Aren't a lot of Eastern European mortgages such as those in Poland denominated in Swiss francs? I recall reading about this the last time the Swiss franc was really strong during the financial crisis. If so, the "multiplier" effects of last weeks move could be interesting. Swiss 3mLibor target now at -0.75% middle could pull longer term bond yields into negative territory, maybe not just in Switzerland but also Japan, Germany a possibility. You have to imagine some of the macro "relative value" funds will pile into big short positions in bond markets as yields get close to 0%. I'm myself scratching my head seeing 10yr OATS yielding 0.64% with the Euro currency risk - and I'm pretty open minded when it comes to seeing markets pushing extremes. So I can only imagine how some young trader with an economics degree and a couple of years experience working at a bank is feeling as he throws around his bank's capital, thinking he's the next Soros or Tudor Jones.
Another VN, again backed by G Soros! Coincident ? If not, which one next? " June 07, 2010 Everest Capital Raises Its Profile to Attract Emerging Market Investors http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=2585796&single=true It may be a case of practice makes perfect, because he’s certainly been tested. Everest Capital bled nearly $1 billion when it prematurely jumped back into the manic stock markets of late 2008. Convinced that the frenzied selling was overkill and eager to take advantage of cheap valuations, Everest piled on positions too soon and paid the price for impatience. Its emerging-markets fund lost 49.6 percent in 2008 and its global fund 51.9 percent. For Dimitrijevíc, 2008 was an historic anomaly not unlike the Russian ruble crisis ten years earlier — the last time that Everest lost nearly $1 billion in less than a month, for being overexposed to Russia just as the country defaulted on its debt and devalued its currency. But confidence in Dimitrijevíc, even back then, ran deep. In early 1999, Hungarian-born investing guru George Soros, who’d had money with Everest since 1992, handed Dimitrijevíc an additional $500 million. Today, Everest’s 50-year-old founder says he never considered shuttering the funds, but clearly the vote of confidence came at a critical time. "
Multiple or Chain effects - Most likely! Perhaps just the beginning of a new volatility period - Unsure moving towards either Up or Down yet! " http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...n-crackdown-fear/story-e6frg916-1227189565009 THE Chinese stockmarket has experienced its largest one day fall in more than six years, after the nation’s securities regulator flagged sweeping changes to margin trading laws were under consideration. The Shanghai Composite index closed down 262 points, (7.7 per cent) to 3114.46 while the A-shares market lost 281.6 points (7.7 per cent) to 3353.48. The CSI300, which is a broader stock index, was also down by 7.7 per cent to 3263.12. "