Alf and Brent discuss the most recent US macro data releases: the hurricane impacted jobless claims, and core inflation has surprised to the upside. Trump now seems to decidedly lead the polls, and his policies could be inflationary. Did the Fed make a mistake by cutting 50 bps? The duo also discusses the Saturday Chinese fiscal press conference, and how to handle seasonality in your trading framework.

Alf's Macro Research Trial (Free): https://forms.gle/6azecq2XhMW2ZFXa8

Brent's Newsletter: https://www.spectramarkets.com/

Transcript: https://www.spectramarkets.com/tmtf-transcript-11oct24/

EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT TO ALF & BRENT CONFERENCE

https://www.spectramarkets.com/macro-roadmap-2025/

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Alf and Brent discuss the many risks on the horizon: the Middle-East escalation, China following up (or not) with real economic stimulus, elections and more.

Today’s episode: https://www.spectramarkets.com/tmtf-transcript-04oct24/

The Chinese stimulus bazooka has been fired.

Chinese authorities have announced aggressive interest rate cuts, a 1 trillion yuan capital injection for Chinese banks, and they 

are also mentioning the magic words: fiscal stimulus.

As a result, stocks are soaring and commodities are rallying.

But - is it really going to work? And can China really afford such a stimulus?

Alf and Brent unpack this in today's show.

Elm's ''Crystal Ball'' Trading Game: https://elmwealth.com/crystal-ball-challenge/

Transcript: https://www.spectramarkets.com/tmtf-transcript-27sep2024/

Alf and Brent discuss the jumbo 50 bps Fed cut and the nuances Powell shared during the press conference. They look at historical parallels to derive how to best approach different asset classes with a specific focus on the USD. They also cover the Chinese economy which seems to be slowly imploding from within.

We are now also on Youtube, where you can see supporting charts and our bald heads.

https://youtu.be/o1iDoADS0c4

Transcript: https://www.spectramarkets.com/tmtf-transcript-20sep2024/

Alf and Brent discuss similarities and differences between the world and the macro cycle today versus the pre-pandemic period. While the cycle might look similar, should we not pay attention to the structural differences too? The duo moves on to discuss the aggressive bond market pricing and how to trade around that. Finally, they focus on the US Dollar: will it perform nicely or poorly if we get a recession?

Free trial to Alf's institutional macro research: https://forms.gle/yNU1vBqCqRXSvEHA7

Sign up to Brent's newsletter: https://www.spectramarkets.com/subscribe/

Transcript: https://www.spectramarkets.com/the-macro-trading-floor-transcript-13-september-2024/

Alf and Brent discuss recent developments in macro and labor market data, and debate whether the Fed will cut by 25 or 50 bps in September. Is the bond market overestimating the amount of upcoming cuts, or economic weakness will require the Fed to cut rates even more aggressively? They then move to investigate how long-term investing bias can negatively affect short-term oriented trading decisions, and how to measure consensus.

Free trial to Alf's Institutional Research: https://forms.gle/6bXTD5ApyrdvSv798

Subscribe to Brent's newsletter: https://www.spectramarkets.com/am-fx/

Commodities are the worst-performing asset class over the past 20 years:

https://www.mfs.com/content/dam/mfs-enterprise/mfscom/sales-tools/sales-ideas/mfsp_20yrsa_fly.pdf

Transcript: https://www.spectramarkets.com/the-macro-trading-floor-transcript-6-september-2024/

In this episode, Alf and Brent discuss how cross-asset pricing in bonds, FX and equity markets has rapidly changed in August and compare it with the hard economic reality: are there opportunities to be exploited? They then make a deep dive on the US Dollar, and finally cover a crucial trading framework topic: when and how to use options instead of linear structures to put up macro trades?

FREE TRIAL to Alf's Institutional Macro Research: https://www.tinyurl.com/FreeTrialResearch

Sign up to Brent's newsletter: www.spectramarkets.com/subscribe

Brent's dedicated piece on options vs linear trades: https://50in50.substack.com/p/trade-6-options-or-cash

Transcript link here: https://www.spectramarkets.com/the-macro-trading-floor-transcript-23-august-2024/

Alf and Brent reflect on the immense volatility hitting markets recently, and specifically on the unwind of carry trades: are we done here or is there more to come? Most importantly, they describe how to design and apply a risk management and position sizing framework so that when everybody panics you don't need to.

Want to reach out to Alf? Ping Alfonso Peccatiello on Bloomberg

Brent Donnelly can also be reached on Bloomberg, or via spectramarkets.com

Transcript link here: https://www.spectramarkets.com/the-macro-trading-floor-transcript-12-august-2024/

Alf and Brent reflect on the massive bond market rally and the explosive move in the Japanese Yen - what’s next for macro?

To contact Alf: send him an email at [email protected] or contact him on Bloomberg (Alfonso Peccatiello)

To contact Brent: ping him on Bloomberg (Brent Donnelly) or go on http://www.spectramarkets.com/

Brent’s piece on positioning: https://50in50.substack.com/p/trade-11-sentiment-and-positioning

Transcript: https://www.spectramarkets.com/the-macro-trading-floor-transcript-02-august-2024/

This week, Alf and Brent discuss the brutal equity market sell-off: is it due to macro tectonic shifts, a reassessment of political risks or an unwind of crowded trades?

The duo digs deep trying to connect the dots, and they also discuss a trading framework around this large volatility events.