Week-in-Review: Mon: China cuts RRR 100bps (largest cut since 2008), China property developer Kaisa defaults, Kuroda “underlying trend of inflation has improved markedly,” NZ CPI +0.1% yoy, German PPI -1.7% yoy (20th mthly decline), France central banker Noyer “Greek banks could soon run out of ELA collateral,” UK home prices +4.7% yoy, S&P +0.9%; Tue: China’s Tianwei Group defaults, Korean PM offers to resign ov

Hope all goes well… “Jackson dumped Bella,” said my 5yr old to his best friend. “What’s dumped mean?” asked Pierce. “I dunno,” admitted Charlie, embarrassed. “Well it sounds like something you’d do in a pool,” said Pierce. “Pretty sure you can do it anywhere,” replied Charlie, regretting he ever brought it up, turning to me for help, “Daddy, tell Pierce what dumped means.” And the first thing that came to mind was Ch

“There is no Plan-B,” stated Moscovici. Which is in fact Plan-A. Because the only way to maintain Europe’s political construct, despite deep structural flaws and self-inflicted economic handicaps, is by denying member states an exit. Which itself is a flaw. You see, there’s always an exit. From anything. Everything. Though it may not be pretty. Lagarde denied the Greeks a grace period in repaying its IMF debts, tactf

“What is trading about?” asked Yoda, high in the Rockies. “It is not about figuring out market direction,” continued the market’s biggest S&P 500 local. “Trading is about breaking things down. A market moves up or down. Are you comfortable fading that direction, or are you not? Hmmm? Has the market rallied on good news, or the opposite? Was there big volume? Do correlations support the move? Are they changing?” Y

“But in fact, Chase is so good at everything he does that sometimes it can be rather annoying,” said Ryan, laughing, blushing, betraying deep admiration for his teammate. Speaking more to himself, than to our clients; providing a genuine glimpse. We were sitting in the Blue Room, a tranquil space. Discussing our firm, our process, how we communicate, triangulate, collaborate. And the client asked for a description of

Hope all goes well… “Friday was the first day we’ve seen real selling,” said Roadrunner, the market’s biggest volatility trader. “Equity vol crushed, crude vol smashed, FX vols have no real bid, rates too.” Two weeks prior, with the S&P 50pts lower, and the dollar caught in Yellen’s testimony trap, the market was paying up for vol. So Roadrunner sold. “Covered the last of those shorts today.” And went long. “Not

“We’ve opened the aperture a bit wider,” said the US official, “We’re helping the Saudis get a better sense of the battlefield and the state of play with the Houthi forces.” You see, two weeks of relentless Sunni airstrikes have failed to halt the Shiite advance. Because not even the most sophisticated fighter jets have much value if pilots don’t know what to bomb. Which means that without America’s electronic

Week-in-Review: Mon: China’s Zhou “growth rate has tumbled a bit too much,” China lowers 2nd home down-payment requirement to 40%, Japan Feb IP -3.4% (-2.6% yoy), Sarkozy’s UMP party leads Sunday elections, Arab leaders announce joint military force (confronting Iran), US Feb personal spending +0.1% (income surges +0.4%), PCE core prices +0.1% (+1.4% yoy), pending home sales +12% yoy (June 2013 highs), Dallas Fed -6.

Hope all goes well… Dusted off an anecdote from March 2014 (see below). Back next Sunday with full wknd notes. Week-in-Review: Mon: China’s Zhou “growth rate has tumbled a bit too much,” China lowers 2nd home down-payment requirement to 40%, Japan Feb IP -3.4% (-2.6% yoy), Sarkozy’s UMP party leads Sunday elections, Arab leaders announce joint military force (confronting Iran), US Feb personal spending +0.1% (income

Do corrections start on bad news? Or do they end on bad news? Might corrections mysteriously anticipate bad news? Or do corrections create bad news? I don’t know. But by the time I figure it all out, I’ll be older than King Salman. More senile too. Confused. Which is why you can’t hold him responsible for naming Yemen’s new war Operation Decisive Storm. Because desert storms are never decisive. They’re divisive. Dupl