Congress successfully punts on a government shut down–but creates an impossible January
Yesterday Congress did indeed find a way to pass a bill that extends government funding from today’s December 22 deadline until January 19. Congress achieved this goal by punting on just about everything.
Trick or Trend: Where’s the volatility? Try the bond market
Last week’s drop has again led to the question “So where’s the volatility?” After all it’s not like there aren’t dangers in this world that might lead a trader to bid up the price of protecting against those dangers. It’s certainly not in the VIX, which looks for volatility in the S&P 500 future. But there’s actually plenty out there. It’s just all in the Treasury futures market where traders are hedging their bets on 10-year and 30-year Treasuries big time. The implied volatility in those futures markets has soared in the last couple of weeks.
Adding a gold ETF on today’s drop in the metal on hurricane, North Korea relief
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It’s a new month but the same old Congress–as a debt-ceiling deal descends into usual chaos
Please extend the greeting of your choice to the U.S. Congress, back in “action” today after a long August recess. This morning Democrats said they would vote for disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey if Republicans attached the measure to a three-month extension of the debt-ceiling. If Congress doesn’t raise the ceiling on the amount of debt that the U.S. Treasury can sell, the government will not be able to pay at least some of its bills after September 29. House Speaker Paul Ryan ridiculed the proposal
The bond market gets nervous about the debt ceiling and other DC shenanigans
You wouldn’t know that there was anything to worry about from the U.S. stock market. So what that the President has threatened to shut down the government unless Congress funds The Wall. So what that the tax cuts so near and dear to CEOs won’t happen unless there is a budget or some stop gap funding measure by October 1. So what the Federal Reserve refuses to take another interest rate increase off the table. But if you look at the bond market, you will see signs of concern.
How the log jam among Republicans in Congress works from here on the budget and tax cuts–and on raising the debt ceiling
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Schedule for debt ceiling showdown accelerates
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Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…
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Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…
To subscribe to JAM you need to fill in some details below including, ahem, some info on how you'll pay us. A subscription is $199 (although if you're subscribing with one of our special offers it will be lower) for a year for ongoing and continuing access to the...A very modest Congressional budget deal looks likely–the effect on markets and the economy would be mostly psychological
With the clock ticking down on the December 13 deadline set for a budget deal, the bet in Washington is that a very modest package will come out of negotiations led by Republic Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray. The package would repeal some of the spending cuts imposed by the sequester in fiscal 2014
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