Archive for July, 2008

Refunding and Treasury Financing Needs

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

I was away from my work station for several hours but return now to active blogging.I note that the Treasury has announced the refunding package as $17 billion 10 year notes and $10 billion of a not quite 30 year bond. That is a little more new cash than many ...

Overnight Treasury Flow

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Some overnight treasury flow: Asian end users buying bills and 2 year notes. Spec sellers 5s. Central bank sells 5s and buys 10s Leveraged sellers and bank sellers 10s.

Credit Open

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

The IG 10 is opening a basis point tighter at 131 ½. One trader suggests that street shorts have covered and the Index is now somewhere between fair and rich to the single names. He suggests that with GDP and payrolls in front of the market, the risk is that ...

Interfluidity on Covered Bonds

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Read this artful piece by Steve Waldman on the covered bond market. It is excellent analysis and great writing.

Opening Comments July 30 2008

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Prices of Treasury coupon securities have registered barely any change in overnight trading. The yield on the 2 year note has declined 1 basis point to 2.61 percent. The yield on the 5 year note has dropped 1 basis point to 3.36 percent. The yield on the 10 year note ...

The Dollar, Oil, Labor and the FOMC

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

The sharp decline in the price of oil affords the FOMC some wiggle room when it meets next week. The recent strength in the dollar is also a welcome development.In his most recent Congressional testimony Chairman Bernanke spoke of the worrisome problem of a weak dollar and the inflationary impact ...

Eurpean Economic Indicators for July 30th 2008

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

There is quite a bit of European data on the docket for tomorrow but most of it is of the second tier variety:Italian Producer prices for June. Bloomberg Italian, French and German Retail Purchasing Managers Index. Eurozone Business Climate Indicator. Eurozone Economic Confidence, Industrial Confidence and Service Confidence. Swiss Leading Indicators.

Early Asia and Australia

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Share prices have opened higher in Japan and Australia as the residue of the strong rally in the US carries over into those markets.In early trading the Australian market had gained 2.0 percent and the New Zealand market had gained about 1.4 percent. Banks stocks bounced following several days of battering. The ...

July 29 2008 Close

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Prices of Treasury coupon securities registered modest declines today as the Larry Kudlow fantasy came to fruition as a strengthening dollar pushed the price of oil through key resistance levels and propelled stocks to sharp gains. The fear, which persisted yesterday and which many (myself) believed would be magnified by ...

MBS

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Mortgages are about 4 ticks wider to swaps and to Treasury paper. The activity level here has been reduced lately. Hedge funds, servicers and originators have been better sellers. As I mentioned in an earlier post on the agency market, traders and sales people report that the bid from foreign ...