Europe: Under pressure

European stocks are under pressure, with Dow Jones Europe Index again likely to test support at 270. Failure would warn of a reversal, while breakout above 290 would signal a fresh advance. 13-Week Twiggs Momentum trough above zero would indicate continuation of the primary up-trend.
DAX Index

The FTSE 100 is retracing to test the lower border of the recent flag on the weekly chart. Breach would warn of a correction to test 6000. Respect is less likely, but breakout above 6550 would indicate an advance to 6800*.
FTSE 100 Index

* Target calculation: 6400 + ( 6400 – 6000 ) = 6800

European markets may be under pressure, but they have not buckled. Expect further tests of support, but so far the primary up-trend is not threatened.

Cyprus: The Operation Was a Success. Shame the Patient Died. | Some of it was true…

Pawelmorski (pseudonym for a london-based fund manager) gives this opinion of the EU ‘rescue’ of Cyprus :

How bad is the damage?

Bloody appalling…… Take a moment to realise the scale of what’s been done here. No human agency has achieved so much economic destruction in such a short time without the use of weapons. The combination of laying waste to the financial sector and tearing up the savings of thousands of residents means that Cyprus won’t return to current levels of output for a decade, a funeral pyre which bears comparison only with Greece. There are four shocks happening at once; the bog-standard austerity shock; the trauma of bank withdrawal controls; the wealth shock; and the structural shock of wiping out the financial sector. The bailout bill is certainly going to get a lot higher too, as a larger amount of debt is piled onto a smaller economy.

Read more at Cyprus: The Operation Was a Success. Shame the Patient Died. | Some of it was true….

Exploding Australia’s nuclear delusion | Business Spectator

Geoff Russell writes:

France has been producing most of its electricity using nuclear power stations for an average carbon dioxide intensity of about 80 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour (gm-CO2/kWh) for two decades. In that time, Australia’s electricity has just gotten dirtier, rising from 817 in 1990 to 841 gm-CO2/kWh in 2010.

….Switzerland and Sweden have been using a mix of hydro and nuclear to achieve even lower carbon dioxide intensity than France.

Read more at Exploding Australia's nuclear delusion | Business Spectator.

Big trouble from little Cyprus – FT.com

I always enjoy Martin Wolf’s objectivity:

Many insist that any tax on deposits is theft. This is nonsense. Banks are not vaults. They are thinly capitalised asset managers that make a promise – to return depositors’ money on demand and at par – that cannot always be kept without the assistance of a solvent state. Anybody who lends to banks has to understand that. It is inconceivable that banking – a risk-taking financial business – can operate without exposure to loss of at least some classes of lenders. Otherwise, bank debt is government debt. No private business can be allowed to gamble with taxpayers’ money in this way. That is evident.

Read more at Big trouble from little Cyprus – FT.com.

S&P 500 and Europe: Likely to blow over

Question: Is the outcry in Europe going to tip the S&P 500 into a correction?

Answer: The outcome is uncertain. While there is a strong case for giving depositors and bondholders a haircut, the timing — so soon after an inconclusive Italian election — could not be worse. But let’s see what the market are saying….

Longish tail on the S&P 500 shows buying support at the close. Mild bearish divergence (mild because TMF has leveled out rather than falling sharply) on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow indicates medium-term selling pressure. We are likely to see retracement to the first line of support — at the previous high of 1525/1530 — but only breach of this level and the rising trendline would warn of a correction. Target for the current advance is 1600*.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1525 + ( 1525 – 1475 ) = 1575

VIX Volatility Index remains low — near its 2005 lows at 0.10. Breakout above 0.20 would be a warn of rising uncertainty.
VIX Index
The FTSE 100 exhibits an even longer tail, but bearish divergence on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow also indicates medium-term selling pressure. Reversal below the latest rising trendline (6400) would warn of a correction, while breakout above 6550 would continue the advance to 6800*.
FTSE 100 Index

* Target calculation: 6400 + ( 6400 – 6000 ) = 6800

The DAX showed even greater resilience, closing back above 8000. Follow-through above 8100 would signal a fresh primary advance. Rising 21-day Twiggs Money Flow indicates medium-term buying pressure.
DAX Index

Conclusion

There is bound to be some turbulence but markets are showing resilience and the storm is likely to blow over.

Cyprus: Deposit insurance and moral hazard

The outcry over Cyprus levy on depositors in defaulting banks raises the question: Why were depositors not more wary of where they deposited their funds? Not all banks are created equal. The reason is deposit insurance for deposits under €100,000 implied that the government would stand behind its banks and rescue depositors should the banks ever default. The problem is that no one considered the possibility that all the banks would suffer losses sufficient that the government would be forced to default on both its explicit and implied obligations.

Some time ago I wrote about the moral hazard of deposit insurance:

Deposit Insurance: When too much of a good idea becomes a bad idea

Deposit insurance was introduced in the 1930s and saved the US banking system from extinction. Administered by the FDIC, and funded by a levy on all banking institutions, deposit insurance, however, encourages moral hazard. Depositors need not concern themselves with the solvency of the bank where they deposit their funds so long as deposits are FDIC insured. High-risk institutions are able to compete for deposits on an equal footing with well-run, low-risk competitors. This inevitably leads to higher failure rates, as in the Savings & Loan crisis of the 1980s.

The FDIC does a good job of policing deposit-takers, but no regulator can substitute for market forces. Deposit insurance is critical during times of crisis, but should be scaled back when the crisis has passed. Either limit insured deposits to say $20,000 or only insure deposits to say 90% of value, where the depositor takes the first loss of 10%. That should be sufficient to keep depositors mindful as to where they bank. And restore the competitive advantage to well-run institutions.

Requiring depositors to take the first loss of 10 percent should be standard practice for deposit insurance. The same should hold true for bank creditors. But we need to distinguish between insolvency — where liabilities exceed assets — and a liquidity event where the central bank is only called on to provide temporary respite. If the bank is rescued from insolvency by the regulator, bond holders should be required to take an equivalent haircut — painful yet not life-threatening. No one is entitled to a free ride. And bank shareholders, if a there is a bail-out, should lose everything — similar to the Swedish approach in the 1990s.

Cyprus Deposit Levy: No Panic Yet But Scary Long-Term Consequences – Forbes

Karl Whelan, Professor of Economics at University College, Dublin reminds us:

….the fact that we don’t see lines at ATMs in Spain and Italy doesn’t mean there isn’t a bank run going on. The Northern Rock episode was a complete anomaly. Modern bank runs stem from people pushing buttons to execute electronic withdrawals of large amounts of funds. For example, I was living in Ireland in 2010 when non-residents pulled €186 billion out of Irish banks between the end of July and the end of December. This was over 100% of Irish GDP and yet there wasn’t a single sign of panic among retail depositors.

Read more at Cyprus Deposit Levy: No Panic Yet But Scary Long-Term Consequences – Forbes.

ZERVOS: 'This Is A Nuclear War On Savings And Wealth' – Business Insider

Joe Weisenthal reports on Jefferies strategist David Zervos’ latest note:

What happened to Cyprus on Friday evening was one of the most significant developments in the Eurozone since the Greek election last summer. To tax the bank deposits of savers sends an ominous message to the entire global investment community. All of us should really take a moment to consider what the governments of Europe have done. To be clear, they initiated a surprise assault on the precautionary savings of their own people. Such a move should send shock waves across the entire population of the developed world.

Read more at ZERVOS: 'This Is A Nuclear War On Savings And Wealth' – Business Insider.

Australia: RBA should emulate the Swiss

Australia is suffering a similar fate to Switzerland, where the Swiss Franc soared against the Euro during the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis. Flight to safety caused the Franc to rocket, threatening local manufacturing industry. Exporters were priced out of international markets while imports were undercutting local suppliers. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) did not sit on its hands but pledged to maintain an effective currency peg against the Euro. Catherine Bosley at Bloomberg writes:

The Swiss central bank pledged to keep up its defense of the franc cap after almost doubling its currency holdings to shield the country from the fallout caused by the euro zone’s crisis.

The Swiss National Bank cut its forecasts for inflation and said it will take all necessary measures to keep the “high” franc within the limit of 1.20 per euro……

The SNB, led by President Thomas Jordan, put the ceiling in place in September 2011 after investors pushed the franc close to parity with the euro and threatened to choke off growth. The central bank’s campaign to defend the cap has led to foreign currency holdings ballooning to more than 400 billion francs, almost three quarters of annual output. It spent 188 billion francs on interventions last year, 10 times the 2011 amount.

Australia’s position is in some ways even worse than Switzerland. Not only do international investors increasingly view the Australian Dollar as a safe haven, with higher bond yields and a stable economy, but booming mining exports have caused a bad case of Dutch Disease — rising exports killing local manufacturing and service industries such as tourism and education.

Bulk Commodity Exports

While not suggesting that the RBA accumulate huge holdings of greenbacks and euros — these are depreciating currencies, with central banks engaged in widespread QE — but the idea of a sovereign wealth fund is appealing. Investing in international equities is a risky business that would cause most central bankers to tremble, but sovereign wealth funds have been successfully run by Norway, China, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and others. Far safer than international equities would be to buy Australian international debt, targeting the roughly $400 billion owed to foreign investors by major Australian banks.

Net Foreign Liabilities

The appeal would be two-fold: eliminate currency risk while generating a stable return on investment.

Printing more dollars, whether you spend them locally or offshore, will normally increase inflation risk. But with high local savings rates and slowing rates of debt growth, deflationary pressures are rising. The only real inflationary pressure is from higher oil prices. So the RBA has room to maneuver.

A weaker Australian dollar would make exporters more competitive and rescue local manufacturers from international competition. Tourism and education, formerly major export earners, would hopefully recover from the belting they have taken in recent years. Miners would also not complain as a weaker dollar would boost profit margins.
Read more at SNB Keeps Up Franc Defense as Euro Crisis Risks Persist – Bloomberg.

Forex: Euro declines while Aussie follows through

The euro retreated below support at $1.30, indicating a correction to primary support at $1.2650. A 63-day Twiggs Momentum trough close to zero would suggest a primary advance, with a long-term target of $1.50*.
Aussie Dollar/USD

* Target calculation: 1.35 + ( 1.35 – 1.20 ) = 1.50

Pound sterling found short-term support against the dollar but the long-term target for the decline is $1.43*. Declining 63-day Twiggs Momentum, below its 2011 lows, strengthens the signal.
Aussie Dollar/USD

* Target calculation: 1.53 – ( 1.63 – 1.53 ) = 1.43

The Aussie Dollar followed through after breaking out above $1.03, signaling a rally to $1.06. Reversal below $1.02 is now unlikely, but would warn that primary support at $1.015 is again under threat. Narrow fluctuation of 63-day Twiggs Momentum around zero suggests a ranging market.

Aussie Dollar/USD

The Canadian Loonie found medium-term support at $0.97 against the greenback, but we should still expect a test of primary support at $0.96. Failure would warn of a decline to $0.90*, but respect is just as likely and would signal a rally to $1.02.
Aussie Dollar/USD

* Target calculation: 0.96 – ( 1.02 – 0.96 ) = 0.90

The US dollar continues to advance against the Japanese Yen, suggesting that the 30-year down-trend is over. Expect resistance at ¥100, with a possible correction back to ¥90, but breakout would test the 2007 high above ¥120*.
Aussie Dollar/USD

* Target calculation: 100 – ( 100 – 80 ) = 120