Why wouldn’t it be?
Here are all trade datasets (by country and product category) for the US for 2017 (data aggregated from trade.gov – US Department of Commerce and export.gov),
US Trade in 2017 by Country
Continue reading “All you wanted to know about US trade in 2017 and why China matters so much”
Crude oil at $65.5 a barrel is up 23% over the past year and Brent is up some 27% during the same period. Gasoline prices are up 16% over the past year and we aren’t yet in the US driving season (which pushes up the price and begins in July). Continue reading “Crude oil is up 23% over the past year and it has started making an impact; US 3-year bond yields at a 11-year high”
Some 80% of 10-year Japanese government bonds are held by the Bank of Japan. And apparently there are days when no one trades those 10-year bonds because there is no point of trading it. Why? Well, because the Bank of Japan has a policy to control yield curves and since they hold majority of it there are hardly any price movements.
But is also claimed that there are days when the 2-year bonds aren’t traded. That is interesting because the Bank of Japan only holds a small proportion of 2-year bonds. How to traders keep their jobs then? They trade bond futures instead. Continue reading “Apparently, there are days when no one trades some Japanese government bonds; Could China devalue their currency or sell US Treasurys?”
Here is the performance (1-year % change) of the US Dollar (USD) mapped against currencies and countries around the world (the data set is after the map),
How often do analysts get the markets wrong? How often to fund managers get stock picks wrong? They get things wrong far more often then they get it right.
2017 was probably the worst year for hedge funds. And the start of 2018 isn’t turning out to be any better.
The problem probably lies with everyone focussing on the business cycle rather than the structural factors driving the markets. Continue reading “Markets should ignore cyclical factors and focus at the structural factors instead”
The divergence of interest rates, bond yields, inflation, currency strength, budget deficit and total debt of countries around the world has never been bigger. We look at how the US, the UK, the Eurozone, Japan, Switzerland and India are doing in addressing paying off their debt. Continue reading “High (or hyper) inflation or long term zero (or negative) interest rates – how might the world pay its debt?”
Unsurprisingly, following the Department of Commerce recommendations [1], US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Steel and Aluminium imports. Continue reading “The economics behind the 25% tariff on Steel imports and 10% tariff on Aluminium imports to the US”
The US dollar has lost significantly against a basket of currencies in both 2017 and 2018 (so far), details here.
In fact, the US dollar has lost over 10% against 29 currencies (for 56 countries) over the past year, details here. Continue reading “When does a weak US dollar become a headache for the Federal Reserve?”
An aging world: Babies born in 2018 can expect to live to over 100. In 2015, there were around 600 million people aged 65 or over and that number is expected to rise to over 2 billion by 2050.
Changing demographics: There are currently 8 workers in employment for every retiree today, that number is likely to reduce to 4 workers in employment for every retiree by 2050.
Underfunding: The UK currently has $6.2 trillion in underfunded government and public-sector employee pensions. For the US that amount is over $25 trillion.
Lower bond yields: Previous funding assumed 7% bond yields, the number has been much closer to 2.5% since 2009 which has caused major deficits. Continue reading “The looming pension crisis”
Here are the currencies against whom the US Dollar (USD) has lost 10% or more over the past year, Continue reading “Here are the currencies against whom the US Dollar has lost 10% or more over the past year”