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Waiting for a crypto Lehman Brothers
Readers will know that my current base is a global recession sooner rather than later owing to the six shocks hitting the three largest economies: war and energy in Europe, property and OMICRON in China and inflation plus rates in the US. The last is especially important because US inflation is so strong that the
Global recession looming fast
Global recession is looming fast as the six shocks come together: European war and energy, Chinese property and OMICRON, and US inflation and rates. Goldman’s global FCI is still tight: And the global current activity indicator is already in recession (which is anything under 2% global growth). Europe and China are leading the way but
Global recession gathers pace
Goldman’s nowcasting indexes are all telling the same sorry tale. Global recession is looming fast. The global financial conditions index is off the chart tight: And growth is following in current activity indicators. Remember that anything 2% and below is considered a global recession: Led lower by Russia, China and Europe: And just in case
Deloitte: Stagflation shock coming for global economy
Deloitte’s latest weekly economic update warns that the global economy is headed into a period of stagflation whereby inflation and interest rates are rising at the same time as growth weakens: Many other central banks around the world have already commenced lifting their official rates to stem inflationary pressures, and they are doing so at
Get set for a stonking global recession
According to Deutsche Bank, it is coming in a little over a year. My personal view is it will arrive sooner, beginning sometime later this year overseas and in 2023 in Australia. My own view is also that it will take fewer rate hikes. At this point, that’s not terribly important. The strong base case
Korean trade canary chokes
It’s the best leading indicator for world trade available. Pantheon: Early export data from Korea suggest plunging Chinese demand will weigh heavily on global trade in April. Exports to China grew just 1.8% year-over-year in the first 20 days of April, down from 11.3% in March, even as total 20-day exports accelerated to 16.9% year-over-year,
Soaring inflation kills workers’ return to office
Arguably the biggest benefit of the working from home (WFH) phenomenon is that it eliminates the need for time consuming and costly commutes. It is, therefore, no surprise that the soaring cost of petrol and other goods and services is scuttling companies’ plans to have their workers return to the office. And the story is
Here comes the global recession
Goldman has some useful charts that capture the moment. Its current activity indexes are crashing Especially for EMs which did their monetary tightening last year: With the US about to tighten financial conditions like you would not believe: Deutsche is going full bear: The storm clouds over the global economy have darkened dramatically. Russia’sinvasion of
US and Europe set to economically isolate China
The US and Europe are set to isolate China as Australia allows it to occupy its sphere of influence in the Solomons. The cowards of Canberra are beyond reproach. Nearly two months into the Russia-Ukraine war, US policymakers – troubled by Beijing’s pro Kremlin rhetoric – are forging ahead with robust plans to accelerate US-China
Korean global economic canary dies
ROK exports are a key real-time barometer of global trade. It just died. Pantheon with the note. — The BoK pressed ahead with its hiking cycle on Thursday, despite the absence of a governor. Governor Lee’s term has ended, and nominee Rhee Chang-yong has not yet had his confirmation hearing. The 25bp hike, to 1.50%,
Supply chain stress collapses worldwide
Let’s begin with shipping rates: Did you imagine lockdowns in Shanghai and Shenzhen would drive up the cost of transporting goods from China to Europe? If you did, then you’d be wrong. Here’s what’s happened to the price of taking a 40ft container’s-worth of goods from the Far East to Northern Europe on short notice:
Don’t fight the yield curve inversion
It’s always the same. Whenever we’re late cycle and the yield curve inverts indicating a looming recession, bulls come out of the woodwork to describe why this time is different. Albert Edwards takes them to task: Does the inversion of the US 10y-2y yield curveindicate a recessionis on its way? This is the question everyone
Biden brain fart turns up the nuclear notch
United States President Joe Biden has declared Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ in a speech in Warsaw, Poland. The words appear to have been a deviation from his prepared script by a 79 year old man carried away by the emotion of events he is now central to, and possibly unaware of
Goods to services handoff begins in DMs
Goldman with the note: DM trends: The DM composite flash PMI increased by 1.4pt in March, reflecting an expansion in services (+1.6pt) from further easing of Omicron restrictions. Country-level trends: The manufacturing flash PMI increased in the US (+1.2pt), edged up in Japan (+0.4pt) and Australia (+0.3pt), but declined in the Euro Area (-1.1pt) and
What if Ukraine wins the war?
The Atlantic thinks it is: Talk of stalemate obscures the dynamic quality of war. The more you succeed, the more likely you are to succeed; the more you fail, the more likely you are to continue to fail. There is no publicly available evidence of the Russians being able to regroup and resupply on a large
Moscow becomes Beijing’s bitch
The FT has the story: Russia has asked China for military equipment to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to US officials, sparking concern in the White House that Beijing may undermine western efforts to help Ukrainian forces defend their country. US officials told the Financial Times that Russia had requested military equipment and other
Who’s winning the US/China arms race?
BofA with the Q&A. — Aerospace & Defense: the paradigm has changed, Ron Epstein, Head of US Aerospace & Defense research 1. Ron, you’ve written recently that, because of the Russia/Ukraine war, “the defense paradigm has changed. How has it changed and what does it mean for US defense companies? As we think about the
Fuse lit on global recession bomb
My base is that a global recession is coming fast. For some time I have been concerned that the giant US inventory rebuild has way overdone it. Here’s wholesale inventories: This is the result of bogus inflation expectations arising from temporary supply-side disruptions. In other words, over-ordering. It’s not a problem in and of itself.