Why Are We Limit Up? Here’s A List Of All The Interventions Unveiled Overnight

Why Are We Limit Up? Here’s A List Of All The Interventions Unveiled Overnight

US equity futures are limit up this morning after an impressive rally from ugly depths during Asian trading overnight.

So, what, or who, is responsible for this massive comeback?

Admittedly – after the 5th worst daily drop in history of the S&P 500 – one might have expected a bounce…

But, as Nomura’s Charlie McElligott details below, there was an armada of stimulus plans suggested overnight to rescue the world (markets)…

As we have continued repeating, “The worse it gets, the larger the ultimate policy response” – and away we go, highlighted by German’s shock “fiscal” capitulation announcements happening real-time:

German FinMin Scholz unleashes the REAL bazooka today though, in a shocking FISCAL “whatever it takes” moment: *SCHOLZ SAYS POSSIBLE GERMANY WILL NEED TO TAKE ON ADDED DEBT*; GERMANY WILL HAVE NO LIMIT ON CREDIT PROGRAM FOR COMPANIES; SCHOLZ SAYS GERMANY WILL SPEND BILLIONS TO CUSHION ECONOMY; *GERMANY PLANS TO SET UP SAFETY NET FOR VIRUS-HIT COMPANIES; ALTMAIER: RESOURCES FOR GERMANY’S STATE BANK TO RISE TO 500BN

Treas Sec Mnuchin and House Dems reached an agreement last night to move forward with legislation that would shore up the US public health response to COVID-19, while also blunting some of the economic impact (h/t Rob Dent)

  • Free COVID-19 testing, including for the uninsured

  • Paid emergency leave for workers (14 days paid sick leave, up to three months paid family/medical leave)

  • Enhanced unemployment insurance (increased access, waived requirements)

  • Increased food assistance

  • Increased federal funds for Medicaid

Yesterday’s Fed liquidity actions with the expansion of repo ops (beginning immed) and transition to “outright” QE (as previous “bill only” purchases expanded out across a range of maturities—thus, they are now explicitly buying Duration across nominal coupons, TIPS, FRNs and Bills) were introduced in an attempt to offset the obviously liquidity strains in the “frozen” Rates space, as evidenced by the moves in basis / off-the-runs this week

Further, given the deterioration of market conditions within Rates, I expect them to announce next week that they will effectively double the current monthly $notional purchases in an effort to soak-up some of this liquidity strain as OTR’s remain largely ‘bid-less’ and a large problem for both dealers and the leverage RV community alike

Lew’s new house-view is that the Fed will cut 100bps next wk, plus the aforementioned additional $50B of purchases on top of the current $60B plus the $20B from the MBS runoff reinvestments means a potential aggregate purchase of $130B / month from the Fed

  • PBoC cuts RRR for some banks this morning, releasing $79B of liquidity

  • ECB’s Villeroy—“We can distance ourselves from the capital key to purchase more of some countries debt if required”; ECB obviously too grew their QE yesterday as well

  • EU President Von Der Leyen unveiling emergency measures to tackle the economic fallout, including flexibility on budgetary and state aid rules; 37B Euro fund for coronavirus support

  • Italy may spend up to E16B on first stimulus

  • BoJ ups bond buying overnight in unannounced move (offering to buy $1.9B), while sources story says that QE interventions will grow (e.g. Commercial Paper, ETFs, Corp Bonds)

  • RBA added $5.5B of liquidity through daily repo ops, largest since at least ‘13

  • South Korea banning short-selling for 6m; Italian CONSOB bans short selling; Spain’s CNMV banned short sales on 69 stocks which fell over certain amounts yesterday; UK’s FCA temporarily prohibits short selling in certain instruments; French watchdog also investigating short selling ban;

  • Norges Bank cuts rates 50bps to 1%, is prepared to ease further; cuts countercyclical buffer to 1% from 2.5% with immediate effect

  • Riksbank lends 0.5T crowns to safeguard supply of credit while Ingves states can buy local, govt and corp bonds, can do currency intervention & cut rates if we think it’s needed

  • BoC injecting billions of cash with repo ops and is set to expand the scope of bond buybacks to add mkt liquidity

Finally, McElligott quotes Lenin:

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”

That seemed to sum things up extremely well.

 


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 09:50

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“There Will Be Liquidity” Mnuchin Vows As He Urges Banks To Use Discount Window

“There Will Be Liquidity” Mnuchin Vows As He Urges Banks To Use Discount Window

We found it quite odd when, in the last week of February, JPMorgan – which just a few months earlier received a repo and “NOT QE” bailout for breaking the repo market unexpectedly said it wanted to use the discount window again in hopes of breaching the stigma associated with the Fed’s liquidity facility that is best associated with the global financial crisis. Jennifer Piepszak, JPM’s CFO and the woman who certainly was involved in the bank’s decision to drain repo markets and eventually force the Fed to inject hundreds of billions in repo and QE4 funds thus ensuring JPM’s most profitable year on record, said the bank would borrow from the discount window from time to time this year and had discussed the plan with regulators. “We think this is an important step for us to take to break the stigma here.”

Two weeks later, we now know the reason behind JPM’s bizarre push to thaw use of the discount window: speaking to CNBC on Friday morning in an attempt to boost investor spirits and lift America’s confidence, Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin urged banks to use the discount window, while noting that markets are working orderly and will stay open, while promising that markets and 401(k)s will be up a year from now and that “for long-term investors, this will be a great investment opportunity”.

The Treasury secretary also said that the government wants to help airline industry, and hinted that suspending student loan payments is among steps considered.

More importantly, Mnuching said that “we’re very close to getting this done.” Treasury Sec. Mnuchin says negotiations between the White House and Congress on a coronavirus stimulus deal “are going very well.”

The punchline: when asked by Jim Cramer if he will guarantee to Americans that there will be liquidity in order to restore confidence, as was the case in 1987, Mnuchin said that 1987 was a “much scarier time” but he did indeed vow that “there will be liquidity available.

The only problem is that as today’s massively underutilized repo operations showed, it may be the wrong kind of liquidity.

Here are all the key highlights from his CNBC interview below, courtesy of Bloomberg:

  • MNUCHIN SAYS WAIVERS COMING TO HELP LIMIT VIRUS IMPACT
  • MNUCHIN: MORE COMING TO BOOST LIQUIDITY
  • MNUCHIN: WE WANT TO KEEP MARKETS OPEN
  • MNUCHIN: MARKETS ARE WORKING ORDERLY
  • MNUCHIN EXPECTS ECONOMIC REBOUND BY END OF YR
  • MNUCHIN: SUSPENDING STUDENT LOAN PMTS AMONG OPTIONS CONSIDERED
  • MNUCHIN: THERE WILL BE LIQUIDITY AVAILABLE

 


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 09:39

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Blain: “Step Back, Hunker Down, Get Ready…”

Blain: “Step Back, Hunker Down, Get Ready…”

Authored by Bill Blain via MorningPorridge.com,

“Vulgar, but not a vulgar as Louis Vuitton, thought Sherman.”

Perhaps it’s time to think the unthinkable and close markets for a few weeks? 

Today we might be seeing a rash of desparate new efforts by central banks to promise liquidity to Treasuries, to pump money into stocks and shares in Norway and Japan… but you have to wonder what possible chance they have. It’s a long-held truism in FX markets that intervention only works when you intervene in the direction sentiment is heading. 

You can’t stem fear. 

The Virus, crowded hospitals, containment and social distancing are all going to happen – whatever we do. The crisis will top in a few weeks, maybe months, and then its pick-up the pieces. That’s a first order of business for new Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey when he takes over on Monday? How to stem further panic? Good luck to him. Unfortunately, closing markets would probably just create even more negative consequences and value destruction as a tidal wave waits for the doors to re-open. There are still massive long positions that didn’t capitulate earlier – they are now irretrievably lost. 

The key drivers yesterday that spun rationale-thought into panic were multiple: 

  • Virus fears have multiplied as quickly as infection rates across the Occident are rising – that’s made the Virus very real indeed. Fear and the Virus have both broken containment. Delay is the only theme. 

  • Markets faith in Governments and the Authorities – particularly Trump and the ECB – to provide cover, has been shattered. They are variously accused in the press of incoherence, ineffectivness and being out-of-touch. Largard’s lack of experience came to the fore. Faith has gone. Worse – there are few signs industry leaders, regulators, central bankers and government are getting together to address this as happened in 2008. Who wants to be in Room with Trump’s lackeys? (Except here in the UK – where it looks much more joined up – but we are a small island in a raging sea.)

  • All the signs from global commodities, trade, shipping etc point to massive economic slowdown and distress.

  • We are now into stage 3 of crisis – imagining how markets might seize up further, panicking about chronic illiquidity in corporate bonds, and fearing even the most liquid markets like Treasuries could derail. 

In short. Its brutal out there.

Stocks are crashing rather than heading for any kind of landing – forget soft, the only issue is how hard. I am not surprised – read back through my Porridge Blogs this year, and trace the path. Now the indices could go much much lower: the slow motion market crash I’ve been talking about the last few weeks has now accelerated into a complete full-on meltdown. 

Asset Management next to fall

It means we are going to see crisis come home to roost in Asset Management sector. The last 13 years has seen a massive transfer of risk from banks to AM. That’s a lot of pain now on the books. It will come to the fore in coming days as funds are gated, massive losses announced, and Central Banks and the Authorities are forced to react. Might even be a bail-out or 100? So far there hasn’t been much hard stories (H2Ois one), but take a look at how much Blackrock is down since Mid-Feb – 33%. It’s the similar across the board. 

Trump’s ill-judged address to the Nation on Wednesday night, and his closing the door on Europe, will be remembered as the single most expensive speech in history. In 10 minutes, Trump’s stupid havering wiped more value out of savers pockets that ever before. Well done Genius. (Why were the British Isles not on the banned list? He owns Golf Courses in Ireland and Scotland.)

Christine Lagarde apparently threw Italy under the bus yesterday when she said is getting it in the eye this morning after telling us: “We are not here to close spreads”. There is an excellent take on this by Mark Gilbert and Marcus Ashworth, but  I’m not so sure she completely failed. She has illustrated the gap between what the ECB can do, and what the markets expect it can do. She can’t deliver the fiscal stimulus Europe desperately needs – that requires Brussels and Berlin to wake up. With Berlin scrabbling to succeed the Learesque-looking Merkel, this is going to be a typically European crisis response: The crisis will deepen, look insolvable, and at last moment just enough will happen, the ball will be kicked a bit further down the road, and Europe will struggle on the next nexus of crisis!

If you want to make money, keep shorting Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece, but get ready to switch to long as pressure mounts, bailouts are mentioned, and Europe’s overriding imperative: “SAVE THE EURO AT ALL COSTS” comes into play. 

What we are seeing is Markets in action. We can panic, dither, laugh and fiddle as Rome burns around us, but… I’m watching, waiting and already seizing up the potential buy opportunities. There are going to be some superb opportunities. This is going to be an absolute golden-once-in-a-decade buying opportunity – when the dust and debris starts to clear.

Step bank, hunker down, get ready… 

There are going to be stumbles, but its interesting to watch what happens as China, its economy and its markets recover. 

If you want some ideas on what I’m personally looking at in terms of opportunity.. let’s chat. You know how to get hold of me. (Institutional investors only I’m afraid.) 

Meanwhile… the cost of Coronavirus:

I don’t know anyone who yet has the disease, but its already struck at the heart of family and friends. If it is hurting us, then the pain across the globe must be immense. 

My daughter’s dream job in fashion is about to go down the plug: they import fabric from Asia and have it made up in Italy. That ain’t happening now. Missed shipments and lockdown means they are about to miss delivering their biggest order of the year, and its cancellation will simply kill the business. They will be forced to pull the plug on staff today. If anyone wants a bright, fashion-savvy girl Friday who understands the business from the bottom up – get in touch..  

Meanwhile, chums from Scotland have spent the last 2 weeks cruising in endless circles round the Indian Ocean banned from stopping anywhere – they’ve just been dropped off early in the Gulf and making their own way home.  The cruising industry is finished – and it’s a major UK employer. A number of Flybe pilots in the area (Southampton is one if its bases) aren’t even trying to find new jobs as aviation collapses. Another works for Norwegian, and he has a baby on the way. Another chum runs an AirBNB service in London – and its collapsing. Two of my closest friends run businesses that are seeing contracts delayed or pulled.

And the virus hasn’t even really started. 


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 09:36

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Fauci ‘Optimistic’ Coronavirus Testing System Will Be Fixed Within ‘The Next Week Or Two’

Fauci ‘Optimistic’ Coronavirus Testing System Will Be Fixed Within ‘The Next Week Or Two’

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says he is ‘optimistic’ that the ongoing bottlenecks delaying coronavirus testing will be fixed.

Fauci acknowledged to ABC News that the government needs to do better to meet the flood of demand as COVID-19 begins to blanket the country.

“I mean, we have to admit that in the beginning we didn’t have what we needed, but now we will fix it,” he said.

According to Fauci, the earlier testing methods were ‘working’ during the initial outbreak, however the coronavirus task force led by Vice President Mike Pence is on track to provide a better system quickly.

It’s going to be within the next week or two — probably even more like a week,” he said.

Fauci said that the diagnostic test used by the World Health Organization (WHO) wasn’t used because the US test was “one that had been working, and working well for the system that was involved.”


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 09:20

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Mayor Of Florence Encouraged Italians To “Hug A Chinese” Before Pandemic Hit

Mayor Of Florence Encouraged Italians To “Hug A Chinese” Before Pandemic Hit

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

The Mayor of Florence is facing fresh criticism after he encouraged Italians to “Hug a Chinese” as a stand against racism before Italy was later forced to quarantine its entire country because of the coronavirus.

The story is yet another illustration of how political correctness can actually sometimes be dangerous if not fatal.

Italy is now under a complete lockdown after the country was ravaged by coronavirus. Current figures show over 12,000 recorded infections with 827 deaths.

Many observers have criticized Italy’s left-wing government for not taking tougher measures earlier, but their reaction was significantly less embarrassing than how Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella responded to the outbreak.

Back in February, as the first cases of coronavirus were being recorded in Italy, Nardella launched an anti-racism hashtag campaign which translates as “hug a Chinese.”

“Half-empty Chinese restaurants, suspicious looks when you meet a Chinese on the street – maybe born and raised in Italy – psychosis when the bus neighbor sneezes, this is the effect of Coronavirus on the Italian population,” reported Newsly.it.

A video shows a Chinese man wearing a blindfold and a face mask in Florence asking for hugs. Numerous people embrace the man while some physically remove his blindfold and mask.

The Mayor even released a Twitter video of himself hugging an awkward-looking Chinese person to promote the campaign, which was launched to “stem the hatred” and “express solidarity with the Chinese community.”

Suffice to say Nardella is a member of the left-wing Democratic Party in Italy.

One wonders if he sees the empty streets in Florence and ponders whether his absurd campaign contributed to the current state of Italy.

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 09:05

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This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen: FRA/OIS Explodes Higher After Fed’s “Bazooka Repos” Misfire

This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen: FRA/OIS Explodes Higher After Fed’s “Bazooka Repos” Misfire

Yesterday, in the aftermath of the Fed’s $1.5 trillion repo bazooka and QE4 announcement when dealers submitted a paltry $78.4 billion in securities to the Fed’s new and massively upsized $500BN 3-month repo operation, we asked if the Fed was using the wrong bazooka to fix the funding crisis, a question that was also asked by the market which tumbled shortly after the tiny repo uptake was announced, as “traders realized that what is ailing the market is not access to the Fed’s balance sheet.”

Moments ago the Fed announced the second and third results  from the newly unveiled “bazooka repos”, and they too were major duds, with Dealers obtaining just $17BN in liquidity out of the $500BN total available in the second 3-Month repo, followed shortly after by just $24.1BN in the first $500BN 1-month repo, for a total liquidity injection of just $41.1BN.

The immediate problem that emerged is that while the Fed opened up to $1.5 trillion in virtually free liquidity access for banks, they have only used $119.5 billion of it, even as financial conditions remain perplexingly tight.

In other words, the same question as yesterday: is the Fed using a liquidity bazooka to fix a problem that is not based in a malfunction in the repo market.

And the clearest indication that that’s the case came moments after the result of the first repo was announced, when the all-important FRA/OIS spread which measures scarcity of dollar liquidity in interbank and funding markets, snapped higher by 10 bps, from 68 to 78… 

… suggesting that repo may not be the proper fix to whatever it is that remains broken in the market.

And if indeed the Fed is using the wrong medicine to treat whatever the underlying condition is, what now?

Well, for now stocks are happy, with the ES still limit up, but shortly whatever is the real source of the marketwide funding shortage will reemerge again, and this time the market will demand the right answer from the Fed. If it does not get it, yesterday’s drop may be just a dress rehearsal for what is coming.


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 08:50

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In Traders’ Prayers, “Monetary Policy-Makers Have Taken The Place Of God”

In Traders’ Prayers, “Monetary Policy-Makers Have Taken The Place Of God”

Authored by Richard Breslow via Bloomberg,

Yesterday was an unusual day. In addition to all of the stunningly obvious reasons. Of which, I confess, finding the way Treasury yields behaved being the most intriguing. Usually, when markets sell off hard, people call — and after a few pleasantries (or growls) the inevitable questions get asked.

“Isn’t this overdone?” “When will it end?” Et cetera.

And, of course, “Why don’t they do something?”

The “they” shows how much financial markets have come to rely on their central banks to provide. In the prayers of traders, monetary policy makers have taken the place of God.

On Thursday what I heard was notably different.

During the worst of the price action, the calls I fielded included:

“Can I buy now?”

“I’m loving these bargain prices”

Or, my favorite as a global macro guy, “Of the following stocks, which would you start buying first?”

That’s rather remarkable.

Cash is indeed king, but apparently intended to be put to use lest it burn a hole in any pockets.

At the same time, speaking to a friend who is an attorney at a large firm specializing in trusts and estates, he said they have never had a busier week. Every elderly client wanted to make sure their affairs were in order. Have you ever heard of someone with a T&E practice pulling an all-nighter?

Who you talk to really does color perceptions of an event. One person’s threat is another’s opportunity. Like it or not, it surely encapsulates the reality of the post-financial crisis world.

It wasn’t surprising, but unfortunate, that ECB President Christine Lagarde came under such severe criticism for not giving the markets exactly what they wanted from policy and in words. We’ve become comfortable with futures pricing dictating the terms of engagement. How many times have you heard someone proclaim the central bank wouldn’t dare disappoint expectations. But, what she gave them will be far more constructive in the long run than merely serving up what traders were hoping to hear.

Granted the comments about the ECB “not here to close spreads” could have been said more eloquently. But it wasn’t as much of a misstatement as many claim. Her point was monetary policy can only go so far and central banks can no longer be the only game in town. She boldly threw down the gauntlet before the euro zone finance ministers scheduled to meet next week to do their part.

Global central banks are flooding the markets with liquidity. They are working to ensure the financial system keeps functioning. That is the most important thing they can do. And they are doing it. But to tide us over while a medical response is pursued, everyone knows, and has known, that it is the MIA fiscal policy that must be the answer. And, finally, someone was willing to put those decision makers on the spot.

The package the ECB came up with wasn’t parsimonious. It just wasn’t what speculators in BTPs were expecting to receive. It’s entirely possible, if not likely, that the 10 basis points that seem to matter to so many will be delivered in April. Lagarde will most likely also throw in some additionally favorable TLTRO terms. Spice things up with more QE. But she first needs, and is apparently willing to demand, an act of good faith on the part of the European governments.

It was hardly a coincidence that Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann promptly, and finally, said, “It’s really not the right time to be dogmatic about Black Zero.” That statement tells you far more than the “clarification” of Lagarde’s message by Italian Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri which in effect said, “don’t worry, she does in fact love you.” Finance ministers are politicians and they ultimately understand the tide of history. If financial markets want to be optimistic, they should thank, not berate, her.

One thing that should also be remembered from this week is, that when it is all said and done, the dollar is still the ultimate safe haven and it is merely a luxury of better times that people feel comfortable selling it.

And bond yields down where they were on Monday ultimately offer no value. Especially if there is an increased likelihood of more appropriate stimulus.


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 08:31

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EU Ready To Trigger Constitutional ‘Crisis Clause’ Allowing Fiscal Stimulus

EU Ready To Trigger Constitutional ‘Crisis Clause’ Allowing Fiscal Stimulus

Update (0830ET): Since politics is always priority No. 1 in our contemporary society, no matter how much blood has just been, or will soon be, spilled, Scholz apparently couldn’t resist taking a shot at President Trump and Germany’s Afd, the far-right “Alternative for Germany” party.

  • SCHOLZ SAYS GLOBAL VIRUS CRISIS SHOWS LIMITS OF NATIONALISM

It’s a pretty bold claim to make, especially as more health experts criticize the EU’s blind commitment to maintaining ‘open borders’ during the outbreak, allowing sick travelers from Italy to spread the virus all across the continent.

*  *  *

Update (0810ET): In case you couldn’t put 2 and 2 together, Scholz has clarified that it’s “possible” Germany will need to take on “added debt” to finance this stimulus effort.

As Merkel explained yesterday, Germany’s constitutional debt brake allows for excess spending in the event of an emergency, according to Reuters.

Germany’s debt brake rule allows for exceptions in extraordinary situations and the coronavirus crisis is such a case, Chancellor Angela Merkel explained on Thursday. Under the rule, the federal government can take on new debt of up to 0.35% of GDP.

“The debt brake…provides for exceptions in extraordinary situations – and that is, as I said yesterday, really not our topic as to how the budget balance will look in the end,” Merkel told a news conference. “We are in a situation that is unusual in every respect and I would say more unusual than at the time of the banking crisis.”

After all, this is “the crisis of the decade”, right?

*  *  *

One day after the biggest drop in European stocks since the financial crisis, German stocks have come roaring back and bond yields have plunged after Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said Friday that Germany would abandon the ‘debt break’ and whip out the government credit card to help shelter its economy from the vicissitudes of the global coronavirus outbreak.

One day after Chancellor Merkel voiced support for the idea, Scholz said Germany will spend “billions” to cushion the economy

Of course, Germany’s notorious fiscal prudence means that some members of Merkel’s center-right CDU will likely oppose the move, as some have already expressed opposition to suspending the constitutional debt limits.

Stocks across the developed world rebounded on Friday, soaring into the green in what appears to be a coordinated dip-buying exercise. The STOXX Europe 600 was up 7.3% in recent trade, leaving it on track for its largest daily gain since 2008.

Bond yields, meanwhile, plunged on the news.

  • GERMAN 10-YEAR BONDS EXTEND DECLINE,  YIELD UP 14BPS
  • GERMAN 30-YEAR BONDS EXTEND DECLINE,  YIELD UP 15BPS

Scholz added that Germany could adopt a more formalized fiscal stimulus program if needed.


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 08:01

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Last Week’s ‘Women’s Day’ March Led To Surge Of Deadly Coronavirus Infections In Madrid

Last Week’s ‘Women’s Day’ March Led To Surge Of Deadly Coronavirus Infections In Madrid

As the Italian lockdown enters its third day, Madrid is rapidly becoming Europe’s latest problem area.

According to the Spanish-language newspaper El Mundo, which cited data from local health councilor Enrique Ruiz Escudero, 2,000 people in the Madrid region alone have tested positive for Covid-19 as of March 13, up from 1,388 as of March 12. Escudero described the surge as “very worrying.”

At 6 pm on Thursday, the number of cases in Madrid had stood at 1,388 out of a total of 3,004 in Spain as a whole.

Enrique Ruiz Escudero begged Spain’s socialist-controlled federal government for more supplies to help combat the virus as “community spread” intensifies. Ruiz Escudero made the comments as he and other top Madrid officials pleaded with Spain’s central government for more supplies to help combat the virus as the “community spread” intensifies.

Ruiz Escuadero called for restaurants and bars to close and begged people to stay at home to reduce the risk of infection.

“This is the only thing that we know we can do to contain it,” Ruiz Escudero said of the calls for citizens to remain at home, adding that 190 people with the virus were now in intensive care in Madrid, while 40 people in the region have died.

The health councilor said the number of cases was expected to rise “very much” in the coming days, mostly due to the contagion spread at last weekend’s ‘International Women’s Day’ March, where thousands gathered to march without much regard for public health concerns (or the serious risks they were creating for vulnerable people in their communities).

Spain appears to have won a three-way battle with Germany and France for the mantle of Europe’s second-worst outbreak of Covid-19. Spain has the second-highest number of total confirmed cases in Europe after Italy now that the virus has accelerated over the past week since the Women’s March.

Europe’s fourth-largest economy has decided to shutter its schools to try and contain the pandemic, while also closing museums and banning events with more than 1,000 people.

Though tougher restrictions have been adopted, it will take at least a week to figure out whether they’ve worked or not.


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 07:38

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S&P Futures Trade Limit-Up

S&P Futures Trade Limit-Up

After collapsing to fresh cycle lows overnight, US equity futures have staged a remarkable comeback and S&P is now trading limit up, stuck at 2,582  (or up 5%).

SPY (S&P 500 ETF) indicates buying pressure continues…

Bonds and stocks are completely decoupled in terms of their correlation regime – after bonds puked their guts out overnight, they are now rallying alongside the equity gains…

Is it time for a sustained bounce?


Tyler Durden

Fri, 03/13/2020 – 07:22

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