#ShortTheVolfefe
#ShortTheVolfefe: JP Morgan has created its own “Volfefe Index” mocking President Trump’s 2017 peculiar mash-up of the words “volatility” and “coffee,” according to CNN. Although playful in name, the index measures the very real effects of the President’s tweets about the Fed, the trade war and publicly traded companies. In a less than shocking turn of events, analysts found that these tweets have significantly increased volatility.
“The subject of these tweets has increasingly turned toward market-moving topics, most prominently trade and monetary policy,” the analysts said. “And we find strong evidence that tweets have increasingly moved US rates markets immediately after publication.”
Economic slowdown in China: If we’ve learned anything from relationships, it’s that “it’s fine” usually means it’s actually not fine at all. Recent headlines out of China are no exception to that rule, according to the Wall Street Journal. Despite the country saying its economic growth is on-par with the previous four years, there is a growing belief among economists, companies and investors around the world that the real picture is worse than the official data.
Although the Chinese economy isn’t tanking, “Some economists who have dissected China’s GDP numbers say more accurate figures could be up to 3 percentage points lower, based on their analysis of corporate profits, tax revenue, rail freight, property sales and other measures of activity that they believe are harder for the government to fudge,” reports the Journal.
The case against Big Tech: New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that she and seven other AGs across the country were launching an official antitrust investigation into Facebook, according to the New York Times. Facebook isn’t alone — Google is also said to be next on the list of Big Tech companies under fire. The Times breaks down how regulators could come after each company in Big Tech and what organizations have maintained in response.
Privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Since the 2008 financial crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed under a “temporary conservatorship,” which has now lasted more than 10 years, writes The Economist. Last week, Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin published a long-awaited plan to privatize Fannie and Freddie, calling their status “the last unfinished business of the financial crisis” and plans to privatize both organizations.
How? Well, we’re not quite sure yet as the plan’s loose policies around competition and GSE fees would require Congress to pass legislation–unlikely given the polarization across parties and impending election next year.
A Day in the #VestedLife: One of our new UK team members Kris Lam gives us a peak into his busy but exciting days at Vested in our latest blog post.