My Kuroda! Dow UP 774 Points And 10Y Treasury Yield Down -2.2 BPS As Japan’s Central Bank Intervenes To Prop Up Currency (Options Expiration Likely Explanation For Stock Surge)

My Kuroda!

Wall Street saw another day of stunning reversals, with stocks rallying after a Treasury selloff sputtered. The yen jumped as Japan intervened again to prop up the currency.

After many twists and turns, the S&P 500 pushed solidly into the green and headed for its best week since June as 10-year yields fell from the highest since 2007.

Probably because The Fed is likely to pivot with impending recession. The Dow is up 774 points this Friday. And today was a huge option expiration day!!

And the 10-year Treasury yield fell -2.2 basis points.

Here is the result of Japan’s intervention.

But today’s numbers were largely monthly stock index option expiration.

Why did it fall upon Powell to be the wielder of the Fed tightening scimitar? Why didn’t Yellen? Because “Good Girls Don’t.” But Powell did.

Have a nice weekend. I will be rooting for Ohio State to annihilate the Iowa Hawkeyes at noon on Saturday.

Winter Is Coming! US Electricity Prices UP 24% Under Biden (S&P 500 Index DOWN -25.3% In 2022 As Fed Rate Reversal Expected In May 2023)

It’s beginning to look a lot like winter. Perhaps we should call Biden “Frosty The Snow Man” because it is going to be a miserable winter for the middle class and low wages workers as Biden’s green energy policies sink in.

The US CPI for electricity is up 24% under Nuclear Joe as The Fed continues to leave their balance sheet relatively untouched.

You might have to bail on the stock market to stay warm this winter, but it is a shame that the S&P 500 index is down -25.3% in 2022 as The Fed counterattacks Bidenflation.

When will The Federal Reserve pivot? That is, when can we sing “Here comes Santa Claus”?

According to the Fed Funds Futures data, Santa Claus is expected to return in May 2023 (rate reversal).

Great Reset?? US Treasury 10yr Yield Tanks -20 Basis Points (UK 10yr Tanks -24.1 BPS)

As I frequently told my investment and fixed-income securities students at Chicago, Ohio State and George Mason University, any 10 basis point change in the US Treasury 10-year yield is significant.

But how about today’s 20 basis point decline in the US Treasury 10-year yield?

The UK’s 10-year yield is down even more at -24.1 basis points. Germany is down -18 bps and France is down -10.3 bps.

Speaking of credit default swaps, Credit Suisse is back to financial crisis levels while UBS and Deutsche Bank are not … yet.

And gold jumped $28.5 dollars today as POP goes the yield.

With all the turbulence in markets thanks to the war in Ukraine and Biden’s green energy mandates and spending (not to mention Statists like Klaus Schwab screaming about a Great Reset), I was reminiscing about more simple times.

Lehman Debacle 2? Credit Suisse Market Turmoil Deepens After CEO Memo Backfires (Credit Suisse’s CDS Now Higher Than During 2008-2009 Financial Crisis)

New CEO Koerner sought to reassure employees in Friday memo
Shares fall to a fresh record low, gauge of credit risk rises

It is like the Lehman Brothers debacle in 2008 all over again.

(Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group AG was plunged into fresh market turmoil after Chief Executive Officer Ulrich Koerner’s attempts to reassure employees and investors backfired, adding to uncertainty surrounding the bank.

The stock, which had already more than halved this year before Monday’s sell-off, fell as much as 12% in Zurich trading to a record low that values the firm at less than $10 billion. That was accompanied by a spike in the cost to insure the bank’s debt against default, which jumped to its highest ever.

Koerner, for the second time in as many weeks, had sought to calm employees and the markets with a memo late Friday stressing the bank’s liquidity and capital strength. Instead, it focused attention on the dramatic recent moves in the firm’s stock price and credit spreads, and investors rushed for the exit when trading reopened after the weekend.

One notable difference between 2008 and today is that Credit Suisse’s equity was flying high in June 2007 then crashed a the global banking crisis went into full motion. We then saw Credit Suisse’s credit default swaps soar in early 2009. But today Credit Suisse’s equity is a pale imitation of its former self, but its credit default swap is now higher than it was at its peak in early 2009.

Credit Suisse is now trading lower than its European rival Deutsche Bank (aka, The Teutonic Titanic).

Yes, this brings back sickening memories of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Let’s see how The Federal Reserve, ECB and Bank of Switzerland handle this debacle, particularly with M2 Money growth so low.

It appears that we are in another Lehman debacle. Or should I say “Lemur Bros.”

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.

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?

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.

Yikes! German PPI Soars To 45.8% YoY (The New Russian Front?)

The war in Ukraine is still going on and Russia is punishing Germany in terms of energy supply.

It is almost as if the Ukraine war is the NEW Russian front for Germany. The German Producer Price Index YoY surged to 45.8% YoY.

German buyers on Monday briefly reserved capacity to receive Russian gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for the first time since the line was shut down three weeks ago, German data showed, but this was later revised and no gas has been flowing.

It was not immediately clear why buyers had submitted requests for capacity when Russia has given no indication since it shut the line that it would restart any time soon.

Russia, which had supplied about 40% of the European Union’s gas before the Ukraine conflict, has said it closed the pipeline because Western sanctions hindered operations. European politicians say that is a pretext and accuse Moscow of using energy as a weapon.

But German inflation, using CPI, is only 7.9%. Something has to give!

On the western front (US), the US Treasury 10yr yield is up +10.2 bps. And sovereign yields in Europe are all above 10 bps.

Weekend Update! Goldman Cuts US Growth Forecast for 2023 After Rate Path Change, FedEx Drops -44 Pts, US Treasury Yield Curve Further Inverts To -42.3 BPS (As Biden Drains The Strategic Petroleum Reserve)

Its a beautiful morning here in Columbus Ohio! Unfortunately, things are not so beautiful for the US economy.

Let’s begin with the US Treasury 10yr-2yr yield curve slope. Historically, the yield curve inverts prior to a recession. As of this sunny morning, the US Treasury yield curve is inverted and sinking further into inversion. Notice that headline inflation (blue line) has increased declined slightly after hitting 40-year highs as The Federal Reserve begins SLOWLY trimming their balance sheet (orange line). The green line is the expectation of Fed rate hikes by the December 2022 FOMC meeting indicating further monetary tightening.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its US economic growth estimates for 2023 after recently boosting its predictions for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

US gross domestic product will increase 1.1% in 2023, economists including Jan Hatzius wrote in a note Friday, compared with a forecast of 1.5% previously. The projection for 2022 was left unchanged at 0%.

Goldman raised its federal funds rate forecast by 75 basis points over the last two weeks for a terminal rate forecast of 4% to 4.25% by the end of 2022.

Then we have Federal Express which plunged -43.85 points on Friday. I use this an example on how inflation begat Fed tightening that begat an economic slowdown.

The Biden Administration is cheering the “Inflation Reduction Act” and the recent decline in the rate of inflation to a gut-wrenching 8.3% YoY. Bear in mind that since Biden was sworn-in as President, WTI Crude Oil is UP 75%, gasoline prices UP 54%, food prices are UP 48% and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is DOWN -32%.

Then we have Gold and Bitcoin relative to the INVERSE of the US Dollar since Biden was installed as President.

But I still get to look out my window and see a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

(Cheap) Bottle Of Wine? US August Inflation Report Worse Than Expected (Headline Inflation = 8.3% YoY, Core Inflation = 6.3% YoY, REAL Hourly Wages = -3.06% YoY) As Fed Slow To Withdraw Monetary Stimulus

After the August US inflation report, I am going to have to start drinking cheap bottles of wine to cope with red hot inflation.

The August inflation report from the BLS shows that headline inflation is still hot, hot, hot at 8.2% YoY. Core inflation rose to 6.3%.

REAL average hourly earnings growth remain in the toilet at -3.06% YoY.

Fuel oil used to heat homes rose 68.8% YoY. Food at home rose 13.5% YoY while rent (shelter) rose “only” 6.2% YoY. Wow, renters are REALLY getting the short-end of the stick from The Fed and the Biden Administration!!

New vehicles are UP 10.1% YoY. Good luck buying those “cheap” electric cars that Mayor Pete Buttigieg trumpets! And wait for the bill when the battery needs to be replaced!!!