Eurodollar University

Well, they did it. The Bank of Japan ended its NIRP and YCC, raising its call money rate for the first time in forever. That's not the issue. Why they did it is open for debate, one that right now is taking place across markets. It's not going well for the rate-hikers. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro AnalysisBoJ Statement March 19, 2024https://www.boj.or.jp/en/mopo/mpmdeci/mpr_2024/k240319a.pdfhttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

The Fed. Japanese destiny. Down Under. The Old Lady, Mexico, Brazil, and the Czech Republic. And those are just the start. A ton of central banks are going to be deliberating just this week. And while their policies don't really mean much to the economy, they can impact markets in the short run while also providing some somewhat useful clues about where the world really stands. Here's what to look for as it unfolds. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysishttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

The Fed shut down the BTFP, but just before it closed billions in loans were made to banks over the repeated objections of policymakers. Officials have been pushing depositories toward the Discount Window to the point even the FHLB system is dissuading its members from using its own advances as emergency liquidity. Yet, the last-minute BTFP indicates banks just aren't doing it with some substantial implications. Eurodollar University's conversation w/Steve Van MetreFHFA FHLBank System at 100: Focus On the Futurehttps://www.fhfa.gov/AboutUs/Reports/ReportDocuments/FHLBank-System-at-100-Report.pdfFHFA Fact Sheet https://www.fhfa.gov/Media/PublicAffairs/PublicAffairsDocuments/FHLBank-System-at-100-Fact-Sheet.pdfhttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

China just held its National People's Congress amidst more economic and financial turmoil than at any time in its modern history. Two things quickly became clear: Xi Jinping continues to insulate himself politically from any potential fallout; his government has no idea what to be about it. The latest data from Chinese banks and the country's housing market highlight the gravity of the situation  and how little policies are helping. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro AnalysisPeople's Daily Graphic and Text Databasehttp://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2024-02/02/nw.D110000renmrb_20240202_3-03.htmChina State TV The Opening Meeting of the Second Session of the 14th NPChttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL7iqyx-dBABloomberg China Vanke’s Dollar Bonds Signal Fears of Default Down the Roadhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-13/china-vanke-s-dollar-bonds-signal-fears-of-default-down-the-roadBloomberg China Sets GDP Goal That Needs Policy Support ‘From All Fronts’https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-05/china-s-gdp-growth-target-this-year-set-around-5-reuters-sayshttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

More recession signals. We've got the major dollar store chains in the US closing stores and reporting troubling results about consumer behavior. Those are now backed up by hard evidence in the form of retail sales, which have been much worse than initial thought. Behind everything, the looming recession, is the fact oil prices are NOT inflation nor inflationary. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro AnalysisDollar General Q4 2023 resultshttps://investor.dollargeneral.com/websites/dollargeneral/English/2120/us-press-release.html?airportNewsID=977d63ef-cf4e-4b0b-bd80-624b382724f6https://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

Is "inflation" back? A big part of the answer to that question comes from the oil market, though not at all in the way you might think. A revisit of the 2008 crude oil bubble/shock to see what it can tell us about a lot more than consumer prices in 2024.Eurodollar University's Money & Macro AnalysisOPEC March 2024 Announcementhttps://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/7305.htmRemarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke October 21, 2004https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20041021/James D. Hamilton Brookings Causes and Consequences of the Oil Shock of 2007–08https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2009a_bpea_hamilton-1.pdfhttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

As serious economic weakness begins to increasingly show itself, the Fed is going to pivot and thereby try to sell the public on lower rates as somehow being something positive. A small bit of economy insurance and nothing more. And they'll point to 1995 as for why. In reality, this is already nothing like thirty years ago.Eurodollar University's conversations w/Steve Van Metrehttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

Today is the last day for new loans from the Fed's BTFP, and there is still $165 billion being borrowed from it. In fact, that balance increased just last week. What are the implications of the shutdown? We keep coming back to the same factor which was all over last March. And with CRE looming in the background, too. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis

Evidence for US recession and labor market woes are getting much stronger. While everyone fixates on the growing absurdity of the payroll revisions, the CPS data threw up THREE very strong recession signals, each historically validated, showing this isn't a short-term fluctuation or narrow, isolated occurrence. Plus, a fourth signal that is entire consistent with those other three. Employment recession changes everything.Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysishttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

Full Disclosure: Jeff has worked with Mr. Saxe as a trustee for a stablecoin project Ryne is the COO for. The mainstream image of cryptocurrencies is cowboys and charlatans playing around with technology that doesn't seem to have any practical use. Kids are getting rich - many going broke - on what can appear to be trivial functions. Reality couldn't be farther from the truth. As Ryne points out, one key problem is that those who are indeed making a good-faith effort at making something and making it work are losing at the narrative. Worse, the government is no help (no surprise). Even so, there is tremendous progress being made right now in turning these digital projects into useful, usable money. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysishttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU