It’s surreal, watching our “leaders” debate how many deaths are acceptable and whether workers and children should be sent back into harm’s way. Only a few weeks ago, we all agreed upon the need to flatten the pandemic’s curve so we could prevent a surge from overwhelming our medical system. Now, the debate is about … continue reading →
Headline CPI fell 0.8% MoM – the biggest drop since 2008… …thanks primarily to plunging energy prices. Core CPI fell 0.4% MoM, the biggest drop since it began being tracked in 1961. The details show strong upticks in food and medical care but weakness almost everywhere else.Like almost all economic data lately, the algos have … continue reading →
It’s a day we all knew was coming — over 1 million cases of coronavirus cases officially diagnosed in the US, over 3 million worldwide. Experts such as Scott Gottlieb, former head of the FDA, estimate that actual US cases are 10 to 20 times the reported figure. Deaths currently stand at 56,803 – about … continue reading →
The futures are lock limit down again this morning, with ETFs trading in the after-hours indicating losses on the (eventual) open of up to 10%. This is probably not what the Fed had in mind when they unleashed the massive, emergency rate cut and $700 billion in new QE an hour before the futures opened … continue reading →
Two charts best define the day we had yesterday. First, VIX tagged our next highest target: the intersection of the .786 Fibonacci retracement and the trend line connecting two previous highs. The other one was the SPX arithmetic (as opposed to log) chart, which stopped on a dime at the channel bottom.The bleeding continued well … continue reading →
In a stunning demonstration of the extent to which algos control the market, ES soared 56.50 points after the World Health Organization declared the Wuhan coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern. While it’s true the press conference felt more like a China tourism promo, the declaration in no way reduced the risk the … continue reading →
We’ve been bearish on oil for quite a while, shorting it at 75.57 on October 3, 2018 after Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered and at each of the 3 subsequent peaks since then: just before the JCPOA breakup, the Abqaiq attack and the Aramco IPO — which should have been a peak, but resulted in a … continue reading →
Not too surprisingly, the Iran problem didn’t go away over the weekend. If anything, both sides are making threats that would significantly expand the conflict. What’s more, Trump’s unilateral actions have resulted in Iraq’s parliament calling for all US troops to withdraw from Iraq – without question an important win for Iran. Trump’s 2011 predictions … continue reading →
WTI futures spiked nearly 5% overnight in the wake of a US drone strike on Baghdad Airport which killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. It is a dangerous escalation in the US conflict with Iran which broadened when Trump alarmed US allies by pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal last May. We argued at … continue reading →
Inflation drives interest rates. Though the Fed probably wishes it didn’t, it’s an inconvenient truth. There are much tighter correlations, but consider the strong positive correlation between CPI and 10Y notes. This matters, of course, because with $22 trillion in debt, the US faces the same problem as the ECB and Japan: High interest rates … continue reading →