Tag Archive: jobs

Risk Appetites Survive China Keeping Zero Covid Policy

Overview: Chinese officials denied plans to end the zero-Covid policy and after a brief wobble, risk assets have traded better. Asia Pacific equities rallied, led by Hong Kong and mainland stocks that trade in Hong Kong. Europe’s Stoxx 600 opened lower but recovered and is around 0.5% higher after the 1.8% gain before the weekend. US futures are firm. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly 2-4 bp softer in Europe and the US. The dollar is mixed. The...

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US Dollar Offered Ahead of the Employment Report

Overview: Risk appetites have returned but may be tested by the US jobs report. News of progress with US auditors in China helped lift Hong Kong and Chinese equities. Most of the large bourses in the region also rose. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is up a little more than 1% near midday after shedding 1.3% over the past two sessions. US futures also are trading with an upside bias. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly a little softer today. The 10-year US...

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RBA, FOMC, BOE Meetings Featured while the Greenback’s Recovery can be Extended

The week ahead is important from a macro perspective. The data highlights include China's PMI, eurozone preliminary October CPI and Q3 GDP, and the US (and Canadian) employment reports. In addition, the Federal Reserve meeting on November 2 is sandwiched between the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting and the Bank of England meeting.

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Intraday Momentum Indicators Point to a Dollar Recovery After the Employment Report

Asia Pacific bourses followed yesterday’s US loss, but after opening lower Europe’s Stoxx 600 has steadied. US futures are narrowly mixed ahead of the US jobs report. Benchmark 10-year yields are higher across the board.

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Week Ahead: Macro and Prices

The market has much to digest. The Bank of England's new purchases of Gilts coincided with a reassessment of the trajectory of Fed policy. After the hawkish FOMC decision and forecasts, the market briefly thought the terminal rate could be 5.25-5.50% in the middle of next year. However, by the end of last week, it had returned to around 4.5% at the end of Q1 23.

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Can the US Employment Report be Anti-Climactic Ahead of Long North American Weekend?

Overview:  Nothing is decisive, but the recent string of data pushes the needle a little more to a soft landing for the US economy and gave the US dollar another leg up. The risk is that some of the buying drained some of the interest that may materialize after today's US jobs report. The greenback is softer against the major currencies except the Japanese yen. The dollar is extending its rally against the yen for the sixth consecutive session and...

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The Week Ahead: Dollar Bulls Still in Charge

The poor preliminary PMI readings, the ongoing European energy crisis, and the recognized commitment of most major central banks to rein in prices through tighter financial conditions are risking a broad recession. These considerations are weighing on sentiment and shaping the investment climate. Most high-frequency data due in the days ahead will not change this, even if they pose some headline risk.  

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Dog Days

The dog days of August for the Northern Hemisphere are here and the capital markets are relatively subdued. Equities are firmer. The notable exceptions in Asia was China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has advanced for the last three weeks.

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Downside Risks to the US Employment Report?

Overview: The US dollar enjoys a firmer bias against the major currencies ahead of the July employment data. Emerging market currencies are mixed. Asian currencies are generally firm while central Europe is a bit softer. Some detect a relaxation in tensions around Taiwan, though China’s aerial harassment continues. Taiwanese shares jumped 2.25% to lead the region that saw China’s CSI 300 rally over 1%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is giving back yesterday’s...

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Macro and Prices

Next week, there are three big events:  the US jobs report, the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting, and the Bank of England's meeting. That said, the final PMI readings may be more helpful this time than we often see because of how quickly it appears activity has stalled.

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Italian Politics Complicate the ECB’s Task

The appetite for risk seen earlier this week is fading. Yesterday’s US equity gains helped lift most of the large markets in the Asia Pacific region, but China’s CSI 300 fell 1.1%, giving back most of this week’s gains as credit issues from the property sector haunt sentiment.

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FX Daily, July 8: Abe’s Assassination Shocks the World

News that former Prime Minister Abe was assassinated while campaigning in Japan ahead of the weekend election shocked the nation and world. The immediate market impact looks minimal. Asia Pacific equities mostly advanced.

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What Happened Today in a Few Bullet Points

1. The most important thing to appreciate is that the market has moved to price not one but two cuts next year.  The first is priced into the September Fed funds futures and the second is in the Dec Fed funds futures. 

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Macro and Prices

(Combining the weekend macro commentary and price action review in one note.  Check out the July monthly.) Three economic reports highlight the week ahead:  Japan's labor cash earnings at the start of the week and the US employment report and China's CPI at the end of the week.

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Moderating Labor Market is what the Fed Wants

Overview: For the large rally in US stocks yesterday and the sell-off in the dollar, US rates were surprisingly little changed. This set the tone for today's action, ahead of the US employment data. Asia Pacific equities moved higher and Europe’s Stoxx 600 has edged up to extend yesterday’s rise. The 10-year US Treasury yield is little changed, hovering around 2.91%. European benchmark yields are 1-3 bp higher.

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Monetary Metals is Hiring an Associate Account Manager

Monetary Metals is growing, and we’re looking for our next key hire: Associate Account Manager. We’re giving an ounce of gold to whoever refers the successful candidate.

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US Jobs, EMU CPI, Japan’s Tankan, and China’s PMI Highlight the Week Ahead

This year was supposed to be about the easing of the pandemic and the normalization of policy. Instead, Russia's invasion of Ukraine threw a wrench in the macroeconomic forecasts as St. Peter’s victories broke the brackets of the NCAA basketball championship pools.

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For The Fed, None Of These Details Will Matter

Most people have the impression that these various payroll and employment reports just go into the raw data and count up the number of payrolls and how many Americans are employed. Perhaps the BLS taps the IRS database as fellow feds, or ADP as a private company in the same data business of employment just tallies how many payrolls it processes as the largest provider of back-office labor services.That’s just not how it works, though. In fact,...

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Capital and Commodity Markets Strain

Overview:  The capital and commodity markets are becoming less orderly.  The scramble for dollars is pressuring the cross-currency basis swaps.  Volatility is racing higher in bond and stock markets.  The industrial metals and other supplies, and foodstuffs that Russia and Ukraine are important providers have skyrocketed.  Large Asia Pacific equity markets, including Japan, Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan fell by 1%-2%, while South Korea, Australia,...

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The Greenback Finds Traction ahead of the Jobs Report

Overview:  The Omicron variant has been detected in more countries, but the capital markets are taking it in stride.  Risk appetites appear to be stabilizing.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose for the third consecutive session, though Hong Kong and Taiwan markets did not participate in the advance today.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is struggling to hold on to early gains, while US futures are narrowly mixed.  The US 10-year yield is a little near 1.43%,...

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