Fed’s a-Flutter

It was almost inevitable that, days after the front end of the US interest rate structure had undergone a 35 basis-point plunge, its sharpest one week fall in yield since the immediate aftermath of the Lehman Crisis, the key non-farm payroll data would also come in weak. [First published June 10th]
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Dog Chases Tail

The sharpening of the conflict between China and the US became all too apparent last week when Beijing released an official white paper in which it seemingly abandoned all hint of conciliation with a burst of accusations, exculpations, and a good deal of bluster. [First Published June 3rd] Continue reading

Behind the Curve

The phrase on everyone’s lips at the moment is ‘Yield Curve’ – largely for its supposedly unerring ability to predict a recession if not, as its most extreme devotees seem to imply, actually to cause one. But is that a valid interpretation of what is afoot in financial markets and does that jibe with how the real economy is developing?  To listen instead to my podcast on this issue, please go to CantillonCH at SoundCloud, or search Apple Podcasts and Spotify for ‘Cantillon Effects’. For an expanded PDF transcript of the yield curve discussion, complete with explanatory charts, please see 19-04-06 M4 No21

Risk Par(i)ty

One of the truisms of the current market is that volatility – both historical and implied –  is historically low, but just how extreme is it? How does this manifest itself in the bond, as opposed to the stock, market? What does it tell us about the risks we may be running by maintaining naked exposures?

Please follow the link to find a brief, but instructive overview of this most burning of  issues:-

17-10-18 Vol

A recent miscellany

Does it make sense to plot multi-decade asset prices on a linear scale? How reliable are macro ‘profit’ estimates? Why is the curve flattening and what will a reduction in Central Bank reserve balances mean for assets?

S0me recent short snaps from my LinkedIn & Twitter feeds plus you can watch my latest update ‘China: Unbalanced’  here, on YouTube Continue reading

Fretting on the Fed: Monitor No.5

Falling returns in the US. Tight money in China. An upswing in Japan. Deflation in India. Gold goes cold. Fretting the Fed on falling CPI and a flattening curve? No need to panic, just yet.

Please click for the latest Monitor.

17-06-20 M4 No5

Japan, sterling & more: Monitor Update

The latest edition can be had here:-

17-06-05 M4 No 3

Including a look at Japanese equities, the US dollar & sterling, the latest US data round, the significance of yield curves, and misconceptions about monetary ‘velocity’.

Courtesy of Cantillon Consulting

Abenomics: one arrow short of a quiver

The craziness that is Abenomics seems to have one flimsy foundation: viz., that Japan’s fiscal situation seems so dire as not to be susceptible of a rational approach. Not that this is any real excuse for the political cowardice which attempts to disguise the problem through gross financial and monetary manipulation.

Please click the link for a thorough analysis:- 16-09-29-mmm-sep-jpn