Eurodollar University

The ECB cut rates for the second time, as expected, though amidst a strong bond/bund market rally that has now completely un-inverted that yield curve. This comes at a time when major businesses like Volkswagen are thinking about closing down factories due to how much idle capacity they have. What links all of these together, what explains all the facts, is that there was never a global recovery,...

It was all banks all day yesterday. Basel rules foul-up. Warren Buffett continuing to dump BofA. Citi dumping on credit. Deutsche unloading CRE, or trying to. JP Morgan downgrading...itself. Most of all Ally Financial admitting unemployment is fast becoming a big problem and right on its balance sheet.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis Bloomberg JPMorgan Leads Banks in Dimming Ou...

There's no September here as interest rates continue to plunge. The two-year UST is at a record low relative to the Fed. In the past when the two-year has dropped like this it has meant nothing good. Combined with the still ongoing crash in energy prices, we have a solid sense of what's coming next. And it isn't just a lot of rate cuts.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis CHECK OUT...

Interest rates continue to collapse in China even outpacing US Treasuries. Commodities are being crushed as prospects for the world's two largest economies are getting worse by the week; by the day. Over the weekend, the Chinese reported negatives in consumer and more so producer prices, adding more evidence to what is shaping up in bond markets and beyond as a looming deflation shock.  Eurodollar...

We know there are Fed rate cuts coming in September and that there is very good chance it will be 50 bps. Could policymakers also surprise by ending QT (not that it matters)? Might that be a first step toward the next QE? It's not as far-fetched as you may think; after all, some at the Fed were talking rate hikes just two months ago.  Eurodollar University's conversation w/Steve Van Metre Bloomber...

More meltdowns across key markets, starting with the Treasury curve rapidly unwinding. Commodities are getting crushed, gasoline absolutely smoked. Swaps. Yen. The August payroll report only further confirmed the reasons why all this is happening.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis Bloomberg OPEC+ Pauses Oil Supply Hike in Effort to Reverse Price Slump https://www.bloomberg.com/ne...

Politicians always feel the need to do something even if they don't know why or what's actually wrong. That's all "price controls" really are since they sure don't control anything like prices. Unknown to most people, the US has already experimented with them running price and wage restrictions for several years. The results are conclusive.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis Rober...

Carry trade is back! In reality, it never left. Not because of BoJ rates hikes or threats, rather all the growing evidence the US isn't at risk of recession, so many indications showing it's here. Oil and gasoline are crashing. Curves unwinding. Forward rates project...a total mess. In time for all of the fun, JOLTS shows job openings plunge and layoffs jump. Eurodollar University's Money & Ma...

While the world was focused on financial volatility and liquidations at the start of August, something odd happened at the Federal Reserve's Discount Window (DW). Given everything else that has gone on since then, starting with the yield curve then considering now-cracking commodities, plus foreigners' dollar buffers and even US dealer banks' collateral holdings, there aren't that many ways to int...

Wholesale gasoline prices plunged in August to their lowest since the start of the year. This sounds like a positive, both for consumers as well as Fed policymakers and the disinflationary impact on consumer prices. But refinery margins have crashed to their lowest in three and a half years which instead points to more and bigger trouble.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis CNBC Oi...

The most significant macro data from the past week certainly wasn't GDP (it wasn't even the most important datapoint within its own series), instead it was personal savings. It is yet another confirmation of what we've been hearing from across the economy and markets. Consumers are tapped out, and they're out of money because of jobs and incomes. Eurodollar University's conversation w/Steve Van Me...

People keep saying the economy is in the toilet and the  US government keeps raising its estimate for GDP. The general public isn't wrong, GDP is. How do we know? Because that's what GDP says - its other side. Not as well known, it should be because this is the one which is far more accurate during cyclical downturns. History, academic studies, consistency with other signals, not to mention how mu...

New information from various sources all around the US service sector shows a downturn taking hold in that segment with employment signals turning more and more negative. It confirms the ongoing and more decisive bull steepening continuing to take shape in the Treasury market. Even mainstream sources are having to cover the fact there is something big happening when you can see it in services. Eur...

German observers are saying the economy has reached crisis proportions and the reason is what the US economy's weakness is doing to the rest of the world. Rather than recover as many in Europe had hoped, the situation has turned grim due to America's growing negatives. As one result, bulls are firmly in charge of all the curves. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis IFO Business Clima...

Chinese e-commerce retailer Temu becomes the latest global consumer business to warn about the economy - exactly what bonds have been doing all year much to the growing frustration of authorities. They'd rather derail lower market rates at the same time as cutting their own? It actually does make a lot of sense as all these things are related. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis Blo...

Just as low interest rates are being validated in every way, some Economists like Nouriel Roubini are alleging that yields are instead being held down by noted monetary genius Janet Yellen who has the Treasury Department engaged in a form of stealth QE. The problem is actually Economists who think interest rates are nothing more than tools to be manipulated by all-powerful govts when in reality th...

Jay Powell's Jackson Hole appearance and speech wasn't really about rate cuts. It was a sales job trying to sell you and as much of the world as possible on the Fed itself. Just making the pitch, however, means implicitly admitting the US economy just leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire. Powell says it's OK because he knows how to turn the heat down when there is zero reason to believe a...

It wasn't just a pivot, Powell admits the US economy is in trouble as unemployment has already started rising. While that's it's own can of worms, there are also more monetary and financial considerations related to what happened early in August. CLOs, collateral, stock market liquidations, all tied to what the Fed just agreed to.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis EDU YT Japan is...

The economy really has deteriorated quickly, enough that what seemed highly unlikely if not impossible early in July was very near to happened at the end of the month. I said a July Fed rate cut was in play on the 3rd and now according to the FOMC's minutes...it was. That, along with panicky central bankers seeking to quicken the pace of cutting, is definitely not a good sign.  Eurodollar Universi...

Was Macy's the latest victim of the strong labor market? That doesn't make sense, of course, and now the government data has been revised massively lower to better align what really happened last year with where we are this year. The new figures show not just one-third fewer jobs gained, more importantly what that does the rate of change in the rate of change (2nd derivative). It ends up in Macy's...

Gold jumped to another record high at the same time stocks are back closing in on theirs. Only two weeks after global financial chaos that has everyone wondering where things are heading, the implications of each could not be more different. So, where does everything else stack up? Is it just gold vs equities? Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis Reuters Gold extends record rally on...

Economists and officials therefore the financial media continue to downplay the plunge in US consumer confidence, repeatedly referring to it as a "vibe-cession" that doesn't fit with the current data or modeled forecasts. History, common sense, and even econometric math isn't on their, or the data's, side. All of those say unemployment is about to surge. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro A...

Revisions are a normal part of high frequency data. Constant, near-exclusive downward revisions are not. Rewrites should be more evenly distributed which means these stats are overstating the economy. Plus, the problem is spreading hitting retail sales and IP as well as payrolls. While everyone went nuts over retail sales, the problem with July's number isn't just the likely downward revision. Eur...

Financial volatility. Recession conditions. Lower growth and inflation. The rate cuts are still coming. So, that means interest rates around the world are about to go...UP? The fundamentals haven't changed - the calendar has.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis https://www.eurodollar.university Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

Steel prices are plunging, down a quarter since May at lows not seen since 2016. The chairman of the world's largest producer just said he expects it to get much worse in terms of prices and for industry. The implications are far broader than steel or China.  Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis Bloomberg World’s Biggest Steel Producer Warns of ‘Severe’ Industry Crisis https://www.bl...