Research & News
Daily Comment (September 7, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] Financial markets are quiet again this morning, with the focus mostly on policy. The ECB meets on Thursday. Although there is a need for the bank to have a wider range of bonds to buy to maintain QE, the Germans are uncomfortable with easing the rules… Read More »
Daily Comment (September 6, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] Well, it’s time to say goodbye to the summer. Our reflections on the long weekend’s news: The lead article in Sunday’s NYT was all about climate change and coastal flooding. The report documented rising sea waters affecting numerous communities along the Atlantic Seaboard, although there were… Read More »
Asset Allocation Weekly (September 2, 2016)
by Asset Allocation Committee At the recent Kansas City FRB’s gathering at Jackson Hole, the tone from policymakers turned surprisingly hawkish. Vice Chair Stanley Fischer was quoted as saying that two rates hikes are possible this year and the upcoming FOMC meeting in September could generate a rate hike if the payroll numbers are on trend. … Read More »
Daily Comment (September 2, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] Happy labor data day…just before Labor Day weekend! We will spend much of this report going over the data but we want to make a couple of comments about yesterday’s ISM manufacturing data. The report came in unusually weak, at 49.4 compared to expectations of 52.0. … Read More »
Daily Comment (September 1, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] It’s global manufacturing PMI day (see Foreign Economic News section for full data table). China’s official PMI came in better than expected, crossing into expansionary territory with a reading above 50. At the same time, China’s Caixin PMI reading came in slightly below expectations but remained… Read More »
Daily Comment (August 31, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] Talks of a Fed hike in September are intensifying as we approach the FOMC meeting on September 20-21 and markets look to the release of the employment report as an important indication of the possible policy rate path. Treasuries have sold off in August; the 10-year… Read More »
Daily Comment (August 30, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer gave an interview on Bloomberg TV this morning indicating that although a September rate hike is data-dependent, the likelihood of a move has increased. This comes after Fischer’s interview last week, which was also generally considered hawkish. Following the two Fischer… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – What’s Putin up to? (August 29, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady Over the past few months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been unusually active on multiple fronts. He has expanded his military operations in the Middle East in support of Syrian President Assad, boosted troop strength on the Ukrainian border and conducted a major purge and restructuring of the Russian government. He has also… Read More »
Daily Comment (August 29, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] The long anticipated Jackson Hole conference came and went. Chair Yellen’s speech was initially taken as dovish, but comments from Vice Chair Fischer sent financial and commodity markets into a significant reversal when he indicated that two hikes may be possible this year. We see the… Read More »
Daily Comment (August 26, 2016)
by Bill O’Grady and Kaisa Stucke [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] Market movement this morning is eerily quiet. The change in currencies is small, energy is roughly unchanged as are Treasuries. The lack of activity in front of Yellen’s remarks (which formally begin at 10:00 EDT) suggests that (a) the markets are mostly “squared” in front of… Read More »