Archive for January, 2008

Waiting for Godot

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

The equity markets have recovered from an early swoon and are experiencing only modest losses. Benchmark Treasury paper has pirouetted about in a narrow range with little price change from yesterday's close. Participants are waiting for the Chairman to speak at 100PM ET . The market is hoping for Mr Bernanke ...

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

The initial jobless claims report flummoxed the experts and for those whose life is an adventure in schadenfreude, hope of a recession is a dream still deferred. The Labor Department reported that claims declined to 322K from a revised 337K in the prior week. The consensus amongst pundits was 340K. Similiarly ...

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Prices of Treasury coupon securities are posting mixed results in overnight trading. The prices changes are minimal and it appears that trading activity was subdued as the rentier class sits back and awaits Mr Bernanke's speech at 100PM ET for clues to the near term course of monetary policy. However,there ...

One Last Nugget

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/01/09/10036/25-cdos-to-meet-their-maker-billions-poised-to-liquidate/

Blogging Interruptus

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

Life intervenes and  I will be out of the house for the rest of the trading day. But I will return to my calling here first thing in the morning. JJJ

Subprime Matters

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

For those who were unaware the American Dialect Society had named subprime its word of the year in 2007 (CNN story). The word continues to resonate this year as rumors of Countrywide Financial's  possible demise swirled about the markets yesterday. Bloomberg reports that the cost of buying protection in the ...

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

Benchmark Treasury securities have posted modest declines in overnight trading. Equity markets around the globe posted mixed results with small gains in Asia and modest losses in Europe. The conflagration that engulfed Broad and Wall in late trading yesterday failed to make dramatic inroads elsewhere and some of the fear ...

January 08 2008 daily recap

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

Prices of Treasury coupon securities are registering marginal losses today as market participants regroup following the substantial yield declines of last week. On the day yields have risen about a basis point. Yields had been higher early in the day but they have declined over the course of the afternoon as financial jitters decimate Countrywide ...

Good News Bears

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

Benchmark Treasury issues continue with some healthy price erosion as the economic data fail to provide traders and investors with reasons to buy at current nosebleed levels. Against that background market participants focused on the positive revisions to prior month Pending Home Sales data rather than the greater than expected decline ...

While We Slept

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

Prices of Treasury coupon securities have declined in overnight trading as a round of professional profit taking emerged. The risk reduction episode has also clipped the wings of high flying curve traders as the 2yr/10 year spread has flattened by about 2.5 basis points. As one friend pointed out the ...