Under the Influence
“This feels very sustainable.”
– Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, October 8, 2019
Understandable confusion… [PT]
Respectable and Not so Respectable Assets
The price of gold went up 8 bucks, and the price of silver went up a penny last week. These were not among the capital assets that could be liquidated for greater quantities of consumer goods last week. Nor were equities.
A respectable, mother-in-law-proof speculation: the 10-year US treasury note. [PT]
21st Century Hooverville
There are places in Los Angeles where, although the sun always shines, they haven’t seen a ray of light in over 100-years. There’s a half square mile of urban decay centered on the Union Rescue Mission at 545 South San Pedro Street, where depravity, chaos, addiction, insanity and archaic diseases multiply and ricochet about like metastatic cancer.
One of LA’s modern-day Hoovervilles in San Pedro Street… In 2015 it was reported that Union Rescue Mission CEO Reverend Andy Bales had caught three different bacterial infections from merely walking around in the area. One of the infections rendered him unable to ever walk again (doctors eventually had to amputate his foot, which had fallen prey to flesh-eating bacteria). In short, this is not exactly the most hygienic and healthy environment. [PT]
Photo credit: Mike Blake / REUTERS
Chaos in Overnight Funding Markets
Most of our readers are probably aware that there were recently quite large spikes in repo rates. The events were inter alia chronicled at Zerohedge here and here. The issue is fairly complex, as there are many different drivers at play, but we will try to provide a brief explanation.
There have been two spikes in the overnight general collateral rate – one at the end of 2018, which was a first warning shot, and the one of last week, which was the biggest such spike on record, exceeding even that seen in the 2008 crisis.
An Accident in Waiting
The price of gold dropped $20, and silver 43 cents. For reference, $20 was once worth just about an ounce of gold. Dollar was a unit of measure, a weight of gold equal to 1/20.67 ounce of fine gold.
A gold certificate from the time when the dollar still represented a fixed weight of gold [PT]
Groping in the Dark
This week central planners pursued their primary mission with steadfast conviction. They planned. They prodded. They prearranged tomorrow to save us from ourselves. Some also grubbed a little graft for their trouble. Other central planners took to debasing the dollar to price fix the federal funds rate within a narrow band of tolerance. What in the world do they think they are doing?
Central planning committee in the analysis and forecasting phase… [PT]
Liquidity Shortage
Last week the price of gold rose $28, and silver $0.53. But the prices of the metals was not the big news last week. The price of repo — a repurchase agreement, to sell and repurchase a treasuries — skyrocketed. Banks were thirsty for liquidity, and only cash can quench it.
Last week’s “oops” moment in repo land as the overnight general collateral rate briefly soared to 10% (we will soon publish a detailed summary of the sequence of events that has led to this hicc-up). [PT]
An Odd Combination of Serenity and Panic
The United States, with untroubled ease, continued its approach toward catastrophe this week. The Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate 25 basis points, thus furthering its program of mass money debasement. Yet, on the surface, all still remained in the superlative.
S&P 500 Index, weekly: serenely perched near all time highs, in permanently high plateau nirvana. [PT]
Inflation and “Price Stability”
We still remember when sometime in the mid 1980s, the German Bundesbank proudly pointed to the fact that Germany’s y/y consumer price inflation rate had declined to zero. It was considered a “mission accomplished” moment. No-one mentioned that economic nirvana would remain out of sight unless price inflation was pushed to 2% per year.
CPI, annual rate of change. During the “stagflation” period of the 1970s, Congress enacted the Federal Reserve Reform Act and the Humphrey-Hawkins Act, which specified a list of miracles the Fed was supposed to perform.
The Negative Interest Rates Abomination
Our readers are probably aware that assorted central bankers and the economic advisors orbiting them occasionally mention the “natural interest rate” (a.k.a. “originary interest rate”) in speeches and papers. It is generally assumed that it has declined, which is to say, time preferences are assumed to have decreased.
This is actually an understatement…
How to Hang on to Greenland
Jim Bianco, head of the eponymous research firm, handily won the internet last Thursday with the following tweet:
Big Moves in Silver
Last week, the prices of the metals fell further, with gold -$18 and silver -$0.73. On May 28, the price of silver hit its nadir, of $14.30. From the last three days of May through Sep 4, the price rose to $19.65. This was a gain of $5.35, or +37%. Congratulations to everyone who bought silver on May 28 and who sold it on September 4.
The recent move in silver [PT]
Most read in the last 20 days:
Repo Quake – A Primer
Chaos in Overnight Funding Markets Most of our readers are probably aware that there were recently quite large spikes in repo rates. The events were inter alia chronicled at Zerohedge here and here. The issue is fairly complex, as there are many different drivers at play, but we will try to provide a brief explanation. There have been two spikes in the overnight general collateral rate – one at the end of 2018, which was a first warning shot, and the one of last week,...
Curious Events in Risk-Free Collateral-Land - Precious Metals Supply and Demand
Liquidity Shortage Last week the price of gold rose $28, and silver $0.53. But the prices of the metals was not the big news last week. The price of repo — a repurchase agreement, to sell and repurchase a treasuries — skyrocketed. Banks were thirsty for liquidity, and only cash can quench it. Last week's “oops” moment in repo land as the overnight general collateral rate briefly soared to 10% (we will soon publish a detailed summary of the sequence of events that...
The Inexorable Final Collapse
Groping in the Dark This week central planners pursued their primary mission with steadfast conviction. They planned. They prodded. They prearranged tomorrow to save us from ourselves. Some also grubbed a little graft for their trouble. Other central planners took to debasing the dollar to price fix the federal funds rate within a narrow band of tolerance. What in the world do they think they are doing? Central planning committee in the analysis and forecasting phase......
Elizabeth Warren’s Plans to MAGA
21st Century Hooverville There are places in Los Angeles where, although the sun always shines, they haven’t seen a ray of light in over 100-years. There’s a half square mile of urban decay centered on the Union Rescue Mission at 545 South San Pedro Street, where depravity, chaos, addiction, insanity and archaic diseases multiply and ricochet about like metastatic cancer. One of LA's modern-day Hoovervilles in San Pedro Street... In 2015 it was reported that Union...
The System Scrapes By - Precious Metals Supply and Demand
An Accident in Waiting The price of gold dropped $20, and silver 43 cents. For reference, $20 was once worth just about an ounce of gold. Dollar was a unit of measure, a weight of gold equal to 1/20.67 ounce of fine gold. A gold certificate from the time when the dollar still represented a fixed weight of gold [PT] Today, it is an irredeemable currency, defined not as a unit of weight but as a unit of central bank liability which is backed by government debt,...
Zugzwang - Precious Metals Supply and Demand
Respectable and Not so Respectable Assets The price of gold went up 8 bucks, and the price of silver went up a penny last week. These were not among the capital assets that could be liquidated for greater quantities of consumer goods last week. Nor were equities. A respectable, mother-in-law-proof speculation: the 10-year US treasury note. [PT] However, the consumer goods stockpile stored in treasury bonds (to extend our half sarcastic, half tongue-in-cheek...
Fed Chair Powell’s Inescapable Contradiction
Under the Influence “This feels very sustainable.” – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, October 8, 2019 Understandable confusion... [PT] Conflict and contradiction. These were two of the main themes reverberating around the world of centralized monetary planning this week. On Tuesday, for instance, a novel and contradictory central banker parlance – “reserve management purposes” – was birthed into existence by Fed Chair Jay...
Austrian Theory and Investment
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