Posts Tagged ‘Printing Presses’

Hendry: Fears of inflation could trigger bigger downturn

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009


We have followed Hugh Hendry, the outspoken and bold CIO of Eclectica Asset Management, and one of the few profitable absolute return hedgies during the last 12 to 18 months, as he built his high conviction case for deflation, and invested as such, in long dated government bonds, Gilts and 30-year US treasury bonds. Last year, it was Hendry who pointed out that 10-year US treasury bonds were signalling deflation, and that in a sea of risky assets, they were the only asset that was up, and up by 15%, while stocks declined in value by 20% or more, the first half of 2008. Falling interest rates, a flattening yield curve, which came as a result of investors flight from risk in equities and commodities, paid off, with Hendry ending the year up some 40% in his flagship Eclectica hedge fund.

In the months since the beginning of March, however, his thesis has been challenged by the market’s renewed embrace of inflation risk, and stocks recovered off brutal lows, as a result of the deemed “risk” trade. By April, Hendry, who is not known for being a buy and hold investor, despite his standing beliefs, reduced his positions in long duration government bonds, treasurys and gilts in the short term, challenged by yields returning to last year’s levels as the economic “green shoots” teased.

We recently posted Hendry’s June 2009 letter to investors in which he re-iterates his view on inflation/deflation, and explains in fair detail that rough waters lie ahead for stocks and commodities as a result of the markets’ over-anticipation of the effects of the whirring central banks’ printing presses. He has avoided investing in stocks for most of the last year, making almost all of his fund’s returns from owning long duration government securities.

Hendry, an avid market historian, believes it possible that we have already experienced the very inflation and hyperinflation the market fears, during the 2002-2007 period where creditor nations (BRIC) amassed enormous forex reserves in the trillions, while gold broke out of a 27-year trend and oil skyrocketed to $147 per barrel. In yesterday’s interview, he also points out that during in the last 7 years the US dollar lost 40% of its value, an occurrence which is often overlooked or underplayed, but that he calls unprecedented. He explains this view in yesterday’s CNBC interview. As usual Hendry’s clarity on the matter is enlightening, as he has a mastery of the complexity of currency effects arising from carry trades and currency crosses.

One year ago, Hendry warned the Hungarian finance minister that the Hungarian economy, and others like it in Eastern Europe, which were financing their growth with Yen and Swiss Franc crosses and/or carry trades, would be unable to keep up with the spectre of cyclical currency fluctuations which could rapidly destroy the monetary liquidity they were awash in during the “strong Euro” era.

Click play to watch the June 29, 2009 interview:

CNBC: Fears about inflation and hyperinflation could create another economic downturn, bigger than the one the world went through, Hugh Hendry, chief investment officer at hedge fund Eclectica, told CNBC Tuesday.

The stock markets are due for a correction after having risen dramatically this year, but this is not likely to come in the summer and another rally is possible, Hendry, who said he was remaining risk-adverse this year, told “Squawk Box Europe.”

“We have a huge intellectual conviction… that this is a more profound downturn that we’re experiencing and markets will be under pressure,” Hendry said.

“People get more get more concerned about government debt… and it sows the seeds of its own destruction,” Hendry said. “We’re actually tightening the screw, we make monetary policy tighter and tighter.”

Long-term yields on government bonds have been rising, as investors fear central banks, especially in the US and the UK, will have to absorb excess liquidity from the system and raise interest rates to fend off inflation once an economic recovery takes hold.

“I think this paranoia today that inflation is happening today I think it puts in place a motion for a decline in the economy,” Hendry said. “I think they’re not printing enough money… with regards to the wealth destruction that has been happening over the past 18 months.”

“We raised interest rates and actually we killed the golden goose,” he added.

Stock Market Correction

A correction in the stock market is likely, but it will not come over the summer, and the S&P 500 index may even hit 1,000 before the downturn, according to Hendry, who admitted he is not stepping in to catch the tail of the rally.

“It’s kind of fun watching it from the sidelines, I must say I’m not participating,” he said. “My flower opens in the winter, not in the summer.”

Crude Oil vs. CNY/USD

There is a tight correlation between the oil price and the Chinese currency, the yuan, with oil prices rising as the yuan was strengthening, Hendry said. This is because Chinese speculators had borrowed in dollars as the yuan firmed, and all that liquidity was thrown into the oil market last year.

“The one non-confirmation in the world is that, since July, the Chinese currency has done nothing, it was flat vis-à-vis the dollar,” he added.

Hendry said he still prefers conventional government bonds, and admitted they were the cause his fund was 3 to 4 percent down on the year. But, he added, government bonds were down 20 percent – although he doesn’t think they will end the year like this.

China and other countries with a current account surplus are not as safe as they seem at first glance, because their economies are still hugely dependent on exports to the US, which is still “down on its luck,” he said.

“If that’s the case, the last place you want to be is the surplus countries,” Hendry said.

Source: CNBC, June 29, 2009

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1167997692&play=1

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Puru Saxena: Transfer of wealth

Thursday, June 25th, 2009


This post is a guest contribution by Puru Saxena*, founder of Hong Kong-based Puru Saxena Wealth Management.

After decades of excess credit and over-consumption, the developed world is finally being forced to deal with private-sector deleveraging. However, the governments seem to have other plans and they’ve decided to fight these deflationary forces tooth and nail. Their solution - even more credit and consumption!

Rather than accept a painful adjustment period, policymakers are desperately trying to revive the party. And in the process, they are making the situation much worse. All over the world, governments are spending trillions of dollars in order to clean up the mess. Unfortunately, the stark reality is that these governments have no money. So, in most instances, these glorious state-sponsored spending programs are being financed by borrowing and money printing.

Most people seem to forget that these fiscal spending programs aren’t creating any real wealth and are simply transferring wealth from the savers to the debtors. Essentially, governments are taking money from the solvent and re-distributing these funds amongst the insolvent.

Needless to say, by bailing out the incompetent and buying their toxic assets, the governments are cleaning up the private-sector balance sheets but at a huge cost. In the process of saving a few ‘too big to fail’ corporations and their bondholders, policymakers are greatly increasing the risk of sovereign defaults. In a nutshell, policymakers are erroneously transferring private-sector risk to the state.

So far in the ongoing credit crisis, we haven’t really seen many sovereign bankruptcies but I suspect they will follow. And you can bet your bottom dollar that policymakers will not hesitate to use the printing presses if it results in escaping sovereign default. As a result of the world’s banking system being a multiple of world GDP, the sad truth is that politicians don’t have very many options.

What we’ve witnessed over the past few months is that governments around the world have decided to maintain the stability of their banking systems in order to preserve the trust of their populace. Basically, policymakers have opted to save the banks even if it means putting entire nations at a great risk. And the most likely outcome is that the politicians will continue on this inflationary road to nowhere.

In my opinion, as the private sector continues to pay back debt, the use of the printing press won’t result in immediate inflation. However, over the medium-term, all these needless bailouts are going to create a massive inflation problem.

Amidst all this economic uncertainty and rampant money printing, confidence in governments will plummet and people will turn to ‘old fashioned’ stores of value - those assets which represented money long before pieces of paper backed by empty promises became fashionable. Indeed, the investment community has already begun moving towards precious metals and I expect this trend to continue.

It is interesting to note that only 160,000 tons of gold has ever been mined from the face of this planet and at US$950 per ounce, it is worth US$4.9 trillion. Now, consider that the total amount of paper money in circulation (currencies, savings, deposits, money-markets and CDs) is worth US$60 trillion or approximately twelve times the value of the gold in existence. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that as world governments debase their currencies, many people will begin to question the viability of paper money as a store of value and they will turn to gold, silver and platinum. Even if a small fraction of paper money rushes towards the small gold and silver markets, what do you think will happen to their prices? No question, precious metals’ prices will explode!

Accordingly,I sincerely recommend that investors allocate at least 10% of their wealth to physical bullion. Over the next few days, it is likely that precious metals will correct and this may be the final opportunity to buy gold and silver at these levels. Those looking for extra leverage should invest money in the precious metals mining stocks. So far in the precious metals bull market, we’ve had massive rallies every two years. If this trend remains intact, after the usual summer correction, we should see an explosive move until spring next year.

Source: The Daily Reckoning, June 24, 2009.

* Puru Saxena is the founder of Puru Saxena Wealth Management. He is a registered investment advisor and money manager with the SFC of Hong Kong. Saxena conducts in-depth macro-economic research, formulates his firm’s investment strategy and manages discretionary investment portfolios. He is also the editor and publisher of Money Matters - a monthly economic report he has been writing since 2000.

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Gold bullion glitters brightly

Sunday, May 24th, 2009


I argued the bull case for gold in my post of May 7 entitled “Gold bullion - regaining its shine?” With gold trading at more than $950 an ounce this morning, it would certainly seem as if renewed interest in the yellow metal is being stirred up.

As printing presses are running at full speed to produce ever-increasing quantities of fiat money as governments engineer the greatest asset price reflation in human history - and the US greenback is heading South - the longer-term fundamental case for the yellow metal is arguably positive.

As to be expected, there is a strong relationship between the gold price (green line) and Treasury inflation-protected securities (red line).

22-may-gold2

Source: StockCharts.com

The shorter-term technical picture is also starting to look interesting. This is explained by Adam Hewison of INO.com who prepared a short technical analysis of gold’s most likely direction and key chart levels. (The analysis was done on Wednesday with the gold price at $935, but is still as relevant as it was two days ago.)

Click here or on the image below to access the video presentation.

22-may-gold1

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Gold bullion: regaining its shine?

Thursday, May 7th, 2009


Is gold bullion coming back to life? Should one read anything into its rise of 3.6% over the past two days to above $900?

The yellow metal solidly outperformed stock markets for the bulk of the equity bear market that commenced in October 2007. However, as investors waved safe havens goodbye and embraced risky assets since early March, gold lost its luster.

Could gold’s treading water simply be ascribed to “Armageddon hedging” having dissipated, or is it perhaps the threat of the IMF’s plan to sell 403 metric tons of gold once approved by US Congress (unlikely before late in 2009)?

The Financial Times this morning published an article on how dearly gold sales over the years have cost European Central banks after copying the Bank of England’s program of large-scale gold sales that commenced in 1999, thereby triggering a phase of “anti-gold” sentiment among European central banks.

The FT’s chart of central banks’ gold holdings provides an excellent snapshot of the various governments’ policies regarding bullion. However, history tells us that when Western central banks sell gold the resultant price decline usually offers a solid buying opportunity. It is also safe to assume that China, which has secretly almost doubled its gold holdings between 2003 and 2008, would be eyeing the West’s gold, especially as Beijing has a stated policy of diversifying out of the US dollar and only has 1.6% of its reserves invested in gold (compared with the global average of 10.5%).

Click the image below for a large graphic.

7-mei-2.jpg

While gold has moved out of the headlines and investors have become frustrated with its performance, printing presses are running at full speed to produce ever-increasing quantities of fiat money as governments’ engineer the greatest asset price reflation in human history, and succeeding at it.

The longer-term fundamental case for the yellow metal is arguably positive, but the shorter-term technical picture is also starting to look interesting. This is explained in some detail by Adam Hewison of INO.com who prepared a short technical analysis of gold’s most likely direction and key chart levels. Click here or on the image below to access the video presentation.

7-mei-3.jpg

Gold’s subdued performance of late may very well be the proverbial lull before the storm as the equity rally starts looking tired and pundits come to the conclusion that the convalescence of the global financial system has not yet run its entire course.

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Byron Wien: Ten Surprises for 2009

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009


Byron Wien, Pequot Capital
Byron R. Wien, Chief Investment Strategist of Pequot Capital Management, Inc., today issued his list of Ten Surprises for 2009. Mr. Wien has issued his economic, financial market and political surprises annually since 1986. The 2009 list follows:

1. The Standard and Poor’s 500 rises to 1200. In anticipation of a second-half recovery in the U.S. economy, the market improves from a base of investor despondency and hedge fund and mutual fund withdrawals. The mantra changes from “fortunes have been lost” to “fortunes can still be made.” Higher quality corporate bonds, leveraged loans and mortgages lead the way.

2. Gold rises to $1,200 per ounce. Heavy buying by Middle Eastern investors and a worldwide disenchantment with paper currencies drive the price of precious metals higher. In a time of uncertainty, investors want something they can count on as real.

3. The price of oil returns to $80 per barrel. Production disappointments and rising Asian demand create an unfavorable supply/demand balance. Other commodities also rise, some doubling from their 2008 lows. Natural gas goes to $9 per mcf.

4. Low Treasury interest rates coupled with huge borrowing by the Treasury send the dollar into a serious downward slide. Overseas investors become concerned that the currency printing presses will never stop. The yen goes to 75 and the euro to 1.65.

5. The ten-year U.S. Treasury yield climbs to 4%. Later in the year, as the economy shows signs of recovery, economists and investors shift their mood from concern about deflation to worries about inflation. A weak dollar, rapid growth in money supply and record-setting deficits (over $1 trillion) are behind the change.

6. China’s growth exceeds 7% and its stock market revives. World leaders credit China’s authoritarian government for its thoughtful stimulus policies and effective execution during a challenging period. The Chinese consumer begins to spend more and save less and this shift is behind the unexpected strength in the economy.

7. Falling tax revenues from the financial sector cause New York State to threaten bankruptcy and other states and municipalities follow. The Federal government is forced to step in and provide substantial assistance. The New York Post screams “When will the bailouts stop?”

8. Housing starts reach bottom ahead of schedule in the fall, and house prices stabilize after dropping 15% from year-end 2008 levels. The Obama stimulus program proves effective and a slow growth recovery begins before year-end. Third and fourth quarter real gross domestic product numbers are positive.

9. The savings rate in the United States fails to improve beyond 3%, as most economists expect. The concept of thrift seems to have vanished from American culture. Peak job insecurity and negative growth drive increased savings early in the year, but spending resumes as the economic growth turns positive in the second half, making Christmas 2009 the best ever.

10. Citing concerns about Iraq’s fragile democratically elected government and the danger of a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Barack Obama slows his plan for troop withdrawal in the former and meaningfully increases U.S. military presence in the latter. In a hawkish speech he states that the threat of terrorism forces the United States to maintain a strong military force in this strategic area.

Mr. Wien believes these surprises, which the consensus would assign only a one-in-three chance of happening, have at least a 50% probability of occurring at some point during the year. In previous years, more than half of the elements of the list have proven correct.

Pequot Capital Management is a private investment firm.

Source: Business Wire
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090105005763&newsLang=en



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Commodities Performance in 2008

Sunday, December 28th, 2008


Commodity price performance has been a wild ride in 2008. The record of price movement is outlined in the table and chart below. For each commodity, the table details year-to-date (YTD) %-age change, drop from 52-week high, and start of year to the 52-week high.

Oil has had the roughest ride falling 62% YTD, 75% from its 52-week high, and preceded by a rise of 53% to its 52-week high. This was followed by Copper, Platinum, and Natural Gas, which had a meteoric rise to its 52-week high of 83%.

Most of the commodities, save Gold, have behaved in kind, thanks to the long-only commodity indices like GSCI which enabled investors of all kinds to invest naked in long-only baskets of commodities. They all went up together, and they all came down together. Platinum and Silver, the other two precious metals dropped along with other commodities, while Gold resumed its dual status as favoured currency and store of value during periods of turmoil.

Commodities are indeed more volatile than stocks. When, and if, we see the return of expansionary and/or inflationary (or worse, hyper-inflationary) conditions, however, these will be a key asset class to allocate to. With all of the printing presses at the Fed whirring right now, some would say its inevitable.

08comperf

52weekdrop

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‘Encouraged by a wicked wizard, Greenspan, Bernanke toils at his printing press’

Friday, November 28th, 2008


The Guardian has published below, an insight-full essay by Hugh Hendry, CIO, Eclectica Asset Management. Hendry’s brash and eloquent commentary has earned him a reputation which he best personally describes as heresy, as many in the City of London have tried at times to dismiss his bold and controversial views.

Again, Hendry closes in on his decision to be long the long government bonds, as he contends that long term rates will come down as central banks globally, have little choice but to follow the Fed to lower interest rates over the next year or two.

As markets liquidated in the deleveraging fervour that has proliferated this year, investors have piled into short term treasury bills and money market instruments. As sentiment for equity markets and commodities continues to wane, its starting to appear more likely that short term bond money will go in search of yield further along the yield curve, and as it does the rather steep yield curves should flatten.

Here’s another thought. What incentive does the US government have for reviving the stock market? After all, where else are they going to get the money to pay for a trillion-dollar war and a trillion-dollar bailout, but the bond market? It would serve government if an entire segment of investors fled into the longer (duration) end of bond the market for capital safety so as to indemnify those at the printing presses.

The Wizard of Oz must be one of the creepiest stories ever told.

“The past 30 years of economic history may have produced a daunting sequel to the original Wizard of Oz, written by Frank Baum.

By Hugh Hendry
Last Updated: 10:59AM GMT 27 Nov 2008

Still of the 1939 MGM film classic of Wizard  of Oz Follow the yellow brick road to get a picture of where we are

People blame this crisis on cheap money and greedy bankers. They certainly cannot be exempted. But I take a more fatalist point of view. There has to be a reason for humans to die off in their 70s and 80s. I believe it is so that the memory of a generation’s mistakes is erased, allowing future ages to repeat the folly of greed and fear.

Because of this, I spend a lot of time reflecting on social mood and behaviour. Popular fiction is a particular fascination; I believe it provides a mind map of the social conscience. The Wizard of Oz is a personal favourite. I would contend that bullish markets produce feel-good films, like Disney animation; that bear markets produce depictions of horror and foreboding (think Hammer House of Horror in the 1970s and SAW, its modern equivalent); and that social mood is linked to stock market patterns.

The original Frank Baum story was written as a political allegory of America’s entry on to the gold standard in 1879. The strictures of sound money coincided with a vibrant post Civil War economy. The result was deflation: prices fell by 1.7pc pa between 1875 and 1896. The farmer, as depicted by the scarecrow, was held captive by falling agricultural prices and mortgages owed to the big banks, the wicked witch of the east. The spell of tight monetary policy cast a pall over the poor tin woodsman: every time he swung his axe, he chopped off part of his body. It was a depiction of the economy’s shuttered and rusting factories.

The easy-money crowd, Bernanke and Greenspan’s great grandfathers perhaps, argued the responsibility for the economy’s woes lay with an insufficient monetary response. The gold market had a scarcity that choked the US economy into serfdom.

Instead, the populists’ manifesto called for the readmission of more plentiful silver coinage into the system – a point captured by Dorothy’s silver slippers (Hollywood changed them to ruby) as she skipped along the yellow brick road (the gold standard). Print more money and remove us from penury. Consecutive presidential elections were contested on such a return to bimetallism in 1896 and 1900. Surprisingly, the easy-money crowd, proved unsuccessful; they were defeated by powerful bankers such as JP Morgan. However, the story ends with the good witch of the south (the populace) prophesying that Dorothy’s silver slippers (easy-money policy) are so powerful they can fulfil her every wish. This utopia was made possible just 13 years later with the formation of the Federal Reserve. The tin man and the scarecrow would have a more forgiving lender of last resort after all and 71 years later the wizard, called Nixon, went one step further and abolished the need for gold and silver ounces (Oz) when the US reneged on its Bretton Woods commitment to sound money.

Of course, today we could be watching a comparable parable unfold. The past 30 years of economic history may have produced a daunting sequel. I would suggest tomorrow’s fiction will prove much darker, perhaps in the image of Goethe’s Faust.

The story would feature an apprentice printer called Bernanke. Encouraged by a wicked wizard, Greenspan, he toils at his printing press night and day producing reams of paper money. At first his monetary accommodation seems to bring unbridled prosperity. Boom follows boom, as the business cycle is seemingly abolished, house prices grow to the sky and his political stock rises. In time, the scarecrow is bought-off by crop subsidy; the tin man vacations in Vegas, having refinanced his mortgage for the 13th time. And the sorcerer’s apprentice is promoted to top wizard.

However, Greenspan, now in retirement, finally reveals his scheme has brought only “bogus riches”. The printing presses have created a “zero-sum game” where dollars lose their purchasing power against God’s brew of precious metals. The populace begins to save. Spending is reined in. Even the corporate sector suffers. With consumers no longer spending, there are no profits. Shares slump and the fiat kingdom collapses in anarchy.

And that is pretty much where we are today.

I withdrew my hard-earned money from a bank this summer. But it may surprise you to learn that I bought government bonds of long duration. Surely I should have bought gold? Except that I believe the way to make money is to seek opportunities through paradox.

And therein lies our brinkmanship: everyone has skipped our story and read the conclusion. They fear financial anarchy. Gold coins are sold out. Everyone is in. And yet the price of gold has fallen this year. So, for now, I would stick with the bonds. The 18-year British gilt yields 4.8pc but, with the Bank of England likely to follow the Fed and slash rates to 1pc, I believe we could see gilt yields below 3pc. And I promise you that if bond yields broke 3pc there would be a stampede to buy.

At this stage gold might trade close to $500, and those who missed its rally from 2002 would have the solace of schadenfreude when in reality they should be buying the stuff and selling their bonds. What delicious irony: deflationists and inflationists could both claim to be right. But how many will have profited?

Hugh Hendry is the co-founder of Eclectica Asset Management.”

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