Tag Archive: FOMC
The Market Appears to Shrug Off the Fed’s Warning
Overview: The US dollar is consolidating in a mixed
fashion today. The FOMC minutes drew much attention but failed, at least
initially, to spur a significant shift in expectations. The pricing in the Fed
funds futures strip is still consistent with a cut later this year, which the
minutes were clear, no officials anticipate. Today's US ADP jobs estimate, and
November trade balance are being overshadowed by tomorrow's nonfarm payroll
figures. The...
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Five G10 Central Banks Meet and US CPI on Tap
Half of the G10 central banks meet in the week ahead. The Fed is first on December 14, and the ECB, BOE, Swiss National Bank, and Norway's Norges Bank meet the following day. Before turning a thumbnail sketch of the central banks, let us look at the November US CPI, which will be reported as the Fed's two-day meeting gets underway on December 13.
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China Shakes Markets, Euro Shakes it Off
Overview: The surging Covid cases in China and the protests in
several cities seemed to set the tone for today’s session. Equities are lower. China,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea were marked down the most. Of the large
bourses, only India escaped unscathed. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is off more than 0.8%
and US futures are poised to gap lower. Bond markets are quieter. The 10-year
US Treasury yield is off a little more than one basis point to around...
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RBA, FOMC, BOE Meetings Featured while the Greenback’s Recovery can be Extended
The week ahead is important from a macro perspective. The data highlights include China's PMI, eurozone preliminary October CPI and Q3 GDP, and the US (and Canadian) employment reports. In
addition, the Federal Reserve meeting on November 2 is sandwiched between the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting and the Bank of England meeting.
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Weekly Market Pulse: Just A Little Volatility
Markets were rather volatile last week. That’s a wild understatement and what passes for sarcasm in the investment business. Stocks started the week waiting with bated (baited?) breath for the inflation reports of the week. It isn’t surprising that the market is focused firmly on the rear view mirror for clues about the future since Jerome Powell has made it plain that is his plan, goofy as it is.
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No One Wants a Recession, but Central Banks are willing to Take the Risk to Demonstrate Anti-Inflation Resolve
The
week ahead is busy. Three G7 central banks meet, the Federal
Reserve, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England. In addition, Japan and Canada
report their latest CPI readings, and the flash September PMI are
released. There
are three elements of the Fed's meeting that are worth previewing. First is the
interest rate decision itself and the accompanying statement. Ironically, this
seems to be the most straightforward. Even before the August...
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Yen Squeeze Continues
The US dollar begins the new month better offered. It is softer against all the major currencies. Short yen positions continue to get unwound, which is leading the move, followed by the Antipodeans, where the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to hike rates tomorrow.
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Greenback Softens, but Think Twice about Chasing It
Overview: Aside from political economic risks, three
other challenges are emerging. First, the new sub-variant of Covid is spreading
rapidly. BA5 reportedly is accounting for around 80% of the new cases. It is
better able to evade antibodies from vaccines and earlier infections. Hospitalization
rates are also climbing. Dining, retail, and travel may be impacted. Second,
the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global emergency. The US...
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Market Pulse: Mid-Year Update
Note: This update is longer than usual but I felt a comprehensive review was necessary. The Federal Reserve panicked last week and spooked investors into the worst week for stocks since the onset of COVID in March 2020. The S&P 500 is now firmly in bear market territory but that is a fraction of the pain in stocks and other risky assets.
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Sorry Chairman Powell, Even FRBNY Now Has To Forecast Serious and Seriously Rising Recession Risk
At his last press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell made a bunch of unsubstantiated claims, none of which were called out or even questioned by the assembled reporters. These rituals are designed to project authority not conduct inquiry, and this one was perhaps the best representation of that intent. Powell’s job is to put the current predicament in the best possible light, starting by downplaying the current predicament.
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Prices As Curative Punishment
It wasn’t exactly a secret, though the raw data doesn’t ever tell you why something might’ve changed in it. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, confirmed by industry sources, US new car sales absolutely tanked in May 2022.
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Peak Policy Error
Another economic discussion lost to the eventual coronavirus pandemic mania was the 2019 globally synchronized downturn. Not just downturn, outright recession in key parts from around the world, maybe including the US.
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‘Unconscionably Excessive’ Denial
What would “unconscionably excessive” even look, legally speaking? More to the issue, who gets to decide what constitutes “excessive?”
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RRP (use) Hits $2T, SOFR Like T-bills Below RRP (rate), What Is (really) Going On?
You might not know it, but front-end T-bill yields are not the only market spaces which are making a mockery of the Federal Reserve’s “floor.” There are others, including the same money number the same Fed demanded the world (or whatever banks in its jurisdiction it could threaten) ditch LIBOR over.
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UST 2s & Euro$ Futures *Whites* Both Ask, Landmine At Last?
The 2-year Treasury right now is the key point, the spot on the yield curve which is influenced mostly by potential alternative rates including those offered by the Federal Reserve. Because of this, the market for the 2s is looking forward at what those alternate rates are likely to be, then pricing yields accordingly.
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Peak Inflation (not what you think)
For once, I find myself in agreement with a mainstream article published over at Bloomberg. Notable Fed supporters without fail, this one maybe represents a change in tone. Perhaps the cheerleaders are feeling the heat and are seeking Jay Powell’s exit for him?
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Collateral Shortage…From *A* Fed Perspective
It’s never just one thing or another. Take, for example, collateral scarcity. By itself, it’s already a problem but it may not be enough to bring the whole system to reverse. A good illustration would be 2017. Throughout that whole year, T-bill rates (4-week, in particular) kept indicating this very shortfall, especially the repeated instances when equivalent bill yields would go below the RRP “floor” and often stay there for prolonged periods....
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Some ‘Core’ ‘Inflation’ Difference(s)
The FOMC meets next week, with everyone everywhere expecting a 50 bps rate hike to be announced on Wednesday. Yesterday’s “unexpected” and “shocking” negative GDP is unlikely to deter anyone on the committee.
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Concocting Inventory
The Census Bureau provided some updated inventory estimates about wholesalers, including its annual benchmark revisions. As to the latter, not a whole lot was changed, a small downward revision right around the peak (early 2021) of the supply shock which is consistent with the GDP estimates for when inventory levels were shrinking fast.
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A muddled message from The Fed
2022-07-29
by Stephen Flood
2022-07-29
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