Archive for January, 2015

Record High Volume in Secondary Corporate Bond Trading

Thursday, January 29th, 2015

Bloomberg reports that secondary market trading of corporate bonds yesterday was the highest since January 2005. I am not certain but it is my guess that the Trace system was inaugurated in 2005 and so that the volume yesterday is the highest since record keeping began. Via Bloomberg: IG CREDIT: Record High ...

Shell Oil to Slash Capital Spending

Thursday, January 29th, 2015

Shell Oil reported earnings this morning and as one would expect with the significant decline in oil prices it was a dismal performance. I think the more important point,however, is the company's decision to slash capital spending. The company said it will slash that spending by $15 billion over the ...

Not Exactly Detente

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

When Nixon and Kissinger engaged in detente and rapprochement with China forty something years ago it was an amicable process. The current dictator of Cuba is not jumping at the olive leaf our Chamberlain like President has tossed in his direction as he made some hard line statements today about ...

Smorgasbord of Reaction to FOMC

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

This arrived earlier today from a fully paid up subscriber and is a collection of economist views on the FOMC statement earlier today. Via a fully paid up subscriber: Today at 2:34 PM * HFE says Fed did not alter baseline views. "The most notable change was probably the inclusion of ...

Bank America Opines on Lift Off and Credit Spreads

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

Bank of America research piece today opines that the market is wrong and the FOMC is correct on rates. The author quotes a speech by New York Fed President Dudley who suggested that the FOMC may have to tighten more to drive long rates higher. He did not comment on ...

Very Weak Durable Goods Orders

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: This release is extremely weak.  Virtually every key metric is disappointing for December and revised down for November.  Business investment spending showed a brief spurt in Q2 and Q3, getting many economists excited that the long-awaited revival in business spending had finally arrived.  As ...

What to Watch for Today

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015

Via Bloomberg: WHAT TO WATCH: * (All times New York) Economic Data * 8:30am: Durable Goods Orders, Dec., est. 0.4% (prior -0.7%, revised -0.9%) * Durables Ex-Transportation, Dec., est. 0.6% (prior -0.4%, revised -0.7%) * Cap Goods Orders Nondef Ex Air, Dec., est. 0.9% (prior 0.0%, revised -0.5%) * Cap Goods Ship Nondef Ex Air, Dec., est. 1% (prior 0.2%, revised ...

FX

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015

Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman Euro In the Crosscurrents - Comments by SNB officials along with anecdotal reports of intervention lifted the euro-franc pair to the highest level since the breaking of the peg - The changes in intra-EU political risk stemming from the Greek elections are multifaceted and continue to ...

January 27 2015 Opening

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015

Prices of Treasury coupon securities have registered modest gains in a quiescent overseas session. The yield curve is on balance flatter though 10s 30s is actually a tad steeper. The yield on the Benchmark 5 year note has edged lower to 1.332 from 1.342. The yield on the 7 year ...

Corporate Bond Trading Yesterday

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015

Via the good folks at Bloomberg: IG CREDIT: Secondary Trading Volume Falls 2015-01-27 10:51:09.952 GMT By Robert Elson (Bloomberg) -- Trace count for secondary trading ended at $13.1b vs $16.6b Friday, the second highest Friday session since Jan. 2005. * 144a trading added $2b of IG volume vs $2.3b Friday * 2 of the top-3 most active issues ...