Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day Teach a man to fish - and you feed him for a lifetime! Yep - The old proverbs are great at summation but sometimes over looking the broader implications of the proposition. For the fisherman, thrusting a rod into hands is not enough. We have to preserve fish stocks, avoid pollution and ensure the piscators have a boat to reach the offshore shoals. A bit of international regulation helps, to guarantee the floating fish factories don’t suck away the livelihood of the locals. Yes, you can teach a man to fish but you leave him with nothing more than a stick in his hands and a soft line dangling into empty waters, unless broader policy issues are addressed. The great enemy of the truth is … What has this got to do with economics you may ask? We have to ensure the first principles of any proposition are covered in depth. JFK would say, “The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie - deliberate, contrived and dishonest but the myth - persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.” I feel the same way about QE, as I do about fishing. Allegedly stimulating growth and inflation, QE is a process in which central bankers buy debt from the debt management office underwritten by Treasury. In the UK HMT can then claim back the yield coupon eliminating the cost of debt issuance. It’s “money for nothing, gilts for free” a form of Dire Straits economics, which does little or nothing for growth or inflation. It is a combination of debt monetisation and financial repression. Ten year gilt yields at 2.3% are symptoms of the malaise, a combination of an over long stay on planet ZIRP with a toxic dose of QE, from time to time, in a misguided attempt to sustain life. QE is not the answer for Europe … In the UK, QE, intellectually discredited, came to an abrupt end in 2012. The Fed will terminate the US experiment in October this year. In Japan the nonsense persists. Kuroda, the Governor of the Bank of Japan continues with a QE programme worth $1.4tn (£923bn) despite the damage to the international gilt curve. This is the economy which introduced a sales tax in April, to stimulate inflation, ignoring the impact on demand and output. The impact on revenues muted in the process. In Europe, the torpor of the Euro economy continues, with news of rising employment and falling inflation. The Economist leads with “That Sinking Feeling Again” but what can Draghi do? Interest rates at the floor, Draghi can do no more, than talk down the Euro with a hint of QE to come. Why hold back? The ECB well understand, if there is nothing more powerful than idea whose time has come, there can be nothing more impotent or futile as an idea, for which the time has been and gone. So it is with QE, in part the problem of deflation lies elsewhere …. No Carnival in Brazil … In South America the bad news continues, a technical default in Argentina, major challenges in Venezuela and a down grade of growth forecasts in Brazil to just over 1% this year. An awful lot of coffee but no pick me up in Brazil as the world cup damaged output. Let them eat cacao but not watch football, the lesson from history. The latest data on world trade suggest that growth increased by 3.2% in the second quarter compared to 2.7% in Q1. The US recovery is assisting the process with news of a US GDP revision in the second quarter to growth of 2.5% compared to the earlier estimate of 2.4%. The world is recovering … So what of world prices? Deflation may be the spectre that haunts Europe but world price trends are partly to blame. World trade prices increased by just 0.4% in the second quarter after a fall of 1% in Q1. Oil, energy and commodity prices remain subdued. No rising prices as yet, so rates may be on hold for a bit longer … So what of base rates … Flip flops are becoming the footwear of choice for central bankers. Mark Carney, the unreliable boyfriend, started the fad, closely followed by Janet Yellen, fishing for answers in Wyoming last week. The consensus is for UK rates to rise by 25 basis points in February, as a rate rise before the end of the year is ruled out. So what happened to sterling this week? Sterling closed unchanged against the dollar at $1.658 from $1.657 but up against the Euro at 1.261 from 1.252. The Euro was down against the dollar at 1.314 (1.324). Oil Price Brent Crude closed down at $102.19 from 102.32. The average price in August last year was $111.28. Markets, rallied on the fishing report from Wyoming. The Dow closed up at 17,084 from 17,031 and the FTSE closed up at 6,819 from 6,775. UK Ten year gilt yields slipped to 2.37 from 2.41 and US Treasury yields closed at 2.33 from 2.34. Gold was slightly tarnished at $1,286 from 1,302. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or please forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Economics, Strategy and Social Media ... Experience worth sharing. Disclaimer The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. If you do not wish to receive any further Saturday Economist updates, please unsubscribe using the buttons below or drop me an email at [email protected]. If you enjoy the content, why not forward to a colleague or friend. Or they can sign up here *|MC:SHARE|*
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Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Skiing in Winter and Fly Fishing in Summer, there are several perks to the role of central banker. This week the bankers were in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, fishing for answers to the employment - inflation conundrum. The occasion - the Federal Reserve, Kansas City, Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Why Wyoming? You may well ask? In 1982 the conference moved to Jackson Hole (Kansas City district) to persuade Paul Volcker, then chairman of the Fed and an avid fly-fisherman, to attend. Flies and fish were the big lure for the head of the Fed - and so it began. The location, based some 2,000 miles from New York and 5,000 miles from London is not ideal. Communication - in the early days - not always ideal either. Want a copy of the New York Times? The local store stocked today’s and yesterday’s but if you wanted today’s copy, you had to come back tomorrow - delivery lagged a day behind. Monetary Policy and the Muddler Minnow* … This year the theme was Labor Market Dynamics and Monetary Policy. Mario Draghi reassured markets there would be no early rise in rates in Europe! Quelle Surprise! Janet Yellen delivered a lecture on structural, cyclical, secular and frictional unemployment before claiming the mantle of Truman’s two handed economist to explain the Fed’s stance on future monetary policy. On the one hand … “If progress in the labor market continues to be more rapid than anticipated or if inflation moves up more rapidly than anticipated, resulting in faster convergence toward our dual objectives, then increases in the federal funds rate target could come sooner than the Committee currently expects and could be more rapid thereafter.” On the other hand … “If economic performance turns out to be disappointing and progress toward our goals proceeds more slowly than we expect, then the future path of interest rates likely would be more accommodative than we currently anticipate.” Excellent. Yellen then left the room, thrust on a pair of waders, tied on a muddler minnow before making an excellent double spey cast into the River Snake. [*The muddler minnow is currently one of the most favoured trout flies amongst central bankers.] The MPC Minutes … muddying the waters … Back in the UK, the Bank of England released the minutes of the August MPC meeting. Two members of the committee, Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty voted for an increase in base rates by 25 basis points. The Carney consensus has cracked. Charm school is out for the Summer. Markets fell, Sterling rallied, on the prospect of an early rate rise. Inflation Update ... The day before, the ONS released the inflation figures for July. CPI fell to 1.6% from 1.9% prior month. Markets had rallied, Sterling fell, prospects of an imminent rate rise postponed. No one seemed to notice that service sector inflation was unchanged at 2.5%. The overall drop in the headline rate - attributable to goods inflation down to 0.8% from 1.4% in June. So why the drop in goods inflation? Manufacturing output prices were flat but input costs fell by over 7% in the month. Effects of sluggish world trade, weak commodity and energy prices were exacerbated by the translation impact of a stronger Sterling. Government Borrowing … Thursday and the ONS released figures on government borrowing for the month of July. Four months into the year and borrowing remains off track compared to last year and to plan. In the first four months, total borrowing was £37.0 billion compared to £35.2 billion in 2013. In July borrowing was down to £0.7 billion from £1.6 billion last year. An improvement but with an economy expanding by over 3% in the first half of the year, we would expect a big improvement in borrowing given the strength of the recovery. Government spending is not the problem, nor VAT receipts up by 5%. The problem is revenues from income and capital gains tax are actually down on prior year over the first four months of the fiscal year. In part this is a result of strong receipts in the first quarter last year which may level out in due course. Compared to two years ago, revenues are up 5%. Even so, for the year as a whole the Chancellor will still have some work to do if the OBR target is to be met. Retail Sales … Retail sales in July were up by 2.6% after growth of 4% in the first half of the year. A disappointment, perhaps. Internet sales were up by 11% accounting for 11% of all retail activity. It will take more than a few digital mannequins to reverse fortunes on the high street but it is a tad to soon to make the call about a slow down in overall activity. The house market remains strong in terms of prices and the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported a 15% increase in gross mortgage leading last month. So what of base rates … The MPC minutes suggested the rate rise could come earlier than expected but news on inflation and retail sales suggest the rates will be kept on hold until 2015. No rate rise in prospect in Europe but Janet Yellen has “nowcast” a muddler minnow into the thought stream. A rate rise in the USA on the cards for Q2 next year or even earlier? Possibly. In the UK - February or June would appear to be the call. So what happened to sterling this week? Sterling closed down against the dollar at $1.657 from $1.669 but up against the Euro at 1.252 from 1.246. The Euro was down against the dollar at 1.324 (1.246). Oil Price Brent Crude closed down at $102.32 from 102.96. The average price in August last year was $111.28. Markets, rallied on the fishing report from Wyoming. The Dow closed up at 17,031 from 16,637 and the FTSE closed up at 6,775 from 6,685. UK Ten year gilt yields were unchanged at 2.41 and US Treasury yields closed at 2.342 from 2.39. Gold was largely unchanged at $1,302. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Economics, Corporate Strategy and Social Media ... Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. The Inflation Report Press Conference … Reassurance from the Inflation Report Press Conference this week. The Bank of England may be uncertain about what is happening in the economy but it is certainly not clueless. Excellent. £3.5 million spent on the economics model and 200 PhDs in the pot to stir up the data, not all is for nought. James Macintosh of the FT put the difficult question “It would appear you've been moving over the past five years from a fair degree of certainty towards a fair degree of cluelessness and currently - you are at the more clueless end of the spectrum.” Is this a fair point? Well perhaps. Larry Elliott of the Guardian had begun the challenge suggesting there's a wide range of views on the Committee about the likely degree of slack in the economy. There is uncertainty about the housing market, wages may go up, they may not go up. Guidance on the pace and extent of interest rate rises is an expectation not a promise … “I mean once you cut through all this doesn't it lead you to three conclusions - one, that the Bank hasn't really got a clue what's going on out there; two, that the MPC is divided about what's going on out there; and thirdly, any person thinking about taking out a mortgage on the basis of the Bank's forward guidance would be ill-advised to do so, because anything you say, has to be taken with a very large pinch of salt?” Oh dear ... The Carney honeymoon is over … Well one thing we can be certain about, this is not the questioning we would have expected under Governor King. For Governor Carney the honeymoon is over. So much for the open routine. The Emperor’s economics models are proving to be as insubstantial as the clothing. Perhaps it is time to return to the enigmatic, grumpy old professor emeritus routine, dismissive of those of a lower intellectual order including undergraduates and the press core particularly. Ed Conway now with Sky News, would occasionally rattle Governor King teasing about the accuracy of the inflation forecasts, (not actually forecasts of course) but Governor Carney,cast in the role as the unreliable boyfriend, is taking more and more hits. All a bit of a muddle … Clearly Asa Bennett From the Huffington Post rattled the Governor, sensitive to criticism of forward guidance, “I just wanted to ask Governor about the evolution of your forward guidance plan, particularly when it started with the sort of clear to understand unemployment threshold, and then the sort of output gap, and then this bolt on about pay growth. Do you wish you started with this at the beginning? Hasn’t it all been a bit of a muddle or is it a learning process? “Well you’re muddled I'm afraid”. The playground retort from the Governor of the Bank of England. So is that the best we can get? The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street - the Aunt Sally of Fleet Street … The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street is becoming the Aunt Sally of Fleet Street. It would help if Jenny Scott, Executive Director of Communications, chairing the press conference, appeared to know some of the names of the press corp, instead of jabbing a pencil in this or that direction, when it came to question time. Perhaps Jenny was trying to ward off evil spirits, waving the magic wand of oblivion, which Governor King carried so successfully in his cloak. For debutante MPC member Minouche Shafik, it was all too much. Shifting uneasily, apparently bored, struggling under the weight, not of office but of a voluminous hair style, the governor allowed Minouche one question response on Europe … Minouche : “It would be good for us if Europe grew faster since it’s our key trading market, but for the near term that doesn’t look very likely”. “That’s all we have time for”, said the Director of Communications and that was that. Well, we must hope there is much more to come. So what happened this week? GDP Estimate … The ONS second estimate of GDP was released this week. Growth in the UK Q2 increased by 3.2% compared to the prior estimate of 3.1%. Actually the numbers hadn’t changed, the statisticians were using a more accurate calculator this time round for the rounding. Our estimates of growth for the year are unchanged at 3% which makes the Bank of England estimates of growth (3.5%) all the more difficult to understand. Either the economy will grow at an eye watering 4% in the second half of the year or the Bank expects big revisions to the data in September as a result of the inclusion of drugs and prostitution in the national accounts. Who would have thought hookers had that much clout. We shall have to wait until the end of September for the update. Labour Market Stats … The jobs outlook just gets better. The claimant count rate fell to 3% in July at just over 1 million unemployed. 400,000 have found work in the past year. At the current rate of growth we will be closing the job centres at the end of 2016, there will be no on left on the register looking for work. The wider LFS data confirmed the trend with the unemployment rate falling to 6.4%. More people in work, unemployment rates falling, recruitment increasing, skills shortages heightening, which makes the pay data even more inexplicable. Earnings increased by less than one per cent in June. We would expect increases in line with inflation or more at 3% plus at this stage in the recovery. For this we have much sympathy with the models at the Bank of England, something strange is happening on Planet ZIRP. Maybe low rates are the problem and no the solution? So what of base rates … Growth and jobs data would push the argument for a rates rise before the end of the year. Inflation and pay data would suggest the rates could be kept on hold until 2015. The latest data from Europe confirms a rate rise is off the agenda for months if not years to come. The MPC will be loathe to act ahead of the Fed and not too eager to move in advance of the ECB. Markets assumed rates will be kept on hold as a result of the Inflation Report… So what happened to sterling this week? Sterling closed down against the dollar at $1.669 from $1.6774 and down against the Euro at 1.246 from 1.252. The Euro was down against the dollar at 1.246 (1.341). Oil Price Brent Crude closed down at $102.96 from 105.02. The average price in August last year was $111.28. Markets, rallied on the rates news. The Dow closed up at 16,637 from 16,554 and the FTSE closed up at 6,685 from 6,567. UK Ten year gilt yields were down at 2.41 from 2.55 and US Treasury yields closed at 2.39 from 2.49. Gold was largely unchanged at $1,303 from $1,305. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. UK Interest Rates on hold ... No surprise this week as the MPC voted to keep rates on hold and to maintain the asset purchase facility at £375 billion. The decision to increase rates may becoming more finely balanced for some but the news from around the world, will disturb the hawks and give succour to the doves. The rate rise may well be held over into the new year, despite the continued strong performance of the domestic economy. The minutes of the MPC meeting, due later this month, may provide some insight into the overall views of the individual committee members. ECB and Rates ... problems in the East In Europe, rates were kept on hold as Draghi continues to consider QE. Action is needed but the futile process of debt monetisation will do little to offset the economies beset by weak levels of domestic demand. Complaints against the need for labour reform and excessive regulation will largely miss the point. Italy is slipping back into recession with forecasts for the current year downgraded once again to growth of just 0.2%. France will struggle to hit the 1% growth target this year and German export performance is slowing as economies are transfixed by the crisis in Ukraine. Trade sanctions and threat of war are damaging exports from Euro land to Eastern Europe and to Russia. The Euro trading block is now imperilled by it’s very “raison d’être” at inception. Growth in the Euro economies is expected to be just 1% this year with no prospect of a rate rise on the horizon until late 2015 / 2016 at the earliest. Production and Manufacturing ... In the UK, manufacturing data was surprisingly weak in the latest data for June but Euroland is not to blame. Output increased in the month by just 1.9% after strong growth of 3.6% in the first quarter and 4% in April and May. In the second quarter overall growth was up by 3.2%. The underlying data from the Markit/CIPS Manufacturing PMI® suggests strong growth continued into June and July which suggests the latest ONS data may be something of an aberration. [We are adjusting our forecast for the year to growth in manufacturing of 3.4% based on the latest data. Expectations for UK GDP growth are unchanged at 3% following revisions to our service sector forecast.] The Car Market … The SMMT reported strong car sales in July, with new registrations up by 6% in the month and 10% in the year to date. Output increased by 3.5% over the year. The car market is on track to sell 2.45 million units this year. That’s actually higher than the levels achieved in 2007. Assuming output hits the 1.55 million mark, the deficit (trade in cars) will increase to almost 900,000 units. Car manufacturing is benefitting from the recovery in consumer confidence and household spending but the trade deficit will increase as a result of the strength of domestic demand and limitations to domestic capacity. The UK cannot enjoy a period as the strongest growth economy in the Western world without a significant deterioration in the trade balance. Deficit trade in goods and services … And so it continued to prove with the latest trade data. The deficit trade in goods increased slightly in the month of June to £9.5 billion offset by a £7 billion surplus in services. For the second quarter, the deficit was £27.4 billion (trade in goods) and just under £7 billion overall, goods and services. The service sector surplus was £20.5 billion. For the year as a whole, we expect the goods deficit to be £112.3 billion offset by an £80 billion plus serve sector surplus. No threat to the recovery but we still have concerns about the current account deterioration and the drop in overseas investment income. In the first six months of the year, exports of goods have fallen by almost 8% in value and imports have fallen by 4.6%. World trade growth has been subdued in the first six months of the year yet UK domestic demand increased by 3%. Sterling appreciation against the dollar has lead to a translation impact on the trade balance rather than an elasticity effect. Construction and housing ... The latest adjustment for construction data confirms the recovery continues driven by a huge increase in new housing. Total output increased by 5.3% in June, up by 4.8% in Q2 2014 compared to Q2 last year. The total value of new work in the month increased by 5.8% with the volume of new housing increasing by 18% compared to June last year. House Prices ... The increase in housing supply is doing little to assuage the demand for house moves and house prices. Halifax and Nationwide reported prices up by 10% in July. Our transaction model is simple. Activity is a function of house prices and the real cost of borrowing. With mortgages fixed at 4%, the double digit capital appreciation is irresistible to the basic mechanics of a free market. The real cost of borrowing is negative 6%. Demand for housing will continue to out strip supply, despite the regulatory adjustments to the mortgage market. So what happened to sterling this week? Sterling closed down against the dollar at $1.6774 from $1.682 and unchanged against the Euro at 1.252. The Euro was largely unchanged against the dollar at 1.341. Oil Price Brent Crude closed up slightly at $105.02 from 104.84. The average price in August last year was $111.28. Markets, closed mixed. The Dow closed up 61 points at 16,554 from 16,493 and the FTSE closed down 112 points at 6,567 from 6,679. UK Ten year gilt yields were down at 2.46 from 2.557and US Treasury yields closed at 2.42 from 2.49. Gold was up at $1,305 from $1,293. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. A letter from America … This week the Professor is in America, reviewing the prospects for the US economy. Despite the pressure on the Bank of England to increase rates before the end of the year, the MPC will be reluctant to move ahead of the Fed and be the first to leave Planet ZIRP. So what are the prospects of a US rate rise any time soon? Two Fed policy hawks, Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed and Charles Plosser of the Philadelphia Fed, made comments this week, suggesting they have seen enough evidence to support an interest rate rise earlier than expected. Currently, tapering is expected to continue, extinguishing the asset purchase programme in October. US rates are not expected to rise until Q1 or even Q2 next year. The Prof thinks the latest crop of economics data will take the pressure off the doves to move earlier. Growth in the USA … In the USA, real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 4.0 percent in the second quarter of 2014, according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 4% sounds quite exhilarating but …. According to our year on year comparison, US GDP Q2 increased by 2.4% in the second quarter compared to Q2 2013. This followed growth of 1.9% in the first quarter - both below trend rate. Our forecast of growth at 2.4% in 2014 is unchanged based on the latest data. The latest GDP estimates ensure there is no pressure on the Fed to accelerate the change in monetary policy. We expect tapering to continue into the Autumn, with a rate rise postponed into 2015. Jobs in the USA … Friday's employment and income reports pointed to steady U.S. job growth with the number of non farm payroll jobs increasing by 209,000. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 6.2% but this a refection of a widening labour pool rather than a slow down in the economy. Moderate expansion in payroll numbers, slightly below expectations, will ensure there is no short term pressure to increase rates anytime soon. Inflation in the USA … The US Consumer Price Index increased by 2.1 percent in the twelve months to June. The PCE (personal consumption expenditure) price index, the Fed's favoured measure of inflation, was up 1.6%. Average hourly earnings of private-sector workers were up 2.0% from a year earlier, unchanged from the range of the past few years. Growth, jobs, earnings and inflation are all demonstrating trends that are likely to keep the Federal Reserve on course to conclude the bond-purchase program in October but remain cautious about raising short-term interest rates before the end of the year. We would expect US rates to rise in the Spring of 2015. Despite any further increase in The Saturday Economist™ Overheating Index™, the MPC will be reluctant to increase rates this year and open the “Spread with the Fed”. So what of the UK? The latest manufacturing data from Markit/CIPS UK PMI® confirmed the strong output growth continued into July. Production and new orders both continued to rise at robust, above long-run average rates in the month. At 55.4, down from 57.2 in June, the headline index posted the lowest reading in one year but remained well above the survey average of 51.5. No need to worry about manufacturing output! Something to worry about … Ben Broadbent, Deputy Governor for monetary policy, Bank of England, made a speech in London this week. His theme - “The UK Current Account Deficit”. Last year the UK current account deficit was 4.5% of GDP. That’s the second-highest annual figure since the Second World War. So is the near record deficit a threat to growth? The Deputy Governor concludes the “significance [of the deficit] depends on the health of a country’s net foreign asset position and more fundamentally, on the trust in its institutions”. “…having a balanced net asset position seems to reduce the threat from a large current account deficit, as does a floating currency.” Now that is concerning. In the 80’s Chancellor Lawson argued the Balance of Payments “doesn’t matter”. It does and in the end it did! Interest rates had to rise dramatically to curtail domestic demand. In the current cycle, the deficit, trade in goods, is offset in part by the service sector surplus. At around 2% to 2.5% of GDP, the deficit is not a threat to growth. The collapse in overseas earnings on the other hand is a more serious concern. A current account deficit of 4.5% is unsustainable. A dismissive speech at Chatham House will not disguise the extent of the problem, rule or no rule. So what happened to sterling this week? Sterling closed down against the dollar at $1.682 from $1.698 and down against the Euro to 1.252 from (1.2653). The Euro was unchanged against the dollar at 1.343. Oil Price Brent Crude closed down at $104.84 from 108.30. The average price in August last year was $111.28. Markets, closed down. The Dow closed down 460 points at 16,493 from 16,953 and the FTSE was down 12 points at 6,679 from 6,791. UK Ten year gilt yields were down at 2.55 from 2.57 and US Treasury yields closed at 2.49 from 2.47. Gold was unchanged at $1,293 from $1,294. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. The MPC left rates on hold this week. We will have to wait a few weeks to find out if the vote was unanimous. For the moment the consensus view is likely to have held. But for how long will this be the case? Forward Guidance is already becoming confused by statements from Martin Weale and Charlie Bean. By the Autumn, the Bank may adopt Dr Doolittle’s pushmi.pullyu animal as a mascot. So thin - the margin of spare capacity - for consensus. The timing of rates is likely to become more polarised amongst MPC members. Who will make the first move? The “Wad is on Weale” to be the first to break ranks. UK data suggest rates may rise sooner … The UK data continues to suggest rates may have to rise sooner than forward guidance implies. Car sales in of May were up by almost 8% in the month and by 12% in the year to date. According to Nationwide, house prices increased by 11% in the twelve months to May. The Halifax House Price data suggested house prices increased by almost 9% over the same period. According to Stephen Noakes, Halifax Mortgages Director : “Housing demand is very strong and continues to be supported by a strengthening economic recovery. Consumer confidence is being boosted by a rapidly improving labour market and low interest rates”. Christine Lagarde and the IMF squad were in the UK this week. The IMF has warned that house prices pose the greatest threat to the UK recovery. It called on the Bank of England to enact policy measures "early and gradually" to avoid a housing bubble. The Fund's annual health check, suggested the UK economy has "rebounded strongly” confirming growth would "remain strong this year at 2.9%”. The IMF also suggested growth is becoming “more balanced” but … Trade deficit deteriorates … There was no evidence of rebalancing in the trade figures for April. The trade deficit in goods increased to £2.5 billion in the month as the deficit (trade in goods) increased to almost £10 billion. OK, someone forget to include all the oil data in the month, which may have under stated exports by £700 million but this is a minor detail. We expect the deficit (trade in goods) to be between £112 billion and £115 billion offset by a £50 billion service sector surplus this year. No rebalancing on the trade agenda, as we have long explained. Markit/CIPS UK PMI® Survey Data The Markit/CIPS UK PMI® survey data was also released this week. “The UK manufacturing upsurge continued”. The Manufacturing PMI index was 57.0 in May, down slightly from 57.3 in April. The survey noted strong growth in output and new orders. There was also a sharp rise in construction output. House building remained the strongest performing area of activity. The headline index was signaling growth for the thirteenth successive month at 60.0, compared to 60.8 prior month. The headline service sector index continued in positive territory at 58.6 compared to 58.7 last month. Service sector employment growth increased at the fastest rate in 17 years. Interest rate outlook … The strong growth in consumer spending, retail sales, car sales and the housing market continues. The outlook for output remains strong in construction, manufacturing and the service sector. We expect investment activity to increase this year. The unemployment rate will continue to fall, placing greater pressure on wage settlements, leading to an increase in earnings into the second half of the year. The trade deficit will continue to deteriorate albeit at a rate which is offset by the strength of the service sector surplus. Sterling will probably hold at current levels for the rest of the year. Inflation, will remain around target, such is the weakness of international energy and commodity prices for the near future. With such a strong outlook for the domestic economy, rates should probably be on the rise by the Autumn of this year. However the MPC will be reluctant to move ahead of the Fed and the ECB. USA and Europe ... In the USA, Friday’s strong jobs report confirmed the economy is improving following the slight setback in the first quarter. Non farm payroll increased by over 200,000 as the unemployment rate held at 6.3%. For the year as a whole, the Fed may downgrade the growth forecast to around 2.7% from 3% currently. For the moment, forward guidance suggests US rates may begin to rise in the second quarter of 2015 but the outlook may be shortened, if the job trends continue. In Europe, the ECB is heading in another direction. The growth forecast within the Eurozone is just 1% this year but officials are concerned about the prospect of deflation. The latest HICP figure confirmed prices increased by just 0.5% compared to 0.7% prior month. The ECB decided to lower the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem by 10 basis points to 0.15% and the rate on the marginal lending facility by 35 basis points to 0.40%. The rate on the deposit facility was lowered by 10 basis points to -0.10%. To support bank lending to households and business, excluding loans for house purchase, the ECB will be conducting a series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) valued at €400 billion over a four year period. The scheme follows the success of the UK Funding for Lending Scheme. So what of forward guidance … Domestic considerations suggest UK rates should be on the rise towards the end of the year. For the moment, forward guidance in the UK and the USA suggests rates will be held until the second quarter of 2015. This may change, if the trends in job growth continue here and in the USA. In Europe, forward guidance is more concerned with the prospects of deflation and a “lost decade”. An increase in rates is not on the “horizon” nor even in the appendix. So what happened to sterling this week? The pound closed up against the dollar at $1.679 from $1.675 and unchanged against the Euro at 1.231 (1.230). The dollar closed broadly unchanged at 1.364 from 1.362 against the euro and at 102.53 (101.80) against the Yen. Oil Price Brent Crude closed down at $108.48 from $109.35. The average price in June last year was $102.92. It is summer after all. Markets, the Dow closed up at 16,899 from 16,682 and the FTSE moved up to 6,858 from 6,852. UK Ten year gilt yields closed at 2.64 (2.56) and US Treasury yields closed at 2.55 from 2.46. Gold held at $1,250 from $1,251. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. It may have taken some time but households across Britain have finally come to terms the with strength of the recovery. According to GfK, the UK Consumer Confidence Barometer increased to levels last seen in the early part of 2005. Rejoice - we are having a recovery - would have been the Conservative mantra under Prime Minister Thatcher. Confidence in the economic situation of the country, increased to the highest level EVER, since records released in 2004. The propensity to spend is back to levels of 2006, even though the financial situation of households index is still below pre recession numbers. No surprise, perhaps, but with interest rates at such low levels, there is no real uptick in the intentions to save - for the moment at least. Interest Rates set to rise … Maybe households are waiting for the rates to rise. According to Markit®, nearly one in four households expect a rate rise within the next six months … almost half expect rates to rise within the next twelve months. Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit® said, “the recent upbeat news-flow on the economy, strong economic growth in the first quarter, record employment growth and surging house prices, means an increasing number of people think it inevitable that policymakers will be forced into an earlier rate hike than previously envisaged.” Quite right! In fact almost ten per cent, think rates are set to rise within the next three months! So much for forward guidance from the Bank of England. Charlie Bean and Baby Steps … Charlie Bean, the outgoing (as in departing) deputy governor of the Bank of England has suggested “The argument for gradual rises suggests rates should start to go up sooner. The rise could start with “baby steps to avoid making mistakes”. “There’s a case for moving gradually because we won’t be quite certain about the impact of tightening the Bank rate, given everything that has happened to the economy.” The sentiment was also echoed by MPC member Martin Weale, this week. "We can wait a bit longer. How long that 'bit longer' will be I'm not sure.” Ah yes, the merits of forward guidance and a clear steer on monetary policy. Governor Carney will have to whip the MPC troops into line if we are to avoid complete confusion on the direction of rates. The Bank would still have us believe rates will rise in the second quarter of next year. UK rates should rise in the Autumn … In our Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Economic Quarterly Outlook, to be released next week, we begin to caution, UK rates should be on the rise in the Autumn, if the present trends in household spending, retail sales and the housing market continue. From an international perspective, the MPC will be reluctant to act ahead of the Fed and the ECB. In the first quarter, US GDP recorded growth of just 2% year on year, postponing, perhaps, the inevitable rate rise. In Europe, fears of deflation may force the ECB to act, to ease, rather than tighten, monetary conditions still further in the June meeting. Japan ends fears of deflation … In Japan, fears of deflation have been assuaged by Abenomics. The solution to fears of falling prices - increase the rate of sales tax and push up prices! Japanese inflation increased by over 3% in April, half of which is explained by the hike in taxes! Fears may later emerge about the slow down in growth, such is the Ground Hog day experience of the lost decade but for the moment, rejoice - the deflationary spiral has been broken in the East! Good News for growth in the UK … Good news for growth in the UK continued this week according to today’s Financial Times. Drugs and prostitution will add £10 billion to the UK economy. Yes, the news that prostitution and drugs will be included in the calculation of the National Accounts from September onwards, adding a new dimension to the “Service Sector” offer. The change will add almost £10 billion to the National Accounts. Hookers will contribute £5.3 billion to “output” (GDP(O)) and drug addicts will add £4.4 billion to the calculation of expenditure (GDP(E). According to ONS research, in 2009, 60,879 prostitutes serviced 25 clients per week at an average spend of £67.19. Don’t you just love economics! If only "tricks" paying 19p could be persuaded to spend more … that would be a recovery! So what happened to sterling this week? The pound closed down against the dollar at $1.675 from $1.682 and down against the Euro at 1.230 (1.234). The dollar closed broadly unchanged at 1.362 from 1.363 against the euro and at 101.80 (101.97) against the Yen. Oil Price Brent Crude closed down at $109.35 from $110.52. The average price in May last year was $102.30. Markets, the Dow closed up at 16,682 from 16,593 and the FTSE moved up to 6,852 from 6,815. The markets are set to move higher. UK Ten year gilt yields closed at 2.56 (2.63) and US Treasury yields closed at 2.46 from 2.52. Gold moved down to $1,251 from $1,293. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. Janet Yellen was speaking at the Economic Club of New York this week. Three big questions continue to dominate policy formulation at the Federal Reserve. Unemployment, inflation and factors which may push the recovery off track. Actually, that’s more than three but … According to the Fed forecasts, US unemployment is set to fall to around 5.5% by the end of 2016 and inflation will hover just below 2%. “The economy would be approaching maximum employment and price stability for the first time in nearly a decade”. That's NICE! And what of interest rates? “Economic conditions, may for some time warrant keeping short term interest rates below levels the Committee views as likely to prove normal in the longer run”. The markets reacted well. The Dow moved up and the dollar moved down. Sterling moved to $1.679. In March, the Fed chair had given a clear indication that rates would start to rise in the first quarter of 2015. Less than a month later, there was no such clarity. Rates will be on hold until the recovery is well established. As long as it takes. Unemployment rate, the measure of momentum that really matters, to the doves at the Fed. Exogenous Shocks Nowhere in the speech did the “Capsid Bug” feature. According to a report in The Times today, black pod disease and capsid bug infestations are ravaging cocoa crops in West Africa. This shock to supply plus the surging demand from Chinese Chocaholics is causing a cocoa pop. Cocoa beans have jumped in price from $2,680 per tonne in January to over $3,000 per tonne in March. There could be a 115,000 tonne shortfall in supply this year. By next Easter, we may well be eating smaller eggs which cost much more. So much for the threat of world deflation! Does this matter? Well yes. The collapse of the Peruvian anchovy crop in 1972/3 was claimed by many to herald the onset of the hyper inflationary episode of the seventies. OK, the Russian grain famine, the onset of OPEC and the quadrupling of oil prices assisted considerably. But the message is, exogenous shocks from commodity prices can have a greater impact on domestic inflation. Much greater than the Phillips curve paradigm, much beloved by the FOMC, provides. This is clearly demonstrated in the UK economics data released this week. Inflation is falling, employment is rising. World prices mitigated by the appreciation of Sterling are marking the price changes. UK Inflation Inflation CPI basis slowed to 1.6% in March from 1.7% in the prior month. Goods inflation fell to 1.0% and service sector inflation fell to 2.3% (2.4%). Oil related transport costs were dominant in the slow down. Manufacturing output prices increased by just 0.5% as input costs actually fell by 6.5%. The fall in crude oil prices, imported metals, parts and equipment largely explained the fall. Sterling appreciation assisted the process. Sterling averaged $1.66 in March this year compared to $1.51 last year. A 10% appreciation assisting the “deflationary process” significantly. [Oil prices Brent crude basis averaged $108 approximately in both months]. So what of employment? Unemployment figures - Jobcentres will be closing by the end of 2016 Unemployment fell to 6.9% in the three months to February to a level of 2.24 million. This is below the level originally outlined in the Bank of England Forward Guidance in August last year. 7.0% the level at which the Bank would begin to consider an increase in base rates. The claimant count fell by 30,000 to a level of 1.142 million. Over the last three months, the count has fallen by 100,000 and almost 400,000 over the last twelve months. If current rates persist, the labour market will fall to pre recession levels towards the end of the year. By the end of 2016, No one will be left on the list. So this is what they mean by full employment! Jobcentres will have to close! The implications for earnings are evident. Already in February, whole economy earnings increased by 1.9% and wages in manufacturing and construction increased by 3%. We expect a significant acceleration in earnings throughout the year as the labour market tightens considerably. As for base rates, Yellen is signalling the US rates will be kept on hold well into 2015. The Bank of England may well have no such luxury. The MPC will be reluctant to raise rates ahead of the Fed. If this were to happen, despite the inherent structural weakness on trade and the current account, sterling will continue to rise significantly. $1.73 the next target? So what happened to sterling this week? The pound closed at $1.679 from $1.673 and at 1.215 from 1.204 against the Euro. The dollar closed at 1.382 from 1.3389 against the euro and at 102.42 against the Yen. Oil Price Brent Crude closed at $109.76 from $107.70. The average price in April last year was $101.2. The energy kicker to falling prices may well be over. Markets, the Dow closed up at 16,408 from 16,086and the FTSE also closed up at 6,625 from 6,561. UK Ten year gilt yields closed at 2.70 (2.60) and US Treasury yields closed at 2.72 from 2.62. Gold moved lower to $1,293 from $1,318. The pattern is bullish for equities.. That’s all for this week. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. The week of the budget … “I have never shied away from presenting difficult truths to the British people. And one difficult truth the British people must confront, is that by this time next year, I may well appear to be the most successful Chancellor in UK history.” Well it would have been a great start to the budget speech - and yes it could well be true! Growth up, inflation down. Employment up, borrowing down, just the trade figures will continue to disappoint. Construction will be much higher. Investment and real earnings will be rising by the second half of the year. The Tories could not hope for a better economic platform to pitch at the hustings next year. The Budget 2014 simply enhanced economic prospects for the year ahead. Proclaimed as a budget for makers, doers and savers. The savers did particularly well but above all else, it was a budget for voters. The Chancellor offered a prudent budget with fiscal constraint and an obvious eye on the electorate. “Fixing the roof whilst the sun is shining” the mantra. It is clear the Bullingdon boys are fixing the roof in Downing Street, intent on a prolonged stay beyond May 2015. For a more comprehensive note on the budget itself, check out the full post here. It was a budget which 24 hours later was considered (by the IFS and others) to be more expansionary than at first thought. It was a clever budget. Hard to think it came from the same stable as the "omni shambles" just two years ago. The polls have Labour just 3 to 4 points ahead of the Conservatives. Tory analysts will have an eye on the 1986 rally. A fifteen point swing in just twelve months, to enable the Thatcher administration to stay in power. The Lib Dem vote has collapsed, the UKIP vote will evaporate. The Chancellor has created a winning platform. It will be difficult, but not impossible, for Prime Minister Cameron to slip from the podium. Borrowing … The borrowing figures for February were released on Friday. At first sight the figures appear disappointing. Borrowing in the month was £9.3 billion, slightly up from £9.2 billion in the prior year. Heading in the wrong direction? Not really. The prior year figures were enhanced by the £2.3 billion sale of 4G licences. For the year as a whole the OBR projections assume borrowing of around £108 billion in the year down from £115 billion last year. Over the next four years, assuming the budget forecasts for spending are achieved, borrowing could be eliminated within four years. Entirely plausible. Then the real task of reducing the £1.5 trillion debt can begin. Unemployment … The good news on employment continued with further news this week. The claimant count fell by almost 35,000 in February to a rate of 3.5%. Over the last twelve months the count has fallen by 360,000 to a level of 1.175 million. Over the last three months, the count has fallen by 100,000. On current trends, assuming growth of around 2.7% in the year, the unemployment level could fall below 1 million by the end of the year, hitting the critical 2.5% rate by the middle of next year. Why so critical? This would be the best performance since the beginning of 2008. A 2.5% claimant count rate is consistent with earnings of 4% - 5%. Far more than current achievements of 1.5%. “Spare capacity” could become a scarce resource, sooner than we think. Base rates are set to rise in the first half of next year. The rate rise could be sooner and thereafter faster than we are currently led to believe. Rate rise USA … Janet Yellen as the new head of the Fed gave a clear indication, US tapering will continue with a possible elimination of the whole QE programme by the Fall. Thereafter Yellen made clear, US rate rises are likely to follow within six months. Watch the UK and add six months, our mantra modified to perhaps three months, the guideline last week. On current job trends, we caution, watch the US and don’t blink. The UK rate rise - much sooner than you think. So what happened to sterling? The pound closed at $1.649 from $1.662 and at 1.1956 from 1.196 against the Euro. The dollar closed at 1.379 from 1.390 against the euro and 102.27 from 101.31 against the Yen. Oil Price Brent Crude closed at $107.37 from $108.34. The average price in March last year was $108. Markets, the Dow closed at 16,410 from 16,107 and the FTSE closed at 6,557 from 6,527. UK Ten year gilt yields closed at 2.76 from 2.67 and US Treasury yields closed at 277 from 2.65. Gold loves a crisis, the crisis is over as the metal moved lower to $1,3358 from $1,378. That’s all for this week. No Sunday Times and Croissants tomorrow. All records of the tennis results - recorded - then destroyed. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. The list is growing as is our research team. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experts in strategy. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. UK rates on hold … No surprise this week - the MPC voted to keep rates on hold and maintain the size of the asset purchase programme at £375 billion. It will be some months yet before rates begin to rise. Our current assumption is that rates will begin to rise in the second quarter of 2015. 40% of respondents in the latest Bank of England/GfK Inflation survey expect rates to rise over the next twelve months. No worries for the future apparently. Once on the rise, over 70% expect rates to be less than 3% in five years time. So much for the madness of crowds. Clearly the general public have a much better grasp of the latest simulations of the “equilibrium real interest rate associated with a neutral monetary policy over the medium term” than is generally assumed. They must have been listening to the speech by David Miles last month. Asked about the current rate of inflation, the median answer was 3.5% down from 4.4% in November. Excellent. So much for the madness and the wisdom of crowds. US Payroll data up … In the USA, better than expected payroll data guarantees the Federal Reserve will continue to taper, with a further reduction this month to $55 billion. Employers added 175,000 more jobs in February. Movement in US futures suggest the markets attach a "higher probability to a US rate rise in the middle of 2015". Fed officials have said they are “comfortable with market expectations of future rate rises”. We think US rate rises could be on the agenda by the end of 2014 or early 2015. The implications for UK rate rises should be evident. Our mantra - watch the USA and add six months - may be a little more compressed in this cycle. UK survey data … This week the February Markit/CIPS UK PMI® surveys were released. The strong upswing in the UK manufacturing sector continued in February. Output and new business continued to rise at above-trend rates. The leading index at 56.9 was up from a revised reading of 56.6 in January. In construction, the pace of expansion continued to rise sharply. The leading index scored 62.6 in February, down from a 77-month high of 64.6 in January. Still a very strong performance. In the service sector, output continues to expand strongly in the month. The headline Business Activity Index recorded 58.2 during February, little changed on January’s 58.3 and indicative of a sharp rise in activity on a monthly basis. Overall, output in construction, manufacturing and services suggest the economy continues to recover across the board at a very strong rate. The latest NIESR GDP tracker suggest growth increased by 3.5% in January. The Bank of England expects growth of over 3.5% in the first quarter. For the year as a whole, the consensus forecast is for growth of 2.7% this year. We await the details of the latest GM Chamber of Commerce survey before raising our estimates of growth this year. The GDP(O) model is signalling growth of 3% for the year as a whole. The survey data is a little more tempered, I suspect. In the UK and the USA, growth is accelerating and the job market is “tightening”. The pay round will become more difficult by the end of the year. Earnings are set to increase significantly as critical unemployment levels are breached by early 2015. Household incomes are set to improve and the recovery in spending will continue. There will be no “rebalancing”, whatever that really means. Growth up, unemployment down, inflation down and borrowing heading in the right direction. Just the trade figures will continue to disappoint. If growth hits 3% this year, disappointment could turn to shock and alarm. Then all forward rate bets will be off. So what happened to sterling? The pound closed at $1.672 from $1.675 and at 1.205 from 1.213 against the Euro. The dollar closed at 1.387 from 1.381 against the euro and 103.3 from 101.7 against the Yen. Oil Price Brent Crude closed at $108.86 from $109.02. The average price in February last year was almost $116 falling to $108 in March. Markets, moved slightly - The Dow closed at 16,458 from 16,367 and the FTSE slipped closing at 6,712 from 6,809. UK Ten year gilt yields closed at 2.81 from 2.72 and US Treasury yields closed at 2.80 from 2.67. Gold lovers worship alone with a close at $1,338. That’s all for this week. No Sunday Times and Croissants tomorrow or for the rest of this year for that matter. We are taking a break in this pre election year. Join the mailing list for The Saturday Economist or forward to a friend. The list is growing as is our research team. John © 2014 The Saturday Economist by John Ashcroft and Company. Experience worth sharing. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. We accept no liability for errors, or omissions of opinion or fact. In particular, no reliance should be placed on the comments on trends in financial markets. The receipt of this email should not be construed as the giving of investment advice. |
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