March, 2010
[mak-roh][proo-den-shuhl]
First find the buzzword. Then find the meaning.
From the Bank of International Settlements: nine pages on the origins and meaning of the term “macro-prudential.” Number of times the term has already appeared on the BIS website:
Kohn departs from Federal Reserve
Spotted on Monday — a dove leaving the Federal Reserve.
No, not that kind of dove.
The other, deflationary-leaning, kind.
Donald Kohn has told the Federal Reserve he intends to resign from the Board of Governors,
The not entirely unexpected Germano-Greek inquisition
Speculators, beware.
From Reuters on Monday:
Germany’s financial watchdog has taken steps to identify speculators in Greek debt to ensure they do not benefit unduly from any rescue of Greece, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The Pru and the Great British Peseta
Nick Beecroft, Senior FX Consultant at Saxo Bank, comments on sterling’s collapse:
Monday morning we have witnessed what can justifiably called the beginnings of Sterling’s collapse. So long as the markets could harbour some hope that the next government,
China coal *alert*
Chinese coal prices.
We don’t know too much about them, but we understand it’s probably a good time to learn. As Bloomberg reported on Monday:
March 1 (Bloomberg) — Coal prices at Qinhuangdao, a benchmark in China,
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Monday morning,
- The Great British Peso.
- That mysterious counterpart N.
- An HSBC hiccup.
- Chilean copper post-quake.
- The illusory China-selling TIC data.
- The HSBC of the insurance world.
GBP under attack
Presenting GBP versus the dollar on March 1, 2010:
The FTSE in dollar terms anyone?
And a historical comparative, today:
Versus 1992:
Related link:
The Great British Peso –
More on that mysterious counterpart N
Financial scandal? Threats to an Italian academic’s life? Secret eurozone bailout plans? Goldman Sachs?
Zero Hedge has discovered Gustavo Piga’s 2001 paper on “Derivatives and public debt management”
Markets Live transcript 1 Mar 2010
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:17 on 1 Mar 2010. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT Bryce Elder NHhola NHand welcome to Markets Live
The Great British Peso
Forex markets have never been tolerant of emerging market economies running amok.
Keep that in mind when looking at the latest price action in the Great British Pound, Krona, Peso, which is continuing to get bashed (again) on Monday.
HSBC hiccup
Four down, one to go.
The bank reporting season rolls on with annual results from HSBC.
And…
The trigger for that decline is a miss at the headline level, due to weak performance of HSBC’s insurance business – claims are much higher than expected at $12.5bn versus $6.9bn in 2008- and a loss on its own debt of $3.3bn.
‘Some useful things I’ve learned about Germany’s hyperinflation’
That’s from Dylan Grice — über-bear Albert Edwards’ sidekick at Societe Generale.
He’s done a review of inflation during the Weimar Republic inflation in his latest `Popular Delusions’ note. Prussian central banker Rudolf von Havenstein developed a habit of monetising Germany’s debt during the First World War,
Chile’s quake: perceptions cloud reality
Amid reports of looting, chaos and soaring copper prices, perceptions are already magnifying the reality of the fall-out from Chile’s massive earthquake.
Devastating as it was, with the death toll surpassing 700 by Sunday night,
The illusory China-selling TIC data
This is it — the illusion of China (net) selling US Treasuries:
From Standard Chartered:
Treasury market and China-watchers both will remember that the latest round of TIC data caused something of a stir in markets last month — with some commentators latching onto the data set as evidence of China beginning to exit from its dollar holdings.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Monday,
- What’s the risk-free rate anyway?
- Why size doesn’t matter — at least, not for systemic risk.
- Montier’s 10 lessons not learnt.
- “Vampire calamari offspring will still suck your face off…”
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Monday’s FT,
Tony Jackson: Ageing baby boomers are the problem
This is not the best of times, you might think, to start a career as a fund manager. Everything looks dodgy – bonds,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- Prudential requests temporary suspension of its shares, confirms AIA talks – statement.
- Resolution says not in talks to buy Prudential’s UK business – statement.