Archive for April, 2015
Monday, April 13th, 2015
Via Merrill Lynch Research:
Retail Therapy for the economy, not markets
With hardly any expected upside to owning high grade corporate bonds over Treasuries...
...high expected volatility and risks that are skewed to the downside due to the rate hiking cycle...
...we moved our strategic stance on high grade corporate bonds to underweight.
Retail Therapy ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Merrill Lynch on Retail Sales and Corporate Bond Spreads
Sunday, April 12th, 2015
Via WSJ:
By Brian Blackstone
Updated April 12, 2015 7:20 p.m. ET
4 COMMENTS
German workers are getting a raise, which could give a bump to the rest of Europe—and eventually the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Economists have long criticized Germany’s export-driven economic philosophy and large trade surpluses. The country’s strategy, they ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on German Wage Gains to Benefit Global Exporters
Friday, April 10th, 2015
This Bloomberg article recounts the musings of Citibank's chief economist who wants to abolish cash. The Citibank economist, William Buiter posits that negative rates are not effective because of cash as cash pays zero which is greater than some imposed negative rate. He solves the problem by calling for the ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of A Pin
Friday, April 10th, 2015
This is an interesting article to me from the FT on the costs of QE and a discussion of whether or not QE was worth that cost. The author cites a study by SwissRe which claims that QE has cost savers $470 billion. The report also asserts that the wealth ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Cost of QE
Friday, April 10th, 2015
Via Merrill Lynch Research:
Retail therapy for the economy, not markets
With hardly any expected upside to owning high grade corporate bonds over Treasuries...
...high expected volatility and risks that are skewed to the downside due to the rate hiking cycle...
...we now move our strategic stance on high grade corporate bonds to underweight.
Retail ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Merrill Lynch on Credit Spreads (and other stuff)
Friday, April 10th, 2015
Via WSJ:
By Benoît Faucon and
Summer Said
April 10, 2015 7:14 p.m. ET
0 COMMENTS
Saudi Arabia is struggling to maintain its share of the global oil market in a contest that pits the world’s largest crude exporter against traditional allies in the U.S. and Persian Gulf.
The Saudi kingdom’s oil exports declined 5.7% in ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, April 10th, 2015
Via the FT:
Fed faces its trickiest rate cycle yet
Robin Wigglesworth
Will they, won’t they? That is the question being asked on trading desks and dealing floors across the financial industry, as markets grapple with whether the US Federal Reserve is still on track to raise its interest rate for the first ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Challenging Rate Hike Cycle
Friday, April 10th, 2015
Via Robert Sinche at Amherst Pierpont Securities:
CHINA: Trade Balance data for March will show more normal flows following the New Year holiday; in February the Trade Balance reached a record high of $60.62bn. Focus will be on Export growth, with the BBerg consensus expecting a 9.0% YOY gain. Over the ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Weekend Preview
Friday, April 10th, 2015
Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman:
Dollar Extends Gains, though Yen Holds its Own
- The dollar has extended the recovery seen in North America yesterday, with sterling recording new five-year lows
- UK industrial output figures disappointed due to the oil/gas sector
- China's CPI was unchanged at 1.4%, ahead of ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on FX
Friday, April 10th, 2015
Via Bloomberg:
WHAT TO WATCH:
* (All times New York)
* Economic Data
* 8:30am: Import Price Index, March, m/m, est. -0.4%
(prior 0.4%)
* Import Price Index, March, y/y, est. -10.2% (prior
-9.4%)
* Import Price Index, March, y/y, est. -10.2% (prior
-9.4%)</li></ul>
* 2:00pm: Monthly Budget Statement, March, est. -$43.4b
(prior -$36.895b)
* 2:00pm: Monthly Budget Statement, March, est. -$43.4b
(prior ...
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on What to Watch Today