broad section of consumers.

Read More »

Is 2021 an Echo of 1641?

If you don't discern any of these dynamics in the present, what are you choosing not to see? The reason why history rhymes is that humanity is still using Wetware 1.0 and so humans respond to scarcity, abundance and conflicts over them in the same manner.

Read More »

Dollar Regains Some Traction as Markets Search for Direction

House Democrats will move ahead with impeachment proceedings today; December CPI data will be the US highlight; heavy UST supply this week wraps up with a $24 bln sale of 30-year bonds; December monthly budget statement will be of interest the Fed releases its Beige Book report; several Fed officials pushed back against notions of tapering anytime soon

Read More »

Central Bank Omnipotence: Can They Spark Growth & Inflation?

Central banks are powerful entities -- of this, there is no doubt. As of late, however, they have gone from powerful to almost omnipotent. Markets hang on their every word, and even minuscule changes in rhetoric, implied or explicit, have monumental impacts on how participants position themselves.

Read More »

How can business survive climate change? | The Economist

Climate change is about to upend the corporate world through weather-related disasters, regulation and lawsuits. Can businesses react and adapt in time? Read more here: https://econ.st/3slTXIE Read The Economist’s special report on business and climate change: https://econ.st/3bbckJZ Sign up to The Economist’s fortnightly climate change newsletter: https://econ.st/3b8FQ3c Find our most recent climate change coverage: https://econ.st/3pQLYkq...

Read More »