Glitches in the Global Matrix ?
Housing Starts, Permits Miss; Demand For Rental Units Continues Slide
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/18/2013 - 08:54
That today's housing starts and permits data disappointed once again (in the case of starts this was the 5th miss in a row) is not surprising: with Starts printing at 891K, this was a miss to "expectations" of 917K, as analyst expectations for the "recovery" begin to be repriced in the face of rising rates. There was of course spin: the prior month was revised from 896K to 883K so the mainstream media could at least present the disappointing number as an increase. This was also the biggest 5 month drop in starts since February 2011. Furthermore, when looking at the internals one thing is obvious - the main driver of the non-existent housing recovery: Wall Street (and foreign)-based, REO-to-Rent subsidized investors in rental properties are finally leaving the scene, as demand for multi-family, aka rental units, dropped from 278K annualized to 252K, a far cry from the recent highs of 356K in March and back to a level first crossed (to the upside) back in September of 2012. This is a confirmation that absent a renewed plunge in rates, the downtrend in housing units is here to stay as the marginal dollar is quickly leaving.
CFTC Seeks Admission Of Market Manipulation From JPM; Jamie Balks
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/18/2013 - 08:27
Even as JPMorgan seems set to put its London Whale troubles behind it with a nearly $1 billion imminent settlement, while at the same time throwing two mid-level traders at NY prosecutors and washing its hands of the whole tempest in a teapot affair, a curious snag has appeared. The CFTC, which in the past has never had a problem with promptly settling any market manipulation abuse with any bank in exchange for a small cash-greased slap on the hand, is suddenly a sticking point in JPM's ability to just walk away from the biggest prop trading Snafu in history. As WSJ reports, "the CFTC is focusing on the bank's increasingly aggressive trades made over several months early last year, when it added tens of billions of dollars to its derivatives positions—contracts tied to investment-grade corporate bonds, these people say. The CFTC is likely to use new powers granted by the Dodd-Frank law that allow it to charge firms for recklessly manipulating markets, say people familiar with the agency's thinking."Spanish Bad Loans Surge To New Record High
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/18/2013 - 08:22
Spanish bad loans rose for the fourth month in a row, surging to a new all-time high at 11.97% of total loans outstanding. With the total loans outstanding falling (as credit demand collapses in Spain's supposed 'recovery') and delinquent loans rising, the picture is set to to get worse - even as the Bank of Spain's rescue plan for real estate market is under way. Crucially though, as the chart below suggests, the spread of Spanish sovereign debt - which by now is so symbiotically-linked with the domestic financial system as to be almost inseparable - has collapsed on the back of OMT promises. Our question is - at what point does the marginal buyer of Spanish sovereign debt (i.e. Spanish banks) run out of 'cover' to soak up Spain's supply and force Draghi's hand -exposing the fallacy that OMT is
?
Jefferies' Epic Plunge In Bond Trading Revenues Shows Not All Is Well
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/18/2013 - 07:53
The chart below summarizes what can only be described as an epic collapse in Jefferies' fixed-income trading revenue, which imploded by an unprecedented 88% Y/Y, and 84.5% from later quarter, to $33.1 million - the lowest since the same quarter in 2011 when the European collapse dragged everyone down, and sent Jefferies stock into the single digits over concerns about its European exposure, forcing Dick Handler to release a CUSIP by CUSIP disclosure of its European holdings.Canadian Billionaire Predicts The End Of The Dollar As Reserve Currency; Warns "It's Likely To Get Ugly"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/17/2013 - 22:22
Beginning with how Kissinger and Nixon enabled the USD as the world's de facto reserve currency through oil, Canadian Billionaire Ned Goodman explains in the brief but far-reaching clip how it is both inevitable (and rapidly approaching) that the rest of the world will turn its back on the dollar. With China and Russia (among many others that we have detailed in the past) agreeing on non-USD swap terms for energy, the cracks are starting to show and as Goodman details, "in the 1930s, everyone wanted USD (backed by silver)," but today, backed by nothing, "everyone wants to get rid of them." Buying hard assets is crucial (he has never been more bullish of gold) as we head into a period of stagflation or even high inflation; and as Goodman previously commented "the world is totally upside down right now - it's completely crazy," in fact, he adds, "I'm keen on anything that's going to live with higher inflationary numbers, becauseI can't see the world getting out of the problems that it's in."Don't Catch The Liquidity-Impacted EM Falling Knife (Yet)
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/17/2013 - 20:11
The Euro area is no longer the centre of all the stress... EM countries are! Despite their significant correction in recent months, SocGen notes that valuations remain far more extreme (or cheap) and outflows are dominating (despite a 24% discount on a price-to-book basis across EM stocks, they reain rich historically). Significant structural issues like balance of payments, deficit or inflation may lead to further turmoil in emerging markets, potentially destabilising the underlying economies. Simply put, SocGen warns, valuations have further to fall; do not catch the falling knife (yet).
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