North American economy in retreat

Here is the video of Yellen, Bernake, Greenspan and Volcker, it is an hour long but some interesting stuff and a look into the Fed BS

And PPI unexpectedly declined - well not here but the main stream did not expect it

Key Quotes

“Due to the first monthly decline in services prices since October 2015, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent in March. Core PPI-final demand also slipped by the same amount.”

“Anticipated to rise on the strength of higher energy prices, the index for PPI-final demand missed expectations for the month of March.

“Further back in the production pipeline, prices were mixed. Processed goods for intermediate demand, down 0.2 percent, extended its monthly decline to nine straight months, while unprocessed goods, up 2.5 percent, snapped an eight-month down streak.

“The soft performances from the March import and producer price reports suggest inflation pressures remain benign.”
www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article...7c-89bf-e36dfac70821

US Retail Sales down more in March, down -0.3% vs an expected small rise. Good thing gasoline prices were up or the numbers would have been lower

This is the excuse ""Retail sales remain lackluster despite a strengthening labor market, which is starting to boost wages. Part of the weakness could be due to a stock market sell-off early this year, which hurt consumer sentiment. The value of sales is also being restrained by low prices, as retailers offer huge discounts to clear unwanted merchandise clogging up warehouses.""
www.cnbc.com/2016/04/13/us-retail-sales-march-2016.html

This is really scary, Yellen must be on another planet, according to a Kicto article I seen here
www.kitco.com/news/2016-04-08/Gold-I-Ain...fraid-Of-No-Fed.html

Responding to Trump about bubbles - she said the economy is not in a bubble - does she not have a clue? it is stocks and bonds in the bubble, but of course the Fed cannot tell the truth, but just deliver the planned message

We are certainly heading to an epic crisis, yes it is for sure now, the modern day Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared together on TV last nite

This is another excellent Greenspan interview - he says it is basically a fiscal problem we face, there has been no productivity growth for 5 years in all major economies.

long term investments have been curtailed because the future looks to risky

He highlights the spread between short and long rates is recently highest in history and still not far from it

Great video, What is crazy these videos of Greenspan get no viewership, this one was under 2,000. One of the greatest gurus ever on Central Banking. I guess the new world is just too young and has not got a clue

Allan Greenspan interviewed at Bloomberg about Negative Interest rates. He gives pretty straight forward warning that we are in big trouble. Changes have not been made yet to address 2008 problems.

It looks that way, the article comments "Foreign official accounts sold a net $105 billion of the securities in December and January, an unprecedented liquidation, Treasury Department data show."

US needs foreign inflows for their massive debt, but who wants to buy bonds if their price drops with rate increases, I think many will wait for the rates to rise than come in, kinda a catch 22 for US debt

Here is the chart from the article shows how dealer inventory spiked since December

I think the real reason the Fed is talking up rates is they are having trouble selling US debt and need foreign buyers. The primary dealers for US Treasuries held more Treasuries last month then at anytime in the past 2 years.

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-...xposes-market-cracks

It seems once the stock market is looking better the Fed switches jaw boning back to rate increases. It was not long ago Bullard was dovish, now he switches chaits

If the dollar .DXY can keep its footing going into the long Easter weekend it will notch up a near 2 percent, and first weekly gain in a month against the world's other major currencies. [USD/]

The hot streak extended after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard joined a chorus of officials in highlighting the chance of at least two rate hikes this year, with the first perhaps as soon as April.

Markets imply only one increase and dealers suspect an orchestrated attempt by the Fed to shift that thinking.

www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKCN0WQ01B