“Oh yeah, how long is that going to last?” was my instant reaction on hearing of Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kanye West. KK’s shameless self- promotion and hunger for media attention virtually sentences to death any attempt at a stable relationship. “Oh yeah, how long is that going to last?” has also been my instant […]
http://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.png00Timhttp://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.pngTim2015-02-12 03:38:582018-05-21 03:39:27Keeping Up With the Kardashians…err, I Mean, the Central Bankers
An adherence to free-market principles and a light touch to regulation have been the reasons behind Singapore’s phenomenal success. The high taxing redistributive policies of the ailing developed nations were rejected in favour of low taxes. Infrastructure spending rather than welfare spending is the guiding logic behind fiscal policy. Monetary policy has been conducted through […]
http://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.png00Timhttp://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.pngTim2015-02-02 03:39:422018-05-21 03:40:07The Invisible Hand is About to Give Singapore’s New Breed a Spanking
Those of you who read yesterday’s post are probably wondering ‘what happened?’ For those who missed the post, I had conjectured that, as part of the ECB’s QE policy, the regional Central Banks in Europe would enter the market in the early hours of Monday’s trading, vigorously bid up the price of their longer maturity […]
Private investors trading with valuable information go to great lengths to conceal their trades so as minimise their market impact. They try to bunch their trades during periods of high liquidity, they use stealth algorithms which drip-feed orders into the market, and they try to operate quietly under the radar. Not so the ECB and […]
Check the box which best describes the exchange rate regime you want to operate, ¤ Fixed peg to Euro /USD/Other – Yes, I like ECB/Fed/Other monetary policy so I am going to let them do it for me ¤ Floating rate – No thanks, I will conduct monetary policy myself In 2011, the Swiss National […]
http://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.png00Timhttp://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.pngTim2015-01-16 03:45:382018-05-21 03:46:15The SNB’s “Bold New Approach to Monetary Policy”
“2014 will be both the Year of the Horse and the Year of the Bond” Our prediction in the First Degree Long Horizon Absolute Return Fund’s Market Commentary, February 2014 And so it was! Very few market forecasters predicted positive returns for the Global Bond Markets in 2014, let alone that they would top equities, […]
“Bottom line is, you pay attention to fundamentals and while the fundamentals are solid, and then you look at your screen and you want to throw up.” Philip Orlando, Chief Equity Strategist Federated Investors as quoted by Bloomberg 12 Dec 2014. Does this sound familiar? Nearly every equity analyst and economic strategist must have this […]
http://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.png00Timhttp://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.pngTim2014-12-13 03:53:222018-05-21 03:54:03The Oil Price Impact – An Example of Risk Aversion Dominating Fundamentals
Several weeks ago I attended a seminar where current and former Monetary Policy Committee members from the ECB and US Federal Reserve were leading speakers. The interesting part of the discussion focused on how dependent their respective European and US Government’s had become on the monetary authorities for taking responsibility for macro-economic management. The speakers […]
“Deflation” is a word that we will be hearing a lot over the next year or two. This is because most of the major economies such as the US, Europe and Japan, are currently experiencing very low or negative changes in their price levels. Nearly every central banker and finance minister spits the word “deflation” […]
http://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.png00Timhttp://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.pngTim2014-11-26 04:47:262018-05-21 04:47:58The Deflation Battle is the Central Bankers’ Last Stand
My last blog entry sparked some interesting comments about the role of Sovereign investors in the US Treasury market. It is well known from Price Theory that market clearing prices are determined by the marginal demanders and suppliers for that good or security. But just who are these people? In most cases, they are faceless […]
http://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.png00Timhttp://www.firstdegree.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/logo.pngTim2014-11-01 04:48:062018-05-21 04:48:36Meet Mr Lee and Mr Smith, the Marginal Investors in the US Treasury Market
Keeping Up With the Kardashians…err, I Mean, the Central Bankers
“Oh yeah, how long is that going to last?” was my instant reaction on hearing of Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kanye West. KK’s shameless self- promotion and hunger for media attention virtually sentences to death any attempt at a stable relationship. “Oh yeah, how long is that going to last?” has also been my instant […]
The Invisible Hand is About to Give Singapore’s New Breed a Spanking
An adherence to free-market principles and a light touch to regulation have been the reasons behind Singapore’s phenomenal success. The high taxing redistributive policies of the ailing developed nations were rejected in favour of low taxes. Infrastructure spending rather than welfare spending is the guiding logic behind fiscal policy. Monetary policy has been conducted through […]
QE Money Making Lesson #2: Vindication!
Those of you who read yesterday’s post are probably wondering ‘what happened?’ For those who missed the post, I had conjectured that, as part of the ECB’s QE policy, the regional Central Banks in Europe would enter the market in the early hours of Monday’s trading, vigorously bid up the price of their longer maturity […]
QE Money Making Lesson #1: Maximising Market Impact
Private investors trading with valuable information go to great lengths to conceal their trades so as minimise their market impact. They try to bunch their trades during periods of high liquidity, they use stealth algorithms which drip-feed orders into the market, and they try to operate quietly under the radar. Not so the ECB and […]
The SNB’s “Bold New Approach to Monetary Policy”
Check the box which best describes the exchange rate regime you want to operate, ¤ Fixed peg to Euro /USD/Other – Yes, I like ECB/Fed/Other monetary policy so I am going to let them do it for me ¤ Floating rate – No thanks, I will conduct monetary policy myself In 2011, the Swiss National […]
2015
“2014 will be both the Year of the Horse and the Year of the Bond” Our prediction in the First Degree Long Horizon Absolute Return Fund’s Market Commentary, February 2014 And so it was! Very few market forecasters predicted positive returns for the Global Bond Markets in 2014, let alone that they would top equities, […]
The Oil Price Impact – An Example of Risk Aversion Dominating Fundamentals
“Bottom line is, you pay attention to fundamentals and while the fundamentals are solid, and then you look at your screen and you want to throw up.” Philip Orlando, Chief Equity Strategist Federated Investors as quoted by Bloomberg 12 Dec 2014. Does this sound familiar? Nearly every equity analyst and economic strategist must have this […]
A “…Don’t Look at Me…” approach to Monetary Policy
Several weeks ago I attended a seminar where current and former Monetary Policy Committee members from the ECB and US Federal Reserve were leading speakers. The interesting part of the discussion focused on how dependent their respective European and US Government’s had become on the monetary authorities for taking responsibility for macro-economic management. The speakers […]
The Deflation Battle is the Central Bankers’ Last Stand
“Deflation” is a word that we will be hearing a lot over the next year or two. This is because most of the major economies such as the US, Europe and Japan, are currently experiencing very low or negative changes in their price levels. Nearly every central banker and finance minister spits the word “deflation” […]
Meet Mr Lee and Mr Smith, the Marginal Investors in the US Treasury Market
My last blog entry sparked some interesting comments about the role of Sovereign investors in the US Treasury market. It is well known from Price Theory that market clearing prices are determined by the marginal demanders and suppliers for that good or security. But just who are these people? In most cases, they are faceless […]