Which Way Will The Fed Blow?

Let’s see if I have this straight. For the past dozen years or so, dating back to the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve and other major central banks have been trying to raise inflation and thereby generate economic growth. (I’ve never quite understood that thinking; I always thought economic growth generated inflation, not the other way around. But that’s just me.)

So now it finally appears that inflation is about to rear its head, or so the bond market thinks, on the prospects of a nascent economic boom fueled by pent-up demand, fiscal stimulus, a decline in Covid-19 cases, and a vast rollout of vaccines. And what is the market’s reaction? Total panic. Sell bonds and tech stocks that have soared during the pandemic. And beg Jerome Powell and the Fed to save them from losses once again.

Let’s see which Powell responds—the one who has told us over and over again that the Fed will be “patient” and be pleased to let inflation run hotter and longer if it means boosting the employment market; or the one who repeatedly rides to the rescue whenever investors start to lose money and beg for relief.

On the surface, it should be the first one. Over the past month or so, bond yields have risen sharply on fears of rising inflation. Rather than a cause for worry, this should please Powell and the rest of the Fed. After all, they’ve been preaching for months that this is what they want, so this should come as no surprise to anyone. Plus, it’s a good thing – rising rates signal economic growth. Yet, the market’s reaction is shock and dismay. Continue reading "Which Way Will The Fed Blow?"

Why Inflation?

The simple answer is that is what they are doing, inflating.

The slightly less simple answer is that they inflated in 2001 and it worked (for gold, silver, commodities and eventually stocks, roughly in that order). It also worked in 2008-2009 (for gold, silver, commodities and eventually stocks, roughly in that order).

The more complicated answer is that we are down a rabbit hole of debt and the hole appears bottomless. What’s a few more trillion on top of un-payable trillions? As long as confidence remains intact in our monetary and fiscal authorities – and COVID-19 or no COVID-19, stock mini-crash or not, confidence to my eye is intact, speaking of my country, anyway – they will inflate, and what’s more, they will be called upon to inflate.

Confidence may be failing in other parts of the world but the average American is behind this thing they don’t even really understand, known as the Fed. The average American expects the bailout checks from the fiscally reflating government too. Angst, of which there has been plenty lately, is much different from lack of confidence.

I can’t include here all the ways and means the Fed has (frankly, I don’t know about them all) to prop the system, but if you go to the St. Louis Fed website you will find a whole slew of Keynesian egghead stuff. They are on it! Continue reading "Why Inflation?"

The Yield Curve Steepens - Deflation To Inflation

This morning the 10/2yield curve is again steepening and that is the headliner and one of my two most important indicators (the 30-year yield Continuum being the other). But I thought I’d dust off a bunch of existing charts from my chart lists that tell their stories as indicated by the bond market to go along with said yield curve. But let’s begin with the headliner.

Is this just another bump as in 2016 (2nd chart) or is it a real steepener like 2007 (3rd chart)? After all that post-Op/Twist manipulated economic booming it is due, I can say that much.

yield curveyield curveyield curveyield curve

Everybody has the memo. Deflationary destruction it is! The yield curve (bottom) can steepen under either deflation or inflation. Right now it’s deflation hysteria… Continue reading "The Yield Curve Steepens - Deflation To Inflation"

You Have To Invite The Vampire Into Your House

A vampire needs to be invited in order to enter your house. So the story goes. But in this case, we are talking about the Macro house, with its nexus in the USA and its Central Bank.

You see, the Federal Reserve inflates money supplies as a matter of doing business, which is why I noted so strenuously in Q4 2018 that Jerome Powell’s then-hawkish stance in the face of a declining stock market made perfect sense… because the 30 year Treasury bond was not bullish; it was bearish and getting more so under the pressure of rising inflation expectations.

But now as we noted the other day the inflated Sub is losing pressure. As we noted before that Goldilocks is being threatened. Here are the updated ‘inflation gauges’ from that post, continuing to lose pressure.

Q4 2018

But in Q4 the Fed had a threat if its own to deal with as the repercussions of its previous inflationary operations could be exposed to the light of day by the breakout through the Continuum’s limiter if it were not arrested promptly. The orange arrow on the chart below shows the point of concern for the Fed. Continue reading "You Have To Invite The Vampire Into Your House"

The Inflated Sub Is Losing Pressure

The charts are super interesting to look at. How quickly things turn, as if on a dime.

tnx

2018 featured a break above the Continuum’s limiter and folks, you and I were not the only ones who saw that and uttered “ruh roh!”; the Fed was well aware of the inflationary implication. Continue reading "The Inflated Sub Is Losing Pressure"