Archive for December, 2008
Saturday, December 27th, 2008
The human condition is rather sad,tenuous and fragile and the recent escalation in the Mideast conflict resoundingly makes that point.
I am not here to comment on who is right or wrong. I am sure there are multiple villains and multiple heroes. It is just tragic that conflicts can senselessly last ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Friday, December 26th, 2008
Initial jobless claims have been hitting multi decade highs as the recession deepens. Economists at UBS make the point that with the expansion in the labor force claims would need to average about one million per week to equate to the weakness evident in the Reagan/Volcker recession of the early ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
* A mixed bag of data as November real PCE spending managed to rise 0.6% and durable goods orders were better than feared, while higher initial claims at 586k showed rapid job destruction and inflation readings declined further
* Nominal spending fell 0.6% (consensus -0.7%), with the headline PCE deflator down ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
I am still in Illinois with family and not following markets closely today. I want to thank all of my gracious readers for their support and I wish each of you a joyous holiday season.Blogging will be sparse this week and will resume in earnest one week from today next Monday ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments »
Friday, December 19th, 2008
Markets are very thin and very illiquid. Participants are looking ahead to Christmas and New Year's and year end. The snow in New York also has contributed to the light trading. Bond prices are lower across the curve but most of that stems from the violence of the recent rally ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »
Friday, December 19th, 2008
Corporate bonds in the secondary market are about a nickel tighter today. The feeding frenzy of the last several days is not evident but the tone remains firm and buyers are swamping sellers. When paper trades it trades on the offered side.There has been robust demand for quality industrial names ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Friday, December 19th, 2008
Agency spreads in the 2 year sector are narrower by 4 basis points today. Five year sector spreads have narrowed 1 basis point and the 10 year spread is 1/4 basis point tighter.The sector is benefiting from the residue of the Federal Reserve "pass" yesterday.Swap spreads are mixed. Two year ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Friday, December 19th, 2008
IG 11 opened 226/229 and is now trading in the low 220s. I do not have the previous night close.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on IG 11
Friday, December 19th, 2008
MBS are opening with very small changes relative to 300PM closing levels. There has been some very modest selling by originators but at this juncture it is shaping up as a quiet day.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on MBS
Friday, December 19th, 2008
The dollar has staged a substantial rally from the depressed levels attained yesterday,particularly against the Euro. Yesterday while I was at the MaCarthur Airport in Islip New York I strolled from the Starbucks counter to the CNBC store and observed the Euro at $1.46. So we have moved seven big ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »