Tag Archive: China

FX Weekly Preview: What to Watch if Fed and ECB are Committed to Easing

2019-07-15

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2019-07-15

There is little doubt after the Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's testimony last week and the FOMC minutes that a rate cut will be delivered at the end of the month. Similarly, after comments by several ECB officials and the record of their recent meetin.g confirms it too is prepared to adjust policy. The timing of the ECB's move is more debatable, an adjustment at the July 25 meeting appears to have increased.

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As Chinese Factory Deflation Sets In, A ‘Dovish’ Powell Leans on ‘Uncertainty’

2019-07-14

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2019-07-14

China Price Stability, 2007-2019
It’s a clever bit of misdirection. In one of the last interviews he gave before passing away, Milton Friedman talked about the true strength of central banks. It wasn’t money and monetary policy, instead he admitted that what they’re really good at is PR. Maybe that’s why you really can’t tell the difference Greenspan to Bernanke to Yellen to Powell no matter what happens.

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FX Daily, July 12: Greenback Limps into the Weekend

2019-07-12

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2019-07-12

Overview:  Higher than expected US CPI and the second tepid reception to a US bond auction this week pushed US yields higher and helped stall the equity momentum. Asia Pacific yields, especially in Australia and New Zealand jumped 8-10 bp in response, and Spanish and Portuguese bonds bore the burden in Europe. 

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Hong Kong unrest

2019-07-11

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2019-07-11

Gini Coefficient of Selected Countries / Regions
The extradition bill is 'dead' but political turmoil is not over yet.Since early June, a series of large-scale demonstrations took place in Hong Kong in protest of proposed legislation that would allow extradition of criminal suspects to certain jurisdictions, including mainland China.

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FX Weekly Preview: In Bizzaro Beauty Contest, the US is Still the Least Ugly

2019-07-08

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2019-07-08

Our hypothesis that the market had reached peak dovishness toward the Fed remains intact after the employment data.  Job growth was the strongest since January.  The participation rate and the unemployment rate ticked up. Average hourly earnings edged 0.2%  higher, and, with revisions, maintained a 3.1% year-over-year pace, which is a bit disappointing.  

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FX Daily, July 05: Dollar is Bid Ahead of Jobs Report

2019-07-05

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2019-07-05

Overview: The dovish response to news that Lagarde was nominated to replace Draghi was extended by the dismal German factory order report that has pushed the euro to new two-week lows and kept bond yields near record lows. The focus ahead of the weekend is squarely on the US employment data, where a second consecutive poor report will fan expectations for a large Fed cut to initiate an easing cycle.

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FX Weekly Preview: Macro Update: Melodrama Subsides but Capriciousness Remains

2019-07-01

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2019-07-01

Since President Trump declared the end of the tariff truce with China in early May, an important focus for investors was the G20 meeting. It was only as it drew near was a meeting between the two heads of state confirmed. What was billed as an extraordinary meeting reportedly lasted less than 90 minutes, and the results were broadly as expected.

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Gold is the secret knowledge of the financial universe

2019-06-29

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2019-06-29

Every seasoned gold investor and every student of monetary history has likely stumbled upon various theories about institutional manipulation of the gold market. While it is true that rarely is there smoke without fire, it is still important to approach this matter rationally and form opinions based on sound evidence and solid research.

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FX Daily, June 26: Biggest Drop in the S&P 500 in June Weighs on Global Equities

2019-06-26

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2019-06-26

The S&P 500 fell nearly one percent yesterday, its steepest fall this month and this was a weight on Asia Pacific and European activity. Most markets have eased, though not as much as the US did. Hong Kong, India, and Singapore were notable exceptions in Asia, where the MSCI benchmark slipped for a second day.

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FX Daily, June 25: Heightened Political Risks Weigh on Sentiment

2019-06-25

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2019-06-25

Overview: It is far from clear that the US sanctions against nine Iranian officials, with the foreign minister to be added later brings negotiations any closer. At the same time, US officials trying to keep expectations low for the weekend meeting between Trump and Xi. The heightened political anxiety will have to make room for Fed Chairman Powell's talk in NY.

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FX Daily, June 24: Slow Start to Important Week

2019-06-24

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2019-06-24

The Trump-Xi meeting at the G20 this coming weekend and heightened tensions in the Gulf, with the US set to impose new sanctions on Iran's crippled economy are keeping investors on edge. News the opposition won the re-do of the Istanbul mayoral election has lifted the Turkish lira.

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FX Daily, June 21: Markets Pause Ahead of the Weekend

2019-06-21

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2019-06-21

The global capital markets are trading quietly ahead of the weekend. Equity markets are mostly narrowly mixed. Chinese shares extended their run, and the major benchmarks were up 4%+ on the week. Japan, Australia, South Korea, and India saw gains pared.

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FX Daily, June 19: Still Patient?

2019-06-19

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2019-06-19

Overview:  Risk-taking was bolstered by the dramatic shift in Draghi's rhetoric less than two weeks after the ECB meeting and a Trump's tweet announcing that there was going to be an  "extended" meeting between him and Xi at the G20 meeting and that the respective staff would begin coordinating. It was later confirmed by the Chinese media.

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FX Weekly Preview: FOMC, EMU PMI, and Pre-G20 Positioning: Crossroads and Crosswinds

2019-06-15

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2019-06-15

The week ahead is likely to provide some clarification for investors on three fronts that have been a source of uncertainty.  The FOMC meeting, with updated forecasts, is center stage.  The credit markets are pushing the Fed to be aggressive but can be disappointed.  In the eurozone, the preliminary PMI may confirm a modest, even if uneven recovery. 

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Dimmed Hopes In China Cars, Too

2019-06-15

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2019-06-15

China Total Car Sales, 2013-2019
As noted earlier this week, the world’s two big hopes for the global economy in the second half are pinned on the US labor market continuing to exert its purported strength and Chinese authorities stimulating out of every possible (monetary) opening. Incoming data, however, continues to point to the fallacies embedded within each.

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Commodities And The Future Of China’s Stall

2019-06-13

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2019-06-13

China Exports, 2006-2019
Commodity prices continued to fall last month. According to the World Bank’s Pink Sheet catalog, non-energy commodity prices accelerated to the downside. Falling 9.4% on average in May 2019 when compared to average prices in May 2018, it was the largest decline since the depths of Euro$ #3 in February 2016.

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FX Daily, June 12: Anxiety Ticks Up, Risks Pared

2019-06-12

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2019-06-12

Overview: The S&P 500 snapped a five-day advance yesterday and set the heavier tone for equities today.  Continued protests in Hong Kong were not shrugged off as they have been in the last couple of sessions.  The Hang Seng's nearly 1.9% decline was the largest in a month and led the region lower. 

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Irredeemable Currency Is a Roach Motel, Report 9 June

2019-06-10

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2019-06-10

In what has become a four-part series, we are looking at the monetary science of China’s potential strategy to nuke the Treasury bond market. In Part I, we gave a list of reasons why selling dollars would hurt China. In Part II we showed that interest rates, being that the dollar is irredeemable, are not subject to bond vigilantes.

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FX Daily, June 05: Dollar Remains on Back Foot

2019-06-05

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2019-06-05

Overview: The Federal Reserve's patience never excluded a rate cut should conditions warrant. The acknowledgment of this without signaling a change its stance is being seized upon to justify aggressive pricing of rates. At the same time, there has some tempering of trade anxiety on the margin that is also constructive. Asia and European equities were pulled higher after the strongest rally in several months in the US. 

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Dollar Supply Creates Dollar Demand, Report 2 June

2019-06-03

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2019-06-03

Gold and Silver Price
We have been discussing the impossibility of China nuking the Treasury bond market. We covered a list of challenges China would face. Then last week we showed that there cannot be such a thing as a bond vigilante in an irredeemable currency. Now we want to explore a different path to the same conclusion that China cannot nuke the Treasury bond market.

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