Back in August, we warned that things were about to get much worse for Standard Chartered, whose EM focus makes the bank especially vulnerable to the ongoing downturn in commodities and the generally poor outlook for the emerging world in an environment characterized by slowing global growth and a persistently strong USD.
Unlike Monday's global PMI deterioration (which sent markets around the globe soaring), there was little in terms of macroeconomic data overnight (German IFO earlier missed on expectations and business climate but beat on current assessment) so the "market made the news." These came most from the USDJPY which has continued to fall, sliding to 111.85 overnight, and dragging the Nikkei to a -0.4% drop.
In their latest report: “Eliminating cash will also eliminate the checks and balances on banking policy and practice”, Stefan Wieler and Josh Crumb from GoldMoney Insights™ show with comprehensive data that eliminating the largest bank notes in circulation is as good as eliminating cash altogether. It becomes evident fighting crime is not the main goal of a phase out of large bills. By eliminating cash, important checks and balances for commercial and central banks will disappear.
Following The Bank of Japan's voyage into NIRP never-never-land, the market has sent a clear signal of its displeasure and now a growing number of Japanese officials (and former officials) are questioning Kuroda and Abe's Peter-Pan-ic dream that 'they' can fly. Having called for sub-zero rates more than two decades ago, Takeshi Fujimaki, the Japanese banker turned opposition lawmaker, warns "The BOJ is trapped," now that QQE efforts have flattened the yield curve, since "if the curve is steep, banks can make profits even at negative rates.