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HomeCan Hyperinflation Happen Overnight?
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 11th, 2010 12:50 PM |
Are the financial wizards in Washington and around the world concocting potions and building financial models which may create a greater crisis than that we are currently experiencing? What type of crisis might that be? Our friends in Germany know all to well about the perils of hyperinflation. Could we be facing the same prospects? While our central bankers are touting the current benefits of limited inflation, to be fair the bankers and the economy are battling the undercurrents of disinflation and deflation.
Could those currents change on a dime and create a ‘funnel’ in which our economy is engulfed by hyperinflation? Let’s navigate this topic and review a commentary put forth by Daryl Montgomery, a guest on No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle from March 7th. Daryl is a fellow contributing author at Seeking Alpha and writes on this topic today, (more…)
Bernanke Conundrum
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 8th, 2009 7:27 AM |
Overnight markets indicate that Treasury prices are lower and interest rates subsequently higher (remember the inverse relationship between bond prices and interest rates). 2yr Treasury notes are trading at 1.33% and 10yr Treasury notes are trading at 3.85% (both are .03% higher from Friday’s close).
If interest rates are higher, clearly that move must be an indication that economic activity is improving and equity markets should be higher overnight, correct? In “normal” economic times, perhaps that line of reasoning would hold water, but in the Uncle Sam economy, we need to go deeper.
Equity futures indicate our stock markets will open lower by approximately 1%. What’s going on? Welcome to the Bernanke conundrum! What is the riddle wrapped inside our economic enigma? How can Fed chair Ben Bernanke nurse our economy back to health while at the same time maintaining the necessary fiscal independence, integrity, and discipline of robust Fed policy?
Big Ben has used aggressive measures to backstop a wide swath of our markets. In the process, he has created a fair amount of stability but with an effective government guarantee “insurance” policy as the cost of stability. Some of these policies have lessened in size as certain sectors have normalized. However, the major Fed programs remain in place. What are these?
1. quantitative easing: commitment to buy $1.3 trillion in total of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities in an attempt to keep these rates down. Then why are rates rising? More on this in a second.
2. commitment to provide necessary liquidity as needed to support the “wards of the state” including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, GM, AIG, Citigroup.
These programs in conjunction with the massive deficit spending programs undertaken by the Obama administration have ballooned our expected funding needs in calendar 2009 to upwards of $3 trillion, a fourfold increase over prior years.
In my opinion, interest rates are moving up much less on any real signs of economic improvement than on these funding needs and very real signs of a monetary printing press malfunction. What’s that? With the Fed Funds rate at 0-.25%, the Fed is literally flooding the economy with cash. Where is that cash going? Is it flowing through to the economy? Not really.
The cash is pouring into the banking system to cushion and support financial institutions from the ongoing losses connected to rising defaults on credit cards, residential mortgages, commercial real estate, and corporate loans.
The market is now very clearly sending a signal to Bernanke, Geithner, Obama and team that if they want to continue their programs as designed (and they do and will), the price, that is the rate of interest, is going up. Why?
The market is very concerned that the flood of liquidity will lead to inflation if not rampant inflation and potentially hyperinflation. How does Bernanke head that off?
Withdraw the very liquidity that he has found so necessary to pour into the financial system. How does he do that?Two ways.
1. increase the Fed Funds rate: that is, make borrowing more expensive.
2. reverse the quantitative easing program so that the Fed actually sells Treasury and mortgage-backed securities into the market and takes liquidity out in the process. What are the impacts of both those maneuvers? Higher interest rates.
In fact, interest rates are moving higher already in anticipation of Bernanke being forced to make these moves. Can Bernanke “thread this needle?” What will happen if interest rates move higher?
Slow the economy, especially housing given higher mortgage rates, and lower earnings especially for financial institutions. To wit, our equity markets are lower overnight.
Nobody said this was going to be easy.
LD
Full Throttle
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 27th, 2009 11:28 AM |
To say that we are in the economic fight of our lives would be a gross understatement. While we are feeding ammo into all our weaponry on the main deck, are we remiss in keeping a close eye on what is happening “in the engine room”?
Let’s go into the control room on the main deck and scope things out. On one wing, we see the plans to combat the problems in the commercial real estate market have suffered a setback. Bloomberg reconnaissance provides details: Top Rated Commercial Mortgage Debt May Face Cuts:
The highest-graded bonds backed by commercial mortgages may be cut by Standard & Poor’s, potentially rendering the securities ineligible for a $1 trillion U.S. program to jumpstart lending.
As much as 90 percent of so-called super senior commercial- mortgage backed bonds sold in 2007 may be affected as the ratings firm changes how it assesses the debt, New York-based S&P said today in a report. About 25 percent of the bonds sold in 2005, and 60 percent of those sold in 2006 may be cut.
“We believe these transactions are characterized by increasingly more aggressive underwriting than prior vintages,” S&P said. “Furthermore, recent-vintage CMBS, particularly those issued since 2006, were originated during a time of peak rents and values,” and may be more affected by falling rents.
Cutting the ratings would exclude the securities from the Federal Reserve’s program to bolster credit markets by financing the purchase of older commercial real-estate debt. To be eligible for the program, collateral can’t carry a rating below AAA from any rating firm.
This development is a MAJOR setback in our economic battle. An overhang of office space and underperforming real estate properties will be a significant drag not only on earnings for holders of the loans but also on the economies where these properties are located. (more…)
How Would You Like to Earn -5% On Cash Deposits?
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 27th, 2009 1:12 PM |
Can you imagine putting money into a bank and agreeing to accept a minus 5% rate of interest? Well, the Federal Reserve believes the appropriate rate of interest for this economy is in fact -5%. The FT reports, “Fed Study Puts Ideal U.S. Interest Rate at -5%.”
The world is awash in a sea of debt. The debt is piled highest in Europe on a relative basis while in actual terms the debt in the United States outpaces all other parts of the world. As the deleveraging process continues, the demand for new money to spur growth is anemic. The paradox of thrift (excessive savings inhibits growth) is keeping our economy in a state of stagnation. The Fed and U.S. Treasury are utilizing all tools in their box to restructure debt and promote lending without risking default. Ultimately, all the Fed and Treasury programs will devalue the debt via inflation. Inflation, in which future dollars are worth less than current dollars, is akin to paying a negative rate of interest on money. (more…)
Ticking Time Bomb
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 23rd, 2009 11:43 AM |
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then please take a look at the graph from the St. Louis Federal Reserve highlighting the recent growth in our domestic money supply:
None other than esteemed Harvard University economist, Martin Feldstein, is warning us about the impending threat of inflation. Some analysts view deflation as the near term threat, but it is not inconceivable that our economy has an initial bout of stagflation given the prospects of a sluggish economy. If and when the economy turns, we will then likely experience a rapid rise of inflation with a real threat of hyperinflation.
Bloomberg recently discussed these topics with Feldstein and reports, Harvard’s Feldstein Sees U.S. Inflation Danger After 2010.
How do we prevent inflation from occurring? Picture Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner trying to gracefully and smoothly manage a decline in the money supply from what appears on the above graph to be a likeness of the cliffs of Mount Kilimanjaro.
As Feldstein warns:
the Federal Reserve will have a challenge in heading off inflation because of how it’s conducted monetary policy during the crisis.
Instead of expanding the central bank’s balance sheet by purchasing easy-to-sell Treasuries, the Fed has snapped up mortgage securities that are likely to be tougher to use as a tool to soak up cash, Feldstein said.
In an earlier interview with Bloomberg Television, Feldstein said he didn’t anticipate a lending boom from banks judged to have passed U.S. regulators’ stress tests on their balance sheets.
In light of this threat, I think global interest rates may move sharply higher over the course of the next 1-2 years.
LD
