Archive for May, 2016

European Growth

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: May 4, 2016 — 4:00 AM EDT European Central Bank policy is helping to sustain growth in the euro area economy, though the pace is “tepid” and inflation remains too low, according to Markit Economics. Markit said its composite Purchasing Managers Index was at 53 in April -- above the 50 ...

Early FX

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016

Via Kit Juckes at SocGen: <http://www.sgmarkets.com/r/?id=h106db23c,16d9c5cc,16d9c5cd&p1=136122&p2=1444a54d74dc1095c72ca75c0a3cc9c3> The dollar's slide was interrupted yesterday as angst about the global economy overtook relative real yield trends as the dominant driver. Oil was down, the dollar bounced and high-beta and commodity-sensitive currencies corrected. Current FX trends are overwhelmingly the result of positions being taken off, rather ...

Freedom of Speech : The China Version

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016

Via WSJ: By Lingling Wei May 3, 2016 12:18 p.m. ET 118 COMMENTS BEIJING—Chinese authorities are training their sights on a new set of targets: economists, analysts and business reporters with gloomy views on China’s economy. Securities regulators, media censors and other government officials have issued verbal warnings to commentators whose public ...

Wall of Debt in China

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016

Via Bloomberg and click link for graphs which accompany article and which dont translate well to my low rent retired guy blog: Defaults seen spreading as borrowers struggle to refinance April issuance sank 43% as 143 billion yuan of sales canceled Chinese debt investors are turning bearish at just the wrong ...

JPMorgan Duration Survey

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016

Via Bloomberg: CORRECT: Net Shorts Jump in JPMorgan Treasury Client Survey 2016-04-26 12:41:11.665 GMT By Stephen Spratt (Bloomberg) -- (Corrects first paragraph to show long positions, not net longs, fell.) Among all clients in week ended April 25, net short positions rose to most since March 14; among active clients, longs fall to 20 from 30, bringing net ...

FX

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016

Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman: Dollar Continues to Push Lower The US dollar's downtrend is extending The Australian dollar is the main exception, off about 1% following the 25 bp surprise rate cut UK manufacturing PMI surprised as it fell below the 50 boom/bust level to 49.2 ...

Surprise Rate Cut

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016

Via the FT: Australia cuts interest rates to record low RBA cites weaker inflation outlook for cut to 1.75%, Aussie dollar tumbles 12 minutes ago by: Jamie Smyth in Canberra and Peter Wells in Hong Kong The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates to a record low of 1.75 per cent in a ...

Suspicious Trading Patterns

Monday, May 2nd, 2016

Via Bloomberg: ECB Paper Finds Suspicious Trading in U.S. Economic Indicators 2016-05-02 19:05:58.446 GMT By Jeanna Smialek (Bloomberg) -- A European Central Bank-published study found suspicious trading ahead of seven regular U.S. economic releases, saying information leaks probably helped traders make more than $160 million in profits in two markets over six years. Between January 2008 and March ...

ObamaCare and the Election

Monday, May 2nd, 2016

Via Politico.com The last thing Democrats want to contend with just a week before the 2016 presidential election is an outcry over double-digit insurance hikes as millions of Americans begin signing up for Obamacare. But that looks increasingly likely as health plans socked by Obamacare losses look to regain their financial footing ...

Euro Area Manufacturing PMIs

Monday, May 2nd, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Euro-Area Manufacturing Growing at `Anemic' Pace, Markit Says Fergal O’Brien May 2, 2016 — 4:00 AM EDT Euro-area manufacturing growth was little changed last month as stronger readings in Germany, Italy and Spain were offset by contraction in France. Markit Economics in London said its monthly Purchasing Managers Index points to “anemic” factory ...