The End Of QE Will Always Devolve Into This Sort Of Incoherent Mess

The End Of QE Will Always Devolve Into This Sort Of Incoherent Mess t.co/1aEk1hPpfy

— M/I_Investments (@MI_Investments) December 14, 2018

That was a circus. These things are typically ungraceful to begin with, but this one was in a class by itself. Mario Draghi, the leader of the rudderless ECB, was in top form today. For pure entertainment value, he couldn’t have done better. People think that’s not the job of a top central banker, but it is! Monetary policy long since stripped of any money in it remains solely reduced to expectations management.

Thus, the circus.

Everyone knows Europe is in trouble. Even the most optimistic globally synchronized growth peddlers have taken several steps back. The global economy sits upon a stall already; even President Trump has taken a break from the boom stuff.

Earlier this week, Eurostat revised Q3 2018 GDP across much of the Continent. For the EA 19 unit, growth was just +0.15% Q/Q, or an annual rate of 0.623%. To put that into perspective, quarterly growth in Q4 2017 was more than last quarter’s yearly rate.

The total value of credit in the U.S. as a percentage of GDP peaked in June 2009 at almost 382%. It now stands at roughly 344%. pic.twitter.com/cGIXzk3uYZ

— Bianco Research (@biancoresearch) December 14, 2018

Eurozone 🇪🇺 PMIs are atrocious.

The euro-zone index falls from 52.7 in November to 51.3 in December, well below the consensus forecast of 52.8.

France 🇫🇷 PMI plummets from 54.2 in November to a 34-month low of 49.3.

“Only” after €2.6 trillion stimulus pic.twitter.com/MsNXrhB770

— Daniel Lacalle (@dlacalle_IA) December 14, 2018

Liquidity Fears Have the Likes of Pimco Sheltering in Credit Swaps

Credit risks are growing global because central banks are tightening monetary conditions and ending years of easy money that boosted corporate bonds almost ..

AC