This entry is from http://overhedged.blogspot.com via http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/. CDSs are a key thing to watch in the days ahead.
-Stealth
December 19, 2007
Credit Default Swaps: Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick . . . .
The evaporation of the collateralized loan obligation market (see post below) may be the other shoe dropping. The risks posed by credit default swaps (CDSs) may be not just the other shoe, but the neutron bomb. The rating cut by S&P of ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation (from A to CCC), discussed in this article in today's NY Times, may portend deep trouble.
Credit default swaps originated as a form of credit protection that the holder of a credit risk could purchase as a hedge against a borrower's default. A holder of General Motors bonds, for example, can effectively insure against a default by GM by purchasing protection in the form of a CDS from a willing counterparty. Many holders of collateralized debt obligations that have recently plummeted in value had hedged their positions through CDSs, and ACA Financial has been a major seller of such protection. An accompanying article in the Times describes possible efforts by some of ACA's insureds, including Merrill Lynch, CIBC and Bear Stearns, to help bail out ACA in order to avoid a write-down of billions of dollars of insured securities.
As with so many other types of innovative financial products, CDSs have exploded in the past few years. They have become a simple way for investors to take long or short positions on particular companies or industries without having to buy or sell the actual underlying bank debt or securities. The notional amount of underlying obligations covered by CDSs now exceeds $40 trillion, up from less than $2 trillion in 2002.
In a low default environment, selling default protection through CDSs presented huge revenue opportunities. ACA more than doubled its CDS business over the past 12 months, and others have undoubtedly done likewise. However, if the events of the past several months have proven one thing, it is that investors have done a very poor job recently of accurately assessing and pricing risk. It is more likely than not that many CDS sellers have not properly gauged their exposure, or set aside sufficient reserves against it.
The potential ramifications are difficult to overstate. S&P contends that ACA is facing close to $3 billion of losses on its CDS exposures, for which it has only $650 million of reserved capital. There is no way to tell right now how many other banks, funds, and other insurers are similarly exposed. Of equal concern are the exposures of the CDS purchasers who believe themselves to be properly hedged against losses, but who may instead find their protection to be worthless because of their counterparty's inability to pay.
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Posted by Ben Feder at 3:50 PM
http://overhedged.blogspot.com/2007/12/credit-default-swaps-tick-tick-tick.html
Friday, December 21, 2007
Ashraf Laidi and Frank Barbera on the Credit Crisis
I think both of these posts from http://www.hamzeianalytics.net/ are important to read. Barbera is very negative but one should be aware of this scenario.
-Stealth
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Currencies, SWFs and our Stock Market
Ashraf Laidi
I pretty much agree with Frank Barbera's outlook but not necessarily as bearish on the US Dollar in 2008. I think the Greenback will continue showing resiliency vs the British Pound, Kiwi and Aussie into mid Q2 before it starts to weaken again. Euro should start recovering after Q2.
As for our Stock Market, when you consider that the main catalysts to the recent gains were 1) Abu Dhabi buying part of Citi 2) rumors/hopes of aggressive Fed cuts 3) Bush rewriting legal contracts on mortgages, all of these factors fall under the "extraordinary items" category on which the ailing market cannot always count on. Unless of course, Arab Gulf SWFs, will alternate with Far Eastern SWFs every other week to announce new buyouts. The 2002 lows in stocks should come around by next summer.
Editors' Note: Ashraf Laidi will publish his 2008 outlook very soon.
Posted by Hamzei Analytics, LLC at 3:09 AM
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
http://www.hamzeianalytics.net/2007/12/currencies-swfs-and-our-stock-market.html
Housing, US Dollar, Gold, PPI and Inflation
Frank Barbera
The current downturn in Housing, the worst since the Great Depression has along way to run, with home prices likely to experience downside pressure well into 2009. Overall, a 30% to 40% price decline in high end homes is needed to bring prices back into line with incomes and clear the market. At the same time, the mortgage loan problem, goes far beyond Sub-Prime and will likely end up running into the Trillions of dollars, with the best estimates between2 to 3 Trillion dollars of defaulting bad paper.
That's more than enough downside risk in the credit market to bring the US Financial System to the tip of a very deep solvency crisis, where several large institutions will probably fold. As a result, we continue to see the large scale credit contraction now underway deepening throughout 2008 with the Federal Reserve likely forced to continue to lower ratings despite a stagflationary economic condition, one in which yr/yr PPI is now running at the highest levels seen since 1981.
The US Dollar is likely heading for a major currency crisis, with a devaluation likely in the year ahead. Gulf State PetroDollar currencies have now moved well off their pegs, as has the Chinese Yuan and HK Dollar. A currency crisis of epic proportions lies ahead, and with it will come soaring long term rates and crashing US Stock Market. For the S&P, a collapse back down toward the 2002-2003 lows near 800 is very likely the next primary direction, with all sectors of the equity market including Gold Stocks vulnerable to this decline. Post a crash type outcome, Gold Stocks are very likely to become the next great capital market mania, as broad scale monetization will be needed to reinflate both the capital markets and the US economy, which is already in a recession.
The final outcome, over the next few years,will be more money printing, more currency debasement and in the end, most likely runaway inflation which will help Uncle Sam eliminated his bad debts. Gold and Precious Metals will be one of the few investments able to protect valuable savings and hard earned capital during this time, and we see the price of Gold heading for $10,000 or higher in the next 5 to 7 years, with price of Silver likely to move toward $500 to $1,000 per ounce.
The upside explosion in Precious Metals following a serious banking collapse will leave onlookers with a truly once in a lifetime, -- jaw dropping experience, once the metals go higher, they will be going, going gone, right out of the park, as all central banks will also need to print money to keep currency relationships in some degree of balance and protect export advantages. Today, the world is confronted with a camouflaged 'fixed' global currency system masquerading as thematically free floating currency system, held together by currency derivatives and unchecked financial leveraging.
The current death of high end Wall Street Finance signals the end of the leveraged speculating era and financial engineering.As the world lurches toward a truly floating exchange rate mechanism, currency volatility will infect consumer prices for basic manufactured goods which in time, will morbidly begin moving around as if tradeable using RSI and MACD....in that climate, the only asset one will want to truly own, will be precious metals. It is very regrettable that the excess of the last decade is likely to create these kinds of extreme economic conditions, and probably at no time in decades, has the average individual been at greater economic risk.
The entire universe of paper money is sure to continue debasing against the universe of scarce and depleting commodities in a theme that will likely continue to play out over the next 10 to 15 years, while I hope I am dead wrong,I fear we are heading into very trying times...
http://www.hamzeianalytics.net/2007/12/housing-us-dollar-gold-ppi-and.html
-Stealth
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Currencies, SWFs and our Stock Market
Ashraf Laidi
I pretty much agree with Frank Barbera's outlook but not necessarily as bearish on the US Dollar in 2008. I think the Greenback will continue showing resiliency vs the British Pound, Kiwi and Aussie into mid Q2 before it starts to weaken again. Euro should start recovering after Q2.
As for our Stock Market, when you consider that the main catalysts to the recent gains were 1) Abu Dhabi buying part of Citi 2) rumors/hopes of aggressive Fed cuts 3) Bush rewriting legal contracts on mortgages, all of these factors fall under the "extraordinary items" category on which the ailing market cannot always count on. Unless of course, Arab Gulf SWFs, will alternate with Far Eastern SWFs every other week to announce new buyouts. The 2002 lows in stocks should come around by next summer.
Editors' Note: Ashraf Laidi will publish his 2008 outlook very soon.
Posted by Hamzei Analytics, LLC at 3:09 AM
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
http://www.hamzeianalytics.net/2007/12/currencies-swfs-and-our-stock-market.html
Housing, US Dollar, Gold, PPI and Inflation
Frank Barbera
The current downturn in Housing, the worst since the Great Depression has along way to run, with home prices likely to experience downside pressure well into 2009. Overall, a 30% to 40% price decline in high end homes is needed to bring prices back into line with incomes and clear the market. At the same time, the mortgage loan problem, goes far beyond Sub-Prime and will likely end up running into the Trillions of dollars, with the best estimates between2 to 3 Trillion dollars of defaulting bad paper.
That's more than enough downside risk in the credit market to bring the US Financial System to the tip of a very deep solvency crisis, where several large institutions will probably fold. As a result, we continue to see the large scale credit contraction now underway deepening throughout 2008 with the Federal Reserve likely forced to continue to lower ratings despite a stagflationary economic condition, one in which yr/yr PPI is now running at the highest levels seen since 1981.
The US Dollar is likely heading for a major currency crisis, with a devaluation likely in the year ahead. Gulf State PetroDollar currencies have now moved well off their pegs, as has the Chinese Yuan and HK Dollar. A currency crisis of epic proportions lies ahead, and with it will come soaring long term rates and crashing US Stock Market. For the S&P, a collapse back down toward the 2002-2003 lows near 800 is very likely the next primary direction, with all sectors of the equity market including Gold Stocks vulnerable to this decline. Post a crash type outcome, Gold Stocks are very likely to become the next great capital market mania, as broad scale monetization will be needed to reinflate both the capital markets and the US economy, which is already in a recession.
The final outcome, over the next few years,will be more money printing, more currency debasement and in the end, most likely runaway inflation which will help Uncle Sam eliminated his bad debts. Gold and Precious Metals will be one of the few investments able to protect valuable savings and hard earned capital during this time, and we see the price of Gold heading for $10,000 or higher in the next 5 to 7 years, with price of Silver likely to move toward $500 to $1,000 per ounce.
The upside explosion in Precious Metals following a serious banking collapse will leave onlookers with a truly once in a lifetime, -- jaw dropping experience, once the metals go higher, they will be going, going gone, right out of the park, as all central banks will also need to print money to keep currency relationships in some degree of balance and protect export advantages. Today, the world is confronted with a camouflaged 'fixed' global currency system masquerading as thematically free floating currency system, held together by currency derivatives and unchecked financial leveraging.
The current death of high end Wall Street Finance signals the end of the leveraged speculating era and financial engineering.As the world lurches toward a truly floating exchange rate mechanism, currency volatility will infect consumer prices for basic manufactured goods which in time, will morbidly begin moving around as if tradeable using RSI and MACD....in that climate, the only asset one will want to truly own, will be precious metals. It is very regrettable that the excess of the last decade is likely to create these kinds of extreme economic conditions, and probably at no time in decades, has the average individual been at greater economic risk.
The entire universe of paper money is sure to continue debasing against the universe of scarce and depleting commodities in a theme that will likely continue to play out over the next 10 to 15 years, while I hope I am dead wrong,I fear we are heading into very trying times...
http://www.hamzeianalytics.net/2007/12/housing-us-dollar-gold-ppi-and.html
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