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Key Events This Busy Week: Central Banks Galore, Including Fed, BOJ And BOE

Key Events This Busy Week: Central Banks Galore, Including Fed, BOJ And BOE

This Wednesday’s FOMC meeting and decision (to keep rates unchanged)…

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Key Events This Busy Week: Central Banks Galore, Including Fed, BOJ And BOE

This Wednesday's FOMC meeting and decision (to keep rates unchanged) will highlight a busy week for markets with central banks at the fore. And, as DB's Jim Reid previews, outside of the Fed, the BoE (Thursday), and the BoJ (Friday) are the other main events on this front. Central banks in Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey (all Thursday) all have policy meetings too.

Away from central banks, the CPI inflation data for both the UK (Wednesday) and Japan (Friday) will also be out this week. The global flash PMIs due Friday will be another big focus. The latest manufacturing PMI for Germany printed at 39.1 (43.5 in the Eurozone), much lower than the still soft 47.9 in the US and 49.6 in Japan. Momentum in the services gauge, especially in the US (50.5) where it’s only just above 50, will also be in focus after stronger comparable prints in other US surveys.

In the US we will get the monthly housing week data dump even if it will be tough to learn something new. US housing affordability is around the worst on record for buyers, and activity is at around 30 year low, but for the vast majority of existing homeowners there is no stress. We have today's NAHB homebuilder index (forecast 45  vs. 50 previously), Tuesday's housing starts (1.478mn vs 1.452mn) and building permits (1.460mn vs. 1.443mn) and Thursday's existing home sales (4.25mn vs. 4.07mn). Elsewhere in the US, Thursday's Philadelphia Fed survey (-5.0 vs. +12.0) will be of some interest.

Elsewhere the UAW autoworkers strike that started on Friday will gain more macro attention the longer it lasts. Some may say this is an idiosyncratic risk to the economy but with inflation having been high and corporate profits coming back, this sort of thing is a genuine consequence of the macro environment.

Next, Reid dives into a brief FOMC preview, and writes that one would be hard pressed to find someone who thinks they'll hike this week but the prevailing expectation is that they keep the door open for another hike later this year which the dot plot will continue to reflect. DB's economists believe other parts of the SEP are likely to undergo meaningful revisions, particularly for 2023. Stronger growth (2023 could double to 2%, 2024 could increase around 25bps to 1.3%) and lower unemployment should counterbalance softer inflation (2023 revised down but core forecasts for 2024 likely to be unchanged). So the meeting is likely to see a confident pause but one where further tightening is seen as the risk.

After the Fed, the focus will shift to the BoE on Thursday. Most economists expect another +25bps hike that would take the Bank Rate to 5.5% and then see another, potentially final, hike in November. The market is pricing in around a 70% chance of a hike at the close on Friday. Perhaps a swing factor on the outlook could be the UK CPI the day before where headline is expected to rise from 6.8% to 7.2% due to energy costs but core is expected to dip 0.1pp to 6.8%. A big fall in October's headline release should occur alongside a big fall in energy bills as bad YoY comps drop out. Retail sales on Friday completes a busy week for the UK. Retail sales will also be due on Thursday in France. Highlights in Germany include the PPI out on Wednesday.

The BoJ will wrap up the busy week on Friday. DB's economists expect the central bank to stick to its current policy stance but revise the MPM statement to point to policy normalisation. Further out, they see the YCC and negative interest rate policy ending at the October and January meetings, respectively. Japan's latest nationwide CPI will also be out that day. Our Chief Japan economist sees the headline gauge at 2.9% YoY (+3.3% in July), core inflation excluding fresh food at 2.9% (+3.1%), and core-core inflation excluding fresh food and energy (+4.3%).

Courtesy of DB, here is a day-by-day calendar of events

Monday September 18

  • Data: US September NAHB housing market index, New York Fed services business activity, July total net tic flows, Canada August raw materials and industrial product price index, housing starts

Tuesday September 19

  • Data: US August housing starts, building permits, Italy July current account balance, ECB July current account, Canada August CPI
  • Central banks: ECB's Elderson speaks
  • Other: OECD Interim Economic Outlook

Wednesday September 20

  • Data: UK August CPI, PPI, RPI, July house price index, Japan August trade balance, Germany August PPI, EU27 August new car registrations, Eurozone July construction output
  • Central banks: Fed's decision, BoC summary of deliberations, ECB's Elderson speaks
  • Earnings: General Mills, FedEx

Thursday September 21

  • Data: US September Philadelphia Fed business outlook, Q2 current account balance, August leading index, existing home sales, initial jobless claims, UK August public finances, France September business and manufacturing confidence, August retail sales, Eurozone September consumer confidence
  • Central banks: BoE decision, ECB's Schnabel and Lane speak

Friday September 22

  • Data: US, UK, Japan, Germany, France and the Eurozone September PMIs, UK September GfK consumer confidence, August retail sales, Japan August national CPI, Canada July retail sales
  • Central banks: BoJ decision, Fed's Cook and Daly speak, ECB's Guindos speaks

Finally, looking at just the US, Goldman writes that the key economic data releases this week are jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index on Thursday. The September FOMC meeting is this week, with the release of the statement at 2:00 PM ET on Wednesday, followed by Chair Powell’s press conference at 2:30 PM.

Monday, September 18

  • 10:00 AM NAHB housing market index, September (consensus 49, last 50)

Tuesday, September 19

  • 08:30 AM Housing starts, August (GS -2.5%, consensus -1.0%, last +3.9%); Building permits, August (consensus -0.2%, last +0.1%)

Wednesday, September 20

  • 02:00 PM FOMC statement, September 19-20 meeting: As discussed in the FOMC preview, we expect the dot plot to show a narrow 10-9 majority still penciling in one more hike, if only to preserve flexibility for now. Over 2023-2026, we expect the median dot to show a path of 5.625% / 4.625% / 3.375% / 2.875%. We also expect the median neutral rate dot to rise to 2.75%. In the economic projections for 2023, we expect a substantial upward revision to GDP growth (+1.1pp to +2.1%) and moderate downward revisions to the unemployment rate (-0.2pp to 3.9%) and core inflation (-0.4pp to 3.5%). Revisions to later years should be small and point in the same direction.

Thursday, September 21

  • 08:30 AM Current account balance, Q2 (consensus -$221.0bn, last -$219.3bn); Initial jobless claims, week ended September 16 (GS 220k, consensus 225k, last 220k); Continuing jobless claims, week ended September 9 (consensus 1,695k, last 1,688k)
  • 08:30 AM Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index, September (GS +6.0, consensus -1.0, last +12.0): We estimate that the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index pulled back to a still-positive +6 in September, reflecting the pickup in East Asian industrial activity.
  • 10:00 AM Existing home sales, August (GS flat, consensus +0.7%, last -2.2%)

Friday, September 22

  • 08:50 AM Fed Governor Cook speaks: Fed Governor Lisa Cook will give the keynote address at the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Economics of Artificial Intelligence Conference. Speech text will be made available.
  • 09:45 AM S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, September preliminary (consensus 48.0, last 47.9)
  • 09:45 AM S&P Global US services PMI, September preliminary (consensus 50.4, last 50.5)
  • 01:00 PM San Francisco Fed President Daly (FOMC non-voter) speaks: San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will join Greater Phoenix Leadership for a fireside chat to discuss inflation, monetary policy, and the economy. The conversation will be livestreamed and made available as a recording after the event.

Source: DB. Goldman, BofA

Tyler Durden Mon, 09/18/2023 - 10:25

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International

Which New World Order Are We Talking About?

Which New World Order Are We Talking About?

Authored by Jeff Thomas via InternationalMan.com,

Those of us who are libertarians have a tendency…

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Which New World Order Are We Talking About?

Authored by Jeff Thomas via InternationalMan.com,

Those of us who are libertarians have a tendency to speak frequently of “the New World Order.”

When doing so, we tend to be a bit unclear as to what the New World Order is.

Is it a cabal of the heads of the world’s governments, or just the heads of Western governments?

Certainly bankers are included somewhere in the mix, but is it just the heads of the Federal Reserve and the IMF, or does it also include the heads of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, etc.?

And how about the Rothschilds? And the Bundesbank—surely, they’re in there, too?

And the list goes on, without apparent end.

Certainly, all of the above entities have objectives to increase their own power and profit in the world, but to what degree do they act in concert? Although many prominent individuals, world leaders included, have proclaimed that a New World Order is their ultimate objective, the details of who’s in and who’s out are fuzzy. Just as fuzzy is a list of details as to the collective objectives of these disparate individuals and groups.

So, whilst most libertarians acknowledge “the New World Order,” it’s rare that any two libertarians can agree on exactly what it is or who it’s comprised of. We allow ourselves the luxury of referring to it without being certain of its details, because, “It’s a secret society,” as evidenced by the Bilderberg Group, which meets annually but has no formal agenda and publishes no minutes. We excuse ourselves for having only a vague perception of it, although we readily accept that it’s the most powerful group in the world.

This is particularly true of Americans, as Americans often imagine that the New World Order is an American construct, created by a fascist elite of US bankers and political leaders. The New World Order may be better understood by Europeans, as, actually, it’s very much a European concept—one that’s been around for quite a long time.

It may be said to have had its beginnings in ancient Rome. As Rome became an empire, its various emperors found that conquered lands did not automatically remain conquered. They needed to be managed—a costly and tedious undertaking. Management was far from uniform, as the Gauls could not be managed in the same manner as the Egyptians, who in turn, could not be managed like the Mesopotamians.

After the fall of Rome, Europe was in many ways a shambles for centuries, but the idea of “managing” Europe was revived with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The peace brought an end to the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic. It brought together the Holy Roman Empire, The House of Habsburg, the Kingdoms of Spain and France, the Dutch Republic, and the Swedish Empire.

Boundaries were set, treaties were signed, and a general set of assumptions as to the autonomy within one’s borders were agreed, to the partial satisfaction of all and to the complete satisfaction of no one… Sound familiar?

Later, Mayer Rothschild made his name (and his fortune) by becoming the financier to the military adventures of the German Government. He then sent his sons out to England, Austria, France, and Italy to do the same—to create a New World Order of sorts, under the control of his family through national debt to his banks. (Deep Throat was right when he said, “Follow the Money.”)

So, the concept of a New World Order has long existed in Europe in various guises, but what does this tell us about the present and, more important, the future?

In our own time, we have seen presidents and prime ministers come and go, whilst their most prominent advisors, such as Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski, continue from one administration to the next, remaining advisors for decades. Such men are often seen as the voices of reason that may be the guiding force that brings about a New World Order once and for all.

Mister Brzezinski has written in his books that order in Europe depends upon a balance with Russia, which must be created through the control of Ukraine by the West. He has stated repeatedly that it’s critical for this to be done through diplomacy, that warfare would be a disaster. Yet, he has also supported the US in creating a coup in Ukraine. When Russia became angered at the takeover, he openly supported American aggression in Ukraine, whilst warning that Russian retaliation must not be tolerated.

Henry Kissinger, who has literally written volumes on his “pursuit of world peace” has, when down in the trenches, also displayed a far more aggressive personality, such as his angry recommendation to US President Gerald Ford to “smash Cuba” when Fidel Castro’s military aid to Angola threatened to ruin Mr. Kissinger’s plans to control Africa.

Whilst the most “enlightened” New World Order advisors may believe that they are working on the “Big Picture,” when it comes down to brass tacks, they clearly demonstrate the same tendency as the more aggressive world leaders, and reveal that, ultimately, they seek to dominate. They may initially recommend diplomacy but resort to force if the other side does not cave to “reason” quickly.

If we stand back and observe this drama from a distance, what we see is a theory of balance between the nations of Europe (and, by extension, the whole world)—a balance based upon intergovernmental agreements, allowing for centralised power and control.

This theory might actually be possible if all the countries of the world were identical in every way, and the goals of all concerned were also identical. But this never has been and can never be the case. Every world leader and every country will differ in its needs and objectives. Therefore, each may tentatively agree to common conditions, as they have going back to the Peace of Westphalia, yet, even before the ink has dried, each state will already be planning to gain an edge on the others.

In 1914, Europe had (once again) become a tangle of aspirations of the various powers—a time bomb, awaiting only a minor incident to set it off. That minor incident occurred when a Serbian national assassinated an Austrian crown prince. Within a month, Europe exploded into World War. As Kissinger himself has observed in his writings, “[T]hey all contributed to it, oblivious to the fact that they were dismantling an international order.”

Since 1648, for every Richelieu that has sought to create a New World Order through diplomacy, there has been a Napoleon who has taken a militaristic approach, assuring that the New World Order applecart will repeatedly be upset by those who are prone to aggression.

Further, even those who seek to operate through diplomacy ultimately will seek aggressive means when diplomatic means are not succeeding.

A true world order is unlikely.

What may occur in its stead would be repeated attempts by sovereign states to form alliances for their mutual benefit, followed by treachery, one- upmanship, and ultimately, aggression. And very possibly a new World War.

But of one thing we can be certain: Tension at present is as great as it was in 1914. We are awaiting only a minor incident to set off dramatically increased international aggression. With all the talk that’s presently about as to a New World Order, what I believe will occur instead will be a repeat of history.

If this belief is correct, much of the world will decline into not only external warfare, but internal control. Those nations that are now ramping up into police states are most at risk, as the intent is already clearly present. All that’s needed is a greater excuse to increase internal controls. Each of us, unless we favour being engulfed by such controls, might be advised to internationalise ourselves—to diversify ourselves so that, if push comes to shove, we’re able to get ourselves and our families out of harm’s way.

*  *  *

Unfortunately, there’s little any individual can practically do to change the course of these trends in motion. The best you can and should do is to stay informed so that you can protect yourself in the best way possible, and even profit from the situation. That’s precisely why bestselling author Doug Casey just released Surviving and Thriving During an Economic Collapse an urgent new PDF report. It explains what could come next and what you can do about it so you don’t become a victim. Click here to download it now.

Tyler Durden Wed, 10/04/2023 - 03:30

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International

As yen weakens and interest peaks, Bank of Japan balances on a policy precipice

Quick Take The Bank of Japan (BOJ) stands at a critical juncture, striving to maintain a delicate balance amid a changing economic landscape. Recent data…

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Quick Take

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) stands at a critical juncture, striving to maintain a delicate balance amid a changing economic landscape. Recent data shows that the 10-year yield, which the BOJ has endeavored to keep below 1%, has touched 0.8, a peak unseen since 2013. Simultaneously, the BOJ has labored not to let the Yen weaken, yet it continues to be pressured as it drops further against the US dollar, crossing the 150 mark for the first time in over a year.

There is burgeoning speculation about possible BOJ interventions in these market movements. As the central bank continues to uphold negative interest rates, a shift towards positive rates might become inevitable in the foreseeable future. It’s a precarious fulcrum of financial strategies that the BOJ is balancing on, with market tempests stirring on one side and the stability of the national currency on the other.

This scenario highlights the intricate dynamics of monetary policies and the profound impact they can have on both national and global economies. A closer look at the situation illuminates the complexities in the BOJ’s policy decisions and the broader implications on the financial landscape.

JPY: (Source: Trading View)

The post As yen weakens and interest peaks, Bank of Japan balances on a policy precipice appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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International

Poland, Austria, & Czechia Introduce Temporary Border-Checks With Slovakia To Curb Illegal Migration

Poland, Austria, & Czechia Introduce Temporary Border-Checks With Slovakia To Curb Illegal Migration

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix…

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Poland, Austria, & Czechia Introduce Temporary Border-Checks With Slovakia To Curb Illegal Migration

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

Poland, Austria and Czechia will all introduce random checks at the countries’ borders with Slovakia from midnight on Wednesday following an influx of illegal immigration.

Temporary checks will be conducted along the length of the border for an initial 10-day period until Oct. 13.

They will focus specifically on road and railway border crossings, although, pedestrians and cyclists may also be asked for documentation. Anyone within the vicinity of the border may be requested to identify themselves.

“The numbers of illegal migrants to the EU are starting to grow again,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala following the announcement. “We don’t take the situation lightly.”

“Citizens need a valid passport or identity card to cross the border,” the Czech Interior Ministry added.

The Czech policy would also be adopted by neighboring Austria, the country’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed.

Poland had already announced its intention to reintroduce checks on the Slovak border with the number of migrants along the Balkans migration route continuing to surge. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last week he was “instructing Minister of Interior Mariusz Kamiński to check on buses, coaches, and cars crossing the border when it is suspected there could be illegal migrants on board.”

“In recent weeks, we detected and detained 551 illegal migrants at the border with Slovakia. This situation causes us to take decisive action,” Kaminski added.

Slovak caretaker Prime Minister Ludovit Odor acknowledged the growing issue of illegal migration in his country but insisted that the problem needs a European solution rather than individual nations restricting border access.

He claimed that the decision by the three neighboring countries had been fueled by the Polish government, which is involved in a tightly contested election campaign, with Poles heading to voting booths on Oct. 15.

“The whole thing has been triggered by Poland, where an election will soon take place, and the Czech Republic has joined in,” Odor said.

Slovakia revealed last month that the number of illegal migrants detained by its authorities this year had soared nine-fold to over 27,000. The majority of detainees comprise young men from the Middle East using the Balkan migratory route through Serbia as they seek to migrate to northwestern Europe.

The winner of Sunday’s general election in Slovakia, former Prime Minister Robert Fico, has vowed to tackle the issue more robustly by promising to reintroduce border checks with neighboring Hungary.

“It will not be a pretty picture,” Fico told journalists as he threatened to use force to dispel illegal migrants detected on Slovak territory.

Tyler Durden Wed, 10/04/2023 - 02:00

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