Analysis Topic: Interest Rates and the Bond Market
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Q.E. Money Printing Negative Feed Back Loop to Hyper-Inflation Oblivion / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
USFed Chairman Bernanke and the Quantitative Easing programs are caught in a negative feedback loop, the instruments at risk being the USDollar and the USTreasury Bond. The former suffers from lost integrity and direct inflation effect. The latter suffers from direct intervention and market ruin. The next QE round is guaranteed by the failure of the previous program in an endless cycle to be recognized later this year. Leaders are confused why the recovery does not take root. It is because the entire system is insolvent, and the 0% rate assures total capital destruction, not to mention the big US banks are sacred, never to be liquidated, a primary condition for recovery. Liquidation is tantamount to abdication of power of the Purse and control of the Printing Pre$$, never to happen. The greatest hidden damage is psychological, where the USDollar and its erstwhile trusted USTreasury Bond are no longer viewed as the safe haven.
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Wednesday, March 09, 2011
U.S. Treasury Bond 10 Year Index Elliott Wave Analysis / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
The daily chart of the 10 Year US Treasury Index is shown below, with upper and lower Bollinger bands in close proximity to the current price. Full stochastics 1, 2 and 3 are shown below in order of descent, with the %K beneath the %D in all three instances. I illustrated the short-term Elliott Wave count, which clearly indicates a change of trend. This is a real trend definer, because gold does well with rising interest rates (not year over year inflation).
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Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Dallas Fed President Fisher Could Dissent if Crude Oil Prices Maintain Upward Trend / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
Dallas Fed President Fisher indicated yesterday that he would vote to scale back or discontinue the Fed's Treasury securities buying program of $600 billion at the March 15 FOMC meeting. Last week, Chairman Bernanke has indicated that only under conditions of strong sustained growth, expanding payrolls, and inflation readings that are consistent with price stability would the Fed consider terminating the program. Current economic data indicate that the Fed is not even close to meeting these targets.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2011
How to Cash in on the Next Big Trend in Bonds / Interest-Rates / International Bond Market
Martin Hutchinson writes: There have now been three successful issues by banks in Europe of a new type of investment - the contingent convertible (CoCo).
Since each CoCo issue was for several billion dollars, and European banking authorities want banks to carry a lot of their capital in this form, we should expect issues over here pretty soon. Those who know my cynical attitude towards banking innovation will be surprised to hear me say this, but actually they're a good idea for banks.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2011
How Much of QE2 Has Been Implemented? / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
A1. The Fed announced the implementation of QE2 (quantitative easing, the second round) on November 10, 2010, which involves purchases of $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities from the private sector. As of this writing, roughly $404 billion of Treasury securities have been purchased. The rest of the planned purchase of Treasury securities (33% of $600 billion) is scheduled to be completed by June 2011. Purchases of Treasury securities, as expected, have led to an increase in the size of the Fed's balance sheet (see Chart 1) to $2.5 trillion.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2011
UK Interest Rate Forecast 2011 - Conclusion and Implications - Part 2 / Interest-Rates / UK Interest Rates
This analysis continues from Part 1 Here
Bank of England Remains Paralysed By Fear of Financial Armageddon
Since August 2007 when the credit crisis first broke the Bank of England has been in near perpetual state of panic, always opting to do nothing rather than something. For instance during 2008 the Bank of England should have been cutting interest rates but instead it kept them on hold at 5% as it remained paralysed by the fear of inflation right up until the world peered over the abyss at financial armageddon.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2011
UK Interest Rate Forecast 2011, Paralysed Bank of England Still Fears Financial Armageddon / Interest-Rates / UK Interest Rates
Britain's coalition government pressed the reset button on the UK Economy during summer 2010, as it has continued to make a plethora of tax raising and spending cut economic austerity announcements over the past 9 months in an attempt to get a grip on the Labour government's legacy of an out of control annual budget deficit of over £150 billion per year that risked bankrupting Britain.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 07, 2011
What's Wrong with Government Debt / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The news abounds with arguments and even riots over so-called austerity measures. Whether in the Middle East, Europe, or even certain US states, the public is realizing just how deep a hole various governments have dug for themselves. In this article I'll outline Uncle Sam's position and then explain why it's such a problem.
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Friday, March 04, 2011
Fed Emperor Nakedly Monetizing Debt, Desperately Seeking Stability / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The Fed is monetizing debt, colloquially known as 'printing money.'
At this point you either understand this or you do not, and if not it is probably because you will not to do so. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 04, 2011
Fed and ECB - A World Apart / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) are divided by a common goal: price stability. Fed Chairman Bernanke has made it clear in his recent testimony and speeches that the Fed would react should food and commodity inflation lead to an increase in core inflation. Let's spell this out: the Fed is ready to R E A C T. We are not aware of any central bank that is proud of reacting, but rather acting preemptively to mitigate inflationary concerns; naturally, a central bank may often be forced to react, but to do so by design puts the cynical view that central bankers are too far behind the curve into a new light.
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Friday, March 04, 2011
Trading the U.S. Treasury Bond Market With Success / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
If you are an avid reader of financial articles, you will have seen many stock charts with all types of technical analysis drawn upon it. You name it, you're seen it, trend lines, moving averages, oscillators, Elliot wave counts, etc. Yet you fail to see a simple technique that assisted a young trader to make millions.
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Friday, March 04, 2011
ECB President Trichet’s Remarks Beg Questions on Eurozone Interest Rates / Interest-Rates / ECB Interest Rates
President Trichet of European Central Bank (ECB) noted at this morning's press conference that "strong vigilance is warranted with a view to containing upside risks to price stability." This statement implies that the ECB is considering tightening monetary policy in the very near term. President Trichet's hawkish stance is based on the region's inflation rate of 2.3% in January and inflation excluding food and energy was 1.2%. The all-items inflation reading exceeds the ECB's target of 2.0% and reflects a jump in energy prices. So, at the top of Trichet's to-do list is to prepare markets for a higher policy rate from the current level of 1.0%.
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Thursday, March 03, 2011
How to Profit From the Muni Bond Market Collapse and Subsequent Rebound / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
Shah Gilani writes: Hedge funds are stalking the $2.9 trillion municipal-bond market like an alley cat stalks a mouse.
In their public statements, Wall Street shills continue to dismiss warnings about "deadbeat states" - and the horrific impact that budgetary shortfalls at the state and local level are going to have on this stodgy slice of the debt market. Anyone who tries to buck this Wall Street view is ridiculed and dismissed as a financial Cassandra.
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Wednesday, March 02, 2011
A No-win Situation for the Fed / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
A situation is developing the global markets which threatens to undo the recovery of the past two years. The price spikes in fuel and especially agriculture prices is the Achilles’ heel of the recovery and may well serve as its death knell before the year is through.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Monetizing Governmental Debt AKA Money Printing or in Bernanke’s Vernacular - Quantitative Easing / Interest-Rates / Quantitative Easing
Here are some realities on Quantitive Easing:Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
China Holdings of U.S. Treasuries Revised Up An Unsustainable 30% / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
Annual revisions released Monday show that China's holding of US treasuries is 30% greater than reported just weeks ago.
I am not surprised given that persistent rumors of China dumping treasuries made little mathematical sense from a balance of trade standpoint. Instead, I suggested China was accumulating treasuries via trading desks in the UK. We now see that is precisely the case.
Monday, February 28, 2011
German Economic Growth Miracle is Not Miraculous Enough for an ECB Rate Hike / Interest-Rates / ECB Interest Rates
The case for an interest rate increase by the ECB is building. Inflation in the euro zone is creeping up, and tensions in the Middle East are adding fuel to the ‘inflation fire’ by sending oil prices higher. The biggest worry of the ECB is that, although the inflationary effects of higher oil prices are mostly temporary, it will lead to a positive wage-price spiral in Europe’s biggest economy: Germany.
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Monday, February 28, 2011
European Sovereign Debt Crisis Wake Up Call for US? / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
Andy Langenkamp writes: The American fiscal condition faces a perfect storm. The outlook for the medium term has deteriorated markedly. Some important causes are the Big Recession and the extension of the Bush tax cuts. Nor are the projections cheerful in the long term. In the coming period these issues will come to a head.
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Sunday, February 27, 2011
Ireland Crippled by Debt Votes for More of the Same / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
U.S. Treasury Bonds TLT Technical Take / Interest-Rates / US Bonds
It is my belief that we have seen the high in long term Treasury yields at least for a while, and I expressed this opinion in yesterday's article on Treasury yields. Today, I thought it would be instructive to look at the bullish technical patterns developing in the i - Shares Lehman 20 plus Year Treasury Fund (symbol: TLT).
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