In a recent CBB, I posited it was no coincidence that instability in Chinese money markets was followed not many weeks later by instability in U.S. “repo” finance. I believe a decade of zero and near-zero rates and unrelenting global QE has fostered unprecedented leveraged speculation on a global basis. I suspect the size of “carry trades” and myriad forms of speculative leverage dwarf that from the mortgage finance Bubble era – having seeped into all corners, nooks and crannies of global fixed-income markets. Moreover, “repo,” securities shorting, derivatives and securities finance more generally are the unappreciated sources of global liquidity abundance – in tightly interconnected funding markets with the nucleus in “offshore financial centers.”
