The IMF added its voice last week to the chorus of Keynesians calling for Janet Yellen to - to paraphrase Rocky Horror - can it, Janet. The "it" being, of course, a hike in interest rates. The IMF cited "substantial output gaps" and "below target inflation" to justify their call for monetary policy to remain "accommodative". I have no idea [...]
The relevant part about eurodollars these days is that the term itself is a misnomer, or at the very least not a comprehensive description. “Eurodollar” itself is not necessarily a dollar (or even “dollar”) that originates from Europe, though it has been European banks that have formed the backbone participation for decades. The word is shorthand for any “dollar” that [...]
In her testimony before Congress in July, Janet Yellen laid out the same talking points that have been propagated onto Americans time and time again these past eight years. The economy is moving forward and the Fed is doing and has done everything it can, and that there are “green shoots” still though no full and mature growth. Low oil [...]
Lost in all the stock market focus is the renewed disaster being signaled across credit markets, “inflation” expectations in particular. Here oil prices and the “dollar’s” darkening intersect with credit and broad financial settings. Quietly, market-based measures of the anticipated future “inflation” path have crashed. Inflation breakevens in TIPS hedging were as low yesterday as the lowest point from January [...]
June was the for-sure liftoff point early in the year. That followed last year’s for-sure exit as March, April at the latest. Now more than a halfway through 2015 September is increasingly in doubt. They have to start somewhere even if they claim a methodical and slow pace to ensure as little disruption (in their twisted view). As I wrote [...]
Looking back now, January was such a weird month. You had, on the one hand, the barely restrained giddiness of the mainstream media proclaiming ultimate success of 5% GDP and an Establishment Survey (and dutiful unemployment rate) that could do nothing wrong. To this view, the economy was a certainty. Yet, on the other hand, markets around the world were [...]
Despite being the last FOMC meeting before the ever-expected rate hike in September , there was a whole bunch of nothing in markets before and even after the policy statement. Even the typical knee-jerk was less than on prior meetings. Maybe traders have come to expect so very little from the policy statement, focusing more on the inanities and silliness [...]
With all the problems right now beyond Greece and China, from Canada’s “puzzling” recession to Brazil’s unfolding disaster, and even the still-“shocking” US economic slump, it is interesting that gold garnered the most attention in early Monday trading. The fact that gold prices were slammed in Asian trading was certainly significant, but that really isn’t why gold is being highlighted [...]
When US retail sales jumped in May on seasonal adjustments alone, economists and mainstream commentary lost all composure as they were certain that meant the “slump” was over and the dominant narrative would continue. The same occurred in Europe over a slight pickup in overall lending, not even in the household or business sectors, which was proclaimed as nothing but [...]
There should be no more “ifs”, no more caveats and qualifications. After trillions of printed illusions through four QE’s and now almost seven years of ZIRP, she still can’t say for certain whether the economy is actually performing. However, the fact that Janet Yellen won’t say so is all the evidence you need, as for surely by now, especially given [...]
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