Biden’s Game Plan

There are 2 things Biden will never forget and try his darnest to prevent occurring under his Presidency.

In 2014, (under Obama) the Democrats lost control of the House in a crushing loss to the Republicans.

Back then, Obama didn’t spend (honouring austerity policy) and was soft on China 🇨🇳.

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/11/fact-sheet-president-obama-s-visit-china

Biden will never forget.

To not lose the House majority….he is doing the opposite.

Biden sees China as the world’s single most dangerous comprehensive threat to democracy, individual liberty and U.S. national security

and he is earnest to pass a massive infrastructure spending bill to offset the failed effort in 2009.

August 9, 2021
by Rob Zdravevski
rob@karriasset.com.au

Macro Extremes (week ending August 6, 2021)

The following assets (on a weekly timeframe) registered an Overbought reading or traded more than 2.5 standard deviations above its rolling mean.

Extremes “above” the Mean (at least 2.5 standard deviations)

Nil

Overbought (RSI > 70)

Tin (for the 15th week)

Hot Rolled Coil Steel (for the 45th consecutive week)

Natural Gas

Switzerland’s SMI equity index (for the 9th week)

Australia’s ASX 200 (for the 3rd week) 

India’s NIFTY-50 equity index

France’s CAC-40 index

the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100

and the Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki equity indices.

The Overbought Quinella – Both Overbought and Traded at > 2.5 standard deviations above the weekly mean)

Amsterdam’s AEX index

Assets (securities) within my immediate universe which touched the other side of the extreme, being Oversold (where the RSI is < 30) or were at least 2.5 standard deviations below its mean are;

Extremes “below” the Mean (at least 2.5 standard deviations)

the US Government 5 and 10 year bond yields,

the UK, Canadian and German 10’s,

AUD/JPY (signifying a strong Yen versus a weaker AUD),

AUD/GBP (telling us the Pound is strengthening),

the Hang Seng Index, 

the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (now at the same price as March 2020 and 25% below its mid-Feb 2021 high)

Oversold (RSI < 30)

Nil

The Oversold Quinella – Both Oversold and Traded at < 2.5 standard deviations above the weekly mean)

 Chinese Government 10 year bond yield (suggesting bonds where being bought aggressively) 

Notable deletions from last week’s list include;

a weaker Korean Won, which since strengthened,

Gasoil, Heating Oil ,Gasoline all declined from their higher prices,

as did Coffee and Orange Juice.

Notes & Ideas:

The decliners included Brent Crude (6.5%), WTI Crude (7.6%), Gasoil (5.4%), Heating Oil (5%), Lumber (11%), Platinum (7%), Gasoline (3%), Silver (4.8%), Copper (3%).

Advancers were dominated by soft commodities where Sugar rose 4.3% for the week and Wheat & Corn advanced 2%, Bitcoin was +8%, Ethereum rose 14% and Natural Gas climbed 5.8%.

Much action was again seen in falling government bond yields with the U.S. 10 year touching a low of 1.127% before bouncing and closing the week at 1.30%, which is higher than last week’s 1.23% close.

The 10’s remain bound in a larger range but we watch it as broader capital markets could become explosive is the 10’s break decisively either below 1.25% or above 1.65%.

In fact, we saw a bullish outside reversal week for the U.S. 10’s. 

Now, probability of higher yields increases, which means bonds will be sold and a likelihood that monies are moved into equities.

Next weekend, look for news headlines reporting that the ‘reflation trade’ has returned. Banks and Cyclicals are the immediate beneficiaries of such money flows.

Another signal boding well for higher equity prices, is the troughing in the AUD/JPY price and the Japanese 10 Year bond yield rose from 0.00% to 0.022%. Not a big deal to some, but significant to me. Risk appetites are about to reverse and increase.

The 10’s remain bound in a larger range but we watch it broader capital markets could become explosive is the 10’s break decisively either below 1.25% or above 1.65%.

The risk of lower commodity prices remains as the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) strengthens and trends higher.

In turn, lower commodities would be welcome relief to ‘end-producers’ benefitting from lower input costs.

Such an example is currently being seen with Iron Ore now back at prices seen in April 2021, but when coupled with extended high prices in Hot Rolled Coil Steel being beneficial for steel producers.

No cryptocurrencies registered any Extreme readings.

And lastly, Bitcoin is trading 200% above its 200 Week Moving Average, which is higher than last week’s 193% reading and notably higher than the reading of 140% seen 2 weeks ago, while certainly lower when compared to its 466% peak in mid-April 2021.

August 7, 2021

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

Crypto – next move is government’s

Will Governments displace, disrupt or just takeover digital currency?

https://amp.ft.com/content/14b0fc81-ac17-4436-89ac-09d71c15d2af

The Delicate Game of Interest Rates & Inflation

Brazil lifts interest rates by 1% to 5.25%. It’s seen as its most aggressive move since 2016.

2 weeks ago, Russia, (another commodity reliant economy) hiked rates too.

It looks like both central banks are trying to curb inflationary pressures. Rising commodity prices are a notable contributor.

Invariably, rising inflation will send government bond yields higher.

Why are the central banks in other commodity sensitive economies such as Australia and Canada still holding interest rates around the 0.50% mark?

Are the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of Australia foolishly towing the same line as other Western economies?

The British, German and French economies are vastly different.

This may turn out to be a perilous policy error.

Are the BOC and RBA not entirely politically independent?

Can it be that the Russian Central Bank is acting for the good of the economy and citizens or is it because Putin doesn’t need to worry about being re-elected and Scott Morrison does?

Or perhaps it’s because the Household Debt to GDP for Russian’s and Brazilians is 22% and 37% respectively,

while in Canada it’s 113% and Australia’s is a world topping 123% ????

August 6, 2021

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

My views on the AUD/USD…..

The AUD/USD (currently 0.7400) is seeing its short-term (2-6 weeks) downtrend waning and weakening.

A move higher to 0.7550 is now expected.

Once I see a test of 0.7550, I expect a move lower to 0.7300 region as the AUD/USD, over the Medium Term (3-8 months) is still in clear downtrend.

Failure to hold 0.7290 suggests a move to the 0.7020 mark, with 0.7250 and 0.7150 being stops along the way down.

Keep in mind, the main game is for a lower AUD (versus the USD) and any uptick by a penny or so, is merely a chance to buy some more USD.

August 4, 2021

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

Coffee and O.J. tank

As featured in my latest weekly edition on Macro Extremes, Coffee and Orange Juice were touching ‘weekly’ Overbought ‘extremes’……

https://robzdravevski.com/2021/08/01/macro-extremes-week-ending-july-30-2021/

These commodities have declined 14% and 10% respectively over the past 4 trading sessions.

It’s not easy calling a reversal in trend but when prices rally sharply and somewhat parabolically, probability of a decline or mean reversion increases.

It does help tell you one thing…..be careful initiating a Long when ‘weekly’ Overbought extremes are being registered.

August 3, 2021

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

Macro Extremes (week ending July 30, 2021)

The following assets (on a weekly timeframe) registered an Overbought reading or traded more than 2.5 standard deviations above its rolling mean.

Extremes “above” the Mean (at least 2.5 standard deviations)

USD/KRW (signifying a weaker Korean Won)

Overbought (RSI > 70)

Tin (for the 14th week)

Gasoil

Heating Oil

Gasoline

Hot Rolled Coil Steel

Natural Gas

Coffee

Orange Juice

the CRB Index

Switzerland’s SMI equity index (for the 7th week)

Australia’s ASX 200

Amsterdam’s AEX index

France’s CAC-40 index

and the Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki equity indices.

The Overbought Quinella – Both Overbought and Traded at > 2.5 standard deviations above the weekly mean)

Nil

Assets (securities) within my immediate universe which touched the other side of the extreme, being Oversold (where the RSI is < 30) or were at least 2.5 standard deviations below its mean are;

Extremes “below” the Mean (at least 2.5 standard deviations)

the U.S. Government 10 year bond yields,

the U.K.,  Chinese, Korean and Swedish 10’s,

AUD/JPY (signifying a strong Yen versus a weaker AUD),

the Hang Seng Index, 

the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index

and the Shanghai Composite.

Oversold (RSI < 30)

Nil

The Oversold Quinella – Both Oversold and Traded at < 2.5 standard deviations above the weekly mean)

Nil

Notes & Ideas:

The decliners included Iron Ore (15%), Coffee (5%) following last weeks 17% rise), Natural Gas (3.6%), Orange Juice (3.2%), the Hang Seng Index (6%) and the Shanghai Composite (4.3%).

Advancers were dominated by commodities where Brent and WTI Crude, Cocoa, Tin, Gasoil & Gasoline all rose 2% for the week. Aluminium climbed 3.7%, Hot Rolled Coiled Steel soared 6% and Heating Oil & Wheat advanced 3%.

The U.S. 10 year bond yield fell albeit muted when compared to the past month’s action. The yield fell from 1.28% to 1.23%. 

The 10’s remain bound in a larger range but we watch it broader capital markets could become explosive is the 10’s break decisively either below 1.25% or above 1.65%.

No cryptocurrencies registered any Extreme readings.

And lastly, Bitcoin is trading 193% above its 200 Week Moving Average, which is notably higher than last week’s 145% reading and certainly lower when compared to its 466% peak in mid-April 2021.

August 1, 2021

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

Perspective and Hypocrisy

What is the big deal with the Chinese government’s recent directives stymying technology or education firms?

During the 2010’s, the U.S. Department of Education either forced the closure or change of ownership, sued or ended accreditation or recognition of ‘education providers’ such as DeVry Education Group (now Adtalem Global Education), ITT Educational Services, Corinthian Colleges and Apollo Education (which was taken private at $10 per share, compared to its high of $89/share in 2009).

For example, then Californian attorney-general, Kamala Harris led the charge in suing Corinthian (leading to their demise in 2016 when she won her judgement) for predatory practices of mounting and leaving students in crippling debt……much like China’s concerns today.

In addition, didn’t the U.S. government force the break-up of AT&T and Microsoft?

And I wonder……aren’t Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple etc, some type of pseudo-government agencies ?

or at least, at their behest or influence?

Between all the congressional hearings and testimonies and the ‘cloud’ of anti-trust undertakings, a little perspective is required to the current Chinese news.

After all, it is not a far-fetched idea that Amazon is forced to ‘spin-off’ its AWS division.

The hypocrisy of western governments doesn’t seemed to be recognised by their own selves. They apply a host of restrictions, rules and bans too.

Perhaps China is entering its own Progressive Era and the U.S. may have its own 2.0 version?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-27/china-tech-crackdown-xi-charts-new-model-after-emulating-silicon-valley?sref=qLOW1ygh

July 30, 2021

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

Alternatives to chemical based plastic

PLA’s and PHA’s is a technology which interests me greatly. 2 stocks listed in this article feature amongst some client portfolios.

Take your pick – Thorium or Uranium

While I have hinted that I am bullish on nuclear energy and uranium……I have been an avid watcher of thorium which has been seen as a nascent alternative but in truth it has existed for some time. Its evolution has been retarded for a host of political and capitalist reasons.

An extract from this article says, “China has some of the world’s largest reserves of thorium, a silvery metal with weak radioactivity. By some calculations it has enough to meet the country’s energy needs for at least 20,000 years. By contrast, China has some of the lowest uranium reserves of any nuclear-capable country”.

https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newschina-moves-forward-with-thorium-molten-salt-reactor-8919220