Archive for March, 2016

Musings of the Dallas Fed President

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Fed’s Kaplan Calls for Patient FOMC Ahead of March 15-16 Mtg 2016-03-03 15:45:00.15 GMT By Vivien Lou Chen (Bloomberg) -- Dallas Fed Pres. Rob Kaplan reiterates his call for a patient FOMC ahead of next mtg and cites slower growth worldwide, tightening financial conditions and global secular trends. * Tighter global financial conditions have likely restrained U.S. ...

Data Analysis

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: The February ISM non-manufacturing report signals a stabilization in conditions after January’s substantial moderation.  The headline index was essentially unchanged at 53.4, while the key components were quite mixed.  The production measure jumped by about 4 points to 57.8, a robust reading (though still ...

Perseverance Triumphs

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

Via the WSJ: Some traders go short. Others go long. Paul Singer went really, really long. His trade, which is transfixing Wall Street this week, has been one of the most drawn-out and contentious bond-market sagas ever. But thanks to a settlement this week, Mr. Singer’s nearly 15-year-old wager on Argentinian government ...

Morning FX

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman: Markets Calm; Waiting For...? - The global capital markets are quiet today, as investors await fresh impetus - PMI surveys warn that the UK economy may be losing some momentum prior to whatever disruptions the Brexit uncertainty generates - In contrast, the eurozone service PMI was better ...

Regarding Donald Trump

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Martin Wolf a commentator at the FThas penned a scathing indictment of Donald Trump and the dangers which would ensue if vox populi placed Trump in the White House. Via martin Wolf at the FT: Donald Trump embodies how great republics meet their end The Americans will have to decide what sort of ...

Low Interest Rates Ravage Life Companies

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Via the FT: US life insurers shaken by rock-bottom rates Industry titans hit almost as hard as banks amid macroeconomic concerns February 10, 2016 by: Alistair Gray in New York Life insurers are supposed to be bedrocks of financial stability, dependable institutions whose long-term business models set them apart from scandal-hit banks. Yet shares in the ...

Overnight Data Preview

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Via Robert Sinche at Amherst Pierpont Securities: AUSTRALIA: The February Services PMI will follow 4 readings below 50, and 48.4 in January, surprising given the acceleration of Real GDP growth reported for late 2015. CHINA: the February Composite PMI from Markit will follow a modest rebound to 50.1 in January as service ...

From the Oh Canada Department and I Hate the Donald Department

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Via The Hill.com Google says the search “How can I move to Canada?” spiked 350 percent as results came in late Tuesday showing wins for GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump. “Searches for ‘how can I move to Canada’ on Google have spiked +350% in the past hours,” tweeted Simon Rogers, the search ...

Inflation Murmurings

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Via the WSJ:   By PAUL HANNON March 2, 2016 6:12 a.m. ET 0 COMMENTS Global inflation rates picked up for a fourth straight month in January, although that revival is likely to prove short-lived following sharp falls in commodity prices since the start of the year. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Wednesday said the ...

FX

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman: Markets Take Another Step Away from the Edge - The angst that characterized the first several weeks of the year continues to dissipate - Moody's cut its outlook for China's credit rating to negative from stable, and this did not cause much of a ripple ...