NDD talks about the oil choke collar and I explain the rupees recent drop.
Thursday, 10 October 2013
- by New Deal democrat
Regardless of your politics, you should care very much not just whether or not we actually fail to increase the debt ceiling, but that we are having the debate at all. Because simply having this debate is probably going to cost the US $billions, for years to come. Here's why.
Suppose you are a bond investor. You invest in sovereign bonds of country X. Country X has always paid its debts, so its bonds do not carry a risk premium. They are viewed as the equivalent as carrying around cash - but cash that pays interest.
Country X does have a quirk in its laws. Every now and then, on an irregular schedule, its legislature has to vote on whether or not to continue to pay it debts in timely fashion and in full, or to be a deadbeat. The question that the legislature votes on is, "Should we welch on some of our already existing debts? (a) Yes, (b) No."
For 100 years the legislature has always voted "no." Most often, the vote was pro forma. Sometimes, one or another faction made a show of disapproving of the debt level at which the country was operating, and so delayed the vote (but not the payments) for a few days, but after the brief dog and pony show, the vote was always the same: "no."
Twenty years ago, for the first time, there was a real donnybrook about what should be in country X's budget. The government actually closed down for about three weeks. And for the first time, there was talk of voting "yes" unless changes were made in the budget of country X.
As an investor in country X's bonds, you no doubt shrugged off this episode. It was a particularly nasty partisan show, but nobody seriously believed that country X was about to welch on some of the payments owed to you. It was a classic "one-off," you thought, and that was that.
But then, two years ago, one political faction in country X seriously suggested that country X should welch on some of its debts unless fiscal policies it wanted were implemented. A second big political faction in country X negotiated with them about that issue. For a brief while, it looked possible that the legislature might actually vote "yes" on that quirky question about welching on some debts. Ultimately, the political faction which suggested welching on some debts got some of what it wanted.
Now, only two years later, there is a repeat of the same fight, except now, it is even more serious. One political faction has indicated unequivocally that voting "yes" on that quirky question is a valid way of achieving fiscal leverage. This view appears strategically correct in the political sense, because last time the other political faction engaged in negotiations to alleviate the threat. Some members of the legislature have written newspaper or magazine articles, or given video interviews, indicating that welching on some debts to some creditors is really OK. Others have shown that they really have no clue about how your market operates, because they believe that if they are paying interest, even though they are missing principal payments, country X really isn't welching on its debts.
Let's assume that country X's legislature ultimately votes "no" on that quirky law again.
Do you, as a sovereign bond investor, continue to treat country X's bonds as cash, worthy of no risk premium?
The answer to that, I believe, is no, you don't. Threats to welch on country X's debt are no longer for show, and the serious threat to do so is no longer a one-off which will not repeat. In fact, it's quite clear that a dynamic has been put in place whereby a faction in country X can and will seriously consider voting "yes" on that quirky question unless it gets its way on unrelated issues. The legislature is increasing the frequency of when the vote on the quirkly law must happen, and the partisan battles over the quirky question are becoming more intense, more protracted, and the brinksmanship is increasing each time. Now you have even seen a significant share of the legislature declare that it is OK to stiff some of country X's creditors. Maybe you.
In short, the battles over welching on country X's debt are becoming more frequent and each time country X gets closer to actually welching. It appears that it is only a matter of time - and maybe not long at all - until country X actually welches on some payments of some debt.
So, you now want a risk premium, even though country X still has never missed even a single payment of interest or principal.
Turning now to the actual US situation, if the debt ceiling impasse is only put off a short time, like a few months, the dynamic of moving closer and closer to actual default is accelerating. It seems pretty clear that the rational investor will begin to insist that US bonds actually be assessed a risk premium. Even though the debt ceiling has never caused an actual default. That in itself ought to be a pretty sobering thought.
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
From the FT:
Investors such as Fidelity and other money funds are already voting with their feet. Yields for bills that mature in October and November have risen above 30 basis points – a level not seen since late 2008, when the Federal Reserve adopted a zero interest rate policy during the depths of the financial crisis.
.....
CDS on US government debt has doubled in the past month and trading volumes have jumped as a growing number of investors have bought the instruments, seeking protection against a potential default or making bets on subtle movements in the derivatives.
If someone is telling you there won't be an impact, they're wrong as one already exists.
Investors such as Fidelity and other money funds are already voting with their feet. Yields for bills that mature in October and November have risen above 30 basis points – a level not seen since late 2008, when the Federal Reserve adopted a zero interest rate policy during the depths of the financial crisis.
.....
CDS on US government debt has doubled in the past month and trading volumes have jumped as a growing number of investors have bought the instruments, seeking protection against a potential default or making bets on subtle movements in the derivatives.
If someone is telling you there won't be an impact, they're wrong as one already exists.
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
The chart above is from Dr. Eds blog and shows that total federal spending has been flat for the last few years while federal receipts are increasing. This means the deficit is also decreasing.
Over at the Armo trader we see the following point about the SPY chart:
Below is a weekly chart of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. As you see, over the past few years, the market has been on a tear with only really one correction along the way. There have been a few pullbacks and each pullback has been a buying opportunity. This year, the market has had another nice run, but over the past few months, each new high has only been marginally higher. While this is not utterly bearish, this is also not the most bullish sign. As you see, there has been a negative divergence in the RSI (the pink line on the bottom). Each new high in the market has registered a lower RSI reading.
But what I’m watching the most is the trendline that has been established and held a few times over the past year. If this breaks, we could see some technical selling, triggering a 5-10% market sell-off down to around the 50 week moving average. The “QE3 top” might be formed.
Just to refresh your memory, here is the chart he's referring to:
He's noticed a declining RSI; yesterday I highlighted the weakening MACD and CMF readings as well. I also noted that on the daily chart, we're seeing a move from an upward move to sideways consolidation.
I think the proper way to think about it is the Washington situation may be the eventual trigger that causes the sell-off.
Below is a weekly chart of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. As you see, over the past few years, the market has been on a tear with only really one correction along the way. There have been a few pullbacks and each pullback has been a buying opportunity. This year, the market has had another nice run, but over the past few months, each new high has only been marginally higher. While this is not utterly bearish, this is also not the most bullish sign. As you see, there has been a negative divergence in the RSI (the pink line on the bottom). Each new high in the market has registered a lower RSI reading.
But what I’m watching the most is the trendline that has been established and held a few times over the past year. If this breaks, we could see some technical selling, triggering a 5-10% market sell-off down to around the 50 week moving average. The “QE3 top” might be formed.
Just to refresh your memory, here is the chart he's referring to:
He's noticed a declining RSI; yesterday I highlighted the weakening MACD and CMF readings as well. I also noted that on the daily chart, we're seeing a move from an upward move to sideways consolidation.
I think the proper way to think about it is the Washington situation may be the eventual trigger that causes the sell-off.
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