Submitted by JP Koning via Moneyness blog, Negative interests rates are the shiny new thing that everyone wants to talk about. I hate to ruin a good plot line, but they're actually kind of boring; just conventional monetary policy except in negative rate space. Same old tool, different sign. What about the tiering mechanisms that have been introduced by the Bank of Japan, Swiss National Bank, and Danmarks Nationalbank? Aren't they new? The SNB, for instance, provides an exemption...
Read More »Central Banks Shiny New Tool: Cash-Escape-Inhibitors
Submitted by JP Koning via Moneyness blog, Negative interests rates are the shiny new thing that everyone wants to talk about. I hate to ruin a good plot line, but they're actually kind of boring; just conventional monetary policy except in negative rate space. Same old tool, different sign. What about the tiering mechanisms that have been introduced by the Bank of Japan, Swiss National Bank, and Danmarks Nationalbank? Aren't they new? The SNB, for instance, provides an exemption...
Read More »HSBC Looks At “Life Below Zero,” Says “Helicopter Money” May Be The Only Savior
In many ways, 2016 has been the year that the world woke up to how far down Krugman’s rabbit hole (trademark) DM central bankers have plunged in a largely futile effort to resuscitate global growth. For whatever reason, Haruhiko Kuroda’s move into NIRP seemed to spark a heretofore unseen level of public debate about the drawbacks of negative rates. Indeed, NIRP became so prevalent in the public consciousness that celebrities began to discuss central bank policy on Twitter. When we say “for...
Read More »HSBC Looks At “Life Below Zero,” Says “Helicopter Money” May Be The Only Savior
In many ways, 2016 has been the year that the world woke up to how far down Krugman’s rabbit hole (trademark) DM central bankers have plunged in a largely futile effort to resuscitate global growth. For whatever reason, Haruhiko Kuroda’s move into NIRP seemed to spark a heretofore unseen level of public debate about the drawbacks of negative rates. Indeed, NIRP became so prevalent in the public consciousness that celebrities began to discuss central bank policy on Twitter. When we say “for...
Read More »HSBC Looks At “Life Below Zero,” Says “Helicopter Money” May Be The Only Savior
In many ways, 2016 has been the year that the world woke up to how far down Krugman’s rabbit hole (trademark) DM central bankers have plunged in a largely futile effort to resuscitate global growth. For whatever reason, Haruhiko Kuroda’s move into NIRP seemed to spark a heretofore unseen level of public debate about the drawbacks of negative rates. Indeed, NIRP became so prevalent in the public consciousness that celebrities began to discuss central bank policy on Twitter. When we say “for...
Read More »Are Central Banks Setting Each Other Up?
Authored by Mark St.Cyr, There are times you try to connect the dots. There are others where those connections warrant adorning your trusted tin-foiled cap of choice; for you just can’t get there unless you do. This I believe is one of those times. And if correct? What at first might appear apocryphal, may in fact, be down right apocalyptic. And besides, what good is a tin-foil capped conspiracy theory anyhow if it doesn’t have the potential for doom, correct? So, with that in mind, let’s...
Read More »Are Central Banks Setting Each Other Up?
There are times you try to connect the dots. There are others where those connections warrant adorning your trusted tin-foiled cap of choice; for you just can’t get there unless you do. This I believe is one of those times. And if correct? What at first might appear apocryphal, may in fact, be down right apocalyptic. And besides, what good is a tin-foil capped conspiracy theory anyhow if it doesn’t have the potential for doom, correct? So, with that in mind, let’s venture down some roads...
Read More »The Chinese Yuan Countdown Is On
Submitted by SaxoBank's Dembik Christopher via TradingFloor.com, Currency stability is a prerequisite for China's economic transition Defending the yuan is prohibitively expensive – China cannot beat the market Progressive devaluation managed by PBoC is the most probable scenario for 2016 Remember that the country is on the capitalism learning curve Exchange rates will inevitably be a key discussion point at Shanghai G20 China has moved from being a net importer to a net exporter of...
Read More »The Chinese Yuan Countdown Is On
Submitted by SaxoBank's Dembik Christopher via TradingFloor.com, Currency stability is a prerequisite for China's economic transition Defending the yuan is prohibitively expensive – China cannot beat the market Progressive devaluation managed by PBoC is the most probable scenario for 2016 Remember that the country is on the capitalism learning curve Exchange rates will inevitably be a key discussion point at Shanghai G20 China has moved from being a net importer to a net exporter of...
Read More »The Swiss National Bank Doubled Its Apple Holdings in 2015
In the spring of 2015 we showed something unexpected: one of the biggest buyers, and holders, of AAPL stock was none other than the already quite troubled – in the aftermath of its disastrous Swiss Franc peg which ended up costing it tens of billions in losses – largest hedge fund in Switzerland, its central bank, the Swiss National Bank. What is curious is that unlike the Fed, the hedge fund also known as the Swiss National Bank not only proudly admits it purchases stocks, ETFs and...
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