Today’s scary (Bloomberg) chart! #equities v Manufacturing
Archives of “November 2019” month
rssRelative value between the main currencies and gold since 1900.
Average daily volumes of the main financial assets.
Bill Gates (15) and Paul Allen (17) at Seattle’s Lakeside School in 1970. 5 years later, they founded Microsoft.
In 1973, 18-year-old Steve Jobs filled out this job application
Global debt reaches record levels
Global debt is currently at it’s highest level in peacetime,
On average, the world’s major economies, have debts of more than 70% of their GDP’s. This is the highest level in the past 150 years apart from s spike during WWII. See the chart below courtesy of the Financial Times
In the UK that debt deficit is presently at around 87%, but it is only set to grow with both Conservative and Labour plans to increase public spending levels. This will in part be a Brexit boost to lift morale. Increasing welfare states, growing democracies and an ageing population all lead to to the conclusion that global debt is set to keep growing.
US Treasury 10-year yields slip to fresh two-and-a-half week lows
10-year yields fall by 5 bps to 1.733%, lowest level since 4 November
Risk-off flows continue to feed through into markets and that is seeing bonds gain further on the day as we begin European trading.
In turn, this is also fueling gains in gold with price now up by 0.4% just above $1,478.
As mentioned earlier, with little else on the economic calendar, the risk mood will be the key driver affecting markets in trading today. So far, there doesn’t appear to be much change in sentiment since Asia Pacific trading.
#Germany’s producer prices drop way faster than expected. PPI -0.6% in Oct YoY vs forecast of -0.4%, lowest since 2016.
Global Times editor: US has turned Hong Kong into the focus of China-US competitiion
A tweet by Global Times’ editor-in-chief, Hu Xijin
“The US has turned HK into the focus of China-US competition. It’s all the people in Hong Kong, including foreigners and foreign companies that suffer. The mainland only feels limited pain. Beijing has no reason to back off on issue of sovereignty, and let HK be at US’ disposal.”
He’s making the above comment in relation to the bill that was passed by the US Senate earlier today, in which China views as interference to the situation in Hong Kong.
All this feeds into the trade rhetoric and if anything, it creates yet another potential barrier for both sides to try and get towards a “Phase One” trade deal.
Japan trade balance for October Y 17.3bn (expected Y 229.3bn)
Japan trade balance for October Y 17.3bn
- expected Y 229.3bn, prior Y -124.8bn
trade balance adjusted Y -34.7bn
- expected Y 248.1bn, prior Y -97.2bn
exports -9.2% y/y – worse than expected and the biggest y/y fall in 3 years.
- expected -7.5%, prior 5.2%
imports -14.8% y/y – not as bad as expected but not good, ditto on the biggest y/y fall in 3 years.
- expected -15.2%, prior -1.5%
More on export performance. Exports to:
- the US down 11.4% y/y
- to China down 10.3% y/y
- to the EU down 8.4% y/y
- to Asia down 11.2% y/y