Monday Macros
Equities Mild Risk On...Treasuries Off as Powell Speech Awaited..Quiet Week
Equities are showing a mild risk on approach as we start the week... Europe is better and Asia had their best up day in three weeks...Chinese " Common Prosperity" was the latest headline as the Chinese Regulators halt 42 IPO's and start investigating a major law firm and brokerage firm... But all the Chinese Indices were up 1-2% as many think that Xi will back off. We are not sure... But this week is about the Fed...
We no longer think the Powell speech will be controversial on Friday... While we thought this would be an opportune time for the Fed to outline tapering in the Powell speech, we are now backtracking... With the speech virtual, probably from the Eccles Building, the importance of the speech is diminished... In fact, if we read it correctly, the venue at Jackson Hole is now cancelled and the full JH symposium is now virtual... With the next unemployment number 11 days away... And the next choice of Fed Chair announcement likely to be 2 weeks away, there is no way Powell is going to out on his skis to make this speech controversial... So expect tapering to be given lip service only... Nothing major... Best strategy for Friday is call your country club and set up a golf game for Friday afternoon... No new ground will be broken
Powell... With Janet Yellen's endorsement of Powell on Saturday, we think the odds of a reconfirmation of Powell has gone from 1 in 4 to 3 in 4... There is no reason that Yellen would endorse someone and then see the WH change its mind... Which is another reason Powell will not be controversial... Also some are pointing out that Kaplan, the uber hawk, blinked on Friday when he said his mind might change if the Delta variant starts to show up in economic performance... So far we do not see it more than just in supply chains.
Treasuries are off marginally today... But with tapering talk expected to be pushed out to at least the next employment number and next Fed meeting, treasuries are mildly selling off mildly this morning... 200 day moving average remains support at 1.315.. Resistance has been a rock at 1.22... There was a window, where the 10 year could have broken resistance and got to challenge 1,, but that window is now closed until at least 9/3. Corporates have gone into hibernation, as they normally do the last two weeks of summer... Only 7.7 billion last week, half of the 15 we were looking for and this week we see some predictions of zero to 5 billion.. We have seen some widening of OAS spreads last week, but the indices we follow, CDX HY, remains in the 280-300 range after challenging the wides ... Currently at 290
Delta and the economy... The catalyst for the big risk off move in the last 2 week was the massive drop in sentiment of the Michigan numbers... We were waiting to see if those numbers were confirmed in the BB survey... Fortunately, the BB US Consumer Comfort Indicator survey rose. These two surveys usually move in sync, but not this time... So while the Variant is real and hospitals are full in many parts of the country, economic commerce continues on...but we agree with Kaplan, that if the economic numbers and trends start to change, an equity correction could happen quickly... We do not see it yet and the numbers coming out of Macy, Target, Walmart, all show improving activity.
Michael Bury, the Big Short, has been in the press recently from his high profile short of Kathy Woods "ARK" funds... So far he seems to be right as ARK ETFs have seen cumulative ETF outflows rise to -35%... But what is not as publicized is his large amount of put buying he has done in the treasury ETF space. Bury is adding to a wager that long term treasuries will fall... He holds 280 million of puts on the Ishares 20 year ETF.. This is an increase from 172 mm he held at the end of June.
Longer term outlook... Many of the street houses still see 1.60 10 years... Citi remains stubborn at 2%... Inflation is real and not transitory, at least not in our definition... Summers said over the weekend, "things take longer to happen than you would normally anticipate, but when they do eventually happen the consequences are worse than you predicted and are quicker".. This was in reference to inflation.
This week should be quiet... We no longer expect a major market moving speech from Powell... There makes no sense before he has the employment number... And with Yellen's endorsement, Powell has no personal incentive to rock the boat before Biden makes the decision of the next Fed chair in two weeks...so expect the proverbial can to be kicked down the road... And if treasuries start to push to higher yields, we have 1.36 and 1.42 to watch... liquidity will be August poor... So anything could happen.