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An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China October 25, 2022. But the extent of the political and economic jitters merely mirrors other signs of a long-term China exit well beyond portfolio flows. Earlier this month, China recorded its first-ever quarterly deficit in "bricks and mortar" foreign direct investment (FDI). What's more, a multi-year aversion to China investments then risks colliding with deteriorating long-term economic growth dynamics - heightened by rising youth unemployment and dire demographics. Despite some recent upgrades of China growth forecasts, yet another business survey this week raised red flags.

Persons: Aly, Gina Raimondo, Nicholas Lardy, Xi, Lardy, What's, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Mike Dolan, Paul Simao Organizations: REUTERS, Official Monetary, Financial, Reuters, . Commerce, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, OMFIF, Europe, North America, India, Brazil, Beijing, U.S, Washington, San Francisco

U.S. Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. Deutsche Bank's CVIX (.DBCVIX) - the currency market's version of Wall St's "fear index" of stock volatility and a weighted average of implied "vol" in nine major pairings - has basically imploded. By driving short-term dollar cash rates and U.S. bond yields higher over the past 20 months, the Fed basically sucked cash from the wider investment world and supercharged dollar exchange rates everywhere. Now that it looks done, the buck's finally on the back foot - plumbing levels not seen since August. With implied volatility directionally biased, the dollar index and the CVIX are typically well correlated and both peaked in tandem in same month of September last year.

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Rather, asset managers increasingly position these as now a feature of global investing choices rather than all-consuming shocks per se. Likely for the same reason, geopolitical risk monitors are at their highest in over 18 months too. Ebbing demand from a Chinese economy hobbled by property busts and a foreign investment withdrawal due to U.S. investment curbs also hurts. The VIX (.VIX) index of U.S. stock volatility is currently five points below its historic average 19 - and even July VIX futures hover on that mean. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for ReutersReporting by Mike Dolan Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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A recently edgy bond market gobbled all that up. Funds' bonds allocation in November soared 18 points over the month to leave them net 19% overweight - almost 3 standard deviations above long-term averages. Asset managers' overweight bond positions - or at least those in government bonds and U.S. Treasuries - tends to be mirrored by big short positions in Treasury futures among speculative hedge funds. CFTC numbers show the scale of that speculative 'Big Short' on the flipside of the mounting 'Big Long' built by regular asset managers. Lamont points out that U.S. Treasury yields and investment grade corporate debt yields would have to rise about another 100bps for the capital losses to wipe out current yields.

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U.S. Federal Reserve officials are puzzling over why bond borrowing rates spiked lately even as Fed policy expectations have remained largely unchanged. Whether a resurfacing "term premium'" now demanded to buy and hold longer-term bonds, is responsible is central to the conundrum. Britain's brief budget and debt shock late last year and the way the Bank of England was forced to react was perhaps a taster. "Once current debt has been refinanced and the average interest on debt reflects the higher long rates, absent changes in policy, debt ratios will increase," Blanchard wrote. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reutersby Mike Dolan Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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U.S. Federal Reserve officials are puzzling over why bond borrowing rates spiked lately even as Fed policy expectations have remained largely unchanged. Whether a resurfacing "term premium'" now demanded to buy and hold longer-term bonds, is responsible is central to the conundrum. Britain's brief budget and debt shock late last year and the way the Bank of England was forced to react was perhaps a taster. "Once current debt has been refinanced and the average interest on debt reflects the higher long rates, absent changes in policy, debt ratios will increase," Blanchard wrote. US debt costs soarRates minus Growth hits budget mathCBO's long-term debt projectionsDYSFUNCTION AND EXPLOSIONThere were tinges of optimism though.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - If the notorious 'term premium' is evaporating again, then last month's bond rout may just have been a nightmare. "If that's coming from term premium and it's tightening, then we have got to take that into account." As Summers estimated this week, a term premium just back at 60-year averages would put it at 150bps - 130bps above current levels. Morgan Stanley estimates an additional near $1 trillion in gross debt sales from G7 governments are coming down the pike next year. Morgan Stanley chart on G7 debt sales in 2024Reuters GraphicsThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

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A general view of the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, September 25, 2023. In making that call the BoE report focuses mostly on consumption, which it estimates makes up about 60% of GDP. As a result, the BoE expects the fallout from rate moves to date to "grow over time" even if one-off quarterly hits have peaked. And whatever the slow-burning hit to growth and consumption, inflation surprises could well change the increasingly comfortable markets picture. BOE chart on GDP outlookBOE chart on consumption hit from rate risesReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reutersby Mike Dolan X: @reutersMikeD; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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And some banks think the Bank of England may be the latest to paper over the QT cracks as soon as this week. Already, there's been some awkward shuffling of feet around a process that was meant to be just balance sheet plumbing. The Federal Reserve may be further away from dealing with the QT issue head on. Deutsche Bank's UK strategists agree and think "the bar for a shift in QT policy is lower heading into yearend." Deutsche argues the BoE could either skew gilt sales shorter or agree to sell evenly based on current market valuations.

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Speaking at this week's global finance meeting in Riyadh, HSBC boss Noel Quinn warned of a potential "tipping point on fiscal deficits" for a number of countries across the world. And some analysts fear the uncertainty of next year's funding crush is filtering out the steepening yield curve via the term premium. Term premium at highest in 8 yearsReuters GraphicsCBO long-term US debt and deficit projections'DOOM LOOP'? That's spooky enough, until you start to factor in the recent yield spike and or a return of the term premium to 60-year averages of 150 bp. Tipping point or not, there's a danger the market is starting crystallise the problem it fears most.

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The 40-year bond bull market - a slow-inflating bubble like any other to some people - has crashed. Bank of America chart on survey of global funds' bond positioningBond Multiverse Returns Flip Positive2008... OR 2000? Of course, bond bubbles and bursts - at least for top-rated sovereigns - are not same as their equity counterparts, even if the short-term performance of bond funds seems to ape them. But for bond funds praying for a shorter-term price performance pickup, the situation looks nervier. With such an ephemeral variable at work, picking a durable turn in the battered bond market may prove fiendishly difficult.

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Based on International Monetary Fund data on comparative international investment positions through the early part of this year, U.S. portfolio investment overseas - equity, fund shares and debt securities - stood at more than $14.5 trillion. US funds shy of overseas equityUS economic growth roaring at more than 5%US expensive for a reason? The upshot could be an ever wider U.S. deficit on its net international investment position - potentially lifting the dollar as that inflates, but leaving it vulnerable to the yawning gap and foreign investor sentiment down the road. IMF chart on US net international investment deficitUS stocks lead the packThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for ReutersEditing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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Israeli assets and the shekel remain under pressure and oil and gold prices are marginally higher than last week. World Markets Impact From MidEast Attacks WanesBlackRock chart on its Geopolitical Risk IndicatorNOWHERE TO RUN TO... Last updated shortly before the weekend events in Israel, BlackRock's Geopolitical Risk Indicator - which attempts to capture market attention to political risks - had indeed crept up to six month highs. Releasing its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund warned that more volatile commodity prices were a possible reflection of both greater climate and geopolitical risk. And yet hand wringing about geopolitical risk in different corners of the globe can also deflect from rising political risks in core economies - not the least in the United States.

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Re-enter risk premia on what should be 'risk free' bonds. The renewed corporate profits upswing riffs off this relatively robust nominal growth picture too - as do still benign corporate debt premia. However, keeping a lid on 5% nominal GDP may well be what's irking bonds as much as anything. While turning 10-year averages takes some time, nominal GDP growth according to a real time model from the Atlanta Fed is closer to 8% right now. CBO deficit projections to 2030US nominal GDP growth running at 8%?

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2023. A near-miss on a debt ceiling showdown in the Spring led to the loss of another Triple-A sovereign credit rating. A fiscal adjustment akin to the one enacted in 1993 would be enough to do that again over 5 years. "However, this looks unlikely anytime soon given congressional gridlock, a lack of political attention to deficit reduction and the upcoming 2024 election," it concluded. On current poll readings at least, next year's election will do nothing to end the fiscal war.

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But the essence of the argument is that lower bond volatility ups the amount of cash liquidity flowing around world markets, and vice versa. But it is the incremental movement in this giant pool that arguably matters most for stock markets and asset prices. Even though global liquidity is shrinking as you might expect in the face of rising Western interest rates, central bank balance sheet reduction and a higher dollar, other offsets are significant. But falling bond volatility has likely played a big part in softening the blow too. "The two together have helped overall liquidity conditions - but we are mindful that bond markets are likely to remain volatile and need to be monitored carefully."

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U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's trip to China last month had promised some economic and trade detente between the two superpowers now at loggerheads. And none of the 222 funds polled expected China economic growth to be any higher next year than this - mirroring a recent Reuters survey of domestic and overseas banks and investors. As these sorts of surveys go, there's an awful lot in there that could spell "peak gloom". Indeed, shorting China equities was deemed the second "most crowded trade" behind long exposure to supercharged Big Tech stocks. Even if the economy turns, political catalysts for a return to China may be slow in coming.

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REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Rising U.S. business bankruptcies may raise a red flag in what otherwise appears like an economy now impervious to rising interest rates. Commenting on the numbers, insolvency research organisation ABI blamed elevated interest rates, price inflation and a resumption of student loan payments as just some of the headwinds causing stress. That partly mirrors some of built-in household resilience to rising rates related to long-term fixed-rate borrowings and still-high cash savings that now earn significantly higher rates of interest now too. And that 10% - accounting for more than 60% of index market cap - had seen no rise in net interest payments so far in the Fed campaign. But creeping insolvencies among the smaller firms - many of whom have been dubbed 'zombies' for years due to their survival solely on low interest rates - may be a better reflection of what's starting to happen at the coalface of the economy.

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"Further progress is likely to become more difficult as base effects fade, and supply-constraints could drive global energy and food prices higher again." Brent crude prices have risen 27% since mid-year and U.S. crude is up 30%, with U.S. retail pump prices already up almost 10% so far since June. Oil and inflation expectationsReuters GraphicsSLOWING DESCENTAnd alongside creeping worries about rising debt supply, the long end of bond markets has been rattled again by the oil price jump. And this has been a far bigger influence on the inflation trajectory than oil prices per se. Yet, restive crude prices will still cloud a messy and tricky battle with inflation expectations just as policy tightening cycles near an end.

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Specifically, she outlined puzzlement at why the inflation-adjusted risk-free rates priced by markets - real Overnight Index Swap yields from one to 10 years - had subsided again since the last ECB rate hike in July - back to where they were in February when ECB policy rates were just 2.5%. Long-term real yields from benchmark German government bond markets are positive again this year for the first time in almost a decade. But they have fallen almost 20bp from just before the last ECB rate hike to just above 0.1% now. Minutes released today from the last ECB meeting suggest the council is still undecided about its next step this month, but many market analysts see the tension building. ECB chart from Isabel Schnabel speech on rising market inflation premiaReuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell was almost brusque in his re-statement of the central bank's anti-inflation commitment at the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. Tracking that rather than more-skittish policy rate futures would have proved a better guide to how subsequent months panned out and to the summer doldrums in bonds and stocks. And yet the September meeting could still be the 'big reveal' as it sees publication of the Fed's updated 'dot plot' that will likely show just where they then see the cycle crest. San Francisco Fed chart on dispersion of Fed rate projections by horizonSan Francisco Fed index of Fed uncertaintyACCIDENT OR DESIGN? As to whether the Fed is guiding everyone to safe and happy place, there continues to be sceptics about the 'soft landing'.

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LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - In an investment world trumpeting new-found ethical and sustainability guidelines, the seeming indifference of markets to democratic credentials still remains stark. There's little doubt that emerging market risks are many and rising for Western investors. What's more, there were as many emerging economies in its sample with relatively low bond spreads in the group with very low V&A scores as the group with very high V&A scores. If you removed those two wipeouts, screening just for V&A democratic values made much less difference to the bottom line. "Taking heed of these geopolitical risks could be the crucial difference between securing your returns or ending up with nothing."

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LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The United States and China may feel some financial detente is wise at this point - even if goading one another plays well domestically. But elements of the once-feared bind of 'mutally-assured financial destruction' (MAFD) still apply. Pulling the rug out from under either - battering U.S. and Chinese demand in effect - seems to make little economic sense at least. America had new markets and investments and a seemingly durable new creditor that kept borrowing rates low and consumption up. Falling China Share of Foreign US Treasury HoldingsChina FX Reserves vs Global ReservesUS Treasury Debt Climbs as Fed Pulls Back'MAFD'But is that where the situation has landed post-pandemic?

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2023. The simplest conclusion is the Fed will not be able to ease again in anything like the way many had assumed or still think. This will lift the 'term premium' embedded in long-term bond yields, which has been so subdued since Fed balance sheet expansion met the crash of 2008, even if the Fed is done tightening policy rates, he said. Fed policy is more neutral than restrictive "if you believe we've returned to a pre-2008 world", he said, and that limits the scope for rate cuts in future. Writing by Mike Dolan; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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And with China's post-COVID recovery running into the ground and suffering a deepening real estate bust, western investment curbs throw more sand in the wheels. A question now is whether a retreat of western money from emerging markets at least partly explains both their recent underperformance and that of western government bonds, in which emerging central banks and sovereign funds are heavily invested. The picture has not been much better in aggregate emerging bond indices, even if they have done marginally better than developed world counterparts, and worries over emerging high-yield and property linked bonds are rising. Have global investors high-tailed it from emerging markets already? If western money grows more wary and is increasingly warned off China and other selective emerging investments, will there be a mutual pullback of official emerging money from western bond markets?

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