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Futures Tumble As Dollar Hits Record High; JPM, Morgan Stanley Slide

Futures Tumble As Dollar Hits Record High; JPM, Morgan Stanley Slide

US futures were already sliding fast as the reality of the Fed’s upcoming…

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Futures Tumble As Dollar Hits Record High; JPM, Morgan Stanley Slide

US futures were already sliding fast as the reality of the Fed's upcoming 100bps rate hike was fully appreciated by the market, as even Goldman was shocked by the kneejerk move higher yesterday, saying "Does it makes sense for mkt to move higher after a 9.1% print and BOC hiking by 100bps...of course not...but that was max pain trade today and this market seeks max pain."

Well, this morning the max pain was clearly lower, as US equity futures fell along with stocks in Europe and Asian, while the Bloomberg dollar index rose to a record Thursday, surpassing the record hit during the covid 2020 crash when the Fed launched unlimited swap lines to ease the global dollar crunch...

... after high US inflation hardened expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve monetary tightening that could trigger a recession.

S&P 500 futures tumbled more than 1%, down almost 200 points since Friday, as the US second-quarter earnings season got underway. All risk assets were lower, as well as gold and oil, while all non-USD currencies are getting steamrolled by the relentless surge in the dollar. 10Y yields dropped to 2.93% after rising just shy of 3.00% overnight. The inversion between two-year and 10-year yields -- a potential recession indicator -- is the deepest since 2000

But wait there's more, because while markets are freaking out over soaring inflation, Fed hikes and crashing earnings, Europe is about to enter the 9th circle of hell: France's Macron warns that citizens and companies will need to reduce energy usage as Germany reports that gas storage is already being withdrawn, even before peak usage in the winter. Meanwhile, Italian bonds and banks are tumbling amid speculation Mario Draghi’s government is about to collapse as coalition partner Five Star threatens to pull out.

Looking at premarket movers, JPMorgan plunged more than 5% in premarket trading after reporting results that missed analyst  expectations. Tesla also dipped after the company’s top artificial-intelligence executive and an architect of its Autopilot self-driving system announced plans to depart the maker of electric vehicles and as Morgan Stanley makes “material” cuts to its forecasts across its auto portfolio. Some other notable premarket movers:

  • Theravance Biopharma (TBPH US) shares jump as much as 25% in premarket trading after the biotech firm agrees to sell royalty interests in Trelegy Ellipta to Royalty Pharma.
  • ContraFect (CFRX US) sinks as much as 77% in US premarket trading after the biotech company said that the Data Safety Monitoring Board recommended stopping its Exebacase phase 3 study.
  • Netflix’s (NFLX US) decision to pick Microsoft (MSFT US) as a technology and sales partner for its new advertising-supported streaming service was a surprise to the industry. Analysts say the move makes sense. Netflix slips 1% in premarket trading, Microsoft -0.9%.

As discussed yesterday, Fed officials will be debating a historic one percentage-point rate hike later this month in an attempt to combat inflation. Markets price in 69% odds that the Fed will raise interest rates by 100 basis points when it meets July 26-27, which would be the largest increase since the Fed started directly using overnight interest rates to conduct monetary policy in the early 1990s. Technology stocks will be in focus as higher rates mean a bigger discount for the present value of future profits, hurting growth stocks with the highest valuations.

A 100 basis points hike is now likely and the “inflation reading should also raise the odds of recession, which we now estimate is likely sooner rather than later and possibly more severe,” said Tiffany Wilding, an economist at Pacific Investment Management Co.

“The market has already priced in the unexpected extreme tightening, so there isn’t that much more the Fed can do to prepare the markets,” said Mehvish Ayub, a senior strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “We need to position portfolios accordingly and expect volatility to continue as it has since the beginning of the year,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

“It is clear that central banks around the world are laser-focused on fighting the entrenched inflation they helped to create, growth-be-damned,” said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda Asia Pacific Ltd. “US markets are pricing in faster Fed tightening, and a recession is on the way imminently.”

In Europe, the Stoxx 50 index slumped 1.2%. DAX outperforms peers, dropping 0.9%, FTSE MIB lags, dropping 2.3%. Miners, energy and telecoms are the worst-performing Stoxx 600 sectors. Here are the biggest European movers:

  • Ericsson tumbles as much as 12% to the lowest level since March 2020, after a mixed quarterly report with revenue ahead of expectations but margin and earnings missing estimates.
  • Sabre Insurance plunged more than 30% after warning that everything related to an insurance claim -- the car parts, paint, labor and the cost of replacing the vehicle -- has risen faster than expected.
  • Peers Admiral and Direct Line dropped 13% and 7.9%, respectively.
  • Hugo Boss shares rise as much as 3.2% to the highest since late February after what analysts say was a “blow- out” second-quarter for the luxury apparel firm.
  • Entain rises as much as 5.2%, rallying after last week’s heavy losses, as the owner of the Ladbrokes and Coral betting brands publishes a video updating on the progress of Enlabs since last year’s acquisition of the firm.
  • Technogym shares fall as much as 6.8% as Goldman Sachs cuts its PT on the Italian gym-equipment maker on a weaker medium-term growth outlook and low visibility on near- term consumption patterns.
  • Acciona slumped after newspaper Expansion said the Spanish government is analyzing 16 companies, including renewable unit Acciona Energia, to impose a new windfall profit levy announced earlier in the week.
  • Storebrand rises as much as 4% in Oslo trading after second-quarter pretax profit beat the average analyst estimate.
  • SBB posted a surprise pretax loss and the Swedish property company’s stock price tumbled as much as 17%.
  • SEB shares gain as much as 4.7% in early European trading after the lender posted 2Q earnings that showed higher deposit margins and decent loan growth, Handelsbanken writes in a note.
  • Hunting’s steep slide since its June 30 trading update offers a good entry point, Berenberg writes in note, upgrading the stock to buy from hold. Hunting shares up as much as 7.1%.

Asian stocks declined, as markets in Singapore and the Philippines fell after surprise monetary tightening by the two Southeast Asian nations, while Chinese bank shares weighed amid a property crisis.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped as much as 0.6%, with the financials gauge weighing the most on the measure. Ping An Insurance was the single biggest drag, leading a fall among Chinese lenders as home buyers in China refused to pay mortgages on delayed construction projects.    Shares in Singapore and Manila declined after local monetary authorities unexpectedly tightened policy rates to tackle inflation. Their declines helped put a key Southeast Asian equities gauge on track for a bear market. Taiwan’s benchmark rose for a second day after a government support pledge, while Chinese tech firms also climbed.  

The region’s mixed performance comes as investors continue to digest the prospect of a recession on hardened expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve monetary tightening after sizzling US inflation data. Traders in Asia also are waiting for Friday’s release of China’s second-quarter GDP growth figure.  “Even while central banks in most of the rest of the world are moving in one direction, here in Asia we’ve got a very, very large player doing something different,” said Alexander Treves, head of investment specialists for Asia Pacific equities at JPMorgan Asset Management, referring to China in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “The government has got quite ambitious growth targets for this year and it might be they don’t meet them but they are going to try very, very hard to stimulate in that direction.” The higher-than-expected consumer prices data from the US overnight was “lagged bad news,” according to David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.  “But we do expect lagged good news in the coming months, with energy prices diving lower, food prices cooling and consumer demand stepping back,” Kelly wrote in a note. “This should provide some inflation relief to the Fed and consumers, and hopefully lead sentiment to recover from its record-lows.”

Japanese equities erased earlier losses as the yen weakened after US inflation data hardened expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve monetary tightening.  The Topix index closed 0.2% higher at 1,893.13 in Tokyo, while the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.6% to 26,643.39. Keyence Corp. contributed the most to the Topix’s gain, increasing 3.5%. Out of 2,170 shares in the index, 1,229 rose and 803 fell, while 138 were unchanged. “The weak yen and continuation of monetary easing in Japan, which is completely different from the situation in the US and Europe, will help to support stock prices,” said Tomo Kinoshita, a global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management. 

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4% to close at 6,650.60, climbing for a third session. Miners contributed the most to the benchmark’s gain. EML Payments was the top performer, bouncing back after three days of losses. Lake Resources was the biggest laggard after responding to a short-seller report. Investors also assessed jobs data. Australia’s hiring boom gathered pace in June, sending the unemployment rate to the lowest in almost 50 years and bolstering the case for a supersized interest rate hike next month.  In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.7% to 11,187.97

India’s benchmark equity index erased early gains to close at its lowest level in more than a week as shares of technology firms Infosys and TCS weighed.  The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.2% to 53,416.15 in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index declined by the same magnitude. Axis Bank was the worst performer on the Sensex, which saw 17 of its 30 member stocks trading lower. India’s biggest technology company TCS fell to the lowest level since March last year, setting the pace for a tech selloff.  India’s headline inflation rose 15.18% compared to last year, which was below estimates for the first time since June 2021.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose by around 0.5% hitting an all time high, as the greenback advanced against all of its Group-of-10 peers. AUD and DKK are the strongest performers in G-10 FX, JPY and CAD underperform. COP (+3%), RUB (+1.4%) lead gains in EMFX. The euro fluctuated, but held above parity. An early decline in the face of widespread dollar demand paused at buy orders from a reserve manager based in Asia seeking to diversify away from the greenback, according to Asia-based FX traders. One-week volatility in euro-dollar rallied as the tenor now captures the next ECB decision on July 21, the same day when a key Russian gas pipeline is scheduled to reopen. German and UK short-end bonds fell, led by the front-end, underperforming on their curves as money markets cranked up ECB and BOE rate-hike wagers for a second day. Investors were dumping Italian assets as political turmoil puts Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government at risk of collapse and complicates efforts by the European Central Bank to support the market. Swedish 2-year bonds slumped after inflation rose faster than forecast in June. The yen approached 140 per dollar as the currency is decoupling from its close relationship with US bonds amid a broad rally in the dollar.

In rates, the treasuries curve extends Wednesday’s flattening move with 2s10s spread reaching -27bp during European morning, as political turmoil in Italy has investors dumping its bonds. US yields cheaper by up to 5bp in front end and belly of the curve, flattening 2s10s, 5s30s spreads by ~2bp and ~5bp on the day; 10-year yields around 2.95%, cheaper by ~3bp vs Wednesday’s close; Italian bonds underperform by more 20bp in the sector. In front end, investors continue to anticipate front-loaded and aggressive Fed hikes to peak by year-end; swaps price 92bp of hikes into the July policy meeting and 213bp of additional hikes into the December FOMC, where policy rate is expected to peak.  Bund, and gilt curves bear-flatten; UST 2s10s yield-curve inversion deepens. Peripheral spreads widen to Germany with 10y BTP/Bund adding 9.7bps to 209.2bps.

Bitcoin is bid but has reverted below the USD 20k mark once more, despite a brief foray to USD 20.4k initial highs.

In commodities, crude futures decline. WTI trades within Wednesday’s range, falling 2.3% to trade near $94.08. Brent falls 1.9% near $97.66. Most base metals trade in the red; LME nickel falls 5.1%, underperforming peers. Spot gold falls roughly $19 to trade near $1,717/oz. Spot silver loses 1.4% near $19.

To the day ahead now, data releases include the US PPI reading for June and the weekly initial jobless claims. Otherwise, central bank speakers include the Fed’s Waller and the ECB’s Centeno. Earnings releases include JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. The European Commission will be publishing their latest economic forecasts, and UK Conservative MPs will hold another ballot on their next leader.

Market Snapshot

  • S&P 500 futures down 0.9% to 3,768.75
  • MXAP down 0.6% to 154.55
  • MXAPJ down 0.2% to 510.23
  • Nikkei up 0.6% to 26,643.39
  • Topix up 0.2% to 1,893.13
  • Hang Seng Index down 0.2% to 20,751.21
  • Shanghai Composite little changed at 3,281.74
  • Sensex down 0.4% to 53,290.44
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.4% to 6,650.62
  • Kospi down 0.3% to 2,322.32
  • STOXX Europe 600 down 0.7% to 409.97
  • German 10Y yield little changed at 1.24%
  • Euro down 0.4% to $1.0023
  • Gold spot down 1.0% to $1,717.77
  • US Dollar Index up 0.57% to 108.57

Top Overnight News from Bloomberg

  • The three-month euribor’s seven-year foray in to negative territory ended as money markets prepared for the ECB’s first rate hike in more than a decade
  • Italy’s Five Star Movement will refuse to back Mario Draghi’s government in a confidence vote on Thursday, raising the prospect that the prime minister offers to resign, potentially leading to an early election. A financial- market crisis focused on Italy might augur the worst turmoil in the history of the euro
  • Singapore’s central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy on Thursday, its second surprise move this year, as rising inflation fanned the risk of economic contraction
  • China will take further measures to stabilize employment as the country grapples with a flagging economy battered by the Covid-19 pandemic and a crumbling real-estate market
  • Chinese regulators have been asked to exercise greater caution when it comes to reviewing new overseas spending and investment plans amid concerns among senior leaders that higher US interest rates could spur capital outflows, according to people familiar with the matter
  • The euro area’s rebound from the pandemic will be weaker than anticipated while inflation will be faster because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to draft projections by the European Commission
  • Central banks across the globe are speeding up interest-rate hikes, seeking to crush an inflation surge partly of their own making. Wednesday saw Canada’s central bank hike a greater-than-expected full percentage point following two half-point moves, South Korea raise by a half point after several quarter-point moves, and New Zealand increase by a half point for a third straight meeting

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

Asia-pac stocks mostly traded with cautious gains after the recent hotter-than-expected US inflation data which printed at a fresh 40-year high and spurred hawkish market pricing with Fed Fund Rate futures leaning towards a 100bps Fed rate hike this month. ASX 200 was kept afloat amid strength in the commodity-related sectors although gains were capped as blockbuster jobs data raised the odds for the RBA to deliver a more aggressive 75bps hike at its next meeting. Nikkei 225 outperformed its major counterparts on the back of further currency depreciation. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. were initially pressured by weakness in the property sector although the downside in the broader market was cushioned and eventually reversed after recent policy support pledges in which the PBoC said it will step up support for the real economy and deepen interest rate reforms. STI and PSEi were the laggards and traded in the red after both the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Philippines Central Bank tightened their monetary policies in unscheduled announcements.

Top Asian News

  • Tokyo is expected to raise the COVID warning to its highest level, according to FNN.
  • Monetary Authority of Singapore announced to re-centre the mid-point of the SGD NEER policy band up to the prevailing level in an unscheduled meeting, while there was no change to the slope and width of the band. MAS said the move is to help slow the momentum of inflation and that inflation pressures are to remain elevated in months ahead, while it is appropriate to further tighten monetary policy further.
  • Philippines Central Bank raised its key rates by 75bps to 3.25% in an unscheduled policy decision. Philippines Central Bank Governor said they recognised that a significant further tightening of monetary policy was warranted by sustained broadening price pressures, while they are ready to take further action and said the economy can accommodate further tightening.
  • Chinese authorities reportedly met with banks regarding the mortgage payment boycott, according to Bloomberg sources

European bourses are pressured across the board, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.8%, but off worst levels while the FTSE MIB -1.9% languishes on domestic turmoil. Sectors are essentially all in the red with Tech giving up its initial TSMC-driven strength and succumbing to risk/yield moves. Stateside, futures are off lows but in-fitting European benchmarks awaiting guidance from the key banking names due to report imminently. TSMC (2330 TT) Q2 (TWD): Net Profit 237bln (exp. 219bln), Revenue 534bln (prev. 372bln YY), Operating Income 262bln (prev. 145bln YY); excess inventory in chip supply will take a few quarters to rebalance; expect capacity to remain tight this year; expects some capex this year to be pushed into next year due to tool supply issues. 2022 Capex closer to the lower end of prior guidance of USD 40-44bln. 2023 will see more of a typical downcycle in chip demand, unlike the large downcycle in 2008. Intel (INTC) has reportedly informed customers it will increase prices on a majority of its microprocessors and peripheral chip products later this year, citing rising costs, via Nikkei; Increases have not been finalized, likely to range from a minimal single-digit increase to over 10% or 20% in some cases, according to sources.

Top European News

  • The first round of the Conservative leadership ballot saw Sunak, Mordaunt, Truss, Tugendhat, Badenoch, and Braverman make it to the next round, while Hunt and Zahawi were eliminated.
  • Italy's 5-Star leader Conte said the party will not participate in the confidence vote on Thursday, according to Reuters.
  • EU draft report cut 2022 EU GDP forecast to 2.6% from 2.8% and for 2023 to 1.4% from 2.3%.

FX

  • Yen yields to inevitable further widening in BoJ/Fed policy rates as markets place 2/3 probability on 100bp July FOMC hike; USD/JPY jumps through 139.00 towards October 1998 peak at 139.50, but pares back below 1.48bln option expiry interest at the round number.
  • DXY rebounds firmly after post-US CPI retreat to set new YTD peak before fading, index tops out at 108.650 vs 108.190 bottom and 107.470 midweek low.
  • Loonie loses all and more BoC boost as oil tanks, USD/CAD close to 1.3100 compared to Wednesday's sub-1.2950 trough.
  • Euro is still defiant above parity vs the Buck but facing Italian political risk via a vote of no confidence.
  • Aussie underpinned by upbeat labour market report and more speculation that China may lift embargo on coal, UAD/USD holds around 0.6750.
  • Kiwi flanked by decent option expiry interest either side of 0.6100.
  • Yuan unable to avoid broad Dollar revival, as CNH slips under 200 WMA circa 6.7330.

Fixed Income

  • Debt under renewed pressure post-US CPI as 100bp hike odds continue to shorten and keep curves in bear-flattening mode
  • Bunds down to 151.21 from 153.01 at best, Gilts reverse from 116.05-115.14 and 10-year T-note retreats to 118-10+ from 118-30
  • Italian bonds underperform awaiting no-confidence vote in PM Draghi's coalition Government

Commodities

  • The complex is broadly pressured amid the general risk tone and ongoing USD strength, crude benchmarks lower by over USD 2.00/bbl.
  • China is said to be mulling ending the Australian coal ban on Russian supply fears, according to Bloomberg.
  • White House Economic Adviser Rouse said President Biden is focused on getting more oil into the market and his Saudi visit will help get more oil into the market.
  • Spot gold is dented on the USD move which is far outweighing any possible haven allure thus far; base metals broadly lower.

US Event Calendar

  • 08:30: June PPI Final Demand YoY, est. 10.7%, prior 10.8%; MoM, est. 0.8%, prior 0.8%
  • 08:30: June PPI Ex Food and Energy YoY, est. 8.2%, prior 8.3%; MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 0.5%
  • 08:30: June PPI Ex Food, Energy, Trade YoY, est. 6.6%, prior 6.8%; MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 0.5%
  • 08:30: July Initial Jobless Claims, est. 235,000, prior 235,000; Continuing Claims, est. 1.38m, prior 1.38m

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

There are just 9 days to go until the happiest day of my life. It’ll be the most expensive too but I’m trying not to dwell on that. However, the final balances were all paid at the weekend, so I’ve figured that in purely accounting terms the wedding is now a sunk cost. For those who’ve been asking, preparation is going well. At long last we finally chose our first dance with less than a month to spare. But there’s still a few more things left on the agenda, including wearing in my new shoes. So if you saw a guy walking to the supermarket yesterday evening in casual summer clothes with oddly formal footwear, that might have been me.

For markets, the agenda yesterday was set by another stronger-than-expected US CPI print, which led to a sizeable reaction across asset classes as investors pondered whether it might lead the Fed to move even more aggressively than anticipated. In terms of the details, there wasn’t much good news at all for those hoping to see signs of weaker price pressures, with the headline CPI reading coming in at a monthly +1.3% in June (vs. +1.1% expected), which is the highest monthly reading since September 2005. There was little respite on core CPI either, which came in at its fastest in a year at +0.7% (vs. +0.5% expected). And on top of that, the Cleveland Fed’s Trimmed-Mean measure (which removes the biggest outliers in either direction) rose to +0.80% on the month, which is the fastest since that series began in 1983, and just shows how broad inflationary pressures have become.

Thanks to the strength of the monthly print, year-on-year CPI rose to its highest level since 1981, at +9.1% (vs. +8.8% expected). And in turn, that’s led to serious speculation among investors that the Fed could hike by 100bps at their next meeting, which would be even faster than the 75bps we saw in June that itself was the biggest hike since 1994. Fed funds futures for the July meeting are pricing in a growing chance of that, with the hike being priced for that meeting going up from +74.5bps on Tuesday to +90.7bps by the close yesterday, to +92.0bps this morning. So that’s noticeably closer to 100bps than 75bps now. We did hear from a few Fed speakers yesterday after the release, including Atlanta Fed President Bostic, who said that “Everything is in play”, whilst Cleveland Fed President Mester referred to the report as “uniformly bad – there was no good news in that report at all”. All eyes will be on the remaining FOMC speakers over the next couple of days and what they have to say about a potential 100bps move. Remember this is also the last chance we’ll get to hear from them ahead of the decision, since the blackout period ahead of their next meeting begins on Saturday.

With investors pricing in an increasingly front-loaded hiking cycle by the Fed, that led to a further bout of yield curve steepening, with the 2yr Treasury yield up +10.6bps to 3.15%, whilst the 10yr yield came down -3.5bps to 2.93%. That left the 2s10s yield curve at an inverted -22.7bps, which is the most inverted that it’s been at any point in this cycle, and this morning it’s inverted even further to -24.9bps, which is the most inverted since 2000. The prospect that the Fed might make a larger than expected move was only bolstered by what then happened in Canada, where the central bank hiked by a surprise +100bps that marked their most rapid increase since 1998. In his statement, BoC Governor Macklem said that “By front-loading interest rate increases now, we are trying to avoid the need for ever higher interest rates down the road”.

After the CPI release came out, the prospect of more aggressive tightening from the Fed sent the Euro down to parity against the dollar for the first time since 2002, hitting an intraday low of $0.9998, although it’s since recovered and is trading this morning at $1.0033. To be fair, the CPI report was merely the catalyst for the final move lower, since the Euro’s decline had been building for some time, not least with the threat of a Russian gas cut-off looming. As our FX strategists have pointed out, parity in itself is more psychologically significant rather than economically significant, but the significant weakening over recent weeks will add to inflationary pressures, and an ECB spokesman said that although the ECB “does not target a particular exchange rate”, they mentioned how “we are always attentive to the impact of the exchange rate on inflation, in line with our mandate for price stability”.

In spite of the turbulence elsewhere, US equities managed to avoid a major slump yesterday, with the S&P 500 recovering from its initial losses of -1.56% to only close -0.45% lower. Meanwhile the NASDAQ (-0.15%) managed to modestly outperform, as did the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.12%). In Europe however, there was a much weaker performance and the STOXX 600 shed -1.01% along with other indices on the continent, including German’s DAX (-1.16%). Sovereign bond yields also moved higher across much of the Euro Area, with those on 10yr bunds (+1.1bps), OATs (+1.1bps) and BTPs (+2.4bps) all rising on the day.

Overnight in Asia, equity markets have fluctuating this morning with the major indices opening lower before recovering. As we go to press, the Nikkei (+0.70%), the Hang Seng (+0.17%), Shanghai Composite (+0.31%), CSI (+0.44%) and Kospi (+0.10%) are all in positive territory. Meanwhile in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 (+0.45%) has also gained following the release of strong employment data, with the unemployment rate down to a post-1974 low of 3.5% in June (vs. 3.8% expected). Looking forward however, US equity futures have posted modest losses in early trading with contracts on the S&P 500 (-0.10%) and the NASDAQ 100 (-0.17%) slightly lower. Otherwise overnight, oil prices have rebounded somewhat, with Brent Crude moving just back above $100/bbl.

Here in the UK, we had the first ballot of MPs in the Conservative leadership contest yesterday, which will also decide the country’s next Prime Minister. Of the 8 candidates on the ballot, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak came out on top with 88 votes, followed by trade minister Penny Mordaunt on 67 votes, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on 50 votes. At the other end, both former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi were eliminated for not achieving the 30 votes required, so there are just 6 candidates left now. Today will see another ballot take place, and the candidate with the lowest votes will be eliminated.

Looking at yesterday’s other data, UK GDP grew by +0.5% in May (vs. +0.1% expected), and the decline in April was positively revised to show a -0.2% contraction (vs. -0.3% previously). Separately in the Euro Area, industrial production in May grew by +0.8% (vs. +0.3% expected).

To the day ahead now, and data releases include the US PPI reading for June and the weekly initial jobless claims. Otherwise, central bank speakers include the Fed’s Waller and the ECB’s Centeno. Earnings releases include JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. The European Commission will be publishing their latest economic forecasts, and UK Conservative MPs will hold another ballot on their next leader.

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/14/2022 - 08:24

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Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

"Beware the Ides of March,” Shakespeare…

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Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

"Beware the Ides of March,” Shakespeare quotes the soothsayer’s warning Julius Caesar about what turned out to be an impending assassination on March 15. The death of American liberty happened around the same time four years ago, when the orders went out from all levels of government to close all indoor and outdoor venues where people gather. 

It was not quite a law and it was never voted on by anyone. Seemingly out of nowhere, people who the public had largely ignored, the public health bureaucrats, all united to tell the executives in charge – mayors, governors, and the president – that the only way to deal with a respiratory virus was to scrap freedom and the Bill of Rights. 

And they did, not only in the US but all over the world. 

The forced closures in the US began on March 6 when the mayor of Austin, Texas, announced the shutdown of the technology and arts festival South by Southwest. Hundreds of thousands of contracts, of attendees and vendors, were instantly scrapped. The mayor said he was acting on the advice of his health experts and they in turn pointed to the CDC, which in turn pointed to the World Health Organization, which in turn pointed to member states and so on. 

There was no record of Covid in Austin, Texas, that day but they were sure they were doing their part to stop the spread. It was the first deployment of the “Zero Covid” strategy that became, for a time, official US policy, just as in China. 

It was never clear precisely who to blame or who would take responsibility, legal or otherwise. 

This Friday evening press conference in Austin was just the beginning. By the next Thursday evening, the lockdown mania reached a full crescendo. Donald Trump went on nationwide television to announce that everything was under control but that he was stopping all travel in and out of US borders, from Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. American citizens would need to return by Monday or be stuck. 

Americans abroad panicked while spending on tickets home and crowded into international airports with waits up to 8 hours standing shoulder to shoulder. It was the first clear sign: there would be no consistency in the deployment of these edicts. 

There is no historical record of any American president ever issuing global travel restrictions like this without a declaration of war. Until then, and since the age of travel began, every American had taken it for granted that he could buy a ticket and board a plane. That was no longer possible. Very quickly it became even difficult to travel state to state, as most states eventually implemented a two-week quarantine rule. 

The next day, Friday March 13, Broadway closed and New York City began to empty out as any residents who could went to summer homes or out of state. 

On that day, the Trump administration declared the national emergency by invoking the Stafford Act which triggers new powers and resources to the Federal Emergency Management Administration. 

In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a classified document, only to be released to the public months later. The document initiated the lockdowns. It still does not exist on any government website.

The White House Coronavirus Response Task Force, led by the Vice President, will coordinate a whole-of-government approach, including governors, state and local officials, and members of Congress, to develop the best options for the safety, well-being, and health of the American people. HHS is the LFA [Lead Federal Agency] for coordinating the federal response to COVID-19.

Closures were guaranteed:

Recommend significantly limiting public gatherings and cancellation of almost all sporting events, performances, and public and private meetings that cannot be convened by phone. Consider school closures. Issue widespread ‘stay at home’ directives for public and private organizations, with nearly 100% telework for some, although critical public services and infrastructure may need to retain skeleton crews. Law enforcement could shift to focus more on crime prevention, as routine monitoring of storefronts could be important.

In this vision of turnkey totalitarian control of society, the vaccine was pre-approved: “Partner with pharmaceutical industry to produce anti-virals and vaccine.”

The National Security Council was put in charge of policy making. The CDC was just the marketing operation. That’s why it felt like martial law. Without using those words, that’s what was being declared. It even urged information management, with censorship strongly implied.

The timing here is fascinating. This document came out on a Friday. But according to every autobiographical account – from Mike Pence and Scott Gottlieb to Deborah Birx and Jared Kushner – the gathered team did not meet with Trump himself until the weekend of the 14th and 15th, Saturday and Sunday. 

According to their account, this was his first real encounter with the urge that he lock down the whole country. He reluctantly agreed to 15 days to flatten the curve. He announced this on Monday the 16th with the famous line: “All public and private venues where people gather should be closed.”

This makes no sense. The decision had already been made and all enabling documents were already in circulation. 

There are only two possibilities. 

One: the Department of Homeland Security issued this March 13 HHS document without Trump’s knowledge or authority. That seems unlikely. 

Two: Kushner, Birx, Pence, and Gottlieb are lying. They decided on a story and they are sticking to it. 

Trump himself has never explained the timeline or precisely when he decided to greenlight the lockdowns. To this day, he avoids the issue beyond his constant claim that he doesn’t get enough credit for his handling of the pandemic.

With Nixon, the famous question was always what did he know and when did he know it? When it comes to Trump and insofar as concerns Covid lockdowns – unlike the fake allegations of collusion with Russia – we have no investigations. To this day, no one in the corporate media seems even slightly interested in why, how, or when human rights got abolished by bureaucratic edict. 

As part of the lockdowns, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which was and is part of the Department of Homeland Security, as set up in 2018, broke the entire American labor force into essential and nonessential.

They also set up and enforced censorship protocols, which is why it seemed like so few objected. In addition, CISA was tasked with overseeing mail-in ballots. 

Only 8 days into the 15, Trump announced that he wanted to open the country by Easter, which was on April 12. His announcement on March 24 was treated as outrageous and irresponsible by the national press but keep in mind: Easter would already take us beyond the initial two-week lockdown. What seemed to be an opening was an extension of closing. 

This announcement by Trump encouraged Birx and Fauci to ask for an additional 30 days of lockdown, which Trump granted. Even on April 23, Trump told Georgia and Florida, which had made noises about reopening, that “It’s too soon.” He publicly fought with the governor of Georgia, who was first to open his state. 

Before the 15 days was over, Congress passed and the president signed the 880-page CARES Act, which authorized the distribution of $2 trillion to states, businesses, and individuals, thus guaranteeing that lockdowns would continue for the duration. 

There was never a stated exit plan beyond Birx’s public statements that she wanted zero cases of Covid in the country. That was never going to happen. It is very likely that the virus had already been circulating in the US and Canada from October 2019. A famous seroprevalence study by Jay Bhattacharya came out in May 2020 discerning that infections and immunity were already widespread in the California county they examined. 

What that implied was two crucial points: there was zero hope for the Zero Covid mission and this pandemic would end as they all did, through endemicity via exposure, not from a vaccine as such. That was certainly not the message that was being broadcast from Washington. The growing sense at the time was that we all had to sit tight and just wait for the inoculation on which pharmaceutical companies were working. 

By summer 2020, you recall what happened. A restless generation of kids fed up with this stay-at-home nonsense seized on the opportunity to protest racial injustice in the killing of George Floyd. Public health officials approved of these gatherings – unlike protests against lockdowns – on grounds that racism was a virus even more serious than Covid. Some of these protests got out of hand and became violent and destructive. 

Meanwhile, substance abuse rage – the liquor and weed stores never closed – and immune systems were being degraded by lack of normal exposure, exactly as the Bakersfield doctors had predicted. Millions of small businesses had closed. The learning losses from school closures were mounting, as it turned out that Zoom school was near worthless. 

It was about this time that Trump seemed to figure out – thanks to the wise council of Dr. Scott Atlas – that he had been played and started urging states to reopen. But it was strange: he seemed to be less in the position of being a president in charge and more of a public pundit, Tweeting out his wishes until his account was banned. He was unable to put the worms back in the can that he had approved opening. 

By that time, and by all accounts, Trump was convinced that the whole effort was a mistake, that he had been trolled into wrecking the country he promised to make great. It was too late. Mail-in ballots had been widely approved, the country was in shambles, the media and public health bureaucrats were ruling the airwaves, and his final months of the campaign failed even to come to grips with the reality on the ground. 

At the time, many people had predicted that once Biden took office and the vaccine was released, Covid would be declared to have been beaten. But that didn’t happen and mainly for one reason: resistance to the vaccine was more intense than anyone had predicted. The Biden administration attempted to impose mandates on the entire US workforce. Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling, that effort was thwarted but not before HR departments around the country had already implemented them. 

As the months rolled on – and four major cities closed all public accommodations to the unvaccinated, who were being demonized for prolonging the pandemic – it became clear that the vaccine could not and would not stop infection or transmission, which means that this shot could not be classified as a public health benefit. Even as a private benefit, the evidence was mixed. Any protection it provided was short-lived and reports of vaccine injury began to mount. Even now, we cannot gain full clarity on the scale of the problem because essential data and documentation remains classified. 

After four years, we find ourselves in a strange position. We still do not know precisely what unfolded in mid-March 2020: who made what decisions, when, and why. There has been no serious attempt at any high level to provide a clear accounting much less assign blame. 

Not even Tucker Carlson, who reportedly played a crucial role in getting Trump to panic over the virus, will tell us the source of his own information or what his source told him. There have been a series of valuable hearings in the House and Senate but they have received little to no press attention, and none have focus on the lockdown orders themselves. 

The prevailing attitude in public life is just to forget the whole thing. And yet we live now in a country very different from the one we inhabited five years ago. Our media is captured. Social media is widely censored in violation of the First Amendment, a problem being taken up by the Supreme Court this month with no certainty of the outcome. The administrative state that seized control has not given up power. Crime has been normalized. Art and music institutions are on the rocks. Public trust in all official institutions is at rock bottom. We don’t even know if we can trust the elections anymore. 

In the early days of lockdown, Henry Kissinger warned that if the mitigation plan does not go well, the world will find itself set “on fire.” He died in 2023. Meanwhile, the world is indeed on fire. The essential struggle in every country on earth today concerns the battle between the authority and power of permanent administration apparatus of the state – the very one that took total control in lockdowns – and the enlightenment ideal of a government that is responsible to the will of the people and the moral demand for freedom and rights. 

How this struggle turns out is the essential story of our times. 

CODA: I’m embedding a copy of PanCAP Adapted, as annotated by Debbie Lerman. You might need to download the whole thing to see the annotations. If you can help with research, please do.

*  *  *

Jeffrey Tucker is the author of the excellent new book 'Life After Lock-Down'

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 23:40

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Government

CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A…

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CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) paper released Thursday found that thousands of young children have been taken to the emergency room over the past several years after taking the very common sleep-aid supplement melatonin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)

The agency said that melatonin, which can come in gummies that are meant for adults, was implicated in about 7 percent of all emergency room visits for young children and infants “for unsupervised medication ingestions,” adding that many incidents were linked to the ingestion of gummy formulations that were flavored. Those incidents occurred between the years 2019 and 2022.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the human body to regulate its sleep cycle. Supplements, which are sold in a number of different formulas, are generally taken before falling asleep and are popular among people suffering from insomnia, jet lag, chronic pain, or other problems.

The supplement isn’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and does not require child-resistant packaging. However, a number of supplement companies include caps or lids that are difficult for children to open.

The CDC report said that a significant number of melatonin-ingestion cases among young children were due to the children opening bottles that had not been properly closed or were within their reach. Thursday’s report, the agency said, “highlights the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight,” including melatonin.

The approximately 11,000 emergency department visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestions by infants and young children during 2019–2022 highlight the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight.

The CDC notes that melatonin use among Americans has increased five-fold over the past 25 years or so. That has coincided with a 530 percent increase in poison center calls for melatonin exposures to children between 2012 and 2021, it said, as well as a 420 percent increase in emergency visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestion by young children or infants between 2009 and 2020.

Some health officials advise that children under the age of 3 should avoid taking melatonin unless a doctor says otherwise. Side effects include drowsiness, headaches, agitation, dizziness, and bed wetting.

Other symptoms of too much melatonin include nausea, diarrhea, joint pain, anxiety, and irritability. The supplement can also impact blood pressure.

However, there is no established threshold for a melatonin overdose, officials have said. Most adult melatonin supplements contain a maximum of 10 milligrams of melatonin per serving, and some contain less.

Many people can tolerate even relatively large doses of melatonin without significant harm, officials say. But there is no antidote for an overdose. In cases of a child accidentally ingesting melatonin, doctors often ask a reliable adult to monitor them at home.

Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, with the Seattle Children’s Hospital at the University of Washington, told CNN that parents should speak with a doctor before giving their children the supplement.

“I also tell families, this is not something your child should take forever. Nobody knows what the long-term effects of taking this is on your child’s growth and development,” she told the outlet. “Taking away blue-light-emitting smartphones, tablets, laptops, and television at least two hours before bed will keep melatonin production humming along, as will reading or listening to bedtime stories in a softly lit room, taking a warm bath, or doing light stretches.”

In 2022, researchers found that in 2021, U.S. poison control centers received more than 52,000 calls about children consuming worrisome amounts of the dietary supplement. That’s a six-fold increase from about a decade earlier. Most such calls are about young children who accidentally got into bottles of melatonin, some of which come in the form of gummies for kids, the report said.

Dr. Karima Lelak, an emergency physician at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the lead author of the study published in 2022 by the CDC, found that in about 83 percent of those calls, the children did not show any symptoms.

However, other children had vomiting, altered breathing, or other symptoms. Over the 10 years studied, more than 4,000 children were hospitalized, five were put on machines to help them breathe, and two children under the age of two died. Most of the hospitalized children were teenagers, and many of those ingestions were thought to be suicide attempts.

Those researchers also suggested that COVID-19 lockdowns and virtual learning forced more children to be at home all day, meaning there were more opportunities for kids to access melatonin. Also, those restrictions may have caused sleep-disrupting stress and anxiety, leading more families to consider melatonin, they suggested.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 21:40

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International

Red Candle In The Wind

Red Candle In The Wind

By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by…

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Red Candle In The Wind

By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by printing at 275,000 against a consensus call of 200,000. We say superficially, because the downward revisions to prior months totalled 167,000 for December and January, taking the total change in employed persons well below the implied forecast, and helping the unemployment rate to pop two-ticks to 3.9%. The U6 underemployment rate also rose from 7.2% to 7.3%, while average hourly earnings growth fell to 0.2% m-o-m and average weekly hours worked languished at 34.3, equalling pre-pandemic lows.

Undeterred by the devil in the detail, the algos sprang into action once exchanges opened. Market darling NVIDIA hit a new intraday high of $974 before (presumably) the humans took over and sold the stock down more than 10% to close at $875.28. If our suspicions are correct that it was the AIs buying before the humans started selling (no doubt triggering trailing stops on the way down), the irony is not lost on us.

The 1-day chart for NVIDIA now makes for interesting viewing, because the red candle posted on Friday presents quite a strong bearish engulfing signal. Volume traded on the day was almost double the 15-day simple moving average, and similar price action is observable on the 1-day charts for both Intel and AMD. Regular readers will be aware that we have expressed incredulity in the past about the durability the AI thematic melt-up, so it will be interesting to see whether Friday’s sell off is just a profit-taking blip, or a genuine trend reversal.

AI equities aside, this week ought to be important for markets because the BTFP program expires today. That means that the Fed will no longer be loaning cash to the banking system in exchange for collateral pledged at-par. The KBW Regional Banking index has so far taken this in its stride and is trading 30% above the lows established during the mini banking crisis of this time last year, but the Fed’s liquidity facility was effectively an exercise in can-kicking that makes regional banks a sector of the market worth paying attention to in the weeks ahead. Even here in Sydney, regulators are warning of external risks posed to the banking sector from scheduled refinancing of commercial real estate loans following sharp falls in valuations.

Markets are sending signals in other sectors, too. Gold closed at a new record-high of $2178/oz on Friday after trading above $2200/oz briefly. Gold has been going ballistic since the Friday before last, posting gains even on days where 2-year Treasury yields have risen. Gold bugs are buying as real yields fall from the October highs and inflation breakevens creep higher. This is particularly interesting as gold ETFs have been recording net outflows; suggesting that price gains aren’t being driven by a retail pile-in. Are gold buyers now betting on a stagflationary outcome where the Fed cuts without inflation being anchored at the 2% target? The price action around the US CPI release tomorrow ought to be illuminating.

Leaving the day-to-day movements to one side, we are also seeing further signs of structural change at the macro level. The UK budget last week included a provision for the creation of a British ISA. That is, an Individual Savings Account that provides tax breaks to savers who invest their money in the stock of British companies. This follows moves last year to encourage pension funds to head up the risk curve by allocating 5% of their capital to unlisted investments.

As a Hail Mary option for a government cruising toward an electoral drubbing it’s a curious choice, but it’s worth highlighting as cash-strapped governments increasingly see private savings pools as a funding solution for their spending priorities.

Of course, the UK is not alone in making creeping moves towards financial repression. In contrast to announcements today of increased trade liberalisation, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has in the recent past flagged his interest in tapping private pension savings to fund state spending priorities, including defence, public housing and renewable energy projects. Both the UK and Australia appear intent on finding ways to open up the lungs of their economies, but government wants more say in directing private capital flows for state goals.

So, how far is the blurring of the lines between free markets and state planning likely to go? Given the immense and varied budgetary (and security) pressures that governments are facing, could we see a re-up of WWII-era Victory bonds, where private investors are encouraged to do their patriotic duty by directly financing government at negative real rates?

That would really light a fire under the gold market.

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 19:00

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