Search results matching tag 'Interest Rates'

Carry Trade reversals rally dollar / yen

ChuckButler — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:13:25 GMT

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In This Issue..

* Carry trade reversal boosts the dollar/yen...
* STL Fed Head Bullard sends mixed signals...
* Audit of Fed in jeopardy...
* Kiwi and AUD fall...

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

Carry Trade reversals rally dollar / yen

Good day... And a Thunderin Thursday to you! Yes, the rain continues today, but I hear it is supposed to stop this afternoon. Fear of risk rained on the currency investors' parade as an equity market sell-off fueled a US dollar and Japanese yen rally. At times it looks as if we will break this pattern of markets up dollar down/ markets down dollar up, but it seems investors continue to return to the US$ and Japanese yen as soon as they become worried about equity market returns.

Many of the callers into the trade desk wonder how anyone would be buying the Japanese yen and US Dollar as 'safe haven' currencies. I think a lot of this buying of yen and dollars isn't necessarily due to investors believing they are safer in US$ and Japanese yen, but is a result of the reversal of carry trades. The dollar and yen are the two major funding currencies of the carry trade. Investors borrow yen and dollars and then invest the proceeds into higher yielding assets including equities. This is what is called the carry trade, and works best when an investor can use high leverage to increase the return. Since these trades are highly leveraged, they are closely monitored and reversed at the first sign of a possible fall in the value of the higher yielding assets. So while the popular press will talk about the 'perceived safety' of the yen and US$, I believe much of the dollar and yen buying is due instead to a reversal of the carry trade. Investors aren't buying these currencies because they think the Japanese and US economy are stronger and therefore safer than others, but are simply deleveraging to take risk off the table, and are buying yen and US$ in the course of this deleveraging.

So what caused investors to worry about their investments in the equity markets? Chuck sent me this note before heading out the door last night:

I saw currencies jump around again on Wednesday... But here's something that makes me scratch my bald head, and should make you wonder too... If you're confused with this, then don't feel alone... Fed Head Bullard was speaking yesterday and at one point he said... "FED MAY NOT START TO RAISE RATES UNTIL EARLY 2012" That really got the currencies going... But later in the same speech, he said, "MEMORY OF HOUSING BUBBLE MAY PUSH FED TO START RATE HIKES MORE QUICKLY THAN AFTER PAST RECESSIONS." WHAT? He said that the Fed may not start raising rates until 2012, but then says that the Fed may push to start rate hikes more quickly than before? In my best Andy Rooney voice... Do you ever wonder, how these Fed Heads get in the door? Oh well... The second statement didn't change the currencies, but it did change stocks... And for one of the first times in some time... U.S. stocks sold off, and non-dollar currencies rallied.

As Chuck points out, the St. Louis Fed Head Bullard seemed to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth, but his second statement that the Fed may push to start rate hikes more quickly than before scared equity investors. He stated that in the debate to tighten policy, "the idea that you might be creating asset bubbles by keeping rates too low for too long will be an important argument." This is what scared the markets.

The economic data released yesterday certainly didn't help investors confidence in the global recovery as US housing starts unexpectedly dropped 11% in October compared to the month before. The pace of construction was the fewest since April's record low, and illustrates housings reliance on government support. Obama has extended both the first time homebuyer's tax credit and instituted a new (and I believe stupid) program to give existing homebuyers a tax credit to go out and buy a new one. These programs will probably give a bit of life support to the housing market in November, but many question just how long the government can continue them.

Another piece of data released showed the cost of living in the US rose more than forecast in October as the price of gas pushed CPI up .3% following a .2% rise in September. Today we will get the weekly jobs data along with the Leading Indicators for the month of October. Last month's leading indicators surprised the market with a 1% increase, but this month the expected rise is just .4%. This would be the seventh consecutive month of increased indicators begging the question: Just how LEADING are these indicators??? They have posted positive gains for seven months, but the economy sure doesn't feel like it is picking up steam. Housing and unemployment continue to be drags on the US economy and, according to Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, economic 'headwinds' will limit the recovery for an 'extended period'.

Speaking of our esteemed fed head, Bernanke's clout among US lawmakers will be tested today as the House Financial Services committee will consider how much to expand audits of the US central bank today. Panel members will be voting on a Democratic proposal to retain a ban on audits of the Fed interest-rate decisions. This would be a big blow to Ron Paul and his bill to allow audits of the Fed. Unfortunately I believe the Democratic ban on audits will pass, and Ron Paul will have to figure another way to try and hold the Fed accountable.

The worst performing of the currencies vs. the US$ over the past 24 hours is the New Zealand dollar which fell by over 2%. The kiwi dropped as the nation's main opposition party said it will no longer accept the central bank's primary policy of targeting inflation. The head of the central bank's salary is actually tied to keeping inflation rates at an acceptable level. This is one of the main reasons interest rates in New Zealand have been among the highest of industrialized nations. But in the opinion of the nation's main opposition party, these high rates have been at the cost of slower growth and a weaker exports. In my opinion, having a central bank focus on keeping inflation within a targeted range is absolutely required; and tying the main policy makers income directly to this objective is smart.

The Australian dollar also dropped for a second day on interest rate speculation. As Chuck has written, the markets have expected the Reserve Bank to raise rates again at their December meeting, but minutes of their Nov. 3 meeting caused some concern that they will not raise rates again until 2010. The minutes, released yesterday, said the pace of interest rate increases is an 'open question' as policy makers balance the risk of inflation vs. an economy which could slow as government stimulus ends. But I am still firmly in Chuck's camp, and believe the RBA will raise rates in December, and the interest rate differentials will continue to rally the AUD$ vs. the US$.

Minutes of the Bank of England's November meeting were also released yesterday, and showed the policy makers were split on whether to extend the 'quantitative easing' program or possibly cutting rates further. The pound sterling lost ground against both the euro and US$ as investors worried about the lack of direction. The minutes show there are three different camps at the BOE, one which favors expanding the program of pumping money into the system with bond purchases, another which favored no change, and a third which wants to use another interest rate increase to stimulate the economy. The lack of a clear plan by the central bank policy makers strikes fear into investors who want to see more of an agreement on the direction of policy.

While we don't trade the Russian ruble, it is part of our BRIC MarketSafe CD (for which time is running out!). Chuck pointed out to me yesterday that the Russian ruble has been the best performing currency of the BRIC, which was surprising. A story overnight said that Russia's central bank will have to accept a stronger ruble next year as rising commodity prices move the currency higher. Strong commodity markets have pushed capital into the Russian markets, pushing the ruble higher. Policy makers had indicated they will try to cap the ruble's gains, but the IMF warned recently that these efforts to fight the rubles advance will prove 'unproductive' and that 'underlying factors' justify the ruble's strength. This is good news for holders of the BRIC MarketSafe. If you haven't purchased this latest MarketSafe CD, the cut-off is approaching - you only have until December 3 and then your opportunity is lost.

OK, to recap, the dollar rallied on carry trade reversals, the 'Audit the Fed' bill is in jeopardy, AUD$ and NZD$ fell, and the BOE is split on the future of monetary policy in England.

Currencies today 11/19/09: American style: A$ .9170, kiwi .7287, C$ .9414, euro 1.4851, sterling 1.6626, Swiss .9811, European style: rand 7.5605, krone 5.658, SEK 6.93, forint 180.17, zloty 2.789, koruna 17.2147, RUB 28.90, yen 88.86, sing 1.3904, HKD 7.75, INR 46.69, China 6.8284, pesos 13.07, BRL 1.7287, dollar index 75.54, Oil $78.77, 10-year 3.35%, Silver $18.20, and Gold... $1,134.55

That's it for today... Best of luck to Chuck this morning as he heads to the eye doctor again today. It is nice to see Kristin Kuchem back from two weeks of traveling. She said both of her presentations were well received, as investors were eager to get money diversified out of the US$! Looking forward to the Blues game this evening, as several of us from the desk are hoping to watch a win! Hope everyone has a great Thursday!!!

Chris Gaffney, CFA
Vice President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837

3rd QTR GDP To Lift Our Spirits?

ChuckButler — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:08:00 GMT

..But First, A Word From Our Sponsor..
Gain exposure to currencies of emerging BRIC countries-and don't lose a dime on market risk

* 4 BRIC currencies: Brazilian real, Russian ruble, Indian rupee, Chinese renminbi
* High upside potential
* No market risk to deposited principal
* Low $1,500 minimum deposit

Don't miss this unique opportunity. Deadline to buy the BRIC MarketSafe CD is Dec. 3rd, 2009. Apply today or learn more at http://www.everbank.com/001CertificatesMSBRIC.aspx?referId=11808
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In This Issue..

* Currencies rebound a bit VS the dollar..
* Bill Gross on the dollar...
* Norway raises rates!
* RBNZ lifts easing bias!

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

3rd QTR GDP To Lift Our Spirits?

Good day... And a Thunderin' Thursday to you once again! It's not raining at the moment, but rain is forecast for today, thus the Thunderin' Thursday name! Rain today, tomorrow and who knows when it will stop... I'm thinking of buying the blueprints to build an Ark!

Front and Center this morning, we have the non-dollar currencies showing some healing as stock futures are positive. What's driving this new found positive feeling in the risk assets? Well, it's all about the first reading of 3rd QTR GDP today, which... Is expected to show that the U.S. economy came out of the recession in the quarter. Of course, I'll be looking for the Gov't spending portion of the GDP, but other media outlets won't, and the markets will get back to looking for higher yields, which you can not get in the U.S.!

Speaking of higher yields... Norway's Norges Bank did indeedly do raise rates yesterday, making them the first European Central Bank to do so. The Norges Bank members chickened out and only opted for 25 Basis Points (BPS), when I thought they should go the full 50 BPS... But, hey! The Norges Bank is raising rates, right? Let's not get picky here! Is the European Central Bank raising rates? Is Sweden's Riksbank, or Switzerland's Central Bank raising rates? How about Canada? Or Japan? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO and NO! Let's get to giving some love to the Norwegian krone!

So... Looking at the rate hike score card of major countries, we have Australia, and Norway... The exact two I told you months ago would be the first to raise rates this year, when most observers thought it would be in the first quarter of 2010... So, if the U.S. GDP is as strong as forecast (+3.2%) then investors and risk takers will be coming out of the walls again, and buying higher yielding assets... There's only a few places in the world they can go folks... Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, the Eurozone, and Norway... The Euro wannabes of the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary probably fall in there somewhere, but those countries are not at the top of the Hit Parade when people start looking for yield!

OK... So, the non-dollar currencies are seeing some healing this morning... The Big Dog, euro, had fallen to 1.4706 before the healing began, and is now 1.4750... The Aussie dollar (A$) had fallen to 89-cents and change, but has rebounded to .9055, as I write. And... If the trading theme remains in place, the dollar will get hammered on the positive GDP report this morning...

Well, yesterday it was PIMCO's Bill Gross's turn to give his thoughts about the dollar... Let's listen in... The dollar is an over-owned currency and likely to fall to an all-time low against major counterparts, Pacific Investment Management Co.'s Bill Gross said in an interview on CNBC.

"The Chinese, the Asians, have owned too many dollars for too long." The dollar becomes more and more owned and less and less desirable, so ultimately the direction is down. I don't sense stability in the dollar."

OK... Thanks Bill! Hey! Recall the other day when I gave you the list of "rumors" in the markets that deep-sixed the non-dollar currencies? One of the items on that list was the rumor that the tax credit for first time home buyers wouldn't be extended... Well, now there's a rumor going 'round that someone's underground, and she will rock, no wait! The rumor going around is that the tax credit will indeed by extended to April 2010... You heard it here first folks, remember that! HA!

And the folks over at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) sent out a note to customers that "the euro remains in an uptrend, and investors should buy the currency when it weakens. It has dropped back to the middle of its last consolidation zone in late September and early August. In a bigger correction scenario it may make it down to 1.45-ish, but it is no longer a compelling sell, and medium term considerations favor buying dips."

Hmmm... Couldn't have said that better myself!

So... Let's get back to this thing with the risk assets... There must be quite a few of you missing class each day, for recently, there have been a ton of people telling me that I never talked about a risk asset sell off... WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I've been talking about how stocks have been linked to currencies and commodities (the risk assets) for months now! And several months ago, I began to see the price to earnings ratios getting way out of whack (tech bubble like!) and began to talk about a stock market sell off that could adversely affect the price gains that the currencies and commodities had made since March...

I know that some of you believe that I only want to "talk up" the currencies to benefit me somehow... And would never write about a potential currency sell-off... Well I have written about it... And this isn't the first time either! I'm really pounding the keys right now, because the more I think about this, the more it ticks me off! I mean... Do these folks not recall my going through how to handle a currency sell-off? It went something like this...

If you bought currencies and precious metals to simply go with the flow and get out when the prices begin to decline to book your profits, then you simply want to watch the stocks to see if they put in a 4-day consecutive sell-off... That might be your indication... However, if you bought your currencies and precious metals to diversify your investment portfolio to: 1. not have just dollar denominated investments, 2. to provide a hedge against the potential of a further weakening in the dollar... Then you will simply want to batten down the hatches and ride this dollar strength out... And if you do anything, you might want to take this dollar strength as an opportunity to buy at cheaper levels!

Calm down, Chuck... Ok, I was gone for awhile but I'm back now... The real question is just why are stocks and currencies and commodities all being thrown into the same barrel marked Risk Assets? When fundamentals are in place, this isn't the case, for currencies and commodities have a low correlation with stocks, and they have different pricing mechanisms...

So, a return to fundamentals would be like manna from heaven for yours truly!

OK... Earlier this week I talked about the Bank of Canada officials jawboning the Canadian dollar / loonie lower... Well, they've done their job... The loonie is 2 full cents lower... I expect the markets to test the Bank of Canada (BOC) here, to see if they really want to keep the loonie from getting stronger...

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) met last night, and while they officially removed their easing bias from their monetary statement, they did not come out and outright mention rate hikes.... In fact, the RBNZ said that there was "no urgency to begin withdrawing monetary policy stimulus" (low rates)... So, it was a two-handed monetary statement by the RBNZ... They removed the "easing bias" but didn't feel the urgency to move rates higher... But shoot Rudy! That's way better than the stuff they gave us at the last meeting, which was "we expect to keep the OCR (their Official Cash Rate / interest rate) at the current level until the second half of 2010"... Yes, Virginia, the RBNZ did improve their statement!

Yesterday, I talked about GMAC coming back to the well, and asking for more bailout money, to the tune of $12-15 Billion... This has some conspiracy undertones to it folks... You just have to think about GMAC and the bank they own, which in reality the taxpayers own! Well, the thoughts going around now is that GMAC, which has already gone to the well 2 times for bailout money, will get what they need, because the Gov't is "in too deep"... Oh great! Now we not only have the "too big to fail" thing, but the "in too deep" thing going for us taxpayers! Where do I sign up for more of this? I just can't get enough of Gov't owned former private sector businesses! NOT!

OK... So, like I said at the top, 3rd QTR GDP will print a preliminary figure this morning... And is expected to have gone from negative to +3.2%... That's quite a rise, don't you think? Personally, I think that it will be less than 3%, probably around 2.5%, and will have been made up of Government Sending... But don't let that get in the way of a feel good media blitz that will happen after the number is printed this morning!

U.S. New Home Sales declined in September for the first time since March... Does any one else feel that the best of the U.S economy during this recession / depression has passed us by, and that we'll be double dipping soon?

Well... With it being a Thursday, we will get the usual Weekly Initial Jobless Claims this morning... You know, this is some very disheartening data... The Weekly Initial Jobless Claims continue to remain above 500,000 each and every week! And the Continuing Claims continue near 6 million at 5.920 million! Who among us believes that the U.S. economy can REALLY recover as long as we have 16% unemployment rates?

To recap... The dollar rally continued throughout the day yesterday, but has stalled in the overnight markets, as the focus shifts to the U.S. 3rd QTR GDP, which is expected to be positive, thus technically taking the U.S. economy out of recession. This would bring the risk takers back into the markets, and thus the dollar would get hammered... The Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted their "easing bias" but left rates unchanged, and U.S. New Homes Sales declined in September...

Gold is up $7 this morning, so it too is receiving some love, and healing!

Currencies today 10/29/09: A$ .9050, kiwi .7265, C$ .9280, euro 1.4750, sterling 1.6465, Swiss .9765, rand 7.8150, krone 5.7050, SEK 7.0170, forint 186, zloty 2.8880, koruna 17.92, RUB 29.27, yen 90.70, sing 1.3985, HKD 7.75, INR 47.21, China 6.8280, pesos 13.23, BRL 1.76, dollar index 76.26, Oil $77.83, 10-year 3.43%, Silver $16.33, and Gold... $1,035.50

That's it for today... Had a visitor yesterday... A very delightful person! It sure was nice to meet you Rebel! This past week has been the 80th anniversary of the 1929 stock market crash! I really am grateful for all of you readers that haven sent me notes this week with kind words... They are truly appreciated! A reader sent me a note yesterday giving me 3 cheers for not calling the Pay Guy a Czar... Yes, the Czars thing makes me ill! My trip to Cabo San Lucas might be nixed because of the blood clot they found in my leg... I hope not, I was really looking forward to going there! It's Thursday, so our little Christine will stop and bring us in breakfast sandwiches... Yeah for us! And on that note, I'll hit send... I hope it's dry where you are, but that your Thursday is still Thunderin'!

Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837

Central Banks Diversify Out Of The Dollar!

ChuckButler — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:42:45 GMT

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In This Issue..

* Currencies rally VS the dollar...
* Reasons why the U.S. wants a cheaper dollar...
* Interest rate differentials...
* Trade Deficit narrows...

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

Central Banks Diversify Out Of The Dollar!

Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! An absolutely awful weekend for our professional sports teams, as the Cardinals, Blues, and Rams all lost! The Cardinals were swept out of the playoffs! UGH! Talk about a downer for yours truly... I sat there, at the game, with my little buddy, and beautiful bride, and saw the writing on the wall early in the game... No life from those redbirds... And so, another baseball season comes to an end here in St. Louis...

Friday morning, after drying out from Thursday nights drenching, no wait, super soaking at Faurot Field in Columbia, I sat down to breakfast, and read the Pfennig... I noticed that Chris was on a roll about Geithner... I thought that it was a good finish to the things I said about him the previous day! Chris will have the conn on the Pfennig Tuesday through Friday this week...

OK... 3rd paragraph in before I get to the currencies, but Hey! Good things come to those who wait! HA! Well... The non-dollar currencies are back on the rally tracks VS the dollar this morning, after giving back some ground on Friday. The story that I brought to you on Thursday morning, about Central Banks diversifying, is really going around the block this morning... In case you forgot, the gist of the story was that Central Banks added to their currency reserves in the last quarter, and that they had put 63% of that new cash into euros and yen... For those of you keeping score at home, that's more than $80 Billion in one quarter!

No wonder, the euro and yen were taking liberties with the dollar in April, May and June... Of course, these two have continued taking liberties with the dollar in July, August and September, but we won't get the Currency Reserves data for another 3 months! But we all know what happened, and what has happened since March 1st of this year... Round and round we go, where we stop nobody knows!

Well... That is short-term wise, which over the years short term prognostications for currencies have proven to be very difficult to get right... Long term? Well, currencies for the most part make long sweeping moves, not one-way streets mind you, but long sweeping moves... And this long sweeping move by the dollar downward, is being aided by the U.S. Gov't! That's right, the U.S. Gov't, has shown a willingness to allow the dollar to weaken... Oh, yes, they carry on about a "strong dollar policy" and all that, but they don't back it up one iota... And, when we get down and dirty regarding U.S. dollar policy, it is my opinion, that the Gov't sees no way out... That they only chance they have to pay back debts, is with a cheaper dollar... That's it in a nutshell... The Gov't wants, and needs a cheaper dollar...

However, they don't want it overnight! They don't need it overnight! The debts aren't due right now... So, that's why you see them spit out stupid statements about a strong dollar policy, they all know that that's not what they really want, but they can't be seen as no willing to defend the dollar...

OK... I've given you Chuck speak... This is what I tell audiences all over North America that care to listen to me... It's all there in front of you... The deficit spending, the quantitative easing, the bailouts, the stimulus, the zero rate interest policy, the corporate scandals that go unchecked leaving foreign investors weary about their investments... And on and on and on... And then there's this little ditty, that should give you all the information you need to make the decision to diversify a portion of your investment portfolio out of the dollar... THE U.S. WANTS CHINA TO ALLOW THEIR CURRENCY TO GAIN VS THE DOLLAR!

When lawmakers, Central Bankers, U.S. Treasury Secretaries all go the China year after year, and beg, and plead, and whine, to the Chinese authorities that the renminbi needs to get stronger VS the dollar, what's a currency investors supposed to think? That's right, that the U.S. wants a weaker dollar, period.

Oh! And one more thing that's really scaring the bejeebers out of foreign investors including Central Banks, is the fact that the U.S. has this enormous national debt, and doesn't seem to care... U.S. lawmakers are oblivious to the deficit... In fact, they continue to look for new ways to deficit spend! UGH! This stuff just gets me going folks... If you could be here to see me pounding on the keys, shaking my head, and yelling at the wall, you might think I had gone crazy... Well, not as crazy as spending another, whatever, when we don't have it!

Last week, we had the former Fed Chairman, and the man I believe is at the roots of this whole financial mess we're in, Big Al Greenspan, talking about the economy, and the growth prospects, and what have you... I have no idea why anyone would listen to this guy... If you read Bill Fleckenstein's book on the Fed (Ignorance at the Federal Reserve... Greenspan's Bubbles) you'll have a Big Al's track record of wrong decisions, that go back to his days before becoming a Fed Head... Well... Ty sent me a note from James Kunstler's newsletter, where he jumped all over the Greenspan comments last week... This is a snippet of what James Kunstler had to say...

"Greenspan's greatest success may be to drive economics into such disrepute that it will be cut loose from the universities and only be taught by mail order or internet subscription from the same outfits that offer PhD's in astrology."

Now that's funny!

Alright then... Let's take a look around the horn, and see what's moving this morning... As I told you, the non-dollar currencies were back on the rally tracks VS the dollar this morning, and so, the Big Dog, euro, is moving higher, along with the Aussie dollar, Canadian dollar / loonie, and Norwegian krone...

Let's take the euro... Last week, The European Central Bank (ECB) met, and left rates unchanged, as suspected they would, and the risks were with ECB President, Trichet, after the meeting... When asked about the euro's strength, he simply repeated his statement from the previous meeting... Something about, the need for U.S. dollar strength... But nothing new, here folks, nothing to see, move along... I think his non-new statement was a indication that he's not willing to fight for dollar strength any more than he has, if the U.S. is not going to step in and join the fight! Memo to Trichet... You had better figure out who's going to be in that foxhole with you before you jump in! Bernanke? Geithner? YIKES!

The Aussie dollar (A$) continues to push the envelope of strength that a currency can gain by raising interest rates 25 BPS! I knew in my heart of hearts that a rate hike would underpin the A$, but didn't think it would be as beneficial as it has been... But then, maybe the thought that I shared with you last week, is gaining some credence... That thought? OH! I guess it would help if I reminded you what it was, eh? The thought, was that with the latest employment report showing such strength, that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would be back in November for another rate hike of 25 BPS!

The interest rate differentials just keep widening to the dollar, folks... And while, as I always say, interest rate differentials are the "end all" of currency valuation, it does go a long way toward attracting investment, and attracting investment goes a long way toward currency valuation! You know, the hip bone is connected to the leg bone, the leg bone is connected to the knee bone, etc., etc...

And while Canada certainly doesn't have a rate differential to the dollar, it does have the commodities, that are associated with energy... Oil, natural gas, and coal... If the prices of those commodities begin to rise it won't be long before we see the Bank of Canada (BOC) hike rates, whether the economy is ready for the rate hikes or not! And that thought has lit a fire under the loonie recently...

And finally, the Norwegian krone... Norway's Central Bank, The Norges Bank, resisted cutting rates to the bone, and while they never did get as low as the U.S. and Canada, they did get pretty low... But, remain higher than those in the U.S. and as I've said over and over again in the past couple of months, the Norges Bank will raise rates in 2009, so... That means the rate differential will widen.. And again, being forward looking, the currency markets' participants have taken the krone higher VS the dollar.

On the data front... Friday, the Trade Deficit narrowed for the first time in a couple of months... The thought is that the cheaper dollar during August, was the main reason for exports outpacing imports... While, a cheaper dollar won't cure the Trade Deficit completely, it certainly can put a major dent into it... So, here's another reason the U.S. Gov't would love to see a weaker dollar! Talk about "killing the golden goose"! If the U.S. Gov't were to talk up the dollar, it could very well, kill that golden exports goose!

We're still waiting for the Budget Statement to print folks... I'm always of the thought that the longer you have to wait for a piece of data to print, the more it's getting cooked, massaged, "adjusted"...

Wednesday this week, we'll see Retail Sales for September... The Butler Household Index (BHI) tells me that Retail Sales will be OK... Not negative, but OK... Not strong, but OK... Shoot Rudy, I even spent some money in September! But, my buying is small potatoes in the BHI!

Chris will bring you the results of the Retail Sales data along with the other data due this week...

So, to recap... The currencies are stronger this morning, with the euro leading the charge VS the dollar. The Central Banks diversification story that I told you about last Thursday, is really getting around the block, and causing dollar weakness. We went over the reasons for this diversification, and the willingness of the U.S. to just ignore their deficit, and spend more! Aussie, Norway, Canada's respective currencies join the euro with gains of their own VS the dollar... And... How the U.S. doesn't want to kill the golden goose... You'll have to read the entire report to get the details!

Currencies today 10/12/09: .9060, kiwi .7345, C$ .9680, euro 1.4760, sterling 1.58, Swiss .9725, rand 7.4150, krone 5.6390, SEK 6.96, forint 182.50, zloty 2.88, koruna 17.49, RUB 29.52, yen 90.10, sing 1.3970, HKD 7.75, INR 46.48, China 6.8228, pesos 13.21, BRL 1.74, dollar index 76.22, Oil $72.97, 10-year 3.38%, Silver $17.89, and Gold... $1,053.92

That's it for today... Happy Columbus Day! Did you know that bricks and mortar Banks are closed today, along with Federal offices, including the Post Office? Then why am I here? Oh! That's right, we're an internet/ direct bank! It will be a short day for us though, as we'll get everyone out of here early afternoon, hopefully. I'm headed to corporate meetings this week... I'm like the bull in the China Shop when it comes to being "corporate"! It rained so much here last week... The rivers and creeks were all over their banks... But the weekend was beautiful fall weather, ruined just a wee bit by the play of our teams! But, I won't go into that any more! It rained so much that my little buddy, Alex's, football game was postponed, now this weekend he has a game on Saturday and Sunday! OK... Onto my "other job"... HA! I hope your Columbus Day Monday is Marvelous!

Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837

ECB & BOE leave rates unchanged...

ChuckButler — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:41:40 GMT

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In This Issue..

* ECB & BOE leave rates unchanged...
* Trichet makes a mistake in judgment...
* Asian central banks defend the $..
* Gold pauses...

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

Good day...Had a horrible night here in St. Louis, as every one of our teams let victory slip away. As you all know, Chuck drove to Columbia to watch his MIZZOU Tigers take on one of their arch rivals in a rare Thursday night matchup. The game went well into the night, as it was delayed due to problems with the lights at the stadium, so Chuck probably didn't get home until early this morning. I'll have the con on the Pfennig today, but Chuck will be back in the saddle again on Monday.

As predicted, both European central banks kept interest rates unchanged. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept their benchmark interest rates at record lows in an effort to keep stimulating their economies. Trichet signaled that the ECB has no plans to raise rates in the near future, stating that the current level is 'appropriate' for the current economic environment. "The recovery is expected to be rather uneven," Trichet said. "It will be supported in the short term by temporary factors but will be hampered in the medium term by balance sheet issues at financial and non-financial institutions."

When asked about the recent fall of the US$, and the possibility of currency intervention, Trichet repeated the standard line saying "excess volatility and disorderly movements" hurt growth and policy makers "will continue to monitor the exchange markets closely and cooperate as appropriate". Trichet also stated that he trusts his US counter parts (big mistake!) that their statement on the strong-dollar policy. "When the Secretary of the Treasury and our friend Ben Bernanke say that a strong dollar is in the interests of the US economy and that they are pushing a strong dollar policy, this is a judgment that is obviously very important for us and the global economy." NOTE TO TRICHET: YOU CAN'T TRUST A CHEATER!!

The current administration may say they support a strong dollar, but their actions sure don't show it. Quantitative easing efforts have pumped a record amount of liquidity into the markets, and Washington has the printing presses working overtime. Unless we the laws of supply and demand have changed, all of these US$ which have been created will cause the value of these dollars to drop. We have seen a 15% drop in the value of the dollar index in the past 6 months. The current administration has no reason to support a strong dollar, and realize there is no way they are going to be able to protect the value of the dollar while pursuing their 'quantitative easing' policies. In order to protect the dollar, Geithner and Bernanke would need to shut off the printing presses, and actually put them in reverse, pulling liquidity out of the markets. There is absolutely no way this will occur anytime soon.

The Bank of England also left rates unchanged and announced they will continue to push money directly into the economy through purchases of government and corporate bonds. At least one of the policy makers in England seems to understand what is going on. Conservative leader David Cameron stated today that the policy will lead to inflation, signaling to his party's annual conference that it would stop the government's main economic stimulus program if it wins the next election. "Sometime soon that will have to stop because in the end printing money leads to inflation", Cameron said. But others remain trapped in their own twisted reality with former BOE officials calling Cameron's remarks 'dangerous'.

The dollar moved up a bit vs. the Euro and Pound after the announcement, but fell again overnight. Overall, the greenback is up compared with yesterday morning, with the biggest moves coming against the New Zealand dollar and Japanese yen. Asian central banks intervened heavily in the currency markets on Thursday to help support the US$. With China keeping the renminbi stable vs. the US$, other asian currencies not pegged to the falling dollar have risen. Governments in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore were big buyers of US$ yesterday and continued with their purchases overnight. Their efforts may work to slow the decent of the US$, but it won't change the direction. These central banks just don't have the financial power to change the inevitable fall of the US$.

Data released yesterday showed initial jobless claims in the US fell slightly to 521k and continuing claims also drifted lower. Both are still near historic levels, and don't support the claims that the US economy is pulling itself out of the recession/depression. In other news, chain store sales managed to eke out a small increase in September. While the news caused a rally on Wall Street, the YOY increase was mainly because the stores had absolutely abysmal sales one year ago. The largest industry group is cautioning against reading too much into the increase, and continue to predict a decline in sales for November and December.

In another report, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories fell 1.3% in August, worse than the 1 percent drop economists had expected. This follows a 1.6% drop in July as business continue to reduce inventories.

Today we only have one piece of data, the Trade Balance, which is expected to show a deficit of $33 billion for August. This deficit comes in spite of a falling US$ which should eventually make our exports more competitive, and force a narrowing of this balance. The continued deficit forces the US to have to attract foreign capital as imports continue to outpace exports.

Canada got a good piece of news yesterday as Canadian employers added jobs for the second straight month in September. The unemployment rate fell to 8.4% as employment rose by 30,600. The report will increase pressure on the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates from record lows, and could lead to strength in the Canadian dollar. We have been supporters of commodity based currencies, and Canada certainly has an abundance of raw materials. Their proximity to the US has caused some concern, as the US is still their largest trading partner, but Canada has worked to strengthen ties to China and is now enjoying an increase in exports to Asia as the recovery takes hold in the Far East.

An associate from headquarters down in Jacksonville emailed me last night to ask my opinion on recent events in Latvia. Now I certainly try to stay informed on all of the countries around the globe, but had to be honest and tell him I haven't really ever looked at what is going on in Latvia. But after doing a bit of research, I realized what had sparked the question. Economic troubles in the Baltic state led to concern over the future health of Swedish banks. Plunging property values in Latvia have left borrowers 'upside down' on their mortgage loans mainly provided by Swedish banks. The Latvian government had announced a plan to protect homeowners from foreclosure, angering Sweden. But overnight, Latvia has announced it is pulling away from its earlier plan, and would come to an agreement with its international lenders. It looks as if the 'Latvian' crisis will be resolved, and Swedish banks will avoid possible losses which could have occurred. The Swedish Krona is unchanged on the month, and has increased over 12% in the past 3 months. With the Latvian crisis avoided, the SEK will likely resume its move higher vs. the US$.

After hitting an all time high yesterday, Gold slipped back slightly overnight. This was the first drop in the gold price this week, after the biggest weekly advance since April. We had expected a pause in the rapid ascent for gold, and a small move higher by the US$ pushed gold lower. Many traders are now calling for a near term correction in the price as investors take profits from the rapid move. According to an analyst at HSBC: "The likelihood that long-term dollar weakness will support gold does not obviate the fact that the near-relentless increase in bullion prices recently has raised the possibility that gold is due for a pullback," HSBC Securities analyst James Steel said in a report emailed today. "A dollar rally, even if only temporary, could provide a reason for gold longs to take profits."

Currencies today 10/9/09: A$ .9074, kiwi .7405, C$ .9572, euro 1.4761, sterling 1.5987, Swiss .9720, rand 7.3611, krone 5.6326, SEK 6.9742, forint 183.26, zloty 2.8760, koruna 17.4924, RUB 29.599, yen 88.75, sing 1.3917, HKD 7.7502, INR 46.4575, China 6.8255, pesos 13.2393, BRL 1.7364, dollar index 76.06, Oil $71.38, 10-year 3.26%, Silver $17.635, and Gold... $1,049.60

That's it for today... Tough night for the St. Louis sports scene as the Cards, the Blues, and the Tigers all blew leads to end up losing. I attended the Blues home opener last night, but caught the awful 9th inning of the Cardinal's game between the first and second period. What a waste of another great start by our stud pitcher Wainwright! The Cards have backed themselves into a corner now, and will need to win the next three in a row. The Blues started off the game on top, but couldn't hold their one goal lead and fell to their first loss of the 2009-2010 season. And finally, Chuck braved the cold and rain to watch his beloved MIZZOU fall in the fourth quarter. It was raining the entire game, so I just hope Chuck doesn't come down with anything! Looks like we may finally get a bit of a break in the rain today, but the temperature sure has dropped; summer is just a memory now. Hope everyone has a Fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend!! GO CARDS!!!!
Chris Gaffney, CFA
Vice President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837

Gold Soars To An All-Time High!

ChuckButler — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:46:17 GMT

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In This Issue..

* It was all about Gold yesterday!
* Commodity Currencies take the lead today...
* The story behind the euro's non-move...
* Budget data prints today...

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

Gold Soars To An All-Time High!

Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! What a day for Gold yesterday! WOW! In case you were trapped in a cave and didn't hear the news... Gold, which I said yesterday morning looked like it was going to take out its all-time high, did take out its all-time high, and not just take it out! Gold pushed past the all-time high of $1,033.90, and didn't stop until it was trading $1,047 and change! WOW! No check that... Double WOW!

The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) rate hike the previous night, opened the door to this run by Gold, as the Gold Bugs all came out and bought the preferred investment to counter soaring inflation... You see, if the RBA is raising rates, when most every other Central Bank is stuck in the mud with near zero rates, the RBA must see something, eh?

Well, I don't know about what they see, but I would guess it's inflation coming around the bend... I hear that inflation coming, it's rollin' around the bend, and I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when... Now... The RBA did say that they realized that they had reacted quickly last fall cutting rates too quickly and too low, and this rate hike would begin to reverse those panic cuts... The RBA did not say that they see inflation... But riddle me this Batman... Why would the RBA not just wait and hike rates 50 BPS in a couple of months if all they were doing was reversing their panic cuts?

So... Yesterday, was all about Gold! And why not? Gold has a few things going for it right now... 1. dollar weakness 2. inflation fears 3. rising oil prices and probably the biggest thing would be the momentum buying that takes place when mom and pops all see on the evening news that Gold has reached an all-time high, and they go out the next day and buy... Shoot Rudy, we couldn't get these people to buy when Gold was clawing its way to $900, couldn't get them to even notice Gold when it was $950, but now that its at the all-time high...

Today... I think we'll see things settle down a bit on the Gold front. I don't mean to take the move in Silver lightly... Silver pushed way past $17 once again, following Gold higher... Instead of Gold today, I think it will be more about the dollar...

Yesterday, I told you about the story in the U.K. Independent regarding the alleged secret meetings of countries to remove the dollar as the clearing mechanism for buying Oil. I did mention that the Saudis had denied these meetings had taken place. Now... Here's the big deal behind any removal of the dollar as the clearing mechanism for Oil... It's the perception, folks... The "KING DOLLAR" would no longer be needed to buy Oil...

As far as the affect on the dollar, the actual physical removal wouldn't kill the dollar per se, as most of these Oil producing countries, now take their dollars they receive for Oil and trade them right away for something else... So the net affect now on the dollar is zilch... The dollar is bought, the dollar is sold... But, the perception folks... This is the Big Kahuna here... And, think back to all the discussions we had a couple of months ago regarding the calls to remove the dollar as the reserve currency of the world... Wouldn't removing it from Oil trades, be just another step in that direction?

OK... Well today, the Commodity Currencies are the ones front and center in the assault on the dollar... Aussie, kiwi, loonies, real, rand, and krone are all lighting up "green" on my currency screen, which means they are UP VS the dollar! Doesn't it make sense that these Commodity Currencies would be the currencies to push the dollar around the schoolyard, especially after the RBA Opened Pandora's Box of interest rate hikes? I think so... Because, as I said yesterday, I think we'll begin to see more countries / Central Banks come to the rate hike table... And they are all on this list of Commodity Currencies! Which again points toward "seeing inflation pressures" in the future...

The euro? Well, even the best fall down sometime, even the stars refuse to shine sometime, eh? The official "offset currency to the dollar" participated in the currency rally yesterday moving as high as 1.4765, but overnight, it has retreated to 1.4715... Yes, even the Big Dog, has to take a back seat to the Commodity Currencies right now... But... That doesn't mean the euro is shaky... That the euro is weakening... That the euro has lost its place as the Big Dog... Not one iota! It simply means that sometimes other currencies take a flyer VS the dollar, while the euro bides its time... Taking my time, choosing my lines...

And I would bet you a dollar to a Krispy Kreme that the European Central Bank (ECB) is champing at the bit to join the RBA in a rate hike cycle! The ECB is a stickler for inflation fighting, a "hawk" if you will, and if the RBA is feeling some inflation heat, the ECB is sweating under the collar for sure! But, the Eurozone is hanging on to its nascent recovery by the skin of its teeth right now, and would not be able to continue if rates were hiked right now... So, here's the deal... The ECB "wants to"... But can't hike rates right now... But you can bet your sweet bippie that the ECB will hike as soon as they see the light at the end of the recession tunnel! I mean, they resisted cutting rates to the bone didn't they? That alone should give you an inkling of what' on their minds!

I think at this point it is important to note that even with the currencies moving strongly VS the dollar since March, they are still roughly 10% below their high levels that they had reached before the financial meltdown in August of 2008... So, some people wonder if they "missed the boat" because of the strong moves since March... I think this proves that they could potentially see the currencies move back to their previous highs...

Ty Keough, pointed something out to me yesterday when I was talking about this to the desk... Ty said, that this move probably has been more genuine, in that prior to the financial meltdown there was all that liquidity, and money flying around pushing risk assets higher and higher... Well, there certainly isn't any liquidity flying around this time! So, the moves by the currencies have been actually stronger, and with a stronger base...

Today... We'll see the Monthly Budget Statement for September. I laugh at the name of the data, given this has been nothing but a Deficit for a month of Sundays now... So, why not just change it to the Monthly Budget Deficit? I mean it couldn't even post a surplus in April or June when normally tax receipts outweigh the deficit spending! I know, I know, you're squirming in your seat thinking that I'm going to go on a tirade about deficit spending once again, when you've heard it from me over and over and over again for years now... Well, I have a treat for you... I'm not going to go there today! I mean, it certainly isn't important to our leaders... So why should I continue to make a big deal out of it?

HA! Gotcha! You know me, I can't just leave the deficit spending, and national debt alone! I can't let the leaders of our country win! I'm going to fight them to the bitter end, and you should too! Come on! Follow me! We can win this battle, if we have enough people to fight it!

And then there was this... I'm seeing more signs that the break of currencies and stocks is happening... And what a welcome thing that would be! These two have different pricing mechanisms and a low correlation to each other, which leads to both being in an investment portfolio for diversification... But, as chronicled many times in the past, since March of this year, the two have moved together... But last week, we saw a sign that fundamentals might be coming back into play... And then overnight, in Asia, we saw Asian stocks move significantly higher, and the dollar remain at current levels, not getting sold, as in the past 6 months... Hmmm... Maybe, this is just another teaser... But, I have to think that a return to fundamentals is coming... And none too soon either! For you all know what I think of future stock returns!

OK... To recap... Gold hits an all-time high and continues to move higher! Did the RBA smell the smoke of inflation burning? The Commodity Currencies are the story today as they are the leaders of the pack VS the dollar. Perception is the key to the dollar being removed as the clearing mechanism for oil... And, the Budget Deficit prints today...

Currencies today 10/7/09: A$ .8910, kiwi .7345, C$ .9455, euro 1.47, sterling 1.59, Swiss .9705, rand 7.4690, krone 5.6840, SEK 7.01, forint 182.40, zloty 2.8625, koruna 17.47, RUB 29.77, yen 88.90, sing 1.40, HKD 7.75, INR 46.67, China 6.8265, pesos 13.51, BRL 1.7590, dollar index 76.38, Oil $71.15, 10-year 3.24%, Silver $17.39, and Gold... $1,042.28

That's all for today... Well... That was SOME GAME last night in the tie breaker between Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins, with the Twins finally winning in the 12th inning! A BIG night for my beloved Cardinals, as they begin their playoff series with the Los Angeles Dodgers... The BIG question is will the Cardinals hit? If they do, watch out, World Series here we come! I did an interview with a writer for Business Week yesterday, I wonder what actually gets printed... If anything! Well... I've got my "blue" shirt on today, so it must be video taking day! I think we're doing two today, so I've got that going for me! OK, time to hit "send"... I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837

RBA Raises Rates!

ChuckButler — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:22:32 GMT

...But First, A Word From Our Sponsor...
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* 4 BRIC currencies: Brazilian real, Russian ruble, Indian rupee, Chinese renminbi
* High upside potential
* No market risk to deposited principal
* Low $1,500 minimum deposit

Don't miss this unique opportunity. Deadline to buy the BRIC MarketSafe CD is Oct. 13, 2009. Apply today or learn more at http://www.everbank.com/001CertificatesMSBRIC.aspx?referId=11808

In This Issue..

* Pandora's Box of rate hikes is opened!
* Is the dollar being removed from oil trades?
* Deficits do matter, eh?
* Gold heads toward its all-time high...

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

RBA Raises Rates!

Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! A Tuesday morning that is seeing a HUGE currency rally VS the dollar on the news that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) opted to go ahead and hike rates now, and not wait for November's meeting, as I had thought they would do! WOW!

The first hike... It has opened Pandora's Box of interest rate hikes around the world... For, if the RBA went this soon, then we can expect Norway's Norges Bank to push their rate hike earlier on the calendar, maybe even later this month! And they won't be the only ones! Look for New Zealand to hike rates this year, and who knows what other country (Brazil?) will follow after that... But I see them coming, and they're marching the death march of the dollar!

OK, that was a little dramatic, while I don't believe, although I have more doubts every day, that the dollar would collapse to nothing, I do believe it has a long way to go when it comes to weakening. How else will the U.S. pay pack their debts in the future? It sure won't be because of a cut in Gov't Spending! That is... Unless all this deficit spending can be reversed and Gov't is cut (in size) to resemble something from 50 years ago! But, that's like asking for the moon and sky, eh?

Let's get back to the Aussie rate hike, that's more exciting and upbeat than talking about what's going to be needed in the future here in the U.S! The statement that followed the RBA rate hike, was very upbeat... So... I totally expect another rate hike next month from the RBA!

OK... The dollar's weakness this morning isn't all due to the Aussie rate hike, and prospects for other rate hikes around the world... In 2001 I wrote a white paper called, "The Demise of the Dollar"... This was the thesis for all the things I talk about almost daily regarding the reasons the dollar would got into a secular bear market... And this was one year, let me repeat that, one year, BEFORE the dollar entered into a weak dollar trend in Feb of 2002!

The reason I bring this up here in 2009, is that there is an article in the U.K. Independent that's making the rounds, that's called... "The Demise of the dollar"! This report though is about secret meetings with the Gulf Arabs along with China, Russia, Japan and France, and they are planning to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.

Uh-Oh... That's serious stuff folks... And that death march I talked about above? Well, if this story is true, that death march just became much louder!

Right now, however, the markets are not taking the story hook, line and sinker, just yet... Yes, the dollar has been sold, but not like you would think, if traders had taken the story to heart... I think some digestion time needs to be had first... I mean the currency traders had the first rate hike and then this story on their plates all at one meal... That's a lot to digest! And Besides.. The Saudi Bank Gov. is denying that any of these meetings took place... Of course to conspiracy buffs like me, that's akin to saying, "These meetings DID take place, and we're just covering up the evidence" HA!

Now... Some might be cursing these countries right now, for dealing this rumored blow to the dollar... But, it's not like the dollar didn't have it coming! The Deficit Spending... For instance, is one thing that people that "know better" realize that the U.S. will not be able to climb out from under the deficit rock... And those knuckleheads who said "Deficits don't matter"? Well... I've said this many times before, but I can't talk about the Deficits don't matter crowd without talking about how these people remind me of a guy... He's standing on top of the Empire State Building, and decides to jump off... As he passes the 56th floor, he says... "So far... So good!"

Well, unfortunately for our "Deficits don't matter" guy falling to the ground, the sidewalk is coming at him very quickly now...

And here's another thing that should just tick you off to no end, but you have to think that the people that have loaned us money, are wondering if they'll ever get paid back... What I'm talking about here is the story from yesterday, regarding the TARP funds... You might want to sit down for this one folks...

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), says that despite multiple statements on Oct. 14 of last year that these nine banks were healthy and only receiving government funds for the good of the country's economy, federal officials knew otherwise. He went on to say that "the Treasury Dept. and the Federal Reserve lied to the American public last fall when they said the first nine banks to receive government bailout funds were healthy."

That's right... They LIED TO US! Now, doesn't that just tick you off? It sure ticks me off!

So... You can see some of the reasons the countries mentioned above might be thinking about removing the dollar as the pricing mechanism when it comes to oil...

OK... We started up beat, then got brought down, let's get back to upbeat! Hey! How about Gold? When I turned on the screen this morning, Gold was $1,020! You would think that even if the U.K. Independent story is just a rumor, that Gold would gain on the rumors...

I read a story last night, while waiting for the so-called "Epic Battle" between the Vikings and Packers on Monday Night Football, that one analyst was of the belief that Gold was about to return to its link to the price of Oil... Hmmm... Well, I personally hope that's not the case, as I certainly don't want to see the price of Oil rise to the levels I think Gold is going to rise to!

Yesterday, I did a presentation on the DTI network... (I had given you all the link to it last week) My power point presentation didn't work, so I had to just "wing it" (yeah, like talking for 30 minutes on how we got here, what's going on, and why one needs the power of portfolio diversification was difficult for me! HA!) I think they want me to come back next week... DTI educates investors / traders/ and people that just want to know how the markets work, so it's all for a good cause, because... An educated investor, is a good investor!

OK... Let's see... OH! I wanted to talk about this yesterday and totally forgot, but it's not too late today to talk about it...

One thing that we'll begin to see this month is the earnings season...
You might recall that in previous quarter ends I thought that stocks would get taken to the woodshed, because of lousy earnings, only to be surprised at the earnings that were posted... But trying not to be the boy who cried wolf, I'll once again say that I just don't see the earnings to support stock prices. This time I think we'll see that the method used in previous quarters by Corporations to produce the earnings was cost cutting... One would have to think that the Corporations have cut to the bone... And now, we'll get to the cheese that binds for earnings... A lack of revenue...

I really liked the reaction of the non-dollar currencies, led by the Aussie dollar, after the RBA rate hike... It was like "old days"... Uh-Oh, I have a song in my head... "Old days
Good times I remember, Fun days, Filled with simple pleasures, Drive-in movies, Comic books and blue jeans, Howdy doody, Baseball cards and birthdays, Take me back, To a world gone away,
Memories, Seem like yesterday....

Yes, the "old days"... Well, in this case I was talking about currencies trading on "Fundamentals" not stupid trading themes, not flights to safety, not deleveraging, but plain and simple fundamentals, things that ordinary people, like me, can understand, and place a value on a currency based on the fundamentals!

But... We've not really seen a fundamental trend since July of 2008... However, if we begin to see the rate hikes that I think we'll begin to see, it could be the harbinger of a return to fundamentals... And that, my friends, and dear readers would be like manna from heaven for your Pfennig writer!

Well... Since I came in this morning, Gold has gained $5 more, to $1,025! Looks like the all-time high of $1,033.90 that came in March of 2008, could be in jeopardy... My love's in jeopardy, baby... Oooh, ooh, ooh, ooh...

Maybe Gold moving higher can get Silver going too! My friend, the Mogambo Guru, reported yesterday that silver analyst, Ted Butler, reports that in the last 10 months, "some 150 million ounces of silver can easily be documented to have been bought by investors.
Undocumented purchases would add tens of millions more ounces."

In fact, when you add it all up, "Investment demand for silver this year is running at a full 25% of world mine production and over 20% of total production (including recycling). This is a remarkable historical turnabout."

Chuck here... Back from a trip to the Mogambo's letter... I just love the way the Mogambo ends his letter each week... He talks about how people should be buying Gold, Silver, and Oil, and then says... "Hey! This investing stuff is easy! Whee!"

OK... To recap... The RBA did raise rates 25 BPS last night, and sounded quite upbeat in their after rate hike statement. Look for other countries to follow now that Pandora's Box of rate hikes has been opened. There's a story going around about countries banding together to remove the dollar as the pricing mechanism for Oil trades... It's being denied, but there's smoke... And you know what I say when there's smoke... And Gold is pushing the envelope on its all-time high of $1,033.90...

Currencies today 10/6/09: A$ .8875, kiwi .7355, C$ .9395, euro 1.4730, sterling 1.59, Swiss .9745, rand 7.4230, krone 5.6920, SEK 6.97, forint 181.15, zloty 2.8370, koruna 17.3360, RUB 29.81, yen 89, sing 1.4025, HKD 7.75, INR 46.99, China 6.8263, pesos 13.56, BRL 1.7593, dollar index 76.35, Oil $71.13, 10-year 3.22%, Silver $16.99, and Gold... $1,025.45

That's it for today... I did get to watch the 1st QTR of the "Epic Battle" last night before going to bed! I don't understand why they start those Monday Night Games so darn late, I mean on the east coast, it would be past my bed time! The New Orleans Investment Conference, also known as the "Granddaddy of Investment Conferences" takes place later this week... The Big Boss, Frank Trotter, will be there to talk on Thursday and Friday night. I'm not going this year... Last year, I had to cancel at the last minute, after finding out my left eye was being taken over by cancer. The cancer in the eye is all gone, but it left me very little vision with the eye... So, if it looks like I'm winking at you, I'm not... Just closing it to keep light refraction from giving me a headache! WOW! The sky just lit up followed immediately by one of the loudest thunder-boomers I've ever heard! Ok... Kristin returns today after speaking last week in Las Vegas, so we've got that going for us! Yay! Time to go... Hope your Tuesday is Terrific!

Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837

A Currency Rally Takes Shape...

ChuckButler — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:38:14 GMT

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In This Issue..

* Currencies rally overnight...
* A$'s rally for 7th consecutive month!
* Will the ECB be vindicated?
* Sweden tries negative deposit rates...

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

A Currency Rally Takes Shape...

Good day... And a happy Friday to one and all! So, yesterday didn't turn out the way I thought it would go, but that's OK... I think my body is trying to tell me something, as I overslept again this morning! I'm heading out the door this morning to go "fishing"... Should be a ton of fun, with neighbor friends this weekend...

Well, front and center this morning, we are smack dab in the middle of a currency rally VS the dollar. It has all the makings of such, as the Japanese yen is getting sold, along with the green/peachback. The improved economic data this week, finally caught up with the dollar, as risk assets are back on the table.

The euro is back above 1.43, and the Aussie dollar is back above 84-cents... These two have become the two indicators of a currency rally... With euros being the offset currency to the dollar, and Aussie dollars being the proxy for global growth. The Aussie dollar is not part of the dollar index, so... If you just watch the dollar index, you won't catch the global growth proxy in that figure... In fact, I've tried to tell people for years that the dollar index is not the "end all" to currency watching.

Let's go through the dollar index, while we're on the subject... Today's lesson if you will! The dollar index is made up of 6 currencies, Euros, sterling, yen, francs, Swedish krona, and Canadian dollars... It is heavily weighted toward euros, which took over from 5 currencies that used to be a part of this index... You know, the "legacy" currencies from the Eurozone that became euros.

So... If you just watch the dollar index, you'll miss the moves of Aussie, kiwi, Brazil, South Africa, and Norway... 5 of the 6 resource countries with Canadian dollars being the 6th.

OK... Class is over... Time to get back to work on what's going on to end this last full week of August 2009.

Speaking of Aussie dollars, as we were above, it appears to me as though the A$ will put in a monthly gain for August, which, by my calculations would be the 7th month of gains for A$'s... Even in the go-go days of A$'s when it was amassing a 75% gain VS the U.S. dollar, circa 2002- July 2008, it didn't put together 7 consecutive months of gains! It's been 20 years since the A$ put together a string of monthly gains like that!

That reminds me of my trip to St. Petersburg last past March to speak at the Investment University Conference... I told people then that the dollar's run since the previous July looked as though it was ending, as investors were growing tired of taking a beating with the "safe haven" trades they went into the previous fall. Boy... That sure was "bang on", eh?

Oh... I also said it in the Pfennig, but you have to remember, I was officially "on vacation" when I went to St. Pete, and therefore didn't come back to the office to write the Pfennig for 10 more days!

A "new" reader sent me a note the other day, and said that the stock market was looking quite overbought, and asked me if a sell off in the stocks would promote the "flight to safety" (Treasuries and dollar buying) once again... I told him that I had talked about this a couple of weeks ago... But, realized there are handfuls of new readers all the time... So... Just in case you missed class that day... I asked the question about whether or not everyone else was seeing this stock move and not believing it had legs... I then said that should stocks sell off and go into the dumpster like they did after the Lehman Brothers collapse, that a return to Treasuries just might be in the cards, and would adversely affect the gains the currencies have booked since March.

We've seen glimpses of such the past couple of weeks, when "risk assets" are shunned.... But, each of those times, the selling didn't last long.

Now that we're beginning to see some countries like Australia and Norway, begin to talk about raising interest rates early next year, and some countries like Germany, France, and Japan, all pulling themselves out of recession, there's a new feeling going around, that countries around the world, will be ahead of the U.S. with regards to economic growth, and a return to higher yields... So... As a currency and precious metals holder, we all have to hope that this would be enough to offset a U.S. stock sell off...

We would then, be back to fundamentals... And oh what happy day it would be! Oh happy day... Oh happy day! Something we could all hang our hats on, and each day say... Well, fundamentally speaking, this should do this, and that should do that! Not all this crisis, investing, hodge podge bundling of risk assets that have little or no correlation to each other, and different pricing mechanisms, and looking over our shoulders for the next shoe to drop...

There was a story in the Financial Times this morning, and it reminded me of something that Chris said last week, when I was in San Francisco. Chris had talked about how the Eurozone economy was pulling itself up from the ashes, and how he thought it probably reflected on how the European Central Bank (ECB) had dealt with their recession, which was quite a bit different than here in the U.S.... The story in the Financial Times said about the same thing this morning!

Let's see what the FT had to say... "As the European Central Bank prepares for its meeting next week, the 16-country Eurozone appears to be recovering, deflationary risks have subsided and an effort to bolster bank lending is in place. The Economy appears to be vindicating the ECB's strategy."

Yesterday, the 1st revision to 2nd QTR GDP here in the U.S. printed and while I thought it would show a revision to -1.5% from -1%, it did not... It printed as unchanged at -1.%... I don't see the economy that strong, do you? I mean -1% is still a negative growth number, but it just feels like to me that it's weaker than that... You have to recall back to the months in the 2nd QTR, we were still booking some HUGE unemployment numbers each month, and the ISM Manufacturing Index was below 45, which you may recall 50 being the line in the sand to indicate expansion or contraction... But, I guess that's what the Gov't says GDP was, and you know me, whatever the Gov't says I go right along with all the time.... NOT! Geez Louise, that, in my mind, would be a crime to do that!

The weekly Initial Jobless Claims hit 570,000 last week, with the previous week revised up to 580,000... So... The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) may tell us next Friday that job losses continue to fall... They lie! Just do the calculations of the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims...

OK, today, to end the week, we get two of my fave reports... Personal Income, and Spending... I saw a report that was calling for stronger personal spending, because of the "cash for clunkers" program. Well, let's hope that's the only reason Spending is forecast to be higher than Income once again! You may recall that in July, we saw Personal Income fall -1.3%, while Spending rose .4%... That's not good folks, and part of the reason we're in this mess today!

Before I head to the Big Finish... I wanted to share this story with you... In the last month, Sweden introduced negative interest rates on deposits, to spur banks to lend more... I wonder how that's working for them? Apparently, other Central Bankers are watching this to see how it works out. You see, they would follow this lead by Sweden, in a heartbeat if it meant they had a "tool" to remove the monetary medicine that Central Banks have given to the patients for a year now...

Currencies today 8/28/09: A$ .8460, kiwi .6880, C$ .9265, euro 1.4375, sterling 1.6375, Swiss .9475, rand 7.7525, krone 6, SEK 7.06, forint 188.10, zloty 2.8425, koruna 17.70, RUB 31.55, yen 93.75, sing 1.4380, HKD 7.7510, INR 48.66, China 6.83, pesos 13.22, BRL 1.8660, dollar index 77.98, Oil $73.19, 10-yr 3.49%, Silver $14.55, and Gold... $953.15

That's it for today... I want to wish Mike Meyer good luck today, as he will go to have Lasik done to his eyes this afternoon... Like I said above, I'm heading out this morning, but first I have some trading to do. Yesterday, I was reading the revision to Financial Reckoning Day, called Financial Reckoning Day Fallout, by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin. They've also done a revision of Empire of Debt... If you never read the first editions, I suggest you pick up the "updated" versions, you won't be disappointed! I believe you can get them on Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites... It's very easy to do this! My little buddy, Alex, has his "football Jamboree" tomorrow. These teams all get together and rotate scrimmaging with each other. It's a great way for the coaches to see what they need to work on before the first game. So... Good luck to Alex and the Lindbergh Flyers 8th grade team on a good and safe season! OK... Time to get this show on the road, I have a nice calming lake waiting for me this afternoon! I sure hope your Friday is Fantastico, and you have a wonderful weekend!

Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

JohnMauldin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:06:00 GMT

There is the strong possibility that policy makers in the US and UK will not time the transition from the current quantitative easing to a more tightened monetary policy. That is not because they are no competent. It is because the task is very tricky and there is no play book outlining the steps. This is not Tom Landry (former Dallas Cowboy coach) pacing the field with a play for every situation already planned and practiced well in advance.

The odds favor they will either be too late or too early. Getting it "just right." The Goldilocks play, would be more than fortunate. In fact, there may be no right play to call. They may be forced to choose between a slower economy and/or inflation/deflation. And as this week's Outside the Box authors note, there is also the possibility of yet another asset bubble, making the choices even more risky.

Those who are absolutely positive about which of a variety of outcomes will emerge have a level of clairvoyance with which I am not familiar. It makes risk asset (like stocks) investing particularly tricky right now. This is a time to be nimble and avoid creating opportunities for large losses if you are wrong.

We will start this week's OTB with a few paragraphs from the Bank Credit Analyst about the Great Depression and then move on to a piece from the London office of Morgan Stanley on the problems facing central bankers.

And on a less ominous but more important note, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) has issued a warrant for my arrest which goes into effect on August 26th! I will be held at the PM Lounge in the Joule Hotel from 3-6. My bail is set at $2,400, which will benefit local families living with neuromuscular disease. No one person can set me free. It will take a little help from all of my friends, family, colleagues and enemies! Please use the link below to visit my Bail Page and help me post my bond by contributing in any way that you can. Thank you for having a big heart! And come see me in jail!

CLICK HERE TO HELP RAISE MY BAIL!!

And now, the thoughts from BCA.

John Mauldin, Editor
Outside the Box

"Prematurely exiting from an accommodative policy setting, derailed the recovery in the late 1930s and led to another leg of the depression.

"By mid-1936, the Federal Reserve lifted bank reserve requirements, in an attempt to soak up liquidity and prevent speculation from returning to Wall Street. However, the banking system was still too fragile and in need of capital. Consequently, both narrow and broad money growth plunged from a healthy clip back into negative territory. To make conditions worse, by 1937 fiscal stimulus programs ended and social security taxes were collected for the first time. The federal deficit shrank rapidly from -5.4% to -1.2% of GDP, creating significant contractionary forces.

"Obviously the economic relapse in the 1930s is an extreme example. Nonetheless, it does highlight the risks of authorities exiting prematurely before the economy and banking system are ready (even after an extended period of healthy growth). Currently, U.S. and U.K. money multipliers are still impaired, although aggressive easing has allowed some liquidity to flow through to the real economy. A decline in U.S. M2 growth would be a major warning sign. U.K. broad money growth has plunged in recent months, presenting a significant threat to the economy.

"Bottom line: Policymakers will need to continue to curb investor expectations for an early exit in order to allow a sustainable recovery to materialize. It will likely be at least until the end of next year before growth conditions in the U.S. and U.K. are robust enough to withstand a reduction in stimulus." (www.bcaresearch.com)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

By Manoj Pradhan & Spyros Andreopoulos | Morgan Stanley, London

Monetary policy usually finds traction in the real economy through different ‘channels of monetary transmission', working through falling interest rates, increasing asset prices and increased lending by banks. These translate into more consumer and business spending, which boosts economic growth. During this cycle, however, interest rates that matter for borrowers have fallen only very slowly while the flow of credit to the private sector is likely to be weaker than usual due to financial sector deleveraging. Only risky asset prices have been roaring forward since the rally began in March. This imbalance between the various channels creates complications for the prospects of returning monetary policy to neutral. If central banks decide to tolerate higher asset prices in order to compensate for the weaker impact of both the interest rate and the credit channel, they risk inflating another asset bubble. If they respond to rapidly rising asset prices while the other transmission mechanisms have only played a weak role, they risk tightening policy into a weak economic recovery. Turning away from the inflation-targeting (IT) regime that is now conventional wisdom to perhaps a price level-targeting (PT) regime or even explicitly accounting for asset prices may give central banks much-needed flexibility.

The Sequence of Events in Economic Recovery

In a garden-variety recession, policy rate cuts lead to declines in lending rates and slow traction in the form of a better outlook for consumer and business spending. Risky assets usually rally a quarter or two before the recession ends, whereas credit growth usually picks up only after recovery sets in (see "Credit Confusion", The Global Monetary Analyst, February 4, 2009). The Great Recession has not scrambled this sequence of events but it has changed the timing and response of some. Because of the freezing of credit markets, the interest rates that matter for borrowers fell much later than they would have during a more typical episode. Also, given the massive task of repairing balance sheets that confronts commercial banks and households in particular, spending and borrowing are likely to remain subdued. The risk is that credit growth could lag the end of the recession by more than usual. However, risky assets seem to have stuck to the script and rallied ahead of the bottom in economic growth by a familiar lead time.

Interest Rate Channel Less Effective So Far

When central banks cut policy rates, other interest rates respond quickest to the policy move. By providing cheaper borrowing rates to households and businesses, central banks aim to encourage spending and spur production. This is the ‘interest rate' channel for monetary transmission. This channel typically carries the bulk of the burden of resuscitating the economy. Untraditionally, during this current cycle, interest rates that matter to borrowers have fallen very slowly and much later than the cuts in policy rates. Even as they have fallen, however, they have met households who are reluctant to exploit these low rates, given the desire to save in the US and the UK and the conservative habits of German and Japanese households.

Credit Channel Likely to Be Subdued as Well

During a recession, credit flows to the private sector usually fall. Banks are less willing to lend and households and firms are less willing to borrow. Policy rate cuts normally provide commercial banks ‘carry' via a steeper yield curve, allowing them to borrow money at low rates and lend it at higher rates. In this cycle, central banks have had to resort to unconventional measures in addition to rate cuts to ensure that banks had the benefits of a steeper yield curve and an abundance of liquid funds to lend if they so desired. Surveys suggest that banks are becoming more receptive to lending but credit will likely grow with a lag (again see Credit Confusion) and quite slowly thanks to banks and households slowly rebuilding their balance sheets.

Asset Price Channel Leading the Charge...

Risky assets have outplayed the other channels by a margin over the last few months. This is an encouraging sign for central banks, who will undoubtedly welcome the economic traction that accompanies rising asset prices. A rise in equity prices should enhance the incentive to invest because the higher price of existing capital implied by higher share prices increases the relative attractiveness of investing in new capital (Tobin's q). Back in March, with the worst of the economic bad news likely already having been delivered and ultra-expansionary policy in place, risky assets rallied and rallied hard, which is a positive for investment. A possible bottoming in the housing market in the US and the UK would mean that Tobin's q could be applied to the housing sector as well. Households are more likely to buy new houses if house prices are rising, and this encourages homebuilding activity. Also, rising asset prices have supported the balance sheets of financial institutions.

...but Risky Asset Rallies Come at a Cost

One of the most important lessons from the Great Recession is the damage that asset bubbles can wreak. As the Fed and the ECB kept policy rates low for a very long time after the 2001 recession to ward off deflation concerns, they chose to allow an ultra-expansionary policy to inflate asset prices. Even though economic growth in the next couple of quarters could be very strong, the medium-term outlook for the major economies and therefore for global growth remains quite fragile. Policymakers therefore may end up having a repeat of the 2001-type dilemma on their hands.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

If the imbalance between risky asset prices on one hand and interest rates and credit on the other persists for a significant period of time, the transition from über-expansionary policy to a neutral stance could be an extremely tricky balancing act for central banks. In the long run, asset prices cannot keep exceeding the growth potential of the economy. However, over shorter horizons, a loose policy regime with plentiful excess liquidity can lead to significant asset price inflation when markets see an improving economic outlook. If policymakers allow asset prices to surge because the other transmission channels have been weak, they risk inflating the type of bubble that got us here in the first place. If they decide to head off asset prices by tightening policy, they risk raising rates into a weak recovery! The transition to a neutral policy stance thus requires greater balance between the channels of monetary transmission - ideally from interest rates and credit growth gaining better traction in the economy as asset price inflation cools down. This balance is far from guaranteed. Worse, a revival in credit growth could further stoke asset price inflation. Not the best news for central banks.

Inflation Targeting Too Stringent

What could central banks do if they find themselves in such a situation? Using the interest rate tool to quell asset price inflation when the economy is yet to recover fully would risk sustained deviations from the inflation target on the downside. At the same time, it would expose central banks to criticism from politicians and the public since the policy might jeopardise the recovery. Central banks might try to counter the pressure by arguing that pricking asset price bubbles would foster price stability over a longer time horizon by preventing crises such as the current one. But this riposte would be problematic in the current policy framework. Deliberately using policy rates to pursue objectives other than inflation - especially in a way that is detrimental to achieving the inflation target - is incompatible with the inflation-targeting (IT) orthodoxy. More to the point, pursuing asset prices could deliver a fatal blow to the transparency of the monetary policy regime. If the public is unclear about what the objectives of monetary policy are, it could lose faith in the central banks' commitment to price stability and inflation expectations would become unanchored. One of the main advantages of IT - transparency - would then be rendered defunct.

A Way Out?

Assuming CBs want to ‘lean against the wind' of asset prices, is there a way for CBs to escape the strictures of orthodox IT without risking the loss of their holy grail, the credibility of monetary policy? Price level targeting (PT) may be the answer. Under PT, the central bank aims at a certain path for the price level, with the rate of increase in the price level given by the inflation target (see "From Inflation Targeting to Price Level Targeting", The Global Monetary Analyst, July 15). PT differs from IT in that past deviations from the inflation target have to be corrected. For example, with a price level target path consistent with 2% inflation, if inflation in one period is 1%, then it would have to be 3% in the next period. The undershoot in one period would have to be compensated for by an overshoot in the next period in order to return to the price level target path. In short, PT is essentially ‘average inflation' targeting.

How Would PT Help Central Banks?

By effectively increasing the time horizon over which the inflation target can be achieved, it would give monetary policy much-needed flexibility to, if necessary, pursue asset price inflation in the short term. At the same time, long-term inflation expectations would remain anchored since monetary policymakers would commit to achieving 2% inflation on average. Indeed, inflation expectations under PT would themselves have stabilising effects on the economy. While inflation undershoots the target temporarily in order to burst the bubble, the public would know that this would soon require a compensatory overshoot. Short-term inflation expectations would then rise, decreasing real interest rates. This would, in turn, increase spending and output.

In summary, the transition from ultra-expansionary policy to a neutral stance may be very tricky if the imbalance between different channels of monetary transmission persists. Central banks may find themselves hiking into a weak recovery to quell asset prices, or they might compensate for the weakness in the interest rate and credit channels and allow asset prices to rise but risk inflating another bubble. Central banks could gain some much-needed flexibility by thinking outside the IT box - but whether they will make a dramatic move and switch to a PT regime remains to be seen.

History lesson for economists in thrall to Keynes

JohnMauldin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:36:45 GMT

There is a debate in academic circles on the lessons of the current economic crisis. While most ivory tower debates are of little concern to our daily affairs, this debate should concern you, as it will inform those who hold central bank and political power. Remember, there is no playbook of rules for what to do in deflationary, deleveraging recessions. They are making it up as they go along.

Today we have a short essay by Niall Ferguson published last week in the Financial Times. It speaks for itself, and you should take a few minutes to read it.

John Mauldin, Editor
Outside the Box

History lesson for economists in thrall to Keynes

By Niall Ferguson

On Wednesday last week, yields on 10-year US Treasuries -- generally seen as the benchmark for long-term interest rates -- rose above 3.73 per cent. Once upon a time that would have been considered rather low. But the financial crisis has changed all that: at the end of last year, the yield on the 10-year fell to 2.06 per cent. In other words, long-term rates have risen by 167 basis points in the space of five months. In relative terms, that represents an 81 per cent jump.

Most commentators were unnerved by this development, coinciding as it did with warnings about the fiscal health of the US. For me, however, it was good news. For it settled a rather public argument between me and the Princeton economist Paul Krugman.

It is a brave or foolhardy man who picks a fight with Mr Krugman, the most recent recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics. Yet a cat may look at a king, and sometimes a historian can challenge an economist.

A month ago Mr Krugman and I sat on a panel convened in New York to discuss the financial crisis. I made the point that "the running of massive fiscal deficits in excess of 12 per cent of gross domestic product this year, and the issuance therefore of vast quantities of freshly-minted bonds" was likely to push long-term interest rates up, at a time when the Federal Reserve aims at keeping them down. I predicted a "painful tug-of-war between our monetary policy and our fiscal policy, as the markets realise just what a vast quantity of bonds are going to have to be absorbed by the financial system this year".

De haut en bas came the patronising response: I belonged to a "Dark Age" of economics. It was "really sad" that my knowledge of the dismal science had not even got up to 1937 (the year after Keynes's General Theory was published), much less its zenith in 2005 (the year Mr Krugman's macro-economics textbook appeared). Did I not grasp that the key to the crisis was "a vast excess of desired savings over willing investment"? "We have a global savings glut," explained Mr Krugman, "which is why there is, in fact, no upward pressure on interest rates."

Now, I do not need lessons about the General Theory. But I think perhaps Mr Krugman would benefit from a refresher course about that work's historical context. Having reissued his book The Return of Depression Economics, he clearly has an interest in representing the current crisis as a repeat of the 1930s. But it is not. US real GDP is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to fall by 2.8 per cent this year and to stagnate next year. This is a far cry from the early 1930s, when real output collapsed by 30 per cent. So far this is a big recession, comparable in scale with 1973-1975. Nor has globalisation collapsed the way it did in the 1930s.

Credit for averting a second Great Depression should principally go to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, whose knowledge of the early 1930s banking crisis is second to none, and whose double dose of near-zero short-term rates and quantitative easing -- a doubling of the Fed's balance sheet since September -- has averted a pandemic of bank failures. No doubt, too, the $787bn stimulus package is also boosting US GDP this quarter.

But the stimulus package only accounts for a part of the massive deficit the US federal government is projected to run this year. Borrowing is forecast to be $1,840bn -- equivalent to around half of all federal outlays and 13 per cent of GDP. A deficit this size has not been seen in the US since the second world war. A further $10,000bn will need to be borrowed in the decade ahead, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Even if the White House's over-optimistic growth forecasts are correct, that will still take the gross federal debt above 100 per cent of GDP by 2017. And this ignores the vast off-balance-sheet liabilities of the Medicare and Social Security systems.

It is hardly surprising, then, that the bond market is quailing. For only on Planet Econ-101 (the standard macroeconomics course drummed into every US undergraduate) could such a tidal wave of debt issuance exert "no upward pressure on interest rates".

Of course, Mr Krugman knew what I meant. "The only thing that might drive up interest rates," he acknowledged during our debate, "is that people may grow dubious about the financial solvency of governments." Might? May? The fact is that people -- not least the Chinese government -- are already distinctly dubious. They understand that US fiscal policy implies big purchases of government bonds by the Fed this year, since neither foreign nor private domestic purchases will suffice to fund the deficit. This policy is known as printing money and it is what many governments tried in the 1970s, with inflationary consequences you do not need to be a historian to recall.

No doubt there are powerful deflationary headwinds blowing in the other direction today. There is surplus capacity in world manufacturing. But the price of key commodities has surged since February. Monetary expansion in the US, where M2 is growing at an annual rate of 9 per cent, well above its post-1960 average, seems likely to lead to inflation if not this year, then next. In the words of the Chinese central bank's latest quarterly report: "A policy mistake ... may bring inflation risks to the whole world."

The policy mistake has already been made -- to adopt the fiscal policy of a world war to fight a recession. In the absence of credible commitments to end the chronic US structural deficit, there will be further upward pressure on interest rates, despite the glut of global savings. It was Keynes who noted that "even the most practical man of affairs is usually in the thrall of the ideas of some long-dead economist". Today the long-dead economist is Keynes, and it is professors of economics, not practical men, who are in thrall to his ideas.

The writer is Laurence A. Tisch professor of history at Harvard University and author of The Ascent of Money (Penguin)

Riksbank Holds Off On QE...

ChuckButler — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:34:22 GMT

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In This Issue..

* Currencies trade in a tight range...
* German Investor Confidence rises!
* Thoughts from Jim Rogers...
* Kohn on the economy...

And Now... Today's Pfennig!

Riksbank Holds Off On QE...

Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! I'm staring at all this white space on the Pfennig template, and I absolutely drew a blank... I couldn't think of, or can't think of a thing to say! Whoa there partner! That can't happen! There's got to be something, anything, to talk about... OK! I'm back now, I really have no idea where that was going, it was an out of body experience! HAHAHAHA!

OK... The currencies traded in a very tight range yesterday, after the dollar had ambushed them on Friday and in the Sunday night trading sessions. It's been a week since we saw currency strength, other than Japanese yen. So, we should be due for a bounce. There continues to be more whispering about the eventual dollar weakness, but for now, it's not enough to get us back to where the dollar should be trading on a fundamentals basis.

The euro got a lift this morning when German Investor Confidence as measured by the think tank ZEW, rose to the highest level in nearly two years during April. WOW! The index rose to 13 from a -3.5 in March... Quite the turnaround, eh? It is reported that Investor Confidence rose due to the Gov't's efforts to revive the economy. Don't know if you follow this or not, but European stocks just posted their 6th consecutive week of appreciation... You have to wonder if the stocks are telling us something here... Like, has the financial crisis in Europe bottomed out and is now on the recovery path? Don't know... And like I always say, one report doesn't make a trend, just like one swallow doesn't make a summer.

Sweden's Riksbank met this morning and surprised the markets (and me) by cutting only 50 BPS (75 BPS was the consensus), and in the other more important announcement... Riksbank Gov. Ingves said, "measures such as buying bonds were not on the cards at the moment". So, no Quantitative Easing (QE) for Sweden, just yet... But, unless things turn around soon in Sweden, the Riksbank will have to come back to decide on QE at sometime in the future... But for now, the krona is seeing a nice bid, and rallying on the news...

You know... Yesterday I talked about Canada, and how I "believed" that the Bank of Canada (BOC) was going to introduce QE, and IF they did I would mark them off my Hit Parade... But, I didn't say that the BOC was going to do that for certain! So... They could put it off like the Riksbank did... We'll just have to wait-n-see! Of course, I certainly fully expect them to go that route now, rather than later... But, I'm just saying, you never know...

Fed Head Kohn, was speaking yesterday, and said something that I sort of agree with... Kohn said the, "U.S. economy may stabilize this year, and begin a slow recovery". Hmmm... Well... By the end of the year, I see unemployment, by BLS accounting methods, at 10%, maybe 11%... Of course if you count all the people that have seen their unemployment benefits expire, or people that are working part time jobs because they can't find full employment, the unemployment rate is probably somewhere around 16% now... And heading to 20% when all the heads are counted as unemployed that should be counted as such.

So... With that in mind, I have to wonder how the economy "stabilizes"... Credit will still be hard to find, and so on... But, I do believe that our -6% GDP now, will turn to something better by year-end... Maybe -1 or -2% or, we might even squeeze out a small positive number, which you would then hear the media and politicians claim, that "we're out of the recession"... HOGWASH! But, that's just my view on it... But, I liked the fact that Kohn at least sounded a bit worried, and with caution regarding the economy. Apparently he left Big Ben Bernanke's rose colored glasses at home!

Even with a small gain in GDP, the Fed will keep interest rates at current levels, as they can't appear to smashing the golden egg too soon...

The high flying high yielders, which basked in the early spring sun during March, have retreated to their dressing rooms, as risk aversion has cast a shadow on the high yielders. Risk Aversion is a result of the earnings season for equities. So, that means the like of Aussie, kiwi, rand, real, are all softer and not looking as perky as they did a couple of weeks ago. But... Once currencies and stocks hit splitsville, and get back to fundamentals, investors looking for any yield, no matter how small, as long as it beats the paltry yields they get now in the U.S., Japan, and most of Europe, will look to these high yielders... So... That could mean that buying them now, when they are cheaper than they were a couple of weeks ago, just might be the ticket! But who's to say that they won't get cheaper? Ahhh grasshopper, that's the dilemma we face everyday with every purchase we make, weather it be the Aussie dollar, or auto tires, or new computers... You see my point, I'm sure...

Speaking of the Aussie dollar... The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) just released their minutes of the last meeting, where the RBA voted to cut interest rates 25 BPS... It appears that the decision was a close one between no cut and 25 BPS. RBS Gov. Stevens believes the Aussie economy is well placed to rebound... All this has helped the A$ to remain above 70-cents overnight and this morning.

OK... I've been champing at the bit all morning to get to this interview in Barron's with our long time friend, and investment guru, Jim Rogers... I can't get to all of the interview, so I pulled out a few quotes that plays well with what I've been talking about... Here's Jim Rogers!

"Yes, politicians are making mistakes. In Japan, the problem has lasted for 19 years. I hope that it doesn't last 19 years in the U.S. The approach that works is to let them (U.S. banks and automakers) collapse and clean out the system. The idea that phony accounting is the solution (through changes in mark-to-market rules) is ludicrous. And the idea that a debt problem and an excessive spending problem can be cured with more debt and more spending is ludicrous.

It's laughable on its face, but politicians think they've got to do something. Unfortunately, they are doing the wrong things and they are going to make it worse."

He then talked about something that I've been talking about for a couple of months now... The Treasury bubble... Let's listen in...

"I am anticipating shorting bonds -- the U.S. long bond. It's about the only real bubble around that I can see right now -- other than the U.S. dollar. I am not shorting bonds at this moment because I've shorted plenty of bubbles in my day, and I have learned that you better wait because they go up higher than any rational person can anticipate. But my plan is to short the long bond in the U.S. sometime in the foreseeable future."

Isn't that amazing... I just talked about this again the other day!

So... The Gov't's "stress test" results are going to be revealed beginning this Friday... It will be interesting to see what the results are... But, I wouldn't get too excited about all of this, as I don't think we'll get a chance to look under the hood at these financial institutions... Not that I want to or have the time to anyway! But I'm sure there are those out there that would love to get that chance... Buzzzzzzzz, wrong answer! Thank you for playing, there's a nice parting gift for you at the door!

Yesterday, Leading Indicators for March printed worse figure than forecast, but the previous month's -.4% initial print was revised to -.2%... March's figure was -.2%... So... Leading Indicators is still telling us that there will be more pain to suffer through ahead... Hey! That's why they are called "Leading Indicators!"

The U. of Michigan preliminary reading of Consumer Confidence for the first two weeks of April, printed stronger than expected at 61.9, up from the previous month's total of 57.3... Of course when this report was compiled, stocks were still in rally mode... Before earnings season, etc. I doubt the final report will be so pie in the sky...

No real data to deal with today in the U.S. or Europe... So... Once again, focus will be on the earnings... We will get some more Fed speak this morning from Fed Head Hoenig... And then mid morning will see U.S. Treasury Sec. Geithner testify before the oversight panel... Would that be oversight on TARP or Tax returns? HAHAHAHAHA!

I did it again last week... I placed the kiss of death on a currency by talking nice about it! This time it was Indian rupees... Last week I talked about how the rupee had performed nicely / stealth like, under the radar... But, the rupee has now given back all that stealth-like gain! In the past, a move like this would have the Central Bank's hands all over it (with intervention)... But this move might just be associated with the high yielders, and the risk aversion.

Gold rebounded nicely yesterday, up about $15, and has added $3 this morning... Just didn't see right to see it getting sold like that last week... Maybe calmer, cooler, more intelligent heads took over!

Well... It's time to head to the Big Finish. We have a birthday girl here today, and I've got to get to work on my presentations for Bermuda! UGH!

Currencies today 4/21/09: A$ .7005, kiwi .5540, C$ .8075, euro 1.2950, Sterling 1.4535, Swiss .8555, rand 9.13, krone 6.80, SEK 8.63, forint 231.90, zloty 3.4125, koruna 20.90, yen 98.10, sing 1.5080, HKD 7.75, INR 50.41, China 6.8317, pesos 13.39, BRL 2.2375, dollar index 86.58, Oil $45.87, Silver $12.18, and Gold $888

That's it for today... Except to say a Big Happy Birthday to our accountant magnificent, Mary Owens... Mary is not only a magnificent accountant, but also a magnificent quilt maker! It's down to the last 5 hours for my fave show 24... It's so intense! Did you see the Washington Nationals' jerseys they had on Friday night? Nationals was spelled Natinals... How embarrassing, and they wore them! That's a shame, Washington waited so long for a baseball team, and now they have one that can't win, and a marketing department that can't spell! Crazy! The NFL Draft is this Saturday. Our Rams have the second pick... I sure hope they don't blow it! This team needs help! Good luck to our Blues tonight, they are down 3 games to none. Their goal is almost impossible.. Slim and none, and Slim just left town... But... You have to believe! I hope you have a Terrific Tuesday!

Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
1-800-926-4922
1-314-647-3837