Putting Cryptos In A Crypt? Bitcoin Rallies, Ethereum Down As Cryptos Collapse (Microstrategy Bond Plunges To $78.34)

Call this “Nobody’s Everything.” Crytpocurrencies are getting clobbered. But then again, the S&P 500 is not doing so well. But crypto stalwarts Bitcoin and Ethereum have down even worse.

At the dollar strengthens, Bitcoin has gotten pummeled.

But at least Bitcoin rose this morning along with Bitcoin Cash. And XRP. But the others are getting clobbered.

Microstrategy bonds are getting crushed.

Blue Monday Or Stagflation? Commodities Signal Stagflation (WTI Crude DOWN 2.72%, Iron Ore DOWN 5%, S&P 500 Futures DOWN 1.7%, 10Y Treasury Yields Rise To 3.20% Then Sinks)

As the US is engulfed in inflation while The Federal Reserve is engaged in trying to fight inflation (well, sort of), we are seeing markets taking a shellacking, particularly commodities.

One indicator of a slowdown is declining commodity prices. Crude oil futures are down around -2.5%. Iron Ore is down -5% and steel rebar is down -3.21%.

Inflation numbers are due out Wednesday and are forecast to be 8.1% YoY (based on headline CPI). But combined with a slowing global economy, we get the dreaded “STAGFLATION.”

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index futures are down around 1.726% for Monday open. Asian markets already got clobbered with the Hang Seng down almost -4%.

On the bond side, the 10Y Treasury Note yield rose to 3.20% early in the morning, but has retreated to 3.1447% as of 8:40am EST.

Both stock and bond market volatility measures are increasing.

So, is it a Blue Monday effect? Or global stagflation?

Time for supplemental income under the Biden Administration.

Cooler Kings! As Biden Keeps Going Green And Fed Raises Rates, Everything Is Cooling (Mortgage Rates UP, Venture Capital Down 53%, Stocks Crushed, Etc)

The Biden Administration and The Federal Reserve together should be called “The Cooler Kings” in that their policies are putting a Big Chill on the mortgage market and equities.

Mortgage rates are skyrocketing thanks to the Federal Reserve.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.27% for the week ending May 5, according to data released by Freddie Mac FMCC, -1.62% on Thursday. That’s up 17 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point, or 1% of 1%.

House price growth to wage growth is below the all-time high, but remains above housing bubble levels of 2005-2007.

The Refinitiv Venture Capital Index is down 53% since November ’21 as The Fed cranks up interest rates.

Well, at least commodities are soaring under “The Cooler Kings.” Pretty much everything else is sucking wind.

Home prices are actually falling in some cities, like Toledo Ohio, Detroit Michigan, Rochester NY, and Pittsburgh PA. Even La-La Land (Los Angeles CA) is seeing a drop in median listing price since 2021 of -5.0%.

The question, of course, is whether The Federal Reserve will back off its plans to aggressively raise interest rates in lieu of crashing stock market, venture capital, and possibly home prices.

This is Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown.

Does Biden and The Fed Feel Like We Do?

Fear The Talking Fed! Fed Jacks Target Rate Up By 50 BPS, 9 More Rate Hikes A Comin’ (Yield Curve Rises)

Well, the Fed’s talking heads have been saying a 50 basis point hike was coming in May … and it appeared!

And it looks like 9 rate hikes are a comin’ by February 2023.

The Fed’s Dot Plots shows a cooling of Fed rate hikes by 2024 and beyond.

Here is the path of Balance Sheet peel-off.

The US Treasury actives curve is up by 14 bps at the 10-year tenor and up 17 bps at the 2-year tenor.

The plan will see $30 billion of Treasuries and $17.5 billion on mortgage-backed securities roll off. After three months, the cap for Treasuries will increase to $60 billion and $35 billion for mortgages.

I could read the Fed’s speech on their decision, but since The Fed has been so highly politicized, I don’t really care what they say. Only what they do.

10Y Treasury Yield Hits 3% Then Retreats, Europe Suffers A Flash Crash (US Dollar Rises As Powell & The Gang Signal Tightening)

Today we saw the 10-year Treasury Note yield break through the 3% barrier, then retreat as is there was a reflecting barrier at 3%.

And in Europe, we saw a flash crash allegedly caused by Citi’s trading desk.

The selloff was triggered by a large erroneous transaction made by the U.S. bank’s London trading desk, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. A knee-jerk selloff in OMX Stockholm 30 Index in five minutes wreaked havoc in bourses stretching from Paris to Warsaw toppling the main European index by as much as 3% and wiping out 300 billion euros ($315 billion) at one point.

The US Dollar rose again as expectations of Fed monetary tightening due to inflation become a reality.

Bond Rout Boogie by Powell and The Gang!

Is YET another Fed error in the making??

Commodities Versus S&P 500 And The New World Order (Crashing Currencies And Flight To Commodities) The End Of US Dollar Hegemony?

Here is Dvorak’s New World Symphony, an appropriate piece the global turmoil that has taken place after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Here is the ratio of the S&P 500 index against the Bloomberg Commodity Price Index. This ratio is plotted against The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet of assets. Notice the decline in the Commodity Ratio in 2022, even ahead of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Global currencies, on the other hand, have been really crushed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Japanese Yen, China’s Renminbi and Europe’s Euro relative to the US Dollar are falling due to a variety of reasons. Covid lockdown in China, Japan’s insistence on monetary easing while other Central Banks are tightening and the Euro with Russia threatening nuclear war.

WTI Crude is back to $100 a barrel. Critical metals are down today related to a slowing global economy and wheat is up 2.75%.

Could it be that US Dollar hegemony is nearly over and commodity-backed currencies are the way of the future?

REAL Mortgage Rates At -3.25%, REAL Wage Growth At -2.99% YoY While REAL Home Price Growing At +11.7% YoY (Powell And Fed Singing “No Sugar Tonight”)

For the moment, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and several Fed governors are singing “No sugar tonight” for the economy.

As The Fed sings “No sugar tonight” exemplified by the number of expected Fed rate hikes by February 2023 has grown to 10.4. Mortgage rates are now the highest since 2009, but inflation is the highest in 40 years. The result? The REAL 30-year mortgage rate is -3.25%.

REAL average hourly earnings are now a terrible -2.99% YoY thanks to the worst inflation in 40 years. REAL home prices are growing at 11.8% YoY.

Traders are betting that even with the Fed boosting its target for the federal funds rate by 2.5 percentage points this year to 3% won’t be enough to get the inflation rate back down to 2% over the next decade from around 8.5% currently.

In nominal terms, mortgage rates are seemingly trying to rise to 2007 levels (6.5%). But the gap between the 30-year mortgage rate and Fed Funds target rates is back to 2009 levels.

Talk about Fed and Fed government OVER stimulypto! Even REAL US home prices grew at 12% YoY pace while the REAL Fed Funds Target rate is -8.04%.

Fed Fireball! Mortgage Rates Climb To Highest Level Since 2009 As Fed Attacks Inflation And Markets Get Crushed (S&P 500 Index Down 7% In April, Bitcoin Down 11%)

Its Saturday and I am dreading markets opening on Monday. But here is where we sit today.

The 30-year mortgage rate has soared to 5.29%, the highest level since 2009 at the beginning of Obama’s Presidency. Since 2009, we have seen the purchasing power of the US Dollar decline further (orange line) while inflation (blue line) has soared. M1 (yellow) and M2 (green) has been growing since the financial crisis, but really took-off with the Covid outbreak in 2020 and The Fed’s massive overreaction coupled with Federal government stimulus.

Since the creation of The Federal Reserve System under President Woodrow Wilson, the purchasing power of the US Dollar has collapsed so much that $10 in 1913 in worth 34.8 cents today. But notice that since 1949, the CPI YoY has rarely been negative meaning that prices are pretty much only going up.

Instead of April showers bring May flowers, it is April expected Fed rate hikes (now 10.408 rate hikes by February 2023) bringing declining assets prices. In April so far, the S&P 500 index is DOWN 7%, the 10-year Treasury Note price is DOWN 5%, Bitcoin is DOWN 11%, the 3.5 coupon agency MBS price is down 3.2%.

We are seeing increased volatility in both the equity and bond markets.

Well, Powell and The Fed are hurling fireballs at mortgage rates and asset prices in April.

Equity Markets Get “Powell’d” After Fed Chair Backs Front-Loading Rate Hikes, Says Half-Point on Table (Dow Down Over 600 Points On “Foul Powell” Utterance)

And what an unappetizing table it is!

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he saw merit in the argument for front-loading interest-rate increases, including a half percentage-point hike next month.“

I would say that 50 basis points will be on the table for the May meeting,” Powell told an IMF-hosted panel on Thursday in Washington that he shared with European Central Bank

President Christine Lagarde and other officials. “We really are committed to using our tools to get 2% inflation back,” he said, referring to the Fed’s target for annual price increases.

Central bankers are grappling with some of the highest inflation rates since the 1980s that are being further pressured as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosts food and energy prices and China’s coronavirus lockdowns tangles supply chains anew.

Equity markets in the USA and Europe are getting “Powell’d” and “Lagarde’d” today. As of noon today, the Dow is down 628 points (or -1.81%). Euro Stoxx 50 is down -2.24%.

I remember appearing on Fox Business’ Stuart Varney and Company where he asked me what will happen when The Fed starts to raise rates in a serious fashion. I made a ka-boom gesture at which he laughed. Stuart, I wasn’t joking!

Foul Powell on the Prowl, driving up mortgage rates, and driving down equities and bonds.

Slipping Into Darkness! Bidenflation And Fed’s Reaction Causing Social Security And Pension Funds To Get Clobbered (Mortgage Rates Keep Climbing)

US President Biden went green and signed executive orders on his first day to limit oil and natural gas exploration of Federal lands and offshore (also, killed the Keystone Pipeline), helping to drive up energy prices and food prices. These orders begat inflation (also caused by the massive Covid relief by the Federal government). The highest inflation in 40 years begat The Federal Reserve signalling a tightening of Fed monetary policy … to fight the problem caused by The Fed in the first place … too much monetary stimulus for too long. Fiscal and monetary fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy and needs feeding

There was an interesting article on MarketWatch entitled “Bond rout exposes Social Security’s insanity.” The headline was “Every dollar of yours that’s invested in the Social Security trust fund is invested in low-yielding government bonds.”

Yes, another disastrous consequence of The Fed’s lax monetary policy since 2008, helping to push Treasury yields extremely low. And REAL Treasury yields into negative territory.

But here we sit today with The Fed threatening to trim their balance sheet and raise rates … to combat the inflation they helped create in the first place. Now we have the 10-year Treasury Note price falling like a paralyzed falcon with expected hate hikes going above rate hikes by February 2023 (based on Fed Funds Futures prices).