As US Stocks Snap Win Streak, Hope And Caution Duel In Summer Heat
US equities were under pressure for most of the cash session on Tuesday, as a three-day bounce off the August 14 rout stalled.
Treasurys were back in rally mode, with 10-year yields falling to 1.54% shortly after Mike Pompeo weighed in with cautious comments on China and Huawei.
The mood was subdued as traders peer through the summer haze towards Friday, when Jerome Powell will or won't commit another communications error in Jackson Hole with make-or-break remarks that will be heavily scrutini
Well, it wasn’t a Tweet, but Trump’s press conference comments just before today’s close sure had some ominous overtones with regards to the China and Europe trade wars, and his commitment to see them through to fruition even at the expense of stock market gains. Not that I pay that much attention to what comes out of his mouth, but I had never heard him articulate his position quite that clearly before. I wouldn’t want to be long “hope” right now…
When in doubt, double down and open a two-front trade war by slapping tariffs on European autos. Heck, why leave Japan and South Korea out of it? Let’s just form a circle and start blasting away.
Ironically, as Shiller points out, the Fed cutting rates (in order to appease the CTA’s & Hedge funds), will only help to spook the animal spirits of the general public and the ordinary investor…
The Fed, with Powell as spokesperson has to be blunt as hell and basically say in very clear language that the Fed doesn’t give a shit (or a fuck) if the markets or the president has a temper tantrum, in their needs and demands to be coddled like screaming babies in a Costco check out line. The Fed needs to not play games and be a weak parent, they have a responsibility to “promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long term interest rates” — not reward the market or the president with insider trading tools to goose the markets on the whims of tweets. The Fed is not a private bank established to create wealth for the mafia or anyone who wants more cash. The sooner they call trump on his total bullshit, the better off America will be, even if global mkts get a nice short-term haircut. The market is like a toddler at a barbershop, screaming and crying for more sugar, and the barber, needs to just grab the kids head and get on with the fact that the hair will grow back, unless of course the baby has fake hair.