Category Archives: Economy

How A Greece Default Might Actually Work? Simon Derrick, Bank of New York Chief Strategist Explains

Yesterday (5-15-12) I had the opportunity through a CFA related event to visit with, and listen to Simon Derrick, chief strategist of Bank of New York and London resident. Simon had one of the most vivid explanations of actually how Greece may default, as such I wanted to share it with you.

In actuality, it may be a smoother transition that many thought. These are possibilities, not guarantees, but the best I have personally heard so far.

On a Friday after most market participants have headed home, sometime after the next Greek election which occurs on June 17th 2012, according to Simon, Germany could announce there is nothing they can do for Greece, but they will attempt to help the other countries as much as possible. This would set into motion a Greek announcement that their country will have a two-week bank holiday in order to keep from having a run on the bank.

During the bank holiday the printers start churning, and a new currency is born. This currency is then disseminated throughout the country for use and the Euro currency is sent packing.

A second less immediate thought, but very important item is the approval of new Passports for travel between the neighboring countries. (This is interesting and speaks to the tourist and travel related importance for Greece.)

Capital markets will certainly do what they do with rates and currencies, most likely devaluing the newly minted currency. While no one knows the exact amount, 20-30% would be reasonable and could even be higher.

Here is where it gets interesting, after the dust settles, and some type of stabilization occurs (assuming it does), Greece, a tourist centric country, is sure to throw out extremely great travel deals to kick-start their newly formed country. Since their currency will most likely be valued so low, they will have a very strong advantage over their former connected countries in attracting tourists.

Maybe we will all be taking Greek vacations soon, only time will tell.

Here is a recent Bloomberg interview with Simon talking in greater details about currency and mentioning rates, which we will be speaking about soon.

 

Have a Great Day!

JK

214-706-4300

www.jkfinancialinc.com

 

Five High Points from the Robert McTeer Private Client Event, a Party Crasher with a good Question

This most recent weekend the Robert McTeer private client event occurred. We will speak in much greater detail in our coming mid-year Newsletter but we wanted to hit a few of the high points while Mr. McTeer’s words were still fresh and the current economic situation most unchanged.

We also wanted to have a special thanks to clients, friends, and the party crasher, who actually asked a good question, but remains unidentified.  Thank you all and you too party crasher!

Donald and I compared our three high point notes, and with only one overlap, will bring you the top five with the first point being our collective overlap:

  1. The Fed’s credibility is key to holding current rates low. The natural inference would be that if the Fed lost credibility rates may move. I asked Mr. McTeer a direct question and will expand his thoughts in our Newsletter (DC & JK)
  2. Inflation in not inevitable (DC)
  3. The Tax Cliff of possible increased taxes and lowered government spending is estimated, by Mr. McTeer at a 7% GDP hit. Yes you read that correct, SEVEN PERCENT! (JK)
  4. Banks parking excess reserves at the Fed may prove a target for money supply fans. i.e. Get the money moving out of the Fed to get the economy moving (DC)
  5. “Those betting against Bernanke’s intelligence will lose!” A direct, unsolicited complimentary quote from McTeer (JK)

Great questions, great time, and great fun. We thank you all as we filled less than 90 minutes of a saturday into hard-core economic discussions.

Thanks Again to everyone !

JK

214-706-4300

www.jkfinancialinc.com

Zigg Drops by with a Mcteer Question and a Few Grounding Thoughts

Zigg, making a pilgrimage from his very crowded small island, on his way to the store for supplies as many of his new fair weather friends are cramping his style and eating his food, stopped by last night to see the family and say hello. He had heard about the McTeer event and added a nice question of his own, which we will certainly ask Mr. McTeer.

For those not familiar with Zigg, he is our mythical friend who is a contrarian. He Ziggs when others Zagg, usually taking an uncomfortable position at any given time. His thoughts are always helpful in keeping things in perspective.

In addition to the McTeer question he shared the following thoughts:

  • This is an Election Year, see (Research Paper) for history
  • Tax cliff may come in the form of possible new taxes
  • Little Brother Country Issues i.e. EU
  • A years worth of market returns already

Zigg was not being negative as he never takes a harsh stance, however he did warn of becoming too optimistic and letting our guards down.

Thanks Zigg, we have missed you and glad you dropped in. It’s funny to see him move from the only positive person, to being a bit more conservative in his views, once again almost alone in voice.

Have a Great Day and a Super Weekend!

JK

214-706-4300

www.jkfinancialinc.com

Chance Meeting With Axel Merk of the Merk Funds…”Greece is Gone, One Way or Another”

Last week, through a CFA related event, I had the opportunity to have lunch and visit with Axel Merk of the Merk funds. One of the fun, and this time, slightly embarrassing moments, associated with these type of events are often I have not met the manager in person prior to the event. At this event, I had carried on a 10 minute conversation with Axel, the founder of the Merk Fund group before I figured out his identity. Not withstanding our awkward introduction, Axel a currency and macro economic expert had some very interesting ideas concerning the state of the global economy.

Axel Merk, a Swiss born, German raised well-traveled founder of the Merk funds, specializes in macro economic event. As founder of the Merk Fund Group, which is a global currency investment Mutual Fund group, Axel and his team of managers use their expertise to attempt to exploit currency opportunities in a conservative manner.

Here are Axel’s main points from my perch:

  • The Federal Reserve has pushed rates so low, a main gauge, the interest rate yield curve, is less effective at giving clues.
  • Asia and the EU will try to grow at any cost, even if man-handling their currencies are necessary.
  • There are many mandatory global market participants, not profit maximizing, leading to inefficiencies.
  • Global investors are watching our presidential election race closely, as almost every country is thrown under the bus at one time or another during the debates.
  • Greece is gone, according to Axel and they have made many mistakes along this way. (See Cartoon, a Merk funds specialty)

Axel impressed me as much as any professional investor has before. I am fortunate to meet and visit with a tremendous amount of professional investors which allows us to develop a benchmark. Axel and his firm will be a regular part of future discussions due to their expertise, competence, global knowledge and objectivity.

Have a Super Day!

JK

P.S. Zigg says “Don’t Forget About me!”   I told him not to worry, we would not.

www.jkfinancialinc.com

214-706-4300

Confessions of A Federal Reserve Official

As mentioned in an earlier post, Dr. Harvey Rosenblum was the keynote speaker at the Texas Investment Symposium Event (Tips). Dr. Rosenblum, a very candid speaker with a knack for making complex subjects understandable, (economics can be very confusing) said something during his speech, very matter-of-factly that I have not heard before from a Fed official.

Dr. Rosenblum confessed that the FOMC’s current interest rate policy no longer has the teeth prior policy makers had available them.  Long suspicious of this fact by many, including myself, it was interesting to hear Dr. Rosenblum so casually mention this fact.

Why is current interest rate policy less effective?

The following chart is of the FOMC target interest rate policy. Notice how this last cycle we have moved to zero and are holding.

Where can you go from here ?

Fed Target Rate: New York Fed.org

There are no more bullets in the gun! Notice in prior years there was room to move down (turn the heat up on the economy) and have an effect on the economy. Since we currently have a close to zero interest rate policy, it makes sense that the latest changes have had a much slower result in changing the direction of our current economic situation.

Other Operations Necessary

Dr. Rosenblum mentioned over a half of dozen NEW economic stimulus plans that were established during the 07-09 crisis, many of which are now closed, as the new open market operations (economic stimulus) levers of the future.  While there may be many new future tools for the FED to embrace our bet is an eventual return to normalcy.

What is old is New Again

Similar to that old phrase of what is old is new again, we are wishful of an eventual rising of short-term rates that will allow Fed policy makers to “re-load” the gun for the eventual next economic downturn.

Have a Great Day!

JK

214-706-4300

www.jkfinancialinc.com

The FOMC Mistake; Calling it as We See it !

Yesterday the FOMC released their regular statement regarding policy and actions at 11:30 AM central time followed by an extended live Q&A with the Fed Chief,  Bernanke. We feel the FOMC has made a mistake with their statement.

Here is the specific sentence in the release that has us concerned

“In particular, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that economic conditions–including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run–are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.”

As is often the case when we have a strong opinion, we have made it a point to not read the various analysis before voicing our thoughts.

Here are the reasons we feel this statement was a mistake:

  1. There was nothing gained by pushing the time line out another year right now. Keeping that statement in the hat for this time next year (if necessary) would have been a much safer way to go.
  2. It is too hard to predict what the economic situation is going to be that far in the future (We liked the original runway of time as it pushed any fed decision out-of-the-way of the election.)
  3. Investor  confidence (domestic and more importantly internationally) is paramount in retaining control of US interest rates. In investment professionals minds, holding rates low until next year, no matter the economic situation was feasible. Extending the stated term another year slightly cheapens this statement AND their original statement of low rates until 2013.

“Hot on the Long End”

Ultimately what we will now even more closely watch for is longer termed bonds rates rising.  In Wall Street lingo, it is called getting “hot on the long end.”  Rates have a funny way of making officials and investors eat their words. The FOMC changing their minds in the future would not be the worst thing that has ever happened.

Have a Great Day!

JK

214-706-4300

www.jkfinancialinc.com

PS We are not being Zaggers, but do call it as we see it !

Q1 2012 Newsletter is Posted for Your Perusal, Little Brother Gets a Confidence Vote

Our Digital Q 1, 2012, professionally espoused coming year forecast Newsletter has been posted to our Website on our Newsletter Page. We question forecasts from any professional, but work hard to give you our best thoughts and ideas.

Q1 2012 Newsletter

For now, our internal list of very important items concerning capital markets has seen EU worries drop in importance, as China economic growth, and US earnings climb the rungs of importance.

Little Brother countries are having confident government bond auctions resulting in lower interest rates (See: “What Happens When Investors Lose Confidence in Your System” in our Latest Newsletter), and that is relieving investor concerns, which has resulted in a more positive capital market.

Starting tomorrow, the 90 day treadmill really kicks into high gear. With our ears to the conference call line grindstones, we look forward to bringing you varous managers outlooks soon!

Have a Great Day!

JK

214-706-4300

www.jkfinancialinc.com

A Positive, but Pausing, Theme Has Been Formed – Company Blast Update

In our last post I mentioned that in addition to learning about new companies and meeting various managers, I would keep a watchful eye for a theme that might shed light on the US Economy.  After a looooong first day, reviewing my multiple pages of company notes, comments, key phrases, and forecasts, I feel comfortable with the delivery of a theme that emerged, even with another day to go.  

Company managers have the thirst, confidence, and ability to grow, but they are starved for capital. Said another way “Getting access to capital is still not easy!” While many of the companies I visited with were small, even the multi-billion dollar company managers mentioned capital is still not moving freely.   

Here is our opinion on this matter:

  • It is frustrating that capital is not moving freely YET.
  • Proving the horse to water, but not drink fable, no matter what pressures government officials put on the banking system, they will begin moving when they are ready.
  • When capital does begin moving, (imagine the first dance finally happens at the prom), a cascade of confidence and movement may begin.
  • Tossing our banker hat on, new rules (Dodd Frank) and recent bad experiences are natural inhibitors to money flow, we can’t blame them for being cautious. 

Lastly, as mentioned yesterday, former Fed Reserve Board Member, Robert McTeer was the lunch guest, and spoke for an extended period of time (actually well over his alloted time.)  After scribbling multiple pages of notes, I will leave you with one teaser comment, “Like a Coiled Spring” and save the remainder of my comments for our Zig of positives tomorrow.

Bottom line, a positive feeling from most managers which bodes well for us as investors! Now, back to work, I will duck back into meetings for the duration of the day!

Have a Great One!

JK

214-706-4300

PS  A special Happy Seventh Birthday to my daughter Sophia, today!

 

A Two Day Blasting of Meetings With Over 40 Public Company Managers

Over the next 48 hours, a twelve-hour run today, and an eight hour run tomorrow, I will have the opportunity to visit, in person, with over 40 publicly traded managers (CEO and CFO’s) from across the country.

A wonderful by-product of this two-day blasting of meetings is a sketching of the  economy from all walks of life in the public sector.  I will be looking for themes to bring you as they develop, along with any positive or negative outlooks. The more consensus that is established the easier it will be to get a feel for the mood from this sampling of managers.  It is a given that companies from certain sectors will have differing views, which makes it even more interesting.

Each year I look forward to this CFA related event to hear the latest news from various company insiders and learn more about their respective company.  Each meeting lasts a short period of time in which managers briefly go over their business model, then jump into the big three Accounting sheets, (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flows) and then give an outlook for the future, with the last item being critical, as stated earlier.

Today lunch is hosted by former Dallas Fed chief, Robert McTeer. Robert is a good guy, whom I have visited with before and written much about over the years. I look forward to hearing his perspective on the macro economy and will bring you any major updates from his camp.

Have a Great Day!

JK

214-706-4300

P.S. Feel free to share our insights with friends!

Out with one “Pap”, in with another “Pap”, Pressure on Berlusconi

Since it is a post daylight savings time changed Monday, we will keep this brief. Tthe weekend events are shedding light on new international players you may want to know.

As of this morning, it appears that Greece is set to send their current leader, George Papandreau home, with a new front running leader, Lucas Papademos. The later Pap is a former VP of the European Central Bank.  As you may have determined by now, the “Pap” prefix for last names is quite “pap”ular (being funny.)

Pappandreou & Papademos

The importance of this is Greek movement toward a more economically feasible plan. Tossing a leader out is similar to firing a head coach, as it may inspire the team and commence movement in another direction.  As a reminder this “little brother” country has been spending much more than their paychecks for some time. This move MAY be met with positive investor reactions.

Berlusconi

In a note on how dynamic this situation is, before I am able to finish this post, Berlusconi who is/was the Italian leader, which was another important person to know, appears to also be headed home too. Much of the news is sketchy at best. No matter, Mr. Berlusconi is the Italian leader who the spotlight will shine on now, that it appears Greece is making positive moves to better their economic situation.

Those are the very important players for today!

Have a Great Monday!

JK

214-706-4300