New Player? All right, fresh meat! Just kidding
My own ignorance might be at play here, but uhhmm, if long term rates are going down, doesn't that mean there is a surplus of buyers? In other words, the buyers are long on US and short on Chi and Germ
Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do
No. If you overlay historical interest rates for the USA 10 year T-note and the German 10 year government bond they match up extremely well except the rates are different. Right now the German rate is -0.7% and the U.S. rate is 1.54%. Yields for the Chinese 10 year bond don't match up as well, but the rate has been falling too. This is a world wide phenomenon. As to your statement, "buyers are long on US and short on Chi and Germ," the dollar is up against the Euro a little since the start of the trade war but not much. Yes, the Chinese renminbi has fallen a lot. Please note that this makes Chinese products cheaper for people who are paying in Euros or Yen or whatever, and helps the Chinese cut prices and sell the Europeans et al what they were selling to us. This depreciation in the renminbi was not engineered primarily by the Chinese government, which has imposed capital controls among other measures to prop up their currency, but rather was caused by President Trump's trade policy -- see bb1961's post above in this thread.
Another thought, when bad news about the trade war comes out, bond yields go down in the U.S. and everywhere else. The market believes the trade war will hinder worldwide economic growth.
In the present, sounds more like fake news by trying to scare the average consumer into worrying that Orange Man bad economy prior to a National election, seeing whereas we are predominately a consumer economy. Shoot! Even Bill Maher is hoping for a recession - openly. WTactualF?
Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do
I don't think Donald Trump or anyone else who's looked at the data would argue that an inverted yield curve does not often predate a recession. That's part of the reason why Trump wants the Fed to bring down rates. People aren't making this up.
The trade war is a bigger threat to the 'German' and 'Chines' economy than people thought. There, fixed that for you. The US holds all the cards. Really have for evah. Difference is that we know have a playa at the table that knows how to play. Recall the US GDP continues to grow and flourish. Juss say'n...
Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do
Why would Germany suffer from this trade war? They're bystanders. They benefit from being able to buy Chinese products more cheaply because of the weak renminbi. They also benefit by selling products to the Chinese that we were formerly exporting to them. They are being hit to an extent though because of a change in sentiment and because slower economic growth in the USA and China will have worldwide effects.
Theoretically this shouldn't affect China that badly. Their exports to the U.S. only account for 3% of their GDP, and they have 6%+ GDP growth. So assume they don't take the products they were selling to the USA and sell them to Germany and other places instead. Assume they burn them for a year and then quit manufacturing them. You've knocked down Chinese GDP growth for one year from 6% to 3%, big deal.
U.S. GDP growth has come down from 3.2% to 2.3% since the start of the trade war. Admittedly, 3.2% probably wasn't sustainable, and a good part of the drop probably has nothing to do with the trade war. Still, I'll stick with what I said, Trump is undoing the good he did with lower corporate taxes and deregulation with his trade war.