Sink The Bismarck! German 10yr REAL Yield Plunges To -7.89% (US REAL 10yr Yield At -4.43%)

Sink The Bismarck! Or at least sink the German economy.

Between going green and the war in Ukraine, Germany is seeing economic distress (high inflation) and a -7.89% Real 10yr yield. At least the US is seeing “only” a -4.43% REAL 10yr Treasury yield.

Like the US, I wonder who in Germany studied game theory? That is, going green leaves nations vulnerable to foreign nations oil and natural gas supplies. Like Russian natural gas.

The Nash equilibrium is a decision-making theorem within game theory that states a player can achieve the desired outcome by not deviating from their initial strategy. In the Nash equilibrium, each player’s strategy is optimal when considering the decisions of other players.

Unfortunately, the US and Germany have deviated from the initial strategy are are paying dearly with skyrocketing energy prices. Particularly as we enter the winter season.

So, who blew up the Nordstream natural gas pipeline going from Russia to Germany?

I can take a guess.

UMich Buying Conditions For Houses Remain Depressed As Fed Tightens (Fed’s Brainard Calls For Fed To Keep Tightening!)

Bidenflation and The Fed’s counter-attack has caused considerable damage to the housing and mortgage markets.

Today, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment indices were released for September. Of note, buying conditions for houses remained in the tank.

Meanwhile, Fed Vice Chair Lael “Brainless” Brainard is calling for The Fed to NOT stop tightening money and raising interest rates.

As The Fed tightens, the entire range of Agency MBS TBA (to be announced) are under $100.

For example, the FNCL 2.5% TBA is now 84-17. And falling like a paralyzed falcon.

Here is Brainard with Fed Chair Jerome “Foul Owl” Powell, the dynamic duo of crashing markets.

Wipe Out 2! Bitcoin And Ethereum Plunge As Fed Tightens And US Dollar Soars

Wipe Out 2!

In addition to global equities taking a massive hit, cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum have fallen -72% since November 2021 as The Fed (aka, The Sugar Shack) tightens interest rates.

Torquay!

US Pending Home Sales PLUNGE -22.5% YoY In August As Fed Continues Panzer-like Assault Against Inflation And Consumers

The scalding inflation rate crippling middle class Americans and low-wage workers is causing The Federal Reserve to take action by finally tightening their monetary policy.

As such we are seeing a rapid decline in the US housing market in terms of sales. For August, pending home sales declined -22.5% YoY as expectations of further Fed rate hikes (blue line) soars. Note that impact of The Fed’s and Federal government “sugar rush” after the Covid outbreak in early 2020 and its impact on pending home sales.

Without the “sugar rush,” pending home sales are dying.

Speaking of a sugar crash, risk parity ETF is down 32% from high.

The culprit? The Federal Reserve’s Panzer onslaught! With its leader, ~~Heinz Wilhelm Guderian~~ Jerome Powell.

The Dow is up 500 points today on the expectation that The Fed will stop tightening in the face of global chaos.

As UK 10yr yields fall -50 BPS!! And US T-10 yield drop -20.8 basis points.

Here is a photo of The Federal Reserve attacking American consumers to reduce inflation caused by Biden’s green energy policies and insane spending by Biden/Pelosi/Schumer.

Will Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell be awarded Panzer assault medals for 1) leaving monetary stimulus too large for too long then 2) suddenly tightening stimulus?

Escape From LA! US Home Prices “Cool” To 15.77% YoY In July As Fed Tightens (Miami And Tampa FL Only Metro Areas Over 30% YoY) 12 Of 20 Metro Areas Experienced NEGATIVE Growth From June To July

Welcome to DeSantisville! Miami and Tampa Florida are the only metro areas in the nation (at least of the top 20 metro areas) growing at >30% growth in home prices.

But at the national level, the Case-Shiller National home price index “cooled” to 15.77% growth YoY as The Fed continues to tighten.

My former home, Phoenix AZ, finally is no longer the fastest growing metro area in terms of home prices, relinquishing the crown to Miami and Tampa FL.

It almost seems that people are trying to escape the mess Gavin Newsome made in California and are escaping to Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Texas. But note that all 20 metro areas are positive in growth YoY, but 12 of the top 20 metro areas experienced NEGATIVE growth from June to July.

Any questions as to whether The Fed is killing the housing and mortgage markets??

On a different note, we see all hell breaking out in Great Britain. Like the US, Great Britain’s inflation is off the charts and the Bank of England is scared about the Pound getting pounded with BofE tightening.

Is FLA governor Ron DeSantis actually Snake Pliskin??

Why Is Everything I Consume Going Up By >10% When The Inflation Rate Is “Only” 6.3% YoY? (Under Biden, Gasoline Is UP 55%, Foodstuffs UP 47%, Electricity UP 957%, Rents UP 12.5% YoY)

According to the BLS, US core inflation is 6.3% and headline inflation is 8.3% YoY. But everything I consume seems to be going up at a much faster rate?

Under Biden, regular gasoline price is UP 55%, CRB Foodstuffs UP 47%, rents UP 12.5% YoY and electricity is UP 957%.

And as The Fed continues to signal monetary tightening, the spread between 30Y FNCL Par Coupon and the 10-year Treasury yield keeps growing.

In case you watched the Buffalo Bills play the Miami Dolphins yesterday, you may remember this punt by the Dolphins. It almost perfectly represents what The Federal Reserve and Biden Administration are doing to the American middle class and low-wage workers.

More On Worst Bond Bubble Burst Since 1949! US Yield Curve Inverts To Lowest Since 2000 (US Mortgage Rate Climbs To 6.59%, UP 129% Under Biden)

And I thought the Washington Commanders QB Carson Wentz getting sacked nine times in a game against his former team was bad!

We start the week with another chapter of “The Worst Bond Bubble Burst Since 1949.” This time its the US Treasury 10yr-2yr yield curve inverted to its lowest level since 2000.

Then across the pond, the UK sovereign yield curve is also inverted. But this curve is only inverted to 2008 levels of The Great Recession. The UK 2-year sovereign yield is up over 50 basis points this morning.

Then we have the US Dollar Swaps curve (green line), steeply UPWARD sloping until 6 months, then declining. The same goes for the US Treasury Actives curve (blue line), except that is it steeply upward sloping out to 1 year then begins declining.

And then we have the Bankrate 30-year mortgage rate rising to 6.59%, up 129% since Biden was sworn-in as President.

Also declining since Powell unleashed his monetary Panzers on the economy and financial markets are 1) agency MBS and 2) S&P 500 index.

The stock market’s value is down $7.6 trillion since Biden took office.

When I saw Carson Wentz of the Washington Commanders getting sacked 9 times, I thought maybe Prince Harry was playing instead. Or maybe Meghan Markle.

Price Harry is on the left, Commanders QB Carson Wentz is on the right.

The Great Recession, Part Deux? Evidence From the S&P 500, Treasury Bonds, Mortgage-backed Securities And The Unemployment Rate (Doesn’t Look Good)

Are we looking at The Great Recession, Part Deux?

First, let’s look at the S&P 500 index since August 24, 2020 (white line) and compare that to just before The Great Recession 04/15/06 – 05/17/08. They look pretty similar.

Second, let’s look at returns on long-term US Treasuries (10yr+, white line) and US mortgage-backed securities (gold line) since The Fed undertook “Operation Crush Inflation!” (green line).

I saw The President’s press secretary fielding questions about the declining stock returns and impending recession. She responded “But the labor market is strong!” Well, Ms. Karine Jean-Pierre, I am sure President’s Biden economic advisor Jared Bernstein told you unemployment was at a very low level just prior to 1) The Great Recession and 2) The Great Covid-shutdown Recession). So, claiming that the US employment market is strong economy ignores that unemployment will surge if the economy slows … which is what The Fed is trying to do.

There is a rush to hedge the downside with The Fed tightening the monetary noose.

Unfortunately, KJP’s feeble answers to the shriveling economy remind me of The Office episode when Dunder-Mifflin’s CEO said that “Dunder-Mifflin is still a strong economy.”

Here is a photo of Joe Biden with his press secretary explaining that the US economy is still strong.

US Mortgage Payments Up 45.5% YoY Thanks To Fed Tightening Caused By Bidenflation

Biden’s green energy policies (limiting supply) caused a tremendous surge in energy prices and food prices (one has to pay to get food shipped!). But in order for The Fed to cool inflation, they are in the process of tightening their loose monetary policy since late 2008.

One of the consequences (intended or unintended) is that as mortgage rose, homebuyer mortgage payments rose 45.5% YoY.

Fed Raises Target Rate By 75 BPS As Recession Looms, DOT Plots Signals Rates Rising To 4.625% In 2023 Then Reverting Back To 2.5% (Mortgage Rate Rises To 6.38%)

As expected, The Federal Reserve raise their target rate by 75 basis points today. While that sounds like an inflation (blue line)-crushing rate hike, look at the slowly shrinking Fed Balance Sheet (gold line).

Of course, the risk of a recession (dark blue line) is on the increase.

Given the increasing likelihood of a recession, The FOMC’s Dots Project shows The Fed’s target rate increasing to 4.625% in 2023, then gradually declining to 2.5% in the long run.

Fed Funds Futures data points to a peak in May 2023.

And with The Fed’s tighten-up, Bankrate’s 30yr mortgage rate rose to 6.38%.

Why is The Fed so slow to reduce its prodigious balance sheet if they REALLY wanted to fight inflation? So we can’t really say that The Fed has been turned loose to fight inflation.