The issue of violent crime is an important one for the mid terms. According to Pew Research 61% of all registered voters see violent crime as very important about how they will cast their votes. For Republican voters this increases to 73%. Interestingly, however, the figures on violent crime do not seem to warrant such concern high levels of concern given the trend seems to be downward.
Exclusion of moderates from China’s leadership spurs record stock outflows
Source: No ‘adults in the room’: Xi Jinping catches global investors off guard | Financial Times
Northern Comment Editor – What does Liz Truss and Xi Jinping have in common?
Josephine Cumbo YESTERDAY
Hundreds of UK companies could face demands for larger cash injections from their retirement schemes after cracks formed in pension funds’ hedging strategies during last month’s crisis in the country’s debt markets.
Source: UK companies face bigger cash calls from pension funds after LDI crunch | Financial Times
Northern Comment Editor – So this is what is happening to pension funds. The LDI hedging strategy, which seems to have worked for a couple of decades is starting to look insufficient. If it does lead to more cash calls on companies to fund liability gaps that means less money for investment. Undermining “growth, growth, GROWTH”.
The Bank of England’s (BoE) £65bn inoculation fund does not seem to have protected the bond markets against the impact of LizKwasi-22. Indeed the virus seems to be spreading. Yesterday the Bank announced the fund would also be used to purchase high grade corporate bonds and this morning index linked government bonds have been included in the vaccination programme after what the FT called a brutal collapse in their values.
Is there a risk the BoE will be unable to act as market maker of last resort? Will the Chancellor have to bring his statement forward yet again? His credibility is sinking with the values in the bond market.
If gilt values are not stabilising what is happening to the pension’s liability driven investment (LDI) strategies? Is LizKwasi-22 mutating in other parts of the financial system which so far have not displayed any symptoms?
northerncomment 