Interest payments on US government debt are soaring
source: Markets & Mayhem
Shorting US 10y bonds seems to be one of the most crowded trades at the moment
Among the shorts, Billionaire investor Bill Ackman. To his opinion, if long-term inflation is 3% not 2%, the 30y Treasury yield could rise to 5.5%. In contrast, Warren Buffett has announced buying positions in 10y US Treasuries. Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ
Consumer price inflation is creeping higher again on a month-over-month basis, driven in part by higher gas prices, according to the Cleveland Fed's forecast
Source: Lisa Abramowicz
The Citi US Economic Surprise Index is at the highest levels since early 2021
That being said, there has been some divergence recently between "hard" and "soft" data. Indeed, 'Hope' has been in charge of macro data recently with 'soft' survey data surging back in its mean-reverting manner as 'hard' real data has been fading (led down by industrial, personal finance, and housing data)... Source: Bloomberg, www.zerohedge.com
Which Countries Hold the Most U.S. Debt (which just got downgraded)?
With $1.1 trillion in Treasury holdings, #japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt. Japan surpassed China as the top holder in 2019 as China shed over $250 billion, or 30% of its holdings in four years. the United Kingdom is the third highest holder, at over $655 billion in Treasuries. Across Europe, 13 countries are notable holders of these securities, the highest in any region, followed by Asia-Pacific at 11 different holders. A handful of small nations own a surprising amount of U.S. debt. With a population of 70,000, the Cayman Islands own a towering amount of Treasury bonds to the tune of $284 billion. There are more hedge funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands per capita than any other nation worldwide. In fact, the four smallest nations in the visualization above—Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Bahamas, and Luxembourg—have a combined population of just 1.2 million people, but own a staggering $741 billion in Treasuries. Source: Visual Capitalist
Unlike other products, Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup cannot use shrinkflation to hide the effects of inflation. Watch out below the unit price per can...
Source: Moritz Wietersheim
A mixed message from the July US jobs report: the US economy added 187k jobs according to Establishment survey, a tiny bit below Street’s +200k forecast
According to the Household survey, the number of employed people rose by 268k. Because of this 268k number, unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%, down from 3.6% in June and below estimated 3.6%. Wages ran hot, coming in at +4.4% YoY (vs Street +4.2% and vs +4.4% in June). Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
Swiss inflation slows further as SNB mulls september rate hike
Swiss inflation slowed to the lowest rate in one and a half years, testing the determination of SNB officials who have signaled that a further tightening step in September is likely.
Consumer prices rose 1.6% in July from a year earlier, down from 1.7% the previous month.
Source: Bloomberg, Swiss Fed statistical office
