China Contagion (Not Wuhan Virus, But Real Estate), Kaisa Down 13%, Evergrande Down 4.32%, Shimao Down 6.40%, Chinese Estates Down 30.42%

While the Chinese Wuhan virus (aka, the Fauci Flu) has plagued the world, another Chinese “export” is also suffering what is known as contagion: China’s real estate sector.

Real estate companies Evergrande, Kaisa, Shimao and Chinese Estates are falling like a rock today.

But it has been a steady decline since Q1 2021 except for Chinese Estates. But they have resumed their death dive.

On the debt side, Evergrande is down to 18.856 while Kaisa has lost less (but still quite a bit) and Shimao’s bond look almost like a good investment, relative to Kaisa and Evergrande. But they are all sucking wind. Maybe they all have the Fauci Flu?

Let’s see if this latest Chinese “export” washes ashore in the USA.

Evergrande Now Nevergrand! Evergrande Declared in Default by S&P For Failed Coupon Payments

It was bound to happen given the growth rate of Chinese real estate construction.

(Bloomberg) — China Evergrande Group was labeled a defaulter by S&P Global Ratings, the second credit-risk assessor to do so.

S&P Global cut Evergrande to “selective default” over its failure to make coupon payments by the end of a grace period earlier this month, a move that may trigger cross defaults on the developer’s $19.2 billion of dollar debt. S&P Global also withdrew its ratings on the group at Evergrande’s request.

Fitch Ratings was the first to declare the property developer in default on Dec. 9. Long considered by many investors as too big to fail, Evergrande has become the largest casualty of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s campaign to tame the country’s overindebted conglomerates and overheated property market. Concern has since spread to higher-rated firms like Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. as liquidity stress intensifies.

A cautionary tale of government pushing real estate construction.

U.S. Producer Prices Jump in Biggest Annual Gain on Record (9.6% YoY Versus CPI Of 6.8%)

Yes, we have trouble in river city with a capital T than rhymes with P and that stands for Producer Prices.

Prices paid to U.S. producers posted a record annual increase of almost 10% in November, a surge that will sustain a pipeline of inflationary pressures well into 2022.

The producer price index for final demand increased 9.6% from a year earlier and 0.8% from the prior month, Labor Department data showed Tuesday. Both advances topped economists’ forecasts.

Even more interesting (or frightening) is that PPI Final Demand YoY is soaring faster than CPI YoY. If CPI catches up to PPI, then we have serious trouble.

With inflation seemingly growing out of control, Powell and Biden should sing “76 Trillion Dollars” which will be the US national debt after Biden and Congress get done with their spending splurge.

Jerome Powell directing The Inflation Orchestra.

Biden’s Build Back Better Act May Add $3 Trillion To The Federal Deficit (And Cost $4.73 Trillion)

Call it “The Letter That Phil Swagel Wrote.”

The letter from Phil Swagel, Director of the Congressional Budget Office, sent a letter to Congress stating that

“The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on
Taxation project that a version of the bill modified as you have specified
would increase the deficit by $3.0 trillion over the 2022–2031 period.”

In short, members of Congress asked the CBO “What would happen if the programs in the bill would be made permanent (which they almost always are made permanent). The result? The Letter That Phil Swagel Wrote: Federal Deficits would increase by $3.0 trillion over the next 10 years.

The Center For A Responsible Federal Budget is even more glaring. The permanent cost of Build Back Better is $4.73 trillion … and a deficit of $3.01 trillion.

Here is all 2,466 pages of the Build Back Better Act (or Build Back Deficits Act).

The Penn-Wharton Budget Model estimates that — if Congress follows White House policy to make most provisions permanent — then Build Back Better will reduce the long-term GDP by 2.8 percent, reduce wages by 1.5 percent, and reduce work hours by 1.3 percent. The only thing it will expand is government debt, by 25 percent.

Build Back Badly?

Psst! US Inflation Is REALLY >11% YoY (Not The Stated 6.9% YoY)

Earlier today I wrote about the horrible November Consumer Price Index (CPI) print of 6.9% YoY.

But that 6.9% YoY is very misleading because of the strange way the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures the largest asset in most households’ expenditures: housing.

The BLS measures inflation in housing using the Shelter measurement. Which was only 3.88% YoY. The problem is that the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index was 19.52% in its last reading. That is quite a discrepancy.

So, if we substitute the Case-Shiller National home price index for the CPI Shelter, we get an inflation rate of greater than 11%.

And with the Zillow Rent for all homes index growing at 11.2%, this feels more like we are being hit over the head with. Or like trying to eat raw oyster stew … when the oyster fight back.

Here is a video of The Federal Reserve and the Biden Administration trying to control inflation.

Real Wage Growth Falls To -1.9% As Inflation Rises To 6.8% In November (Taylor Rule Rate Rises To 16.94% While Fed Remains At 0.25%)

Inflation keeps rising and consumers keep getting hurt. No wonder President Biden’s team sent out a media splash asking them to put a smile on that face and hype the economic recovery.

Real wage growth fell to -1.9% YoY in the latest Consumer Price release. As The Fed keeps its massive foot on the monetary gas pedal.

The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.8% YoY.

The biggest gains in Consumer Prices were for energy with gasoline rising 58.1% YoY. But almost nothing was spared the rod of government policies.

Core inflation (CPI – energy – food) rose to 4.9% YoY, the highest since 1991.

The Taylor Rule, what The Fed Funds Target rate SHOULD be, rose to 16.94%. Versus the current rate of 0.25%. Its as if The Fed Open Market Committee is watching Tik-Tok instead of the economic numbers.

S&P 500 REAL Earnings Yield At -2.33% While REAL Wage Growth At -1.43% (REAL 30Y Mortgage Rate At -3.11%) “Weird, Wacky Stuff!”

As Parks and Recreation’s Martin Housely said, “Weird, wacky stuff.”

We now have the S&P 500 REAL earnings yield at -2.33%.

REAL US average hourly wage growth is at -1.43% and the REAL 30-year mortgage rate is at -3.11%.

The cause of this weird and wacky economic stuff? How about the surge in M1 Money and The Fed Balance Sheet?

I can almost see Fed Chair Jerome Powell imitating Martin Housely and saying “Weird, wacky stuff” in his testimony before Congress.

US Unit Labor Costs SOAR 9.60% QoQ As Labor Productivity DECLINES 5.20% QoQ (Worst Since 1960)

If this what the Biden Administration had in mind? Soaring labor costs at the same time that labor productivity is falling to its lowest level since 1960?

Powell and the Gang’s monetary approach doesn’t seem to be working for the labor market …

But is working extremely well for asset prices.

Wall Street parties while Main Street suffers worst decline in productivity since 1960.

Margin Accounts at Brokers and Dealers EXPLODES As CMBX Remains 30.5% Below Pre-Covid Levels (What Money Printing CAN’T Fix)

As we are all painfully aware, The Federal Reserve went on a 2nd money printing spree to allegedly stave-off the economic impacts of the COVID outbreak in March 2020. The first money printing spree took place in late 2008 as The Fed tried to stave-off the economic impacts of the housing bubble burst of 2008 and the ensuing financial crisis.

But for now, we have this horrifying chart showing the exploding margin accounts at security brokers and dealers (not, not the Walter White-type dealers, but Wall Street dealers). Notice the 400% surge in M1 Money stock after COVID struck.

Of course, the soaring stock market is feeding the margin loop, encouraged by The Fed. Check out the Shiller Cyclically Adjusted Price Earnings (CAPE) ratio after The Fed’s M1 printing storm.

What can’t money printing fix? How about CMBS prices (or CMBX BBB- S6 prices … down 30.5% since just before COVID struck.

Let’s see if The Fed sucks the 400% growth back to zero.

Fear? The Omicron Variant Isn’t Scaring Treasury Investors (Treasury And US Dollar Swaps Curves Calm After Friday’s Flattening)

The latest scare hitting financial markets is the Omicron Variant (or Oh! Macron! Variant in France). While it caused an initial decline in global equity markets {Dow fell 900 points on early reports on Omicron), the Treasury market has been relatively unscathed.

For example, the US Treasury Actives curve dropped last Friday (the orange line represents the Wednesday before Thanksgiving), while the remaining three lines represent last Friday, Monday and Tuesdays (today). In other words, the US Treasury Actives curve has been quiet so far this week after Friday’s flattening.

The US Dollar Swaps curve shows the same dynamics. The dark blue line is last Wednesday, while the remaining lines are last Friday, this Monday and today. Not a lot happening after the initial Omicron fear factor was priced in.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell believes that the omicron variant of Covid-19 and a recent uptick in coronavirus cases pose a threat to the U.S. economy and muddle an already-uncertain inflation outlook.

“The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation,” Powell said in remarks he plans to deliver to Senate lawmakers on Tuesday. “Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people’s willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions.”

Do I detect FEAR in Powell’s voice? The odds of rate increases for next year just fell to one rate increase at the September 2022 meeting.

On the equity side, it seems to be all about whether The Fed will withdraw its support. Back in early 2018, then Fed Chair Janet Yellen and the FOMC started to shrink the Fed balance sheet (green line). This resulted in the “Smart Money Index” declining. The S&P 500 index received a jolt with the Fed stimulus around the COVID outbreak and have taken off like a jackrabbit. Despite the Smart Money Flow index being lower than in 2017.

The VIX and VVIX are elevated showing fear in the equity markets. But much less than when COVID broke out in March 2020. Each spike in VVIX (or the volatility of VIX) is likely when Dr. Anthony Fauci opened his mouth.

So, is Omicron the “planet killer” or just another mild flu-like outbreak? The data is pointing towards the latter, but FEAR may cause it to be a bigger deal than is warranted.