Guess what happens here if CME Clearing goes bust..
Archives of “March 18, 2020” day
rssChina president Xi: Global virus outbreak poses new threat to Chinese economy
Comments by China president Xi Jinping
- China should adjust policy focus as needed
- Says that Wuhan should gradually push forward with production resumption
- Says that downward pressure to Chinese economy has risen
Even if China is starting to slowly come back online, it wouldn’t do their economy much good if the rest of the world starts to go offline.
For China, it is about trying to strike a balance now as they need to get domestic conditions back up to try and support the economy as international demand/supply starts to dwindle.
Italy reportedly may extend lockdown beyond 3 April
La Stampa reports
The report says that Italian prime minister Conte may extend a national lockdown beyond 3 April as coronavirus cases continue to climb in the country. For some context, Italy crossed the 30,000 mark in terms of confirmed cases as of yesterday.
Anyway, the report adds that Conte is likely to maintain current measures, which includes travel restrictions and closure of schools, as the country tries to curb the spread.
Treasury yields surge higher despite equities selloff
The market is selling everything again
10-year yields have now surged higher to be up by 11 bps at 1.19% as the market is going back to the theme last week i.e. sell everything. Gold is also still pressured, down by 2%, while European equities are down by over 3% across the board.
This continues to hint that there is definitely blood on the streets and it is also telling by the rush to the dollar we’re seeing this morning so far.
AUD/USD walks down a slippery slope under 0.6000
AUD/USD hits a fresh low of 0.5942 on the day
There appears to still be no reprieve for the aussie against the dollar as the greenback surges with gains on the day while the aussie continues to languish amid the softer risk mood, and with anticipation of RBA QE measures tomorrow.
After falling below 0.6000 for the first time since 2003, the real last line of defense – if you really want to be picky – is a trendline support around 0.5915 currently.
But with current market sentiment so overwhelming, it is hard to imagine that being the place where the pair sees a dramatic turnaround. However, it could offer some additional support as the aussie stays pressured since the turn of the year.
There is no picking a bottom in AUD/USD until we actually do see the near-term technical picture shift back to favour buyers or the market sentiment starts to move past the pessimism from the economic fallout due to the virus outbreak.
Otherwise, once again, don’t catch the falling knife here.
France plans to hand out €1,500 to small independent workers
Comments by French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire
- Calls on workers who can, to keep working
So far, there are a lot of big plans touted by governments across the globe to try and tackle the economic fallout from the virus outbreak but how effective is the execution and transmission of all this remains to be seen.
US Federal Virus Plan anticipates an 18-Month pandemic and widespread shortages
The plan was released on Friday but reports on it only now leaking out
You’ll recall Friday was the day US President Trump declared a national emergency
New York Times:
- federal government plan to combat the coronavirus
- warned pandemic “will last 18 months or longer”
- could include “multiple waves”
- resulting in widespread shortages that would strain consumers and the nation’s health care system
Coronavirus cases grew the most ever yesterday. Europe a certifiable train wreck. US growth exponential.
Via Hedgeye (link below for more)
- Global case continues to accelerate
- According to the last WHO report, global cases grew 9.1% to 167,515 in the last 24 hours and added the most new cases since the start of the epidemic at 13,998
- U.S. continues on it’s exponential growth path … . up 24% in less than 24 hours On this path, a case count of 10,000 by the weekend is on track.
- Europe is a certifiable train wreck and we don’t see much that suggests the U.S. isn’t on that path
To finish on a brighter note:
- Asia continues to encourage us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel as Chinese (if we believe it), Korean, and Japanese data remain promising
Oil services giant Halliburton rumoured lay offs (unpaid)
Halliburton is a huge supplier of products and services to the energy industry.
The firm has been hit by the intertwined coronavirus and oil price plunge
Chatter about is that the business is requiring mandatory furloughs for around3,500 employees
- at its its North Belt campus in Houston
- From 23 March
- One-week on, one-week off roster for up to 60 days
- Employees won’t be paid on their week off
- Health care and benefits won’t be affected
Like I said, chatter at this stage.
This will be just one example of lay offs right across industry.
China to expel US journalists from The Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said the three US outlets, along with Voice of America and Time magazine, will be designated as “foreign missions”
- must report information about their staff, finance, operation and real estate in China
- US citizens working for The Post, the Times and the WSJ, whose press credentials are due to expire before the end of 2020, must hand back their press cards
- will not be able to go to Hong Kong or Macao as a base for work
Its unclear if the removal of press credentials also applies to those at VoA & Time