Get started

Economy

Virulent inflation raises pressure on the Bank of EnglandThe inflation battle is far from over in the UK. In fact, the nature of inflation is taking a new form as the root cause moves away from external to more domestically driven shocks. While the headline rate remained unchanged at 8.7%yoy in May, core inflation accelerated to 7.1% in May from 6.8% in April, marking the highest rate since March of 19922. In response the Bank of England (BOE) raised interest rates by a bumper 50Bps to a 15-year high. While the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have made progress on bringing down inflation, the BOE still has some ways to go. Current market pricing assumes the terminal policy rate will go to 6% by year end3. UK inflation proving to be virulent The UK has the most severe entrenched inflation problem across developed markets. The domestically driven increase of services prices advanced from 6.9% to 7.4%yoy in May4. As services are labour intensive, they are being impacted by strong wage gains. Employment growth has been stronger than projected underscoring continued robust demand for labour. This high demand caused the rise in weekly average earnings (ex-bonus) to 7.5% in April5, well above the BOE’s forecast. Brexit has been partly responsible for the rise in wages. Brexit reduced the mobility of European workers. The resulting lack of non-qualified workers has not yet been reabsorbed. The situation was clearly exacerbated during the Covid pandemic that left a large part of the workforce sick. The shortage of workers in the UK continues to weigh on the supply side and has been the key reason inflation has remained stubbornly high. The resilient gains in employment (up 1.2% in April 20236) have allowed UK households to continue spending on services. Thereby contributing to higher services inflation, prices for recreational and cultural goods and services rose by 6.8%yoy in May 20237. At the same time, due to the shift away from floating rate mortgages towards fixed rate products over the last decade, the pass through of higher rates is taking longer to feed through the economy, thereby enabling the consumer to appear more resilient. However, headwinds are appearing from higher mortgage rates, with at least 800,000 fixed mortgages due to move on to significantly higher rates in H2 20238. Rents have also been rising, at an annualised pace of 5.6% in May compared to 3.2% in 20229. This is likely to place further pressure on real disposable incomes and simultaneously fuel core inflation higher. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that higher interest rates will cause the average mortgage holder to suffer an 8.3% fall in disposable income compared to a scenario where rates remained at March 2022 levels. For 1.4 million of those borrowers, disposable income will fall by more than 20%10. BOE guided dovish The BOE’s guidance implied that no further rate hikes should be needed bar evidence of more persistent inflationary pressures however the market ignored this. Money markets priced a terminal rate of 6.25% by February 202411. The BoE did not rule out further rate increases should the inflation data continue to be unfavourable. However, they did downplay the unexpected surge in core inflation in May owing to special contributing factors such as the sharp rise in vehicle excise duty and the erratic contribution of airfares and holiday packages. The BOE also highlighted that forward looking indicators are pointing to material falls in future wage inflation which could then lower the pressure on services prices. We share that view, as producer price inflation which tends to serve as a leading indicator for consumer price inflation, eased more than expected in May. The June composite Purchasing Managers Indices (PMI) dropped for a second month in June, showing price pressures easing across the board, suggesting the economy could be turning. Sterling Positive rate surprises are not always positive for the currency. The Pounds muted response (-0.17%)12 to the BOE meeting despite the hawkish surprise and its negative reaction (-0.21%)13 to the hawkish May inflation data suggest that the BOE is prepared to endure a deeper slowdown in order to bring inflation under control. As a growth sensitive currency this is likely to remain an important headwind for the Pound. Sources 1 Bloomberg as of 23 June 2023 2 Bank of England as of 22 June 2023 3 Bloomberg, as of 23 June 2023 4 Bank of England as of 21 June 2023 5 Office for National Statistics as of 31 May 2023 6 Office for National Statistics as of 31 May 2023 7 Bank of England as of 22 June 2023 8 Source: Bank of England, Bloomberg as of 22 June 2023 9 Office for National Statistics, as of 22 June 2023 10 Institute for Fiscal Studies as of 30 April 2023 11 Bloomberg as of 23 June 2023 12 Bloomberg GBP/USD as on 22 June 2023 13 Bloomberg GBP/USD as on 20 June 2023
ECONOMICS:GBINTR
by aneekaguptaWTE
Chile Inflation rate compared with United StatesDisclaimer: This is only a probability based in personal analysis, never represent a decisión of investment. This image compare inflation rate between Chile and United States. Particularly Chile represent in the future a pick elevation of inflation to level 5. This situation increase value of foods aditioned with low disponibility of water. Chile is represented with blue line. United States is represented with light blue line. Difficult situation to Chile.
ECONOMICS:CLIRYYLong
by Baldecchi
1
Correlation study: 10-year real interest rate vs. AAPL (1983 - )Apple share price (AAPL) plot above, inverted real rates (0-REAINTRATREARAT10Y) plot below + 1M 200ma, from 1983 to 2023. Results: -Strong inverse correlation with 10-year real interest rates and AAPL share price. -Real rates < 2 % positively correlate with stronger AAPL returns. -10-year real interest rates bounced from the 2 % level in September 2022 ... May 2023. "‘John Bull’, says someone, ‘can stand a great deal, but he cannot stand two percent. . ." - Walter Bagehot, 1852
FRED:REAINTRATREARAT10Y
by Smitty61
1
S&P 500 EMA Cross: 200 EMA Likely to Cross Back Above 500 EMAThe S&P 500 has been in a downtrend for the past few months. However, I believe that the market is about to reverse course and start moving higher. It has formed an inverse head and shoulders pattern. This is a bullish pattern that is often followed by a significant move higher. The 10-day moving average has crossed above the 20-day moving average. The 200-day moving average (EMA) is about to cross back above the 500-day EMA. This is a bullish signal that suggests that the momentum in the market is shifting to the upside. The price could find support on top of the 10 and 20ema if it moves down when it reaches the 4.400 zone. This is because the 10 and 20ema are moving averages that have historically provided support for the price. If the price is able to find support on top of these moving averages, it could move higher.
FRED:SP500Long
by Crypto_Castle23
Central banks navigate the last stretch of the tightening cycleThis week we learnt how vital Central Bank communication is to global financial markets. The trio of central banks – The Federal Reserve (Fed), European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) held their respective meetings. Each of the central banks tried to convey how they will navigate monetary policy amidst a slowing economy and avoid a hard landing. China takes small steps to shore up the recovery Even the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) surprised the markets this week, by announcing a cut in the 7-day Open Market Operations (OMO) by 10Bps to 1.9%1 which paved the way for another cut to the one-year medium term lending facility rate by 10Bps to 2.65%2. These recent developments mark a more proactive stance by Chinese policy makers in trying to tackle the Chinese slowdown in activity since the re-opening. Clearly more is needed. Policymakers are soliciting opinions from business leaders and economists on how to revitalise the economy in a number of urgent meetings3. While the Fed and ECB are trying to tame inflation, China has the opposite problem as inflation remains low. Manufacturing remains weak, exports are slowing, and credit growth is cooling. This is why it’s no surprise that the markets are prepping for a broader package of stimulus targeted towards the ailing property sector. A hawkish skip for the Fed The recent flurry of economic reports continues to show the US economy is holding up but losing steam, supporting the Fed’s approach of changing the pace of its policy tightening. The Fed kept the fed funds rate in range of 5-5.25%, by unanimous vote, in line with market expectations after 10 straight hikes dating back to March 2022. The Fed’s dot plot showed the median rate at 5.6% versus 5.1% a month back. In the summary of economic projections, the median unemployment rate forecast was revised lower from 4.5% to 4.1% by the end of 2023 while the core inflation rate was revised higher from 3.6% to 3.9% making the case for more hikes this year. This clearly was a hawkish skip. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was careful to point out that no decision was made on a July hike, but he did say it is a live meeting, leading the market to increase the probability of a move. What surprised me the most, was that Powell said rate cuts would be a couple of years out which is at odds with the dot plot forecast of 100Bps of cuts in 2024. Senior Economist to WisdomTree Jeremy Siegel believes the Fed is done hiking and that alternative inflation metrics which incorporate real time housing inputs show inflation running at 1.4% instead of 4.1%. This is based on alternative shelter inflation calculations using Case Shiller Housing and Zillow rent annualized at 0.5% instead of the 8% that is biasing Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) CPI higher. ECB’s revised inflation forecasts remain at odds After raising the deposit rate by 25Bps to 3.5%, the ECB was a lot clearer than the Fed in signalling that rate hikes are almost certain next month on July 27. The ECB remains too optimistic on growth, reducing their projection for 2023 real GDP to only 0.9% (from 1% in its March projections). While I would agree with the ECB’s view that (1) mostly labour-intensive services will support economic growth over the next two years and (2) the current hump in wage inflation will show up via higher prices for these services, I remain sceptical amidst the global headwinds for manufacturing, and a slower pace of overall growth could keep inflation as high as the ECB now projects. While wages are likely to accelerate slightly above 5% in 2023, they should begin declining to 4% yoy by late 2024. We believe, if core inflation continues to recede in the coming months and the real economy grows at 0.4% in 2023, the ECB will stay put in September after a final move next month. As expected, the ECB confirmed that it will stop to reinvest proceeds from maturing bonds under its standard Asset Purchase Programme (APP) from July onwards. It won’t offer new long term liquidity injections upon the expiry of the €477Bn of a TLTRO III liquidity measure on 28 June 2023. BOJ sits tight As expected, the BOJ kept all key policy settings unchanged, including the +/-50Bps band around the zero% Japanese Government Bond JGB yield target. Since taking the helm in April 2023, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has stressed the high cost of premature tightening as the economy is finally seeing green shoots toward sustainable inflation. In contrast to the ECB, the BoJ's latest assessment and outlook for the economy and inflation were also largely unchanged from their update in the April Outlook Report. The BoJ continues to note "extremely high uncertainties" surrounding economies and financial markets at home and abroad." Japanese equity markets reacted positively to the BOJ’s status quo stance on monetary policy. Looking ahead, the Fed’s potential pivot back to a hawkish mode versus the BOJ’s dovish perseverance could pave the way for further upside for Japanese equities owing to the underlying weakness in the Yen versus the US dollar. Sources 1 Bloomberg on June 13, 2023 2 Bloomberg on June 15, 2023 3 Bloomberg on June 14, 2023
FRED:FEDFUNDS
by aneekaguptaWTE
Fed Liquidity Pump-- the fix is in-- Oh no? Oh no! Oh YEAA! Recently, experienced financial analyst/economist Michael Howell (see footnote 1) has made the case that central bank liquidity (and to a lesser degree, private sector liquidity) is what drives risk-on markets ( NASDAQ:QQQ , KRAKEN:BTCUSD ). While Dr. Howell uses his own deep analysis to predict that liquidity is now in an uptrend (see any of his numerous video interviews over the past 3 months on youtube), we point out that Elliot Waves have successfully predicted past liquidity changes (2012-2019), and that we now have a new Elliot Wave set up targeting a 35% rise in liquidity over the coming 24 months! Based on a reading of Dr. Howell's material, we can approximate Fed-sourced liquidity roughly by using a formula that makes use of the following weekly data-points: FRED:WALCL (Federal Reserve Balance Sheet) FRED:WDTGAL (US Treasury General Account) FRED:RRPONTSYD ("Reverse Repo" facility) " But but... the recession! " " But but... earnings! " " But but... CPI still over 2% " Will risk-on markets follow liquidity, or will they follow the main street economy? Dr. Howell and Elliot Waves point to the former! footnote 1: Founded CrossBorder Capital in 1996. Michael developed the quantitative liquidity research methodology while he was Research Director at Salomon Bros. from 1986. He was subsequently appointed Head of Research at Baring Securities in 1992, and was top-ranked “Emerging Market Strategist” by institutional investors for the three years prior to setting up CrossBorder Capital. Michael has worked in financial markets since 1981 and is a regular international conference speaker. He is a qualified US Supervisory Analyst and has a Doctorate in Economics. (from crossbordercapital.com)
FRED:WALCLLong
by BtcPowUpdate