Archive for April, 2016

Trump Closes In on Nomination

Wednesday, April 27th, 2016

Via the NYTimes: Nate Cohn @Nate_Cohn APRIL 26, 2016 Donald J. Trump is essentially two key states from the nomination. By sweeping five states on Tuesday, he pulled only a few hundred Republican delegates short of the 1,237 he needs to win without a contested convention. He has long been ...

Aussie Dollar Slumps

Wednesday, April 27th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: The Australian dollar slid the most in more than two months after the country’s core inflation slowed to the weakest on record, boosting the odds for central bank easing as soon as next month. The Aussie weakened against all its 16 major counterparts after the statistics bureau said the headline ...

Slow to Pay in China

Wednesday, April 27th, 2016

Via the FT: by: Gabriel Wildau in Shanghai Times have changed for Yu Xingzhi since China’s economic boom years. Despite the slowing economy, sales at Shanghai Caison Color Material Chemical are holding up. The trouble is, her customers — garment manufacturers and packaging producers buying her dyes and inks — are taking ...

Early FX

Wednesday, April 27th, 2016

Via Kit Juckes at SocGen: <http://www.sgmarkets.com/r/?id=h105c6c2a,16bede37,16bede38&p1=136122&p2=7dbe60503808bb1761352116b98a2c82> A surprisingly low quarterly CPI print in Australia (1.3% y/y vs exp 1.7%, trimmed mean 1.7% vs 2./1% exp) has triggered a sharp swing in sentiment towards the AUD, which down 1.7% overnight. This time yesterday, Bloomberg's calculation of the probability of a cut on 3 ...

Helicopter Money

Tuesday, April 26th, 2016

Via the FT: Against a backdrop of subpar economic growth, and with low oil prices continuing to act as a headwind to inflation, central banks have tried to convince increasingly sceptical investors that they are not out of options to reflate. In this context, ‘helicopter money’ has become more widely discussed. Helicopter ...

Mobil Loses AAA Status

Tuesday, April 26th, 2016

Via WSJ: By ERIN AILWORTH and AUSTEN HUFFORD Updated April 26, 2016 5:48 p.m. ET Exxon Mobil Corp. was stripped Tuesday of the perfect triple-A credit rating it has held for more than six decades by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a sign that the oil bust is hurting even the strongest players ...

Consumer Confidence

Tuesday, April 26th, 2016

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: The Conference Board gauge of consumer confidence fell by about 2 points in April to 94.2, reversing the March gain.  Assessments of the present situation improved, including a 1-point gain in the assessment of labor market conditions to the best reading of the cycle.  ...

Durable Goods Orders

Tuesday, April 26th, 2016

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: Once again, durable goods orders disappointed.  The headline figure rebounded by 0.8%, on the back of a jump in defense bookings, but the increase was less than expected, as aircraft orders failed to bounce despite a significant increase reported by Boeing.  Excluding the volatile ...

More on Stable Funding Rules

Tuesday, April 26th, 2016

Yesterday I published this piece and just found this illuminating article at the WSJ: By Donna Borak April 25, 2016 6:48 p.m. ET WASHINGTON—Large U.S. banks would have to prove they have enough cash to withstand severe market turmoil lasting as long as a year under a new rule set to be ...

FX

Tuesday, April 26th, 2016

Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman: Greenback Mostly Softer, Sterling Shines The gains the US dollar registered in the second half are being pared; sterling's strength stands out The US reports March durable goods orders and February Case-Shiller house price index News that 1MDB missed a coupled payment sparked cross ...