Archive for August, 2016

Thoughts on Yellen

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Millan Mulraine at TDSecurities: TD SECURITIES DATAFLASH                    US: Yellen Begins Hawkish Pivot ·         The tone of Yellen’s remarks was less dovish than we have come accustomed to, potentially signaling a shift in the Fed’s monetary policy stance. ·         Of particular note was the reference to the economy “nearing” its “statutory goals”. ·         Her inflation, ...

FX

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Marc Chandler at Brown Brothers Harriman: Dollar Still Rangebound Ahead of Yellen The highlight for today is Fed Chair Yellen’s Jackson Hole speech at 10 AM ET During the North American session, the US reports advanced trade and wholesale inventories for July, Q2 GDP revision, and University of Michigan ...

Some Corporate Bond Stuff

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: IG CREDIT: MSFT, GE Cap Long Bonds Topped Most Active List 2016-08-26 09:54:22.153 GMT By Robert Elson (Bloomberg) -- Secondary IG trading ended with a Trace count of $14.6b Thursday vs $16.1b Wednesday, $15b the previous Thursday. 10-DMA $13.4b. * 144a trading added $1.8b of IG volume vs $2.4b Wednesday, $1.5b last Thursday * The most active ...

QE in Sweden Damages Market Liquidity

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: August 25, 2016 — 11:24 AM EDT Updated on August 26, 2016 — 3:48 AM EDT The man in charge of managing Sweden’s state debt signaled the Riksbank may soon be reaching the limits of its government bond purchase program amid signs that liquidity is suffering. “What we’re saying to the Riksbank ...

Credit Pipeline

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: IG CREDIT PIPELINE: KOROIL Added, SAUDI Updated as List Grows 2016-08-26 09:33:10.669 GMT By Robert Elson (Bloomberg) -- LATEST UPDATES * Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SAUDI), may raise more than $10b following roadshows in late Sept. * Said to have hired 6 banks to lead first intl bond sale (July 14) * Korea National Oil (KOROIL) Aa2/AA, ...

CPI in Japan Falls for 5th Consecutive Month

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Japan’s CPI Falls for 5th Month, Raising Pressure on Kuroda Toru Fujioka August 25, 2016 — 7:35 PM EDT Updated on August 26, 2016 — 1:05 AM EDT Consumer prices in Japan fell for a fifth straight month, underscoring the central bank’s struggle to spur inflation to its 2 percent target. Friday’s figures ...

UK Consumer Confidence Rebounds Post Brexit

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Sentiment rebounds from 3-year low in aftermath of referendum Britons yet to feel tangible impact of vote: YouGov’s Harmston U.K. consumer confidence rose the most in more than three years this month as the initial shock from Britain’s decision to leave the European Union faded. An index of sentiment by ...

Healthcare Spending Takes Pound of Flesh From Middle Class

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via WSJ: By Anna Louie Sussman Updated Aug. 25, 2016 7:22 p.m. ET 124 COMMENTS Growth in overall health-care spending is slowing, but middle-class families’ share of the tab is getting larger, squeezing households already feeling stretched financially. Overall, health-care spending across the economy reached 18.2% of gross domestic product as of June, up from ...

Giant Japan Pension Fund Takes Hit in Q2

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: World’s Biggest Pension Fund Loses $52 Billion in Stock Rout Yuko Takeo grey_whistle Shigeki Nozawa August 26, 2016 — 2:30 AM EDT Updated on August 26, 2016 — 3:16 AM EDT Japan’s GPIF wipes out all gains since shift to shares Investment losses are no reason to change strategy: Sera   The world’s biggest pension fund posted a ...

Wall of Worry Dismantled

Thursday, August 25th, 2016

Via Barron's: Hulbert on Markets Uh Oh, the Wall of Worry Just Came Tumbling Down Whenever market timers have been this bullish in the past, the market was headed for a fall. By Mark Hulbert Updated Aug. 25, 2016 11:36 a.m. ET Getty Images Bullishness on Wall Street has soared over the past two months as the stock ...