Everywhere I read the pontifications of eager interpreters of yield inversions, and other signs and portents, predicting smooth sailing for the economy until a possible recession in 2023.
All I can say is you have to be kidding me. First of all, markets are still at unprecedented and artificial extremes. It seems to me to be a trifle naive to assume that scenarios from the past apply here. Markets have never been here before and hopefully will never return again. Secondly, there are major and poorly understood economic disruptions underway:
China: The world’s largest asset class, real estate in China, is in trouble. March sales of new homes are down 29% y-o-y. Lockdowns in Shanghai and other large cities in China are stalling production and shipments of many goods.
Ukraine: The Russian invasion and its corollary sanctions are negatively impacting agricultural and commodity exports. Restricted supply and high prices of fertilizer will reduce agricultural production around the world.
United States: Historically high consumer price increases have resulted from years of low interest rates and massive expansion of the money supply. Measures announced so far to deal with this issue are unlikely to have much effect. The 10-year Treasury yield has doubled since the beginning of 2022, with direct impact on mortgage rates and thence real estate prices. “Green” policies have driven up energy prices by restricting supply.
EU: “Green” policies have left the EU (and the UK) without reliable domestic sources of energy, leaving the group dependent on imports from the rest of the world, but without adequate LNG terminals to replace Russian pipelines. The EU is expected to announce an embargo on Russian oil immediately after the French election, which will drive prices higher.
Japan: The third most traded currency, JPY, the Japanese yen, is falling rapidly, now down more than 10% since the beginning of 2022 against the US dollar. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index rose 8.2% in JPY terms over just the past week. It’s up 29% since end of Feb., more than 48% ytd and 177% over the past two years (all in JPY terms). The possibility of intervention is being bruited about. Currency wars are the nuclear option for financial markets.
Look out below.
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