Tag Archive: yuan

Synchronizing Chinese Prices (and consequences)

2022-05-14

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2022-05-14

It isn’t just the vast difference between Chinese consumer prices and those in the US or Europe, China’s CPI has been categorically distinct from China’s PPI, too. That distance hints at the real problem which the whole is just now beginning to confront, having been lulled into an inflationary illusion made up from all these things.

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Weekly Market Pulse: Welcome Back To The Old Normal

2022-05-03

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2022-05-03

Stagflation. It’s a word that strikes fear in the hearts of investors, one that evokes memories – for some of us – of bell bottoms, disco, and Jimmy Carter’s American malaise. The combination of weak growth and high inflation is the worst of all worlds, one that required a transformational leader and a cigar-chomping central banker to defeat the last time it came around.

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The Historical Monetary Chinese Checklist You Didn’t Know You Needed For Christmas (or the Chinese New Year)

2021-12-25

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2021-12-25

If there is a better, more fitting way to head into the Christmas holiday in the United States than by digging into the finances and monetary flows of the People’s Bank of China, then I just don’t want to know what it is. Contrary to maybe anyone’s rational first impression that this is somehow insane, there’s much we can tell about the state of the world, the whole world and its “dollars”, right from this one key data source.

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China’s Nuclear Option to Sell US Treasurys, Report 19 May

2019-05-21

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2019-05-21

Gold and Silver Price
There is a drumbeat pounding on a monetary issue, which is now rising into a crescendo. The issue is: China might sell its holdings of Treasury bonds—well over $1 trillion—and crash the Treasury bond market. Since the interest rate is inverse to the bond price, a crash of the price would be a skyrocket of the rate. The US government would face spiraling costs of servicing its debt, and quickly collapse into bankruptcy.

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No Sign of Stimulus, Or Global Growth, China’s Economy Sunk By (euro)Dollar

2019-03-16

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2019-03-16

China Industrial Production 1999-2019
Najib Tun Razak was elected as Malaysia’s Prime Minister in early 2009. Taking office that April amid global turmoil and chaos, Najib’s first official visit was to Beijing in early June. His father, also Malaysia’s Prime Minister, had been the first among Asian nations to open formal diplomatic relations with China thirty-five years before.

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FX Daily, November 28: Powell Awaited

2018-11-28

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2018-11-28

Overview:  Global capital markets are relatively calm as investors gird for drama.  The Bank of England reports its assessment of the impact of Brexit and the stress tests a little before Fed Chair Powell speaks at midday in NY.  The G20 meeting begins Friday, and several bilateral meetings are taking the spotlight from the larger gathering. 

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FX Daily, November 20: Equity Slide Continues

2018-11-20

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2018-11-20

Yesterday's 3% drop in the NASDAQ is setting the tone for today. The US stock market advance had been led by a narrow group of equities, and those have come under strong pressure amid slower consumer demand and stricter export control. Asian equities were a sea of red today. Chinese markets led the sell-off with more than a 2% drop. In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is for a fifth session. 

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Wizard’s First Rule, Report 4 Nov 2018

2018-11-06

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2018-11-06

Gold and Silver Price
Terry Goodkind wrote an epic fantasy series. The first book in the series is entitled Wizard’s First Rule. We recommend the book highly, if you’re into that sort of thing. However, for purposes of this essay, the important part is the rule itself: “Wizard’s First Rule: people are stupid.” “People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything.

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FX Daily, October 23: Stock Slump Pushes Yields Lower and Buoys Yen

2018-10-23

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2018-10-23

There is one main story today, and that is the resumption of the slide in equities. It is having a ripple effect through the capital markets. Bond yields are tumbling. Gold is firm. The dollar is narrowly mixed, though the yen stands out with almost a 0.5% gain. Most of the large equity markets in Asia, including Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan were off mostly 2%-3%.

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FX Daily, July 06: Dollar Slips After Tariffs and Before Jobs Data

2018-07-06

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2018-07-06

The first set of US tariffs aims specifically at China were implemented, and the retaliatory actions were also launched. The tariffs cover hundreds of goods, though the initial amount of trade covered is relatively small at $34 bln. Tariffs on another $16 bln are in the pipeline and could be put into effect in a few weeks. The US is threatening to ramp up its response by imposing a tariff on another $200 bln of Chinese goods, though the details...

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FX Daily, March 26: Equity Meltdown Aborted, Dollar Eases

2018-03-26

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2018-03-26

After a poor start in Asia, equities recovered. The MSCI Asia Pacific initially extended last week's losses and fell to its lowest level since February 12 before recovering to finish near its highs, 0.4% above last week's close. European markets followed suit. They did not have to take out last week's lows. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is up about 0.4% in late morning turnover.

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US Imports: A Little Inflation For Yellen, A Little More Bastiat

2018-02-08

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2018-02-08

US Trade Balance, Jan 2014 - 2018
US imports rocketed higher once again in December, according to just-released estimates from the Census Bureau. Since August 2017, the US economy has been adding foreign goods at an impressive pace. Year-over-year (SA), imports are up just 10.4% (only 9% unadjusted) but 9.3% was in just those last four months. For most of 2017, imports were flat and even lower.

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FX Daily, January 10: Yen Short Squeeze Extended

2018-01-10

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2018-01-10

Sparked by fears that the BOJ took a step toward the monetary exit by reducing the amount of long-term bonds it is buying, there is an apparent scramble to cover previously sold yen positions. The dollar finished last week near JPY113.00. It fell to about JPY112.35 yesterday, near the 50% retracement of the greenback's bounce from the late-November lows near JPY110.85.

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FX Daily, November 30: US Dollar Comes Back Bid, but Brexit Hopes Underpin Sterling

2017-11-30

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2017-11-30

The US dollar is broadly firmer. The rise in US yields yesterday has seen the greenback extend its recovery against the yen. It briefly pushed through JPY112.40, after dipping below JPY111.00 at the start of the week, for the first time since mid-September. Since the end of last week, been capped at the 200-day moving average against the yen, found near JPY111.70, but yesterday it pushed past. There are nearly $1 bln of options struck between...

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FX Daily Rates, November 24: Euro Continues to Push Higher

2017-11-24

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2017-11-24

The euro is edging higher to trade at its best levels since the middle of last month. It is drawing closer to the $1.1880 area, which if overcome, could point to return to the year's high seen in early September near $1.2100. There is a combination of factors lifting the euro. The recent data, including yesterday's flash PMI, suggests that the regional economy is re-accelerating here in Q4.

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FX Daily, October 30: Dollar Slips in Consolidative Activity

2017-10-30

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2017-10-30

The markets are mixed, mostly responding to idiosyncratic developments, as the week's large events loom ahead. These BOJ, BOE, and FOMC meetings, eurozone flash CPI and US jobs reports. In addition, US President Trump is expected to announce his nomination of the next Fed chair, and the initial House tax bill will be unveiled.

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FX Daily, October 19: Kiwi Drop and Sterling Losses Punctuate Subdued FX Market

2017-10-19

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2017-10-19

The 30th anniversary of the 1987 equity market crash the major US benchmarks at record highs. The drop in the market was at least partly a function of the lack of capacity, sufficient instruments, and regulatory regime. Each of these factors has been addressed to some extent. Circuit breakers have been introduced, and have evolved. The financial capacity has grown immensely.

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The Gold-Backed-Oil-Yuan Futures Contract Myth

2017-10-16

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2017-10-16

Share of Global Payments, Oct 2010 - Jul 2017
On September 1, 2017, the Nikkei Asian Review published an article titled, “China sees new world order with oil benchmark backed by gold”, written by Damon Evans. Just below the headline in the introduction it states, “China is expected shortly to launch a crude oil futures contract priced in yuan and convertible into gold in what analysts say could be a game-changer for the industry”. Not long after the Nikkei piece was released ‘the story’ was...

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It Was Collateral, Not That We Needed Any More Proof

2017-09-30

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2017-09-30

US Treasury, Jan - Sep 2017
Eleven days ago, we asked a question about Treasury bills and haircuts. Specifically, we wanted to know if the spike in the 4-week bill’s equivalent yield was enough to trigger haircut adjustments, and therefore disrupt the collateral chain downstream. Within two days of that move in bills, the GC market for UST 10s had gone insane.To be honest, it was a rhetorical exercise.

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Swimming The ‘Dollar’ Current (And Getting Nowhere)

2017-09-26

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2017-09-26

PBOC Balance Sheet, Aug 2011 - 2017
The People’s Bank of China reported this week that its holdings of foreign assets fell slightly again in August 2017. Down about RMB 21 billion, almost identical to the RMB 22 billion decline in July, the pace of forex withdrawals is clearly much preferable to what China’s central bank experienced (intentionally or not) late last year at ten and even twenty times the rate of July and August.

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