Today the Fed released its Q4 Flow of Funds, aka Z.1 , report. Using the data in this report, some have focused on such temperamental measures as household net worth, which in Q4 came out at $54.2 trillion, a $700 billion increase from Q3. What they will not disclose is that all of this increase came courtesy of the stock market, as the "Equity Shares at Market Value" line increased from $15.546 trillion to $16.234 trillion: this represented the entire increase in household net worth
What is wrong with this picture: the MTS just announced that the February budget deficit was $220.9 billion , after receipts of just $107.5 billion with vastly surpassed by outlays of $328.4 billion. This is a record.
Two weeks after the indirect hit ratio in the 4 week auction came at a record 100%, today it was once again at almost at the all time possible high, with Indirect Bids of just $6.744 billion taking down $6.683 billion, resulting in a 99.1% hit ratio. The chart of the recent Indirect hit ratio in recent 4 week bill auctions is attached. Here is the actual auction result : 4 week prices at 0.11% (nearly double the 0.056% from two weeks ago ) 75.56% allotted at high; Median rate of 0.1%, low of 0.05%; Bid to Cover 3.90, compared to 4.34 last week Indirects take down $6.68 billion of competitives, or 21.8%; Indirect hit rate comes in at 99.1% We provided the following explanation two weeks ago as to why this will likely be an ongoing theme, especially when coupled with aggressive roll offs of Bills by key investors such as China: The implications from this result: the Indirect bidders put the greatest amount of 0.000% or as close to preliminary bids as possible (remember, this means bidding at the highest actual bond price), followed by directs and primary dealers as we approached the 0.055% stop out to fill the $31 billion reverse dutch auction.
From Brian P. Sack , Executive Vice President
In a letter to the CFTC's Chairman, Gary Gensler , GATA Chairman William Murphy shares the following bombshell: " GATA has evidence that there are enormous physical short positions in the gold and silver markets that cannot be covered. " Even as the CFTC is meeting later this month to establish position limits in the gold, silver, and other precious metals' markets, it could be none other than the CFTC's core banks, and Mr.
There are few people as qualified to discuss the stresses of (and on) the financial system over the past several years as Yale and Wharton Professor Gary Gorton , who just incidentally has held positions at the Bank Of England, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. In a submission to Zero Hedge, Professor Gorton provides some unique perspectives into what we have long claimed was the immediate catalyst for the near collapse of the banking system: the bank run, not so much on depository institutions, but on the much more critical shadow banking system.
Today, the market spiked in the last hour of trading after it was announced that total consumer credit increased for the first time in a year (not all credit, mind you, just car loans; consumers are still eagerly paying down their credit cards). And who was the source for this generosity you may ask
As more and more details of the actual Volcker Rule implementation continue to trickle in, we present the following excerpts from proposed additions to the Bank Holding Company Act, first noted in iMarketNews .
Submitted By Michael Panzner Mortgage Rates: Only One Way to Go There's been plenty of speculation about what will happen to mortgage rates if and when the Federal Reserve wraps up the last of its planned purchases under the $1.25 trillion Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) purchase program, first announced in November 2008.
We have previously discussed the maturity cliff in Treasuries , Commercial Real Estate , Financials and High Yield . Focusing on the latter, a recent report from Moody's, indicated that there is roughly $800 billion in high yield bonds maturing by 2014
Thursday, March 11, 2010
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