Interest Rate Hikes & Bank Collapse: How to Protect Your TradingThe Federal Reserve has been increasing interest rates for the past 9 months, causing a ripple effect throughout the financial world. In recent week, we have seen 3 major banks collapse as a direct result of the interest rate hikes, which has caused trouble in the financial world as well. As a trader, it's essential to understand how these events can affect your trading decisions and how to navigate the current situation.
The Impact of Interest Rate Hikes on the Financial World
Interest rate hikes have a direct impact on the financial world, including the stock market, bond market, and the housing market. As the Federal Reserve increases interest rates, borrowing becomes more expensive, which can lead to a slowdown in economic growth. It can also lead to increased volatility in the stock market, as investors react to the news and make changes to their portfolios.
The Collapse of Banks and the IT Sector
The recent collapse of two banks has caused trouble in the stock market specially IT sector, as many IT companies & startups have provided services to these banks. The collapse of these banks has caused a ripple effect throughout the financial world, leading to concerns about the stability of the financial system.
Navigating Trading During the Current Situation
As a trader, it's important to stay informed about the current situation and how it can affect your trading decisions. Here are some tips for navigating trading during the current situation:
Stay informed: Keep up-to-date with the latest news and developments related to the interest rate hikes and the banking collapse. This can help you make informed decisions about your trades.
Diversify your portfolio: Diversification is always important in trading, but it's especially crucial during times of economic uncertainty. Consider spreading your investments across different sectors to minimize your risk.
Monitor volatility: As interest rates continue to rise, volatility in the markets may increase. Keep an eye on market volatility and adjust your trading strategies accordingly.
Be patient: It's important to be patient and avoid making impulsive trading decisions based on emotions. Take the time to analyze the market and make informed decisions based on your trading plan.
Use stop-loss orders: Consider using stop-loss orders to minimize your risk and protect your investments. Stop-loss orders automatically trigger a sale when a stock falls to a certain price, which can prevent you from incurring significant losses.
Stay disciplined: It's important to stay disciplined and stick to your trading plan, even during times of economic uncertainty. Avoid making impulsive decisions based on emotions, and focus on your long-term trading goals.
Take advantage of opportunities: While economic turbulence can be challenging for traders, it can also create opportunities for profit. Keep an eye out for undervalued stocks or assets that may be poised for growth in the future, and consider taking advantage of these opportunities if they align with your trading goals and strategy.
Avoid overtrading: During times of economic uncertainty, it's important to avoid overtrading and taking on too much risk. Stick to your trading plan and avoid making impulsive decisions based on emotions or short-term market movements.
In conclusion, the current situation of interest rate hikes and banking collapse can have a significant impact on the financial world and your trading decisions. By staying informed, diversifying your portfolio, monitoring volatility, and being patient, you can navigate this challenging environment and make informed trading decisions. Remember to always prioritize risk management and stay focused on your long-term trading goals.
Fed
How FED / ECB Interest rates set trendsWatch how interest rates decisions set trends in EURUSD and Dollar Index impacting the entire forex market.
I marked all the previous interest hike decisions by FED and ECB.
2023 EURUSD bullish reversal was triggerred by ECB starting to raise iterest rates (after EUR hit the alarming 1.00 level). EUR might continue bullish until next tow hikes. From what I read ECB does not plan to hike rates for the rest of the year after May meeting (rates will stay at 4), so it is likely to trigger bearish reversal from May.
Likelwise, 2020 EUR bullish ride (and dollar weakness) was triggerred by FED lowering interest rates (in March 2020) after COVID hit.
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
Good luck in your trading! God bless!
How to Chart Fed LiquidityI'm going to be clearing out some of my half baked ideas.
I don't have a lot of time to write full ideas about them so enjoy the charts and feel free to ask any questions about them if you have any.
I'm going to integrate my TV charts into the website with a daily, weekly, monthly analysis.
website is in my TV profile or find me on twitter.
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The Fed Liquidity used in Master of Markets Idea
What is Fed liquidity?
To determine Fed Liquidity you can simple use this ticker
FRED:RESPPANWW-FRED:RRPONTSYD-FRED:WDTGAL
The Total Assets of the Federal Reserve Balance sheet at 8.382 Trillion.
Subtract The Treasury General Account at 451 Billion
Then Subtract the 2.142T Overnight Reverse Repo
You get 5.789 Trillion in Net Liquidity which hasn't come down a heck of a lot since the last time I tallied up 5.9T
The Fed rate or Why everyone is watching the US economy?The Fed or the Federal Reserve System is a kind of analogue of the central bank in the United States. It is an independent body and receives powers from the US Congress. Its independence lies in the fact that all decisions on monetary policy do not have to be approved by the authorities and even the president. We can say that the Fed does not belong to anyone, because. after agreement with the Senate, the main positions are appointed by the President of the United States, but the owners are private individuals.
The functions of the Fed are the same as those of the central bank: issuing money, controlling private banks, changing the key rate, and other important decisions for the US economy, which affects the economy of the whole world. Let's analyze them in more detail:
maintaining a balance between the financial and social spheres;
protecting the interests of participants in banking operations;
dollar issue;
control of the internal financial market;
acting as a depository for large organizations;
supporting the functioning of payments within the country and between countries;
maintaining liquidity.
And now let's take a look at the questions about the impact of the Fed's actions on the crypto economy in order, so that you have a general picture of what is happening.
1. Why do many investors and traders in stocks and cryptocurrencies constantly follow the news from the US, especially the speeches of the head of the Fed?
One of the Fed's main tools, through which they influence the US economy, is to raise or lower the key rate. The Fed sets the percentage rate at which loans are issued to banks. This, in turn, affects other market segments, and the effect is different for each.
This has a direct impact on the bond market: the higher the rate, the higher the yield.
However, the effect on the stock market is completely opposite, because the reduction in the rate is followed by an adjustment in other lending rates. At a low rate, companies' businesses can grow faster. Due to this, stock quotes of many companies also increase due to the increase in their capitalization. Consumer and business confidence is on the rise, the real estate market is rebounding, and corporate earnings are rising, which in turn has a positive effect on share prices.
As the interest on loans decreases, the interest on deposits also decreases. There is more money in the financial system, which encourages people to look for more profitable areas of investment.
Yes, just a second. We feel that you may get confused or never understand what it is and why everything works the way it does. Let's explain with a very simple example.
The Fed rate is the percentage at which the main bank lends to other banks. If it falls, then other banks can take out a loan at a low interest rate and also issue loans with a small interest rate for organizations and individuals, including mortgages and credit cards. The decline in market interest rates encourages people to take out loans and buy various goods, invest in real estate and invest. The interest on deposits is falling, it is becoming less profitable to keep money on deposits, and people are looking for more attractive ways to invest - these are, first of all, stocks. Due to increased demand, the price of stocks and indices rises. And if the main indices grow, such as the NASDAQ, S&P500 or the Dow Jones industrial index, then Bitcoin grows, and other cryptocurrencies follow it.
At the same time, if the Fed rate rises, then people pull their savings out of riskier types of investment into more stable ones (deposits / deposits). Thus, the capitalization of the stock and cryptocurrency markets is falling, followed by a price drop. As you have noticed, everything in the world of economics is interconnected, and it is extremely difficult to explain all its principles in one article. We just want to bring you to the relationship between the Fed rate and the cryptocurrency market.
And here comes the next question!
2. Why is Bitcoin most of the time correlated with major stock market indices?
Everything is a little easier here. Previously, Bitcoin was something incomprehensible to most - an uninteresting technology and hype. But as blockchain technologies are introduced into everyday life (mass adoption), Bitcoin has turned into a risky, but quite common asset of the market. Because of this, relatively recently, “old” money has entered this market. People who used to earn only in the stock market and large companies entered the market. Large investors have developed strategies for trading and investing. Thus, for them, Bitcoin has become a financial instrument, just more risky. From that moment on, there was a high correlation with the stock market.
In conclusion, one of the important questions.
3. How do the US and the US dollar affect the entire world economy?
In the past, there was a situation when world trade and its institutions, as well as the world banking system, became pegged to the US dollar, central bank reserves began to accumulate mainly in dollars, and a financial market was formed with tools that allow you to effectively
place these reserves in dollar form. Simply put, most of the world uses the dollar, which is why it is the main reserve currency of the world. US hegemony, which influences the whole world, has been developing since 1944.
Let's summarize step by step to consolidate the information:
The American dollar and the US economy affect the entire world market, the first - because it has historically happened, and the second - because it is the largest in the world.
If the rate rises, then after it interest on loans and deposits rises. It becomes more profitable to invest in bonds and keep deposits in banks. Companies and people are shifting funds from risky stocks and cryptocurrencies to more stable types of investment: precious metals, government. bonds or simply withdraw to fiat.
If the rate falls, then after it interest on loans and deposits goes down. Companies and people are becoming more willing to take out credit, thereby increasing the financial system. Companies are developing business and increasing capitalization, people are starting to invest in more profitable instruments such as stocks and cryptocurrencies.
💵THE WORLD IN DEBT💵
☑️The fact that the whole world is in massive Debt that can not be repaid is a buzzphrase that was around for like 20 years already.
20 years passed and nothing bad has happened, so what to worry about? In fact an entire political and economic movement called MMT or a modern monetary theory emerged claiming that government debt does not matter and that we can, you guessed it, print as much as we need(kinda)
☑️But the size of the debt itself was never really and issue so long as the government or a big company could service the debts.
That is if their cashflow was positive enough to cover the interest payments on the debt. Now however, as the FED is raising rates, this is an issue.
☑️And its not the USA who’s pile of debt we need to be worried about(they are borrowing in the currency they can print themselves, remember?) but rather the rest of the world and the companies. The majority of developing countries don’t have the internal capital required for development, so they need to borrow on the international financial markets in Dollars. And these counties are now facing a perfect storm of a higher cost of new borrowings in Dollars, lower revenues from foreign trade due to recession(and yes we are in a recession, Wake up) and the massive energy and food costs due to the war in Ukraine and the problems caused by the supply chain crisis.
☑️Most big public companies aren’t doing great either. The share of listed companies with the debt servicing costs higher than the profits is now more than 25% and if we exclude the accounting and financial engineering shenanigans, it is save to say that this share is close to 30%.
☑️So the third of the economy is outright insolvent. Multiple countries will either default soon or will at least be plunge into civil and economic unrest and go the way of Sri-Lanka, Pakistan and others… And Jerome Powell said that he aint stopping and that the Fed funds rate should go up by at least 2 percentage points more. So instead of the collapse of the USA, we are likely to see a chain reaction debt crisis In the rest of the world unless the FED changes its mind…
I Hope you guys learned something new today✅
Wish you all Best Of Luck👍
😇And may the odds be always in your favor😇
Do you like this post? Do you want more articles like that?
CPI & Inflation Rate USHello everyone! Let's take a look on what happened yesterday on the US financial market and understand the impact of CPI and inflation rate.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation news from the United States can have a significant impact on financial markets and the value of the U.S. dollar. The CPI measures the change in the price of a basket of goods and services consumed by households, and inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising.
When the CPI and inflation numbers are higher than expected , it can indicate that the economy is growing, which can boost stock prices, lead to higher interest rates, and appreciate the dollar. This is because as the economy grows, companies will see increased demand for their products and services, which can lead to higher profits and stock prices. Higher interest rates can also attract more investors to bonds, which can lead to higher bond prices. Additionally, a strong economy can lead to increased demand for U.S. goods and services, and increased foreign investment in the U.S. economy. As a result, the demand for dollars increases, which can lead to an increase in the value of the dollar.
On the other hand, if the CPI and inflation numbers are lower than expected , it can indicate that the economy is slowing down , which can lead to lower stock prices, lower interest rates and depreciation of the dollar. This is because as the economy slows down, companies will see decreased demand for their products and services, which can lead to lower profits and stock prices. Lower interest rates can also lead to less investors in bonds, which can lead to lower bond prices. Additionally, a weak economy can lead to decreased demand for U.S. goods and services, and decreased foreign investment in the U.S. economy. As a result, the demand for dollars decreases, which can lead to a decrease in the value of the dollar.
It's important to note that the Federal Reserve uses inflation as an indicator to change the monetary policy, as they use interest rates as a tool to control inflation. Typically if inflation is too high, the Fed will increase interest rates to slow down the economy and curb inflation, and if inflation is too low, the Fed will decrease interest rates to stimulate the economy. These monetary policy decisions can also have an impact on the value of the dollar, as when the Fed raises interest rates, it can make the U.S. a more attractive place to invest, which can lead to an appreciation of the dollar. Conversely, when the Fed lowers interest rates, it can make the U.S. a less attractive place to invest, which can lead to a depreciation of the dollar.
How to Adjust Your Stock Chart for Inflation, Dividends, and TaxUsing a pretty simple formula involving CPI , we can adjust the stock chart to show real returns instead of nominal returns. Real returns represent a more accurate picture of the return of the stock over time. In addition, we can easily adjust returns for dividends and estimated taxes.
Inflation Slowing, but Still a Concern for the Federal ReserveInflation in the United States, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), is expected to have slowed again in November. This is due in part to a weaker economy, which has reduced inflation pressures. However, the expected 0.3% increase in the CPI is not enough to ease concerns at the Federal Reserve or prevent the central bank from raising interest rates even higher to slow the economy.
Gas prices have fallen since the summer, reversing the spike in spring that sent inflation to a 40-year high. As a result, the cost of living has risen more slowly in the past four months. If the forecast is accurate, the annual rate of inflation would taper off to 7.3% from 7.7% in October and a peak of 9.1% in June.
The core rate of inflation, which excludes food and gas, is also forecast to rise 0.3% in November. This is still higher than the monthly gains that were the norm before the pandemic. The yearly rate of core inflation may fall slightly to 6.1% from 6.3% in the previous month. The rate peaked at 6.6% in November.
The increase in the cost of goods, excluding energy, has relaxed to 5% in October from 12.4% in February. However, the increase in the price of services continues to accelerate. The cost of services, excluding energy, has risen 6.8% in the past year. This is due in part to the increasing cost of labor, which is the biggest expense for most service-oriented businesses.
Rents have jumped 7.5% in the past year, marking the biggest surge since 1982. Rents are starting to decrease as the economy slows, but the Fed and Wall Street are watching for clear evidence of a reversal. Even if rents and home prices level off, the change may not immediately show up in the CPI report.
FOMC Meeting Next Week: Bank of America Expects 50bp Rate Hike The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is set to meet next week, and investors are eagerly anticipating the outcome of the meeting. Bank of America Global Research has discussed its expectations for the meeting, saying that it expects the Fed to raise its target range for the federal funds rate by 50bp in December to 4.25-4.5%.
According to Bank of America, the Fed has telegraphed this move over the last few weeks through its communications. However, the more important question is where the Fed will go next. Bank of America expects the median forecast for 2023 to move up by 50bp to 5.125%, which is consistent with its terminal rate. The bank also expects the dot plot to show 100bp of cuts each in 2024 and 2025.
In addition, Bank of America expects the macro projections in the Statement of Economic Projections (SEP) to be revised to show lower GDP growth and inflation than in September, and higher unemployment.
At the press conference following the FOMC meeting, Bank of America expects Chair Powell to push back against easing in financial conditions and remind investors that a slower pace of hikes does not mean a lower terminal rate. The bank believes that Powell will stress that the Fed's job is far from done.
Overall, Bank of America expects the FOMC meeting next week to be consistent with the Fed's previous communications and for there to be no major surprises or shifts in policy.
Some Jargon Explained
The Dot Plot
The dot plot, also known as the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), is a visual representation of Federal Reserve policymakers' individual forecasts for where they think key interest rates will be in the coming years. The dot plot shows the central tendency, or the middle of the range, of the individual forecasts for the federal funds rate.
Each participant in the FOMC meeting provides their own individual forecast for the federal funds rate at the end of each calendar year, as well as over the longer run. These forecasts are then plotted on a chart, with the dots representing the individual forecasts and the lines connecting the dots indicating the median of the group's forecasts.
The dot plot is released four times per year, along with the FOMC's policy statement, and provides insight into the collective thinking of FOMC members about the future path of interest rates. It is an important tool for investors to gauge the future direction of monetary policy.
The Terminal Rate
The terminal rate, also known as the long-run federal funds rate or the equilibrium real interest rate, is the interest rate that the Federal Reserve believes is consistent with the long-run health of the economy. It represents the level of the federal funds rate that is neither expansionary nor contractionary and is expected to prevail in the long run, once the economy has reached its full employment and price stability goals.
The terminal rate is not a fixed number, and can change over time depending on a variety of factors such as changes in the underlying productivity and demographic trends of the economy. The Federal Reserve uses the terminal rate as a reference point when setting its short-term interest rate targets.
In general, the terminal rate is expected to be lower than the current federal funds rate, as the Fed typically raises interest rates in the short run to prevent the economy from overheating and then lowers them in the long run to support economic growth. This means that the terminal rate can provide important information about the future direction of monetary policy.
🟨 Pausing rates - Bullish tendancy?The market is a forward looking mechanism. I have discussed before that the current correction can play out like 1994 bear market. For this reason I look at this as a historical precedent.
When the market sees pause it anticipates a decline, this pushes stock prices up, at least in practice :)
Trading with 0 stress👉So you see a trading opportunity. It looks like a fair setup. You get confirmation to enter, but you hesitate. You're afraid of losing money, or you have some anxiety that keeps you from pulling the trigger. This is a problem that almost all traders face at some point in their trading career. I too have suffered from fear of losing money and this problem has led to other mistakes that have stopped me from executing my best trades. Today I share my process of what I did. To reduce my anxiety while trading and the actual steps I took to improve my trading execution.
❓ Do you think the color of the candle affects you while trading? Of course it does. Feel free to tell me if this sounds familiar in the comment section. You enter a long trade expecting the market to go up. You gain a few %, then the price turns against you and forms a red candle. And you start watching the movement, especially each candle pointing down. And you focus on the red color of the candle.
😱You get more and more anxious. When another red candle forms. This was a big problem for me in my early years. I closed my trades after a few minutes. When I saw more red candles below my entry point. The solution to overcome this is simple:
🧨 Change the color of the candles to one color. This way you will only track the price and its range.
Let me ask you, which of the texts on the screen is the one that is easier to read? The single colour or the multi-colour? There is a phenomenon in psychology called visual perception. Your brain is always looking for patterns in commerce. If you use multi-coloured candles, you reduce your ability to recognise patterns. Let me repeat that. Your brain is looking for patterns, and one of those patterns is similar colors. Colors affect your brain, your emotions, your feelings. Your psychology, potentially your trading ability. To trade best, you need to trade in a neutral, unbiased state of mind. I've bought in the past because of fast moving red or green candles, I've made bad trades, both on entry and exit. If you get anxious during an open trade, use candles of the same color. So try this simple tip to reduce your reaction to price movements. Change the colour to anything but not to red. Blue or green, yellow or white candles. Just stay away from red and give me a feedback in a week or so. I find myself calmer using a single color for the up and down candles. Maybe this little brainstorming session will help relieve some of the anxiety.
👉 Here's another situation. You see a long opportunity. The price is around the key level and you need to decide. You pull the trigger at, say, $50. You say to yourself, "Wait, I'll wait until... until the market drops a few cents. The market drops to $50.02, but you're still waiting. And then the market goes back up to $50.10 and... you say to yourself, I'm not getting in now. That's a worse price than five minutes ago. I'll wait until it goes down again. And of course the price never comes back. It goes up without you. And now you're frustrated because you anticipated the move, but your perfectionism... prevented you from pulling the trigger. Fear of losing money and perfectionism can lead to irrational behavior, overanalyzing, overthinking and slowly draining your mental energy.
🟢 One of the problems I personally struggled with was. That I wanted to be perfect in my trades. I was looking for the perfect opportunity. You know, when you enter and the price never goes against you, not even one %. Being a perfectionist in trading is stressful and always being on the edge doesn't help you make good trading decisions. In most cases, when you are waiting for the perfect entry, you realize you just missed a big move. Trying to time your entry precisely, at the entry point, is a foolish undertaking. Perfection can be your biggest enemy in trading and can cause you a lot of stress.
🟢 Here's how to reduce that anxiety. Use ranges instead of exact prices. As a day trader, you will not be able to track price movements every minute of the day. That's why you should use price ranges instead of exact prices. This gives you some flexibility. And of course you still need to be strict with yourself when executing your plan. Good traders are vigilant, yet patient. When a lineup they've been waiting for pops up, they grab it without hesitation. But until that time comes, they won't budge. The price fluctuations that lure other traders. They choose to reserve energy for what they are prepared for and ignore everything else. They don't chase the market, they let the market come to them. The opposite of this is forcing trades. You know the feeling when you wait for a trade, see some activity, and pull the trigger early. You force the trade. I did that almost every day.
🟢 Here's the solution. Stop using market orders and use limit orders instead. Basically let the market come to you. Once you have selected the assets you want and done your analysis, you need to determine the prices where you will buy and sell. Your goal is simply to buy and sell at the best possible prices, and use your research to identify reasonable prices in advance. Not only will this help you get a better deal, it will also help you avoid emotion-based trading. The simple solution to reducing stress and anxiety is to only act when the conditions are what you expect. Letting the market come to you is a difficult but valuable skill to learn. So forget market orders and use limit orders. This will reduce your emotional involvement and prevent you from making bad decisions.
🟢 If you want to reduce stress and anxiety while trading, you should switch to higher time frames. This will allow you the time needed to make informed decisions. I know you will find it difficult at first, but you will continue to struggle with anxiety and stress until you make the change. If you are feeling nervous and afraid of losing money, I highly recommend trying the higher time frames. Again, this transition to higher time frames is difficult and most traders are reluctant to switch. But you need to change your environment if you want better trading performance. If you trade in an environment like the 1-minute or the 5-minute chart, you risk the risk of market noise. True, higher time frames don't offer trading opportunities with as much speed, but the signals generated are more reliable and have a much higher chance of working. Better to trade a handful of good quality trades. Rather than trying with many poor quality trades. Daytrade trading is exciting, but it also requires you to monitor price movements for many hours. Most daytrade traders initially like the excitement and moving on lower time frames, but it's only a matter of time before they experience mental burnout, and once mental discipline is exhausted, greed, frustration, anger and impatience will bring bad trades and send you into a dangerous state of mind from which it is difficult to recover. So move into higher time frames. You'll only spend a fraction of the time in front of the charts, and you'll be at less risk of burnout. After a while, you'll find that it becomes much easier to work with a cool head while maintaining mental and emotional discipline.
🟢 How often do you enter trading? The setup looked great, then the price went straight away to your stop-loss before it got to your take profit level without you. Without profit, this is probably the most frustrating scenario many traders face on a daily basis. Because you fear losing money, you tend to use small stop losses. You don't want to make a mistake and try to keep your losses small, but keeping your levels too close to the entry candle is a recipe for having your account cut to pieces. A tight stop relies on you having very precise, near-perfect entries, and we've already talked about perfectionism in trading. If you repeatedly see your stops being hit regularly before the price turns in the original direction, it is very likely that you have placed your stops at levels that other traders use, especially if you trade on obvious price movement patterns. My advice is to start trading with a wider stop loss and a lower position size away from the entry. The position size you use should be small enough that neither a loss nor a gain will affect your mindset and ability to continue trading, only then will you really focus on proper execution.
🟢If you are trading the markets with your hard-earned money, but you don't know what your trading strategy is and you don't trust your market analysis skills. You probably shouldn't be trading with a live account. One of the biggest reasons why you are nervous and afraid when you trade is that you will lose your money because you don't trust your own trading skills. You may not have learned a trading strategy. You do not have a trading plan, you do not keep a trading diary. You are simply not prepared to take risks. Real money at risk in the markets. That is why you feel fear when you trade. Basically, trading anxiety comes from not knowing what you are doing. I have talked many times about the value of a trading log. The key is to use your trading log to keep track of when you are at your best and when you are at your worst when it comes to your trading and your emotions. I pay close attention in my trading diary to times when I make mental mistakes, such as not trading a good trade when I know I should. When I am afraid of losing money or avoiding a good trade, I look for triggers and patterns. Was I confused? Did I make that mistake in a particular market situation? Do I have certain feelings and emotions from previous trades? These are the intangible factors that you need to track in your trading log.
🟢 Most traders are fixated on short-term results. They make money by pressing a few buttons and don't pay attention to the process that makes it possible. They make mistakes, learn from them, and correct them over and over again. Everyone thinks about winning, but few think about the benefits of losing . In my experience, most wins are directly attributable to a big losing trade that I learned from making money in the past. As a trader it makes no sense if you don't understand why/why you can't repeat. Similarly, losing money is a valuable experience. If you understand why you lost. Paradoxically, you cannot understand why you win. Without first understanding how you could have lost in the same situation. So change the way you think about losses, because they will show you the direction of repeatable victories in the future.
If you've already lost, at least don't lose the lesson.
Take care my friend and have a good trade!
Interest Rate Futures and the First Cash Settled ContractCME: Eurodollar Futures ( CME:GE1! ), CBOT: Treasury Bond Futures ( CBOT:ZB1! )
This is the second installment of the Holidays series “Celebrating 50 Years of Financial Futures.”
Before 1970, commercial banks did business by accepting short-term deposits at low regulated rates and offering longer-term business and personal loans at higher rates.
Double-digit inflation changed all that. Federal Reserve eliminated interest rate ceilings on time deposits under 3 months in 1970, and on those over 3 months in 1973. Banks incurred huge loss from a negative spread with deposit rate higher than loan rate.
Fast forward to 2022, we find ourselves in a high inflation and an inverted yield-curve environment again. The overnight Fed Funds rate (4.00%) is nearly 500 basis points higher than the 10-Year Treasury Note (T-Note) yield (3.51%) as of December 4th.
Rising interest rates increase the financing cost from businesses to households alike. The Fed’s six consecutive rate hikes from March to November 2022 contributed to significant drawdown in the value of stocks, bonds, and commodities.
If you bought $100,000 of Treasury bonds (T-bonds) in January, its market value could drop as much as 30% with bond yield jumping to 3.5% from 1.5%. If you owe $10,000 in credit card debt, monthly interest rate charge could run up to 25% a year from 15%.
Like foreign exchange, interest rate is not a physical commodity. It is a right to holders of an interest-bearing product, and a liability to its issuer. The above examples show that both buyer and seller could have large financial exposure to changes in interest rates.
To hedge interest rate risks, futures contracts were invented in Chicago futures markets, namely, Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
CBOT Ginnie Mae Futures
Government National Mortgage Association is a US government supported entity within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The nickname “Ginnie Mae” come from its acronym GNMA.
GNMA issues Ginnie Mae certificates, a type of mortgage-backed passthrough securities. Investors receive interest and principal payments from a large pool of mortgage loans. Since timely payments are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government, Ginnie Mae bonds are considered default risk free and have an AAA credit rating.
Although they are free from default risk, holders of Ginnie Mae bonds are exposed to interest rate risk, as bond price moves inversely with bond yield. Sensing the need from savings and loans, mortgage bankers, and dealers of mortgage-backed securities, CBOT launched Ginnie Mae Bond Futures in October 1975.
This was the first time a futures contract was based on an interest-bearing instrument. At contract expiration, futures buyers would receive actual Ginnie Mae bonds from futures sellers. While the Ginnie Mae contract has since delisted, it paved the way for the successful launches of other interest rate futures contracts in the 1970s and 1980s.
CME Treasury Bill Futures
Treasury bills (T-bills) are short-term securities issued by the US Treasury to help finance the spending of the federal government. New T-bills with maturities of thirteen, twenty-six, and fifty-two weeks are issued on a regular basis. The secondary market for T-bills is active, making them among the most liquid of money market instruments.
In May 1972, the International Monetary Market (IMM) division of the CME launched foreign exchange futures, the first financial futures contract. In January 1976, the IMM listed futures contract on 90-day (13-week) T-bills. It was the first futures contract for a money market instrument. Nobel laureate Milton Friedman rang the opening bell on T-Bill Futures launch day.
Upon maturity, seller is required to deliver T-bills with a $1 million face value and thirteen weeks left to maturity. Contracts for delivery in March, June, September, and December are listed. At any one time, contracts for eight different delivery dates are traded.
T-bills do not pay explicit interest. Instead, they are sold at a discount to redemption value. The difference between the two prices determines the interest earned by a buyer. T-bill yields are quoted on a discount basis. Futures contracts are quoted on an index devised by the IMM, by subtracting the discount yield from 100. Index values move in the same direction as T-bill price. A rise in the index means that the price of a future delivered T-bill has risen. The formula for calculating the discount yield is:
Discount Yield = ((Face Value - Purchase Price) / Face Value) X (360 / Days to Maturity)
CBOT Treasury Bond Futures
In August 1977, CBOT launched futures contracts on the T-Bonds.
At the time, the birth of T-bond futures hardly seemed like a breakthrough. Financial futures were still in their infancy. Soybeans and corn were king in the CBOT trading pit.
But all that changed in October 1979 when the Fed moved to strangle runaway inflation with a revised credit policy. The Saturday night massacre, as it was dubbed, ended decades of interest-rate stability. Interest rates bounced like a Ping Pong, affected by money supply, world events and inflation. Trading of T-Bond futures took off like a rocket.
In addition to the traditional T-Bond futures (ZB) with 15-year maturity, CBOT also lists a 20-Yr T-Bond futures (TWE) and an Ultra T-Bond (UB) with 30-year maturity. In the Mid-curve, the T-Note suite includes 2-Yr Note (ZT), 3-Yr Note (Z3), 5-Yr Note (ZF), 10-Yr Note (ZN), and Ultra 10-Yr T-Note (TN).
On December 2, 2022, daily volume of the first T-Bond futures was 388,370 contracts, while open interest reached 1,170,800 contracts. Daily volume of all CME Group interest rates futures and options contracts (IR) reached 13,786,454 lots, contributing to 54.1% of Exchange total. IR open interest was 78,244,297 lots, representing 70.4% of Exchange total.
Cash Settlement Comes to Futures Market
Up until now, futures contracts were settled by physical delivery of the underlying commodities.
• Buyer of 1 CME Live Cattle may pick up 35 cows (40,000 pounds) from Union Stockyard in Chicago southside or take delivery at a cattle auction in Wyoming.
• Seller of 1 CBOT Soybean contract would ship 5,000 bushels of the grain to a licensed grain elevator in Illinois, Iowa, or Kansas.
• For CME Pork Bellies, settlement may involve title changes of warehouse receipt from seller to buyer for 40,000 pounds of the frozen meat in a cold storage.
Even financial futures required physical delivery at that time.
• For British Pound/USD contract, it is £62,500 in pound sterling.
• For Ginnie Mae contract, it is $10 million worth of Ginnie Mae certificate.
• T-Bond futures calls for delivery of treasury bonds with face value of $100,000 and maturity of no less than 15 years.
As we discussed in “The Bogeyman in Financial Contracts”, there is inherent risk in the physical delivery mechanism. No matter how robust its original design is, industry evolution could outgrow capacity, rendering delivery failure under extreme market conditions.
In December 1981, CME launched Eurodollar futures, the first contract with cash settlement feature. Cash settlement alone can be viewed as a financial revolution. Why?
• It significantly reduces transaction cost, which in turn enhances the risk transfer or hedging function in futures.
• It allows non-commercial users to participate in futures. Broader participation improves liquidity, and the price discovery as well as risk management functions.
CME Eurodollar Futures
Eurodollars are dollar-deposits held with banks outside of the US. There are two types of Eurodollar deposits: nontransferable time deposits and certificates of deposit (CDs). Time deposits have maturities ranging from 1 day to 5 years, with 3 months being the most common. Eurodollar CDs are also commonly issued with maturities under a year.
Technically, buyer of Eurodollar future contract is required to place $1,000,000 in a 3-month Eurodollar time deposit paying the contracted interest rate on maturity date. However, this exists only in principle and is called a “Notional Value”. Cash settlement means that actual physical delivery never takes place; instead, any net changes in the value of the contract at maturity are settled in cash on the basis of spot market Eurodollar rates.
Unlike T-bills, Eurodollar deposits, the underlying of Eurodollar futures, pay explicit interest. The interest paid on such deposit is termed an add-on yield because the depositor receives the face amount plus an explicit interest payment when the deposit matures. In the case of Eurodollar, the add-on yield is the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which is the interest rate at which major international banks offer to place Eurodollar deposits with one another. Like other money market rates, LIBOR is an annualized rate based on a 360-day year. Price quotations for Eurodollar futures are based on the IMM Eurodollar futures price index, which is is 100 minus the LIBOR.
In the following four decades, all financial futures are designed with cash settlement. Eurodollar futures paves the way for equity index futures, which were launched in February 1982 at Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) and April 1982 at CME.
Without cash settlement, can you imagine how to deliver 500 different stocks on a market-weighted basis for the S&P 500 futures? Or 2,000 stocks for the Russell 2000?
Happy Trading.
Disclaimers
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trade set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, check out on CME Group data plans in TradingView that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
Celebrating 50 Years of Financial FuturesThis is a Thanksgiving Special Report.
Swiss Franc ( CME:6S1! ), Canadian Dollar ( CME:6C1! ), Japanese Yen ( CME:6J1! ), British Pound ( CME:6B1! ), Mexican Peso ( CME:6M1! )
In May 1972, International Monetary Market (IMM), a division of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), launched futures contracts on seven currency pairs. This was the world’s first financial futures instrument, a futures contract based on something other than physical commodities.
What has made a Midwestern Exchange, known mainly for its Pork Bellies contract, a frontrunner in financial innovation?
Bretton Woods System and its Collapse
At the end of World War II, the United States and its allies created the Bretton Woods System. Essentially, it was a global monetary system governed by fixed currency exchange rates. The US dollar was backed by gold, at a fixed rate of $35 per troy ounce. Other currencies were pegged to the U.S. dollar. In 1955, one dollar was exchanged for 0.3572 British Pound, 4.2 Deutsch Mark, 3.3 France Franc, 0.986 Canadian Dollar, 360 Japanese Yen, 625 Italy Lire, etc.
Each country was responsible for maintaining its exchange rate within 1% of the adopted par value by buying or selling foreign reserves when necessary. The U.S. was responsible for maintaining the gold parity. Its big commitment was allowing anyone with $35 to exchange for an ounce of gold at the US Treasury window.
As global inflation rose sharply in the 1970s, many countries could not maintain the official peg. They responded by redeeming dollars for gold at the US Treasury window.
With US gold reserve depleting rapidly and a gold run looming, in August 1971, President Richard Nixon announced the "temporary" suspension of the dollar's convertibility into gold. This marked the breakdown of the Bretton Woods. Central banks around the world were no longer obligated to peg their exchange rates to the US dollar.
Leo Melamed and Milton Friedman
With fixed rates, there was no exchange rate risk in international trade. However, flowing rate exposes importers and exporters to significant uncertainty to the amount of dollar or foreign currency they will receive or are obliged to pay for.
Since its founding in 1898, CME has been the place where producers, processors, merchants, and commercial users come together to hedge price risks for a wide range of commodities. Leo Melamed, then Chairman of the CME, was convinced that the futures market is the solution to tackle the rise in exchange rate volatility.
Leo set up an International Monetary Market division within the CME and prepared for new futures contracts derived from foreign exchange rates. Initially, this breakthrough idea found no friends on Wall Street. According to Leo, one investment bank president tossed it out saying he didn’t want the Chicago “Pork Belly Shooters” to contaminate the FX market.
Leo met with Milton Friedman, a well-respected economics professor at the University of Chicago. Milton fully supported the ingenious design and published a feasibility study, “The Need for Futures Markets in Currencies” in 1971.
Milton Friedman (1912-2006) won the Nobel Prize in Economic Science “for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the complexity of stabilization policy” (the Nobel Committee).
This changed everything. When Leo went to Washington to lobby the idea of listing foreign exchange futures, Treasury Secretary George Shultz said, “If it’s good enough for Milton, it is good enough for me.”
George Shultz (1920-2021) served as Secretary of State in the Regan Administration and as Treasury and Labor Secretary under Richard Nixon. He was also the Dean of Graduate School at the University of Chicago, and a good friend with Milton Friedman.
If you are interested in the story of FX futures, you may find it online and at Leo’s 1996 memoirs, “Escape to the Futures”.
Foreign Exchange Futures
On May 16, 1972, IMM simultaneously launched seven futures contracts based on the US dollar exchange rates to British Pound ( CME:6B1! ), Japanese Yen ( CME:6J1! ), Canadian Dollar ( CME:6C1! ), Swiss Franc ( CME:6S1! ), Mexican Peso ( CME:6M1! ), Deutsch Mark and Italy Lira.
Five of those original FX contracts are still actively trading at the CME. Deutsch Mark and the Lira have been delisted since Germany and Italy joined the Euro currency. The new contract, Euro/USD FX ( CME:6E1! ), becomes the most active CME FX future contract.
FX contracts saw exponential growth in trading volume in the next fifty years. In the first 9 months of 2022, average daily volume for all FX futures and options reached 983,000 lots, according to the CME Group. On November 15th, Euro FX alone traded 359,000 lots and had an open interest of 683,293 contracts.
My writings on TradingView include a number of trade ideas on FX futures contracts. Please take a look if you haven't yet.
FX Futures were the start of a “Financial Revolution” in the futures industry. The next few years saw new breeds of futures contracts, including interest rate futures between 1975 and1977 and equity index futures in 1982.
During the holiday season, I would start a series on the leaders and innovators at CME, CBOT and KCBT. They brought GNMA Futures, T-Bill and T-Bond Futures, Eurodollar Futures, Value-Line Index Futures and S&P 500 Futures to life and revolutionize the financial derivatives world as we know it today.
Happy Trading.
Disclaimers
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trade set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, check out on CME Group data plans in TradingView that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
November FOMC preview – where the risk to markets resides Time – 3 Nov 5am AEDT / 6PM GMT (Jay Powell speaks at 05:30 AEDT)
Central bank meetings are just so important to sentiment and market structure – when we’re trading a major market theme, such as inflation and rising interest rates, this is the market’s chance to mark-to-market policy changes and how the collective in the bank guide our expectations for future meetings ahead.
For traders, notably for those who have exposures sensitive to policy changes, they simply must assess the potential for big volatility, which could affect their positions – our job is to recognise the propensity for sizeable movement, the skew in the outcome distribution and if our stop placement is too close/far from the market.
Do we reduce, exit or in some cases even initiate positions?
For others, the central bank meeting will shape the trading environment and the market structure they work in - not just for that trading session, but for the following days ahead.
Consider day traders who work within a specific timeframe and need to assess if price action constitutes a trending day, and therefore they look more closely at momentum strategies. Or is it more of a choppy, sideways, range-bound day, and therefore looking more readily at intra-day mean reversion strategies?
‘Environment recognition’ is key for day traders and scalpers and edge comes from being able to identify the regime we’re in – perhaps through the application of market profile, VWAP, Bollinger Band strategies (to name a few), as well as good old fashion price action.
An overview of the November FOMC meeting
As we know event risk seldom gets more important than an FOMC meeting, so this is a risk we need to manage. Trading these tier 1 events takes skill like no other – we must react to the statement, but then 30 minutes later we react to individual words and nuance in the press conference from chair Jay Powell. It’s always the high frequency algo’s that recognise the keywords first and we mortals are left trying to react according.
Even once the presser has finished and the dust has settled, quite often we see the ensuing Fed members speaking over the coming week giving their own personal view, and often when we’ve seen violent moves on the day, they will walk back any extreme reaction. The first move is not always the right move.
To some, this lively backdrop, especially when we consider reduced liquidity can be nirvana-type conditions. To others, this is the environment where they have no edge and see it best to stand aside and let price do its thing.
A hawkish ‘step down’ on the cards
We’ve been treated to a roller coaster in Fed ‘pivot’ expectations - Ranging from a WSJ article of an impending ‘step down’ in the pace of hikes starting at the December meeting. To dovish turns from the RBA, ECB and BoC – however, the Fed are their own boss and they see US labour market data that has been solid (as donated by the Employment Cost Index and JOLTS report) – US 5-year inflation expectations are rising and next week’s US core CPI print will likely be close to unchanged at 6.6% YoY - it seems highly unlikely that the Fed will want to promote a positive reaction in risky assets, and the risks to markets in my mind are skewed to a hawkish reaction – equity up, bond yields and the USD lower.
In the Fed’s view, putting the US into a recession is still a lesser evil than not tackling entrenched price pressures.
While traders would fall off their chair if the Fed didn’t hike by 75bp at this meeting, it’s the guidance for future meetings which is where we get a reaction in markets.
We are likely to hear that the pace of hikes in the future will fall to a more conventional pace – this is the ‘step down’ many have focused on. But this narrative will be accompanied by strong conditionality, and the statement will be about giving the Fed maximum flexibility and optionality for the December meeting – that call will be fully data-dependent.
So, consider there is a lot of information between now and the 14 December FOMC meeting – we have 2 non-farm payrolls reports, the Oct CPI print (11 Oct) and the midterm elections. It’s no wonder the market is pricing 62bp of hikes for that meeting and hedging their bets of a 50 or 75bp hike – it's this pricing for the Dec FOMC meeting which I think is key for markets.
Rates Review – we see market pricing for the Nov FOMC meeting at 75bp – then a step to 62bp in the Dec meeting.
The holy trinity – the three markets to drive cross-asset volatility
Pricing for the December FOMC meeting
So part of the reaction will be seen in the pricing for the Dec FOMC meeting which currently sits at 4.41% – traders can see this on TradingView by typing ‘100-ZQF2023’ into the navigator. A dovish reaction would be to see this headed below 4.4%, where we would expect the USD to sell off and gold and equities to rally. A push towards 4.50% would see USDJPY push towards 150 and EURUSD through 0.9800.
Terminal fed funds rates pricing
We also look at the terminal rates pricing – this is the peak of market expectations for where the Fed can take rates, which currently sit in the May to June 2023 period at 5% – we can type in ‘100-ZQK2023’ into the navigator. A firm break above 5% would send risk lower.
US 2-year Treasury
I also look at US real rates and 2yr Treasuries (US02Y) closely as a driver for risk assets – If yields rise then we should see the NAS100 and gold fall and the USD spike, especially if we take out the 21 Oct high of 4.63% – conversely if yields fall/price rise then the USD will likely fall.
As always around key events, the reaction in markets is a function of:
• The outcome vs Expectations
• Positioning
• Hedging activity
• Liquidity
My own view is the risks are skewed for a hawkish reaction – USD higher, but I will recognise the moves in rates suggests the market is largely positioned for this outcome.
Tug of War Among Central BanksThere is a tug of war situation among the central banks to hike interest rates. What is the bad and the good that will come out from this?
i. Last week of October, European Central Bank officials announced another massive 75 basis point hike, increasing interest rates at the fastest pace in the history of the euro currency.
ii. This week, the Federal Reserve is expected to increase rates by 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row.
iii. The Bank of England could join the club on Thursday.
Content:
. The Interest Rate race has just started, why?
. The impact on different currencies
. It may not be all bad news, why?
With higher interest rates, it attracts investors to buy its currency, in this case the USD.
Currency is always a pair, when USD strengthens, the other side weakens.
When a currency gets weaker, it is very bad news for inflation because they will have to pay more on their imports.
Therefore in order to counter inflation, one of the best measures is to hike rate
Expect more volatility in the currencies market, meaning currencies will take its turn to move.
And if you are a trader, you should welcome volatility. Because with volatility, there are opportunities.
GBP Futures
0.0001 = $6.25
0.001 = $62.50
0.01 = $625
0.1 = $6,250
1.1000 to 1.2000 = $6,250
Disclaimer:
• What presented here is not a recommendation, please consult your licensed broker.
• Our mission is to create lateral thinking skills for every investor and trader, knowing when to take a calculated risk with market uncertainty and a bolder risk when opportunity arises.
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups in real-time and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
Terminal rates - How FX traders can benefit on TradingViewOne of the more watched interest rate settings in markets is the so-called ‘terminal’ interest rate – the point in the interest rate futures curve that reflects the highest point of future rate expectations – said differently, where the market feels a central bank could take its key policy rate by a specific date.
For those who really want to understand fed funds futures far better, this research piece from the St. Louis Fed is good - files.stlouisfed.org
As an FX trader, I am not too concerned as to the exact pricing in the rates market, a basis point here or there is no great issue - I loosely want to know what is priced by way of future expectations. This lends itself to more fundamental, tactical or thematic trading strategies and obviously day traders won’t pay too close attention, although, it’s worth considering that when rates are on the move you do see higher intraday volatility and that is a factor they have to operate in – where one of the core considerations for any day trader is ‘environment recognition’ and the assessment of whether we’re seeing in a trending or mean reversion (convergence) day.
We also see terminal pricing correlated with FX and equity markets – certain if we look at the relationship between fed funds futures April contract and USDJPY we can see the correlation.
Some will just use the US 2-year Treasury, as this is the point on the US Treasury curve that is most sensitive to rate pricing. The good thing about the fed fund's future though is we can see quantitatively the degree of rate hikes being priced for a set date.
Using the logic expressed in the St Louis Fed research piece we can see that the market sees the highest level where the Fed hike rates is March – subsequently, this is priced off the April contract, and currently, this sits at 4.90%.
Using 4.9% as our yardstick, interest rate traders would make a call if the expected fed funds effective rate was either priced too high, or indeed too low and could push above 5% - if new economic data emerged that suggested the Fed needed to go even harder on hiking than what is priced, and the terminal rate moves above 5% then the USD will find a new leg higher. Conversely, if the market started to trade this down to say 4.70% to 4.5% then the USD will find sellers – and notably USDJPY is the cleanest expression of interest rate differentials.
For TradingView users we can use this code in the finder box - (100-ZQJ2023). I put these codes into a watchlist and add a section' for heightened display. Again, this tells me where the peak pricing/expectations are in the interest rate curve. You can see the corresponding codes needed for each contract.
Terminal rates matter – if we're to see this trending lower, most likely in 2023, then it may be one of the clear release valves the equity market needs – for those looking for the Fed to pivot – the terminal rate will be one way to visualise it
Inflation & Interest Rate Series – Below 5.3% is Crucial for CPIContent:
• Why CPI must be below 5.3%?
• Can we invest or trade or hedge into inflation?
Disclaimer:
• What presented here is not a recommendation, please consult your licensed broker.
• Our mission is to create lateral thinking skills for every investor and trader, knowing when to take a calculated risk with market uncertainty and a bolder risk when opportunity arises.
Stay tuned for our next episode in this series, we will discuss more on the insight of inflation and rising interest rates. More importantly, how to use this knowledge, turning it to our advantage in these challenging times for all of us.
Micro 5-Year Yield Futures
1/10 of 1bp = US$1 or
0.001% = US$1
3.000% to 3.050% = US$50
3.000% to 4.000% = US$1,000
See below ideas on the previous videos for this series.
📊BTC and FED RATE: is it better to hike? Crypto mythbusters!Some experts use such rules as hiking rate = bear market and falling rate = bull market but if we compare the fed rate with the BTC price we can see that the price is not always follow this rule. Trully say in most cases it don`t.
Let's dive deeper into it!
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📊THE BULL MARKETS:
1️⃣ 2015-2017 – the rate is growing.
2️⃣ 2018-2019 - the rate isn`t growing but still high.
3️⃣ 2020-2021 - the rate is 0 and market is growing.
In 2 out of 3 cases the market is growing when the rate is high.
At the end if we compare two Bull markets of 2017 and 2021 there is more massive and longer growth was at 2017 when the rate was hicking.
______________
📊THE BEAR MARKETS:
1️⃣ 2017-2018 - the rate is growing and market is falling. Actually, it can happen because of the lack of buyers. It was the biggest BTC bullrun so the hicking rate is not the main reason.
2️⃣ 2019-2020 - the rate is falling and price is falling too.
3️⃣ 2021-2022 - the rate is growing but the price is falling.
In 2 out of 3 cases the hicking of the rate push the price lower but as we have already identified the 1st bear market of 2017-2018 had to happen after the biggest bull market.
🚩Why the market can fall this time? We had the case of Do Kwon and Luna, UST. Additionally, the stock market push the price of crypto lower. This 2 thing caused the extreme fear at the market and forced retail traders to sell.
🏁Finally, we can say that this pattern is unclear and in most cases work against the rule "hicking rate = bear market".
Traders, what do you think about this patterns of the FED rate and BTC price? Maybe we need to use it with other aproaches such as inflation rate, money supply etc together to make a succesfull fundamental analysis? Write your thoughts in the comments.
💻Friends, press the "like"👍 button, write comments and share with your friends - it will be the best THANK YOU.
P.S. Personally, I open an entry if the price shows it according to my strategy.
Always do your analysis before making a trade.
Jamie Dimon’s Hurricane and the Bond Market in Early JuneIn 2021, as the US central bank and the Secretary of the Treasury continued to call rising inflation a “transitory” and pandemic-inspired event, the bond market declined. Bonds watched prices rise while the economists were pouring over stale data. Meanwhile, the Fed and government planted inflationary seeds that sprouted during the second half of 2020, bloomed in 2021, and grew into wild weeds in 2022. The consumer and producer price data began to flash a warning sign in 2021, with the economic condition rising to the highest level in over four decades. The Fed and the Treasury finally woke up. While the Biden administration was already “woke,” the data awakened them to a point where late last month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted “transitory” was a mistake. However, there was no admission and self-realization that monetary and fiscal policies created the inflation, and ignoring the warning signs only made it worse.
A storm forecast from JP Morgan Chase’s leader
Bonds are sitting near the lows
The Fed’s FOMC meets on June 14 and 15
Higher rates are on the horizon
Expect lots of volatility in markets
The bond market was far ahead of the Fed and the Treasury, which should have been another warning sign. Consumer and producer prices have skyrocketed, and the central bank is using demand-side tools to address the economic fallout. Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, and Russian retaliation have only exacerbated the inflationary pressures, as they create supply-side issues making demand-side solutions impotent.
The Biden administration blames the rise in energy prices on Russia, but they were already rising before the invasion and sanctions. The shift in US energy policy to a greener path is equally responsible for record-high gasoline and other fuel prices.
At the end of 2021, a conventional 30-Year fixed-rate mortgage was just below the 3% level, and in less than six months, it rose to 5.5%. On a $300,000 loan, the move increases the monthly payment by $625, a significant rise. We are in the early days of an economic storm that began with the pandemic, continued with a lethargic Fed and government officials, and was exacerbated by the first major war in Europe since WW II. We have not seen the peak of the storm clouds gathering for more than two years.
A storm forecast from JP Morgan Chase’s leader
Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, called Bitcoin a “fraud.” A few short years ago, he said he would fire any trader “stupid” enough to trade cryptocurrencies on the bank’s behalf. As recently as late 2021, he said he believes Bitcoin is “worthless.” So far, he has been dead wrong on the asset class. The financial institution he heads replaced real estate with cryptocurrencies in late May, calling them a “preferred alternative asset.”
In his latest comments on markets across all asset classes, Mr. Dimon issued a warning. Quantitative tightening that will ramp up to $95 billion in reduced Fed bond holdings and the Ukraine war led him to tell market participants, “You’d better brace yourself. JP Morgan is bracing ourselves, and we’re going to be very conservative with our balance sheet.” He began by saying, “You know, I said there’s storm clouds, but I’m going to change it…it’s a hurricane.” Mr. Dimon believes QT and the war create substantial changes in the global flow of funds, with an uncertain impact. The leading US bank’s CEO is prepared for “at a minimum, huge volatility.”
His forecast on cryptos aside, the warning is a call to action. There is still time to hedge portfolios and establish a plan for the coming storm. Volatility is a nightmare for passive inventors, but it creates a paradise of opportunities for nimble disciplined traders with their fingers on the pulse of markets.
Bonds are sitting near the lows
Quantitative tightening not only removes the put under the bond market that had supported government-issued fixed income instruments since early 2020, but it also puts downward pressure on bonds and upward pressure on interest rates further out along the yield curve.
The long-term chart of the US 30-Year Treasury bond futures highlights the decline to the most recent low of 134-30, declining below the October 2018 136-16 low, and falling to the lowest level since July 2014. At the 135-20 level on June 10, the bonds are sitting close to an eight-year low, with the next technical support level at the December 2013 127-23 low.
The Fed’s FOMC meets on June 14 and 15
The market expects the US Federal Reserve to increase the Fed Funds Rate by 50 basis points this week at the June meeting. The move will put the short-term rate at the 1.25% to 1.50% level.
The Fed remains far behind the inflationary curve, with CPI and PPI data at an over four-decade high and coming in hotter each past month. While the central bank determines the short-term rate, the bond market has been screaming for the Fed to catch up, warning that inflationary pressures were mounting. The bottom fell out of the long bond futures in 2022 as the Fed began to tighten credit. However, the Fed’s economists will only put the short-term rate at 1.50%, with inflation running at many times that level. A 75 basis move to 1.75% would shock the market, which is not a path the Central Bank wants to follow.
Higher rates are on the horizon
The Fed may have awakened, realizing it must use monetary policy tools to address inflation, but the central bank remains groggy and slow to adjust rates to levels that would choke off rising prices. The economists do not have an easy job as they face supply-side economic problems created by the war in Ukraine. Had they been more agile in 2021 and nipped the rising inflation in the bud with a series of rate hikes, the US Fed would be better positioned to address what has become a no-win situation. The war has caused energy and food prices to soar with no central bank tools to manage the situation.
Last week, gasoline rose to a new high, crude oil was over $120 per barrel, natural gas was over $9.65 per MMBtu, and grain prices remained at elevated levels. Rate hikes and lower bond prices are not likely to cause prices to fall as US energy policy, sanctions on Russia, and Russian retaliation are supply-side issues that leave the central bank with few answers. Higher food and energy prices will keep the inflationary spiral going and will continue to push bond prices lower.
Expect lots of volatility in markets
The US and the world face an unprecedented period that began with the 2020 global pandemic. Artificially low interest rates and the government stimulus that addressed the pandemic were inflationary seeds. The pandemic-inspired supply chain bottlenecks exacerbated the inflationary pressures. A shift in US energy policy increased OPEC and Russia’s pricing power in traditional energy markets.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has turbocharged the economic condition, making a solution challenging for the central bank. The current US Treasury Secretary, and former Fed Chair, Janet Yellen, once said that monetary policy works together with the government’s fiscal policies. In the current environment, fiscal policy and the geopolitical landscape have become the most significant factors for rising inflation.
Jamie Dimon is worried, and the head of the leading US financial institution is battening down the hatches on his balance sheet for a storm. Even though he was mistaken about cryptos, we should heed his warning and hope he is wrong. Markets reflect the economic and geopolitical landscapes, which are highly uncertain in June 2022.
Hedge those portfolios, and make sure you develop a plan for any risk positions. Expect the unexpected because 2022 is anything but a typical year in markets across all asset classes. Fasten your seatbelts for what could be a wild and turbulent ride over the coming months.
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Trading advice given in this communication, if any, is based on information taken from trades and statistical services and other sources that we believe are reliable. The author does not guarantee that such information is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Trading advice reflects the author’s good faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that the advice the author provides will result in profitable trades. There is risk of loss in all futures and options trading. Any investment involves substantial risks, including, but not limited to, pricing volatility , inadequate liquidity, and the potential complete loss of principal. This article does not in any way constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investment, security, or commodity discussed herein, or any security in any jurisdiction in which such an offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
Part 2) Don't Fight The FED. The Yield Curve is Fine.All over financial news we're being told that the yield curve is inverting, spreads are flattening, the recession clock is ticking, there's impending doom around every corner. CNBC, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Economist, you pick your favorite news source and they're talking about 2's and 10's, 10's and 30's, it's Armageddon!!!
How about we look at the actual indicator the FED uses to predict U.S. Recessions. The Federal Reserve uses the 10-year/3-month term spread as it's most reliable indicator to predict U.S. Recessions. The charts posted above come directly from the Federal Reserve of New York's website. According to the FED's data the likelihood of a recession in the next 12 months is about 6%.
Here is the link to the website:
www.newyorkfed.org
Link to the interactive charts:
www.newyorkfed.org
Link to FAQ's:
www.newyorkfed.org
The team at All Star Charts did an interesting post on this topic just recently. I suggest you take a look.
allstarcharts.com
Food for thought. Thanks for reading. Good Luck to All!!
The Anatomy of a Bear MarketRecently, a lot of people have been talking about the possibility of a multi-year recession. I don't think that is a clear depiction of the current situation, but I am aware that the idea stems from a lack of understanding of bear market structures, and influence of market sentiment. So in this post, I'll be going over Ken Fishers' rules and conditions that must be met in order for a market to be clarified as a bear market, and how you can best position yourself to minimize downside risk.
This is not financial advice. This is for educational purposes only.
The Four Rules of a Bear Market
- The first rule is the two percent rule: a bear market typically declines by about 2% per month.
- Sometimes it declines by more than 2%, sometimes it’s less—but overall and on average, bear markets don’t often begin with the sharp, sudden drop some anticipate.
- If a bear does drop by more than 2% per month, there’s often a market counter-rally that can provide better opportunities for investors to sell.
- The three month rule: This rule advocates waiting three months after you suspect a peak has happened before calling a bear market.
- Rather than trying to guess when a market top might come, this rule ensures one has passed before taking defensive investment action.
- It provides a window of time to assess fundamental investment data, market action and possible bear market drivers.
- I often see lots of people call market tops and bottoms, and time the market perfectly, but it needs to be clearly understood that this isn't the right approach to understanding the market.
- Next, we have the the two-thirds / one-third rule.
- About one-third of the stock market’s decline occurs in the first two-thirds of a bear’s duration, and about two-thirds of the decline occurs in the final one-third.
- This was the case in the bear market caused by the financial crisis, as well as many other bear markets including that of 1973.
- Combining this with the three month rule, it also implies that if you have identified that a market has indeed begun its bear run, you might be better off taking profits/losses on your position, managing risk by increasing your cash holdings, and buying back when capitulation has happened.
- And finally, we have the 18-month rule.
- While bull market durations vary considerably, statistics demonstrate that the average bear market duration, since 1946, has only been 16 months.
- Very few in modern history last fully two years or longer.
- If you’re engaging a defensive investment strategy, you probably shouldn’t bet on one lasting so long.
- The longer a bear market runs, the more likely you’re waiting too long to re-invest.
- If you remain bearish for longer than 18 months, you may miss out on the rocket-like market ride that is almost always the beginning of the next bull run.
- Missing that can be very costly for investors.
So are we currently in a bear market?
- Based on the four rules above, there's a high probability that we are not in a bear market.
- Since I've uploaded this post, the market has bounced swiftly off the 100 moving average on the weekly.
- Just as the covid-induced drop of March 2020 turned out to be a 'buy the dip' opportunity, as opposed to the beginning of a bear market, the sharp correction we have seen since the beginning of this year goes against the first rule of the bear market.
- It’s critical not to call a bear market falsely, and this is a huge mistake that a lot of people make.
- If the market is just going through a correction (a short, sentiment-driven downturn of -10% to -20%), you’re better off riding through it and maintaining your portfolio.
- It is impossible to accurately and consistently time market corrections because of the way they behave.
- A correction can start for any reason or no reason. So if you believe that the economy is strong, and the fundamentals of the company you invest in remain solid, there's no need to sell off your holdings, especially when your actions are motivated by fear.
Conclusion
Bull market corrections are not fun, but it's important as an investor for you to be able to distinguish bear markets/recessions from bull market corrections. Choosing to undertake a bear market investment strategy and go defensive should be rare and shouldn’t be done by gut feel or by your neighbor’s opinion. Exiting the market is among the biggest investment risks you can take—if you’re wrong and you have a need for portfolio growth, missing bull market returns can be extremely costly.
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Economics you need to understand before clicking BUY/SELL buttonHow does FED affect money supply?
Before, we get into our main topic, we just wanted to clarify a small common misconception. Quick answer to the question above is the monetary policy; however, a lot of people confuse monetary and fiscal policies or use the terms interchangeably. Indeed, both are macroeconomic tools used to stimulate/slow down the economy. Interest rates and the amount of money in circulation are dealt with by monetary policy, which is usually administered by a central bank (a.k.a. FED). Taxation and government expenditure are addressed by fiscal policy, which is mostly controlled by government law.
Now that we clarified this small moment, let’s get back to our main topic. Central banks have always utilized monetary policy to either boost or restrain an economy's growth. The goal of monetary policy is to stimulate economic activity by motivating people and firms to borrow and spend. Monetary policy, on the other hand, may serve as a brake on inflation and other ills associated with an overheated economy by constraining expenditure and rewarding savings. To impact the economy, the Federal Reserve has regularly employed three policy tools: open market operations, adjusting bank reserve requirements, and setting the discount rate. The Federal Reserve buys and sells U.S. government bonds on a daily basis in order to either pump money into the economy or remove money from circulation. The Fed directly controls the quantity of money generated when banks issue loans by adjusting the reserve ratio, or the proportion of deposits that banks must maintain in reserve. Changes in the discount rate (the interest rate the Fed charges on loans to financial institutions) can also be targeted by the Fed, with the goal of influencing short-term interest rates across the economy. A picture above would be a great illustration of the process.
Why is this important for traders?
Let’s face the reality, most traders fail to lack of education. All they see are bars and wicks. Profitable traders see economical trends, which are backed by real time tendencies in the whole economy (if we cancel out the noise and speculations). If you understand the mechanism behind money, it’s 100x times easier to make it.
Note: Our article doesn’t imply that fiscal policy isn’t as important to market as the monetary one, even though it’s important to understand that fiscal policy takes months/years to get passes and have any effect on the economy, meanwhile monetary policy swifts the sentiment overnight.
Understanding Market Risks Through HistoryIn this post, I'll be referring to the historical chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) in order to explain my perspective on risks associated with the market, and how to respond to current market conditions as a trader and investor.
This is not financial advice. This is for educational purposes only .
In my previous educational post, I discussed why the Fed's rate hikes were not as significant to us as we thought it'd be. I mentioned the idea of the market already pricing in not only the information itself, but also people's reactions to it as well. As announced, the Fed raised rates on the 16th of March, approving the first interest rate hike in more than three years. As anticipated in my investment thesis, the market handled this well, and the Nasdaq index alone has bounced over 10.49% since the lows of the past 5 days.
Today, I'm going to talk about the war in Ukraine from a statistical standpoint, and how this is unlikely to lead to a multi-year recession .
Historical Cases
- In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand marked the beginning of the first global scale war modern society would witness
- The war lasted 4 years before Germany admitted its defeat and signed the armistice agreement.
- During this time, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit record highs of 110%, making today's 7% figures look moderate.
- After the war, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied a whopping 504%, before the American economy was struck with the Great Recession.
- After the Great Recession, the world faced a second world war in 1939, which started with Germany's invasion of Poland.
- The markets crashed, but not as severely as the Great Depression, and CPI recorded 74% during this period.
- With Japan's surrender, uncertainty was resolved, resulting in the DJI delivering 523% returns.
- Then came the Vietnam war in 1964, which started with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
- The market ranged sideways for almost a decade, creating lower lows, with situations deteriorated by the Oil Shock of 1973.
- During this period, CPI hit record highs of 207% with factors of global uncertainty such as the war, which the US couldn't seem to win, and Oil Shock.
- After the war ended and the economy recovered from the Oil Shock, DJI delivered a whopping 1,447% returns, until the market started shaking again with the 911 terrorist attacks against the United States.
Lessons Learned
- So what is it that the market tells us?
- I've outlined what wars and regional conflicts do to markets in the post below:
- Historical cases tell us that the market prices in information about the war, and corrects in advance.
- Once the conflict actually takes place, the market starts to bounce from its local lows, as uncertainty has been resolved to an extent.
- From a macro perspective, as seen through the historical chart of the DJI, the end of wars usually mark the beginning of a multi-year bull rally as negative sentiment will have been completely cleared by then.
Market Risks
- That is not to say that I'm irresponsibly bullish. I do think there could be probable cases that lead to a global expansion of the crisis, and the collapse of the financial markets.
- For instance, Russia's use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) could damage the markets to a greater extent than anticipated.
- It seems as though the market is considering this to be an improbable case, which it is, but there's no reason to be too complacent.
- According to an FSB whistleblower, it was recently revealed that Xi Jinping had plans to invade Taiwan this fall, depending on the success of Russia.
- If that were the case, then it wouldn't be a huge logical leap to consider north Korea's possible initiation of war against South Korea, and a war breaking out at a global scale.
Conclusion [/b
It all boils down to uncertainty in the market, and people's irrational responses to it. I believe that a successful negotiation between Russia and Ukraine could lead the markets to swiftly rebound once again, though that is not the only factor of uncertainty at the moment. Inflation (CPI) will eventually cool down in an organic manner, as markets realize the stability that is being brought to the economy, and the Fed's actual influence on the market.
People ignore bad news during uptrends, and they ignore good news during downtrends. I see a plethora of opportunities where companies that generate tremendous cash flow at an increasing rate with insane growth indicators, are neglected by the market. It's important that we clearly understand where we're at in terms of the market cycle. I believe that we're at a corrective phase of a bull market, rather than at the beginning of a recession. During corrections of bull markets, the smart move is to buy cheap stocks. It's worked effectively in making money 100 years ago, and I don't doubt that it'll work now as well.
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