iftttwall

A pair of conflicting economist reports this morning.

On one hand, the DOL reported that seasonally adjusted Initial Claims dropped from an upward revised 344K to 323K (a number which will be revised higher as is now the tradition) below the expected 335K, which incidentally in an ultrasensitive environment to every piece of good news may be bad news as it means the November NFP report may come in better than expected and cement the Fed’s intention to taper as soon as December at least according to yesterday’s FOMC Minutes. Then again, the BLS noted that the decline was influenced by the Veterans’ Day holiday, so once again what is really going on beneath the surface is very much unclear. As Bloomberg notes, as a result of the holiday, “investors should anticipate a likely reversal next week in the pace of firings.” Ironic when the bulls are forced to cheer for bad economic data so the Fed balance sheet-driven melt up may continue. Continuing claims rose modestly by 66K to 2.876MM, slightly higher than expected, but well below the 3.325MM at this time last year.

 

On the other hand, Producer Price Inflation followed the recent CPI decline, and dropped by 0.2% in October in line with expectations, making the October headline PPI print the biggest drop since April’s -0.7%. Broken down by component, foods saw an increase of 0.8%, offset by a 1.5% drop in energy. PPI ex-food and energy rose by 0.2%, a fraction above the expected 0.1%, and rose 1.4% compared to a year earlier.

So adding the two reports together: Claims suggest Fed may taper soon if the labor market is indeed improving (with companies hiring part-time workers), while the PPI confirms that at least according to the BLS, inflation is nowhere to be found, suggesting much more QE in stock.

Just you typical, run of the mill, baffle with BS day.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/HZvm52gCElQ/story01.htm Tyler Durden

 

The capital market for new issues and refinancing of corporate debt has been on a tear the past few months – I think that ended yesterday. That's because the dreaded Taper Talk has resurfaced. The Fed minutes yesterday rekindled Fear of Taper.

The Taper On/Taper Off story has been with us for six months now. It started in May with the release of the Fed minutes and the first "whisper' of the Taper. The talk of the Taper reached a zenith in late September as the debt markets were convinced that Bernanke would start the Taper in October. It was a big surprise to players when Good Ole Ben chose to delay the October start and push it to sometime in the future; and now it's back.

 

 

An interesting consequence of Taper Talk is how it affects the Corporate new issue bond calendar. The following chart shows how talk of taper killed the ReFi market in June/July/October, and it also shows how the window for new issues opened right after Big Ben delayed the taper for a few months. Up until yesterday the corporate finance types and bond dealers on Wall Street were having a daily party. As of today, they will be back to struggling to push deals out the door.

 

 

My read of this is that the debt market does not work well unless there is the perception of QE -4 ever. The capital markets freeze up whenever the threat of a disruption of the $85B of grease the Fed provides every month arises. When the capital markets are working well, the deal flow is there, and this is good for the economy. When there is Taper Talk the refinancing gears get gummed up, and it acts like a drag on the economy.

There is no doubt in my mind that Yellen is going to push off the Taper for as long as she can. But even the Great Dove can't push the Taper off for too long. I think that Yellen will be forced to initiate a Taper by March. That suggests that there is a four month window before the actual event, but I don't think the Taper Talk is going to subside as it did in October/November. The Talk of the Taper will be with us (and the closing of the refinancing window) for months. As a result we are going to see a pause in the up move in equities and a closing of the bond window. This will translate into an economic drag. Whatever your forecast of 4th Q and 1st Q growth were on Tuesday, you should mark them down a bit today.

QE is the lubricant of the system. But when it is ended (or threatened to end) it causes pain. We've had five years of grease, now we are going to have to pay a price. My guess is that this new round of Taper Talk is going to hurt pretty bad. The reason is that there is next to no basis to believe that QE can be continued beyond a few more months. The Taper sign is now on, it will remain on until the talk is turned into action. When the Taper Talk sign is on, beware. The sign is now brightly lit.

 

 

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/nYQlPCt_5iE/story01.htm Bruce Krasting

 

The capital market for new issues and refinancing of corporate debt has been on a tear the past few months – I think that ended yesterday. That's because the dreaded Taper Talk has resurfaced. The Fed minutes yesterday rekindled Fear of Taper.

The Taper On/Taper Off story has been with us for six months now. It started in May with the release of the Fed minutes and the first "whisper' of the Taper. The talk of the Taper reached a zenith in late September as the debt markets were convinced that Bernanke would start the Taper in October. It was a big surprise to players when Good Ole Ben chose to delay the October start and push it to sometime in the future; and now it's back.

 

 

An interesting consequence of Taper Talk is how it affects the Corporate new issue bond calendar. The following chart shows how talk of taper killed the ReFi market in June/July/October, and it also shows how the window for new issues opened right after Big Ben delayed the taper for a few months. Up until yesterday the corporate finance types and bond dealers on Wall Street were having a daily party. As of today, they will be back to struggling to push deals out the door.

 

 

My read of this is that the debt market does not work well unless there is the perception of QE -4 ever. The capital markets freeze up whenever the threat of a disruption of the $85B of grease the Fed provides every month arises. When the capital markets are working well, the deal flow is there, and this is good for the economy. When there is Taper Talk the refinancing gears get gummed up, and it acts like a drag on the economy.

There is no doubt in my mind that Yellen is going to push off the Taper for as long as she can. But even the Great Dove can't push the Taper off for too long. I think that Yellen will be forced to initiate a Taper by March. That suggests that there is a four month window before the actual event, but I don't think the Taper Talk is going to subside as it did in October/November. The Talk of the Taper will be with us (and the closing of the refinancing window) for months. As a result we are going to see a pause in the up move in equities and a closing of the bond window. This will translate into an economic drag. Whatever your forecast of 4th Q and 1st Q growth were on Tuesday, you should mark them down a bit today.

QE is the lubricant of the system. But when it is ended (or threatened to end) it causes pain. We've had five years of grease, now we are going to have to pay a price. My guess is that this new round of Taper Talk is going to hurt pretty bad. The reason is that there is next to no basis to believe that QE can be continued beyond a few more months. The Taper sign is now on, it will remain on until the talk is turned into action. When the Taper Talk sign is on, beware. The sign is now brightly lit.

 

 

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/nYQlPCt_5iE/story01.htm Bruce Krasting

With the US shale revolution set to make America the largest exporter of crude, however briefly, the influence of Saudi oil is rapidly declining. This has been felt most recently in the cold shoulder the US gave Saudi Arabia and Qatar first over the Syrian debacle, and subsequently in its overtures to break the ice with Iran over the stern objections of Israel and the Saudi lobby (for a good example of this the most recent soundbites by Prince bin Talal ). But despite the shifting commodity winds and the superficial political jawboning, the reality is that nothing threatens the US dollar’s hegemony in what many claim is the biggest pillar of the currency’s reserve status – the petrodollar, which literally makes the USD the only currency in which energy-strapped countries can transact in to purchase energy. This may be changing soon following news that the Shanghai Futures Exchange could price its crude oil futures contract in yuan, its chairman said on Thursday, adding that the bourse is speeding up preparatory work to secure regulatory approvals.

 In doing so China is effectively lobbing the first shot across the bow of the Petrodollar system, and more importantly, the key support of the USD in the international arena.

This would be in keeping with China’s strategy to import about 100 tons of gross gold each and every month, in addition to however much gold it produces internally, in what many have also seen as a preparation for a gold-backed currency, which however would require a far broader acceptance of the renminbi in the international arena and most importantly, its intermediation in a crude pricing loop. It is precisely the latter that China is starting to focus on.

Reuters reports:

China, which overtook the United States as the world’s top oil importer in September, hopes the contract will become a benchmark in Asia and has said it would allow foreign investors to trade in the contract without setting up a local subsidiary.

 

“China is the only country in the world that is a major crude producer, consumer and a big importer. It has all the necessary conditions to establish a successful crude oil futures contract,” Yang Maijun, SHFE chairman, said at an industry conference.

 

Yang’s presentation slides at the conference stated that the draft proposal is for the contract to be denominated in yuan and use the type of medium sour crude that China most commonly imports.

It is hardly panic time yet: Reuters adds that industry participants with direct knowledge of the plan have said the contract would be priced in the yuan, otherwise known as the Renminbi, and the U.S. dollar. However, one can argue that the CNY-pricing is for now a test to gauge acceptance of the Chinese currency, and will take on increasingly more prominence as more and more countries, first in Asia and then everywhere else, opt for the CNY-denomination and in the process boost the Renminbi to ever greater parity with the USD.

Here are the punchlines:

“The yuan has become more international and more recognised by the financial market,” Chen Bo, Chinese trading firm Unipec’s executive general manager, told Reuters.

 

“I don’t think it would be unacceptable for the world to use the renminbi for commodities trading.”

Certainly not, although it would also entail a depegging the CNY from the USD, something which China is for now unable and unwilling to do. Because once the Yuan is freely priced, kiss all those Wal-Mart “99 cent” deals goodbye. 

Which in retrospect may be just what the US wants: a very gradual and controlled dephasing of the USD’s reserve currency status. Recall that what the Fed wants at any cost is inflation which has so far failed to materialize at the level demanded by the Chair(wo)man thanks in part to cheap Chinese goods and ongoing US exporting of inflation to China. So if that means a spike in the prices of China imports – so key to keeping US inflation in check – so be it. Because we can already see the Fed’s thinking on the matter – certainly it will be able to always restore the USD’s supreme status in “15 minutes” or less when it so chooses.

Of course, by then China, and the Petroyuan, may have a very different view on the world.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/FF5-qCF-J9U/story01.htm Tyler Durden

Investors are focused on the possible tapering of U.S. stimulus and starting to take some money off the table after a strong equities rally year-to-date. Less attention is being paid to the biggest source of risk at present: deflation in the developed world. All of the past week’s data point to heightened deflationary risks. Paltry U.S. consumer price index (CPI) figures, German producer prices undershooting and another bout of weakness in commodity prices, particularly oil, suggest deflation is winning the battle over central bank stimulus. Which is something that Asia Confidential has been forecasting for some time.

It’s no coincidence that at the same time, the Japanese yen has reached four month lows versus the U.S. dollar. Japan is printing an enormous amount of money in a bid to end its 20-year affair with deflation. It wants inflation at all costs and the yen is collateral damage. Lowering the yen increases the competitiveness of Japanese exporters, resulting in more cars, robots and flat-panel TVs being shipped abroad. And that means Japan is exporting deflation, and resultant lower prices in these goods, to the rest of the world. Key competitors in China and South Korea are starting to fight back but are being hampered by their strong currencies versus the yen.

There’s increasing talk that Europe will resort to more stimulus soon to wade off deflation. The euro has been remarkably strong compared to other currencies, making the region’s exporters increasingly un-competitive. Across the Atlantic, Bernanke and co. have been further hinting at QE tapering, but with rising deflation risks, any tapering seems unlikely. If Japan succeeds in weakening the yen further, you can be sure that other countries will start to complain and print money to lower their own currencies. The phrase “currency wars” may come back in vogue soon enough.

What does all this mean for markets? Well, it increases the odds of a further stock market correction before year-end. And a bond rally would seem overdue. But more broadly, it means the tussle between deflation and central bank stimulus should continue. That means more money printing and low interest rates for the foreseeable future. Which could push asset prices higher from already elevated levels, raising the odds of a major correction down the track.

Disinflation reigns

I’ve spoken of deflation so far, but it’s really disinflation (falling inflation) that’s occurring. A host of recent data suggests that this remains the primary threat to global economies, including:

1) The U.S. inflation rate fell to 1% annualised in October, the lowest figure in almost 50 years, excluding the 2008 financial crisis. Inflation in America peaked in 2011 and remains way below the Fed’s 2% target rate. The chart below is courtesy of Business Insider.

2) U.S. bank loan growth is showing a similar slowdown. Stimulus isn’t resulting in increased lending and therefore isn’t filtering through to the real economy. There’s just not enough end-demand for loans as businesses and consumers remain cautious about taking on debt.

3) The German producer price index (PPI) fell 0.2% month-on-month in October, more than expected. On an annualised basis, the PPI fell 0.7%. It points to slower inflation ahead.

4) The trend of slowing inflation is a Europe-wide issue. No wonder the European Central Bank cited falling inflation as a factor in its decision to cut rates earlier this month.

5) It’s not data as such, but softening commodity prices also point to falling inflation. The correction in oil prices is particularly pertinent.

These are just a few of the signs that deflation remains firmly in charge.

Why Japan’s largely to blame

Japan is back on the radar of investors given a breakout in its stock market and the yen reaching a four-month low. There’s a larger story brewing though. And that’s growing evidence that the grand experiment of Abenomics has been a complete and utter failure.

Recent third quarter GDP of 1.9% was half the level of the second quarter. More importantly, personal incomes
have barely budged while the cost of living has soared, thanks to the falling yen. This week’s trade figures showed imports surging 26% year-on-year (YoY) in October, versus 19% expected, due to soaring fuel imports. This overshadowed exports rising 19% YoY, more than analyst forecasts. Consequently, Japan’s trade balance (difference between exports and imports) fell to the third lowest level on record.

Why does this matter? Well, Japan runs a budget deficit of close to 10%. It used to run a major trade surplus, which has now turned into a trade deficit. If you run budget and trade deficits, you need to plug the gap either via private savings or the central bank printing massive amounts of money. The problem with the former is that using private savings to finance the gap means there’ll be less savings for private investment, a key growth driver for the economy. This means that you can expect Japan to print increasing amounts of money and for the yen to weaken further.

Besides the yen, the other point of interest will be Japanese government bonds. If Japan accelerates the monetisation of debt (central bank buying bonds to finance government), that’ll crowd out private players in the bond market. In fact, this is already happening. The so-called crowding out effect will almost certainly lead to increased volatility as private players are marginalised.

This is important because Japan desperately needs bond yields to stay low. The government’s enormous debt load (nearing 245% of GDP) means that just a small increase in bond yields and interest rates would lead to interest expenses on government debt reaching intolerable levels (a 2% rate would have interest expenses covering 80% of government revenues).

As Asia Confidential has highlighted on several occasions, Japan is in a desperate situation where there are no happy endings. There are only bad and worse outcomes. The government has chosen an extraordinary experiment which could well pave the way for the worst outcome to occur.

But this isn’t just a Japan issue. Other countries aren’t going to sit idly by and watch Japan steal market share due to the softening yen. At some point, they’re going to hit back with currency devaluations of their own. And then the real currency wars will begin in earnest. History shows these wars never end well as global trade suffers from the tit-for-tat between countries.

Are bonds set to come back?

Markets have largely ignored deflationary risks thus far. Stocks have surged, with few corrections, while bonds have spluttered. Given stagnant to falling GDP in the developed world and declining inflation, the bond market action has been particularly puzzling. Usually, government bond yields closely correlate with nominal (real plus inflation) GDP. If nominal GDP is falling, then so too should government bond yields.

This is why you should expect government bond yields in the developed world to head lower given the current deflationary threats. And it should also mean stocks have a further correction in the near future.

Short-term market action is always difficult to call though. Long-term trends are easier to distinguish. And on this front, little has changed. You have an ongoing battle between deflation and central bank government efforts to prevent it via QE. Deflation is winning right now, which is why you should expect more QE, not less, going forward.

If that’s right, stimulus and low interest rates could be with us for some time yet. Asset prices may be bid up further. And the market bears may have to wait before a more serious correction happens. The catalyst for that is likely to be a loss of faith in central bank stimulus.

This post was originally published at Asia Confidential:
http://asiaconf.com/2013/11/21/deflation-is-crushing-qe/

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/tQ-QejYwITk/story01.htm Asia Confidential

As we recently noted, thanks to the overwhelming dominance of the BoJ, the Japanese government bond market is “for all intent and purpose” dead. As the chart below shows, that is the lesson that Europe has learned also. Since the Greek bailout, bond trading volumes (and thus liquidity) has collapsed to practically zero. Of course, this is ignored by the mainstream media, instead focusing on the ‘low’ yields of that nation’s debt as indicative of ‘recovery’ around the corner and a market that knows better. Instead it is simply a measure of the domestic banks meager pricing at the margin of a bond market that reflects nothing but a shell of its former self. The pattern is similar (though not so terrible) for Spanish and Italian debt as the entire European bond market devolves into OMT-driven farce.

 

 

(h/t @fmirw)

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/9OqLONmqjKM/story01.htm Tyler Durden