Archive for May, 2016

GDP Now

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via the Atlanta Fed: Latest forecast: 1.7 percent — May 4, 2016 The GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2016 is 1.7 percent on May 4, down 0.1 percentage point from May 2. The forecasts for second-quarter real nonresidential equipment investment growth ...

ISM Services

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via TDSecurities: US: Services ISM Pushes Higher in April In contrast to its manufacturing counterpart, the services ISM index pushed higher to 55.7 in April. The headline gain was reflected in a strong advance in the new orders component as well as in employment.     With all eyes on the transition ...

More on Refunding

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: The May Treasury Refunding statement is very straightforward.  The budget situation worsened over the past three months, which led to an increased in projected financing needs.  This provides the Treasury with ample room to increase bill supply without cutting coupon issuance.  Thus, Treasury is ...

Productivity

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: Nonfarm business productivity declined at an annual rate of 1.0% in Q1, marking the fourth negative reading in the last 6 quarters.  Productivity growth has averaged 0.5% since the beginning of 2011, and the latest figure does not change my view of the trend.  ...

Re Coupon Issuance

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Members Agreed to No Further Changes to Coupon Issuance: TBAC 2016-05-04 12:30:26.86 GMT By Alexandra Harris (Bloomberg) -- Members of Treasury Borrowing Authority Committee (TBAC) “broadly agreed” that no further adjustments to coupon issuance are necessary, though demand for bills should “continue to be evaluated over the coming quarters,” especially as money market reforms go into ...

Clinton Trump Analysis

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via the WSJ: Six Months Out, the General Election Map Looks Tough for Donald Trump By NEIL KING JR. May 4, 2016 7:00 am ET Indiana has all but sealed it: The general election will likely feature a face off between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. So with six months to go before Election Day, what ...

Pricing Trump Risk

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via the FT: 2 HOURS AGO by: Katie Martin OK. It’s time. Analysts and investors are starting to see this as a serious possibility. Over at UBS, Paul Donovan has had a stab at advising clients on what to do in preparation for a Trump-Clinton showdown. In a podcast today, he said: The problem is ...

What to Watch Today

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: WHAT TO WATCH: * (All times New York) * Economic Data * 7:00am: MBA Mortgage Applications, April 29, no est. (prior -4.1%) * 8:15am: ADP Employment Change, April, est. 195k (prior 200k) * 8:30am: Trade Balance, March, est. -$41.2b (prior - $47.1b) * 8:30am: Non-farm Productivity, 1Q P, est. -1.3% (prior -2.2%) * Unit Labor Costs, 1Q P, est. 3.3% ...

Radical Proposal to Restructure Treasury Market

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via the FT: 5 HOURS AGO by: Joe Rennison in New York The US Treasury has debated a sweeping overhaul of the $13tn government bond market, including a proposal to buy back old debt as officials focus on the health of trading in a core asset of many global investment portfolios. The idea being ...

FX

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman: Greenback Firmer, But Has It Turned? There is one question many investors are asking, and that is whether the dollar has turned Some caution against extending dollar shorts may have been spurred by the proximity of the US jobs data In addition to the ...