Author Archives: Sean Corrigan

Bank of England, Bitcoin, BOJ, Budget, Central banks, Commodities, CPI, Crypto, ECB, Emerging Markets, Equities, Europe, Federal Reserve, Fiscal policy, Fixed Income, Government, Inflation, Japan, Keynesianism, Macro, Metals, money supply, Politics, Production, Revenues, Tech, UK, UK Treasury, US Treasury, USA

Burning Holes in Idlers’ Pockets

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

Inflation, Milton Friedman famously said, is a monetary phenomenon. But it is also one given the readiest of outlets through recourse to what we call ‘fiscal’ policy – i.e., by spendthrift governments borrowing money created at their call and forced into the system by means of warfare, welfare, contracting, cronyism, bureaucratic expansion and plain old boondogglery. Arguably, this is where we find ourselves today, in a world where supply is no longer likely to meet demand as abundantly and as effortlessly as has been the case these past twenty years.

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Bonds, Central banks, China, Emerging Markets, Fixed Income, Forex, Macro, Metals, Money, money supply, Profits, Trade, Yield Curve

The Ship of Fools

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

China’s ports are humming, its exports booming to the point that it is causing evident stress in maritime trade. Freight rates are soaring and dockside space is becoming limited, threatening production and raising costs across the board. Despite the macro strength – and the vote of confidence this has received from forex and equity markets – the last few weeks have been testing ones in credit. Once more the nation’s vast superstructure of debt has creaked and groaned – but just about held firm, once more. One of these fine days…

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Bank of England, BOE, Bonds, Central banks, Corporatism, Credit, ECB, Europe, Federal Reserve, Fiscal policy, Fixed Income, Inflation, Macro, MMT, Money, Planning, Politics, QE, UK Treasury, US Treasury, USA

Tighten Your Belts: The Rationale

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

Markets seem happy for now to focus on the carrot of a vaccine while ignoring the stick of the further severe restrictions to life and liberty being implemented while we await its delivery. Whether or not it offers a release from bondage, the state’s rediscovered taste for authoritarianism will, however, take some good time to dispel, while its corollary – the move toward taking an ever greater role amid the wreckage of the private economy – is being pursued with relish. Whatever the sloganizing, this is very unlikely to Build anything Back Better – only dearer and scarcer.

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Agriculture, Bonds, Commodities, Credit, Energy, Equities, Europe, Fixed Income, Forex, futures, Gold, High Yield, Japan, Metals, Revenues, Tech, UK, USA

Tighten Your Belts: Market Observations

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

We ended the summer by saying that – barring another disastrous, COVID19-inspired, mass governmental embargo on everyday economic activity – the miners, makers, movers, and merchants of the things we need to run our lives when we are not scrolling through Instagram or pretending to pay attention to a yet another pointless Zoom conference would begin to make up ground lost in lockdown to the providers of such diversions. State interference would henceforth take other, more chronic forms of hindrance: tending deliberately to boost demand while making its satisfaction progressively more difficult. So far – broadly speaking – so good.

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Bonds, China, Commodities, Elecction2020, Equities, Fixed Income, Forex, futures, Gold, Inflation, Japan, Metals, Money, money supply, Oil, Politics, US Treasury, USA

A Shot in the Dark

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

The ink has not even dried on the US ballot papers (!) but the Market already thinks it knows what this will all mean. And then there’s Pfizer’s vaccine announcement – perhaps similarly preliminary in nature – but, hey, the Herd will always take every silver lining it can find. Some of the themes we touched upon at the end of the Summer are still in play: Japan has been attracting money, non-oil commodities are rallying, gold has lost some lustre, bond yields are creeping higher, and Value may just be topping out at last v Growth.

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Agriculture, China, Commodities, COVID19, Donald Trump, Elecction2020, Energy, Equities, Gold, Government, Metals, Money, money supply, Oil, Politics, Revenues, Tech, USA

Faites vos jeux

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

On the eve of what is shaping up to be a particularly momentous US election, we offer our view of what is at stake – both in the markets and out in the real world, far beyond the flickering screens of the trading room.

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Austrian Theory, Banking, Bonds, Central banks, Credit, Cycles, Deflation, Economics, Fixed Income, Inflation, Intervention, Money, money supply, QE

Fire and Water

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

This essay attempts a review of the economics – and the prevailing economic thinking – which have brought us to our present pass of high-leverage and heavy debt-dependence. It helps set the backdrop for an in-depth look at markets which will follow shortly…

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Asset Class, Bonds, Central banks, Federal Reserve, Fiscal policy, Fixed Income, Free Markets, Government, Technocracy, Uncategorized, US Treasury, USA

The Rhyme of History

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

While stocks have generally tended to offer better returns than Treasuries, it has not all been plain sailing for equity investors. Intriguingly, the last 50 years’ ups and downs share more than a few similarities with the first half of the last century. Could that uncanny resemblance continue to hold henceforward?

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Bonds, Budget, Central banks, Deficit, Federal Reserve, Fiscal policy, Fixed Income, Inflation, Saving, US Treasury, USA, Volatility, Yield Curve

MOVE-ing the Dial

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

Bond yields have started to creep higher – and curves to flex steeper – as the market begins to fret that the willing fiscal subservience of the central bank can only presage a coming inflation. With bond volatility still reasonably cheap, now might be the time to take cognisance of this.

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Bank of England, Budget, Central banks, Economics, Fiscal policy, Fixed Income, Forex, Government, Inflation, Intervention, money supply, Revenues, UK, UK Treasury

A Great Deal of Ruin

Posted on by Sean Corrigan

The Johnson government’s approach to COVID19 has been a toxic mix of contradiction, vacillation, and jackbooted authoritarianism. There seems no exit strategy and no end to the spiralling cost. We take a critical look at the impact on the budget impact and discuss what it means for inflation.

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