Tag Archives: 5) Global Macro

Markets are starting the week in risk-off mode; the dollar is firm on some safe haven flows but this is likely to prove temporary US politics is coming in to focus as the election nears; we fear that the likely horse-trading and arm-twisting will take away any residual desire to get another stimulus package done The trend towards more restrictive measures continues with London in focus; between the virus numbers and Brexit risks, sterling remains under pressure China...

Those who don’t see the fragmentation, the scarcities and the battlelines being drawn will be surprised by the acceleration of the unraveling. I recently came across the idea that inflation is a two-factor optimization problem: inflation is necessary for the macro-economy (or so we’re told) and so the trick for policy makers (and their statisticians who measure the economy) is to maximize inflation in the economy but only to the point that it doesn’t snuff out...

The dollar has gotten some limited traction despite the dovish FOMC decision; the FOMC delivered no surprises We are seeing some more movement on fiscal stimulus; August retail sales disappointed yesterday Fed manufacturing surveys for September will continue to roll out; weekly jobless claims will be reported; Brazil left rates unchanged at 2.0% but introduced some additional dovish guidance BOE is expected to deliver a dovish hold; UK government reached a...

The banquet of consequences for the Fed, the elites and their armies of parasitic flunkies and factotums is being laid out, and there won’t be much choice in the seating. Words can be debased just like currencies. Take the word sacrifice. The value of the original has been debased by trite, weepy overuse to the point of cliche. Like other manifestations of derealization and denormalization, this debasement is invisible, profound and ultimately devastating. Consider...

When the money runs out or loses its purchasing power, all sorts of complexity that were previously viewed as essential crumble to dust.Four D’s will define 2020-2025: derealization, denormalization, decomplexification and decoherence. That’s a lot of D’s. Let’s take them one at a time. I use the word derealization to describe the inner disconnect between what we experience and what the propaganda / marketing complex we live in tells us we should be experiencing....

The dollar rally ran out of steam; US Senate will hold a vote today on its proposed “skinny” bill US reports August PPI and weekly jobless claims; US will sell $23 bln of 30-year bonds today after a sloppy 10-year auction yesterday BOC delivered a hawkish hold yesterday; Peru is expected to keep rates steady at 0.25% ECB is expected to keep policy steady; there were some eurozone IP readings; UK published its so-called Internal Market Bill Japan may go to the polls...

While the Federal Reserve and the Billionaire Class push the stock market to new highs to promote a false facade of prosperity, everyday life will fall apart. How will the status quo collapse? An open conflict–a civil war, an insurrection, a coup–appeals to our affection for drama, but the more likely reality is a decidedly undramatic dissolution in which all the elements of our way of life we reckoned were solid and permanent simply melt into air, to borrow Marx’s...

Scapegoating dissenters only hastens the disunity and disarray that accelerates the final collapse. Authoritarianism is imposed on us, but its sibling intolerance is our own doing. Intolerance and authoritarianism are two sides of the same coin: as intolerance becomes the norm, the intolerant start demanding that the state enforce their intolerance by suppressing their enemies via increasingly heavy-handed authoritarian measures. Intolerance and authoritarianism...

The dollar rebound continues; odds of a near-term stimulus bill in the US are falling; ahead of inflation readings later this week, the US holds a 10-year auction today Bank of Canada is expected to keep policy steady; Mexico reports August CPI; Brazil reports August IPCA inflation The Brexit fallout widens; UK will have trouble striking new trade deals if it can’t be counted on to honor its past agreements; no surprise then that sterling remains under pressure...

The ECB meets tomorrow and is widely expected to stand pat. Macro forecasts may be tweaked modestly and there are some risks of jawboning against the stronger euro, but it should otherwise be an uneventful meeting. Looking ahead, a lot of room remains for further ECB actions. We expect the ECB to increase QE at the December 10 meeting. However, another rate cut seems very unlikely, as does activation of OMT. POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS 1. Jawbone the euro weaker – POSSIBLE...