dimelab dimelab: shrinking the gap between talk and action.

end result Topic in The Credit Debacle Catalog

zero hedge Mon 2009-12-28 15:12 EST

Quantitative Easing Has Been A Monetary Failure; Persistent Deflation Means More Fed Intervention Coming Soon

As more and more pundits discuss the spectre of inflation, with gold flying to all time highs which many explain as an inflation hedge, not to mention stock price performance which is extrapolating virtual hyperinflation, the market "truth" as determined by Fed Fund futures and options is, and continues to be, diametrically opposite...Bernanke is very likely about to unleash Quantitative Easing 2: If the $1.7 trillion already thrown at the problem has not fixed it, you can bet that the Chairman will not stop here. Furthermore, as the Fed has the best perspective on the economy, which is certainly far worse than is represented, the Fed has to act fast before things escalate even more out of control. Which is why Zero Hedge is willing to wager that not only will the agency/MBS program not expire in March as it is supposed to, but that a parallel QE process will likely begin very shortly. The end result of all these actions, of course, is that the value of the dollar is about to plummet: when Bernanke announces that not only will he not end QE but that he will launch another version of the program, expect the dollar to take off on its one way path to $2 = €1. And when that happens, look for global trade to cease completely. In its quest to continue bailing out the banking system and rolling the trillions of toxic loans it refuses to accept are worthless (for if it did, equity values in the banking system would go, to zero immediately), the Fed will promptly resume destroying not only the US middle class, but the entire system of global trade built through many years of globalization. Look for America to end up in an insulated liquidity bubble in a few short years, trading exclusively with its vassal master: the People's Republic of China.

Fed Intervention Coming; Monetary Failure; Persistent Deflation Means; Quantitative Easing; Zero Hedge.

Bruce Krasting Fri 2009-09-04 19:21 EDT

Fannie's Trading Derivatives Hard, and Losing

It has been my contention that the Agencies were a factor in the bond market volatility in the past three months. Fannies 10Q has the following information regarding their derivative activity in the first six months of the year. As of June 30 FNM had a balance sheet of $900 billion. Against that position they bought and sold over the counter derivative contracts totaling $1.2 Trillion. On average $100 billion per day. There can be little doubt but that FNM has been adding to the volatility in the credit market. As luck would have it, the end result of all of this was a loss of $2.2billion.

Bruce Krasting; Fannie's Trading Derivatives Hard; Lose.

Rick Bookstaber Sun 2009-08-30 12:07 EDT

Not with a Bang but a Whimper -- The Risk from High Frequency and Algorithmic Trading

``There is a general view that one way or another the end result of all the high frequency and algorithmic trading will be a blowup. But I don't think the risk is as big as many are making it out to be...the risk of a cataclysm is constrained by the lack of feedback and lack of tight coupling...As the field gets increasingly crowded, market impact will rise and opportunities will diminish'' First, let me point out the difference between high frequency trading and algorithmic trading. Both execute using computers, and since computers work really fast, both can be accused of whatever sins are embodied in millisecond trading. High frequency trading is a type of proprietary trading. The trader (or his computer) sees a profit opportunity and trades accordingly. This profit opportunity...

algorithmic trading; bang; High Frequency; Rick Bookstaber; Risk; Whimper.

Thu 2009-01-15 00:00 EST

Jesse's Café Américain: Did the New Deal Fail?

Jesse's Café Américain: Did the New Deal Fail? ``The New Deal was so "ineffective" that the Fed panicked and doubled reserve requirements in a draconian pre-emptive response because they feared inflation!'' ''In a fiat regime inflation and deflation are primarily...the end result of a series of policy, fiscal, and political decisions.''

Jesse's Café Américain; New Deal failed.