ISRAEL: Court-Sacking Of Sec Chief Illegal; PM Holds Rare Presser @ 20:15 Local
The Supreme Court has ruled that the sacking of Ronen Bar, the head of the domestic security service, Shin Bet, was "was made in an improper manner and contrary to law". Bar has already confirmed that he intends to stand down from 15 June, meaning that, with regards to the immediate impact of the ruling, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can now confirm the identity of Bar's replacement (he could not do so while the court was deliberating). The ruling says that Netanyahu "was in a conflict of interest when making the decision, due to investigations of his associates in the classified documents leak affair and the Qatari financing affair - investigations in which the Shin Bet was involved."
- It also criticises the gov't for: not bringing the case before the appropriate committee that scrutinises public appointments and replacements; not grounding the sacking in factual basis, instead relying on a vague 'loss of confidence' in Bar's position; and for not giving Bar the opportunity to defend his position before the announcement of his removal.
- Netanyahu has confirmed that he will hold his first press conference in more than 160 days at 20:15 local time (13:15ET, 18:15BST, 19:15CET).
- The PM is facing mounting international pressure regarding the Israeli Defence Forces' renewed offensive in Gaza, amid demands that humanitarian aid is allowed into the strip and distributed. Foreign opprobrium towards the gov't has escalated in the past few hours, with the firing of 'warning shots' in the vicinity of a diplomatic delegation in the West Bank resulting in condemnation from European countries.
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US DATA: Weak LEI Reflects Of Weaker Manufacturing, Tighter Financial Conditions
March's Conference Board leading economic index (LEI) was softer than expected at -0.7% M/M (-0.5% survey, -0.2% prior which is an upward revision from -0.3%). The coincident index rose 0.1% (0.3% prior), with the lagging index -0.1% (+0.3% prior).
- This was the weakest monthly change in the LEI since October 2023, in keeping with other indicators that appear to have been negatively impact by tariff uncertainty.
- The Conference Board release notes "the data does not suggest that a recession has begun or is about to start", though the LEI hasn't been a particularly reliable indicator of recession in this cycle, having printed in negative territory for a few years now. On a 6-month basis, the index is actually trending up from the early 2023 lows, but this doesn't offer much confidence in the outlook in and of itself.
- MNI interprets the LEI more as a manufacturing cycle indicator: it is very heavily weighted toward cyclicality in manufacturing: avg weekly manufacturing hours (25%) and ISM New Orders (17%) are combined over 40% of the index, when added to core capital goods orders (5%) and manufacturers' new orders (consumer goods and materials, 8%).
- That being said, the biggest contributor to March's LEI drop was financial conditions (equity prices, leading credit index, spreads) for the weakest such conditions since October 2023. The accompanying chart shows MNI's grouping of contributing sectors to the LEI.
US TSY FUTURES: BLOCK: Jun'25 10Y Buy
- +8,000 TYM5 111-05, buy through 111-04 post time offer at 1016:29ET, DV01 $512,000. The 10Y Contract trades 111-07 last (+1.5) nearing overnight high of 111-07.5
US TSYS: Bonds Bounce, Cuves Steeper on Trump's "Preemptive Cuts" Call
- Treasury futures are climbing off morning lows in the minutes after Pres Trump's latest tweet berating Fed Chairman Powell and reiterating a call for "preemptive cuts".
- Curves maintain steeper profile as short end surges: 2s10s currently at 61.646 +9.400 vs. 62.245 high, 5s30s +8.231 at 94.038. Jun'25 10Y futures -3.5 at 111-02 vs. late overnight high of 111-07.5. Technical resistance above at 111-17.5 (Apr 16 high).
- In turn, projected rate hike pricing gain momentum vs. morning levels (*) as follows: May'25 at -3.4bp, Jun'25 at -20.3bp (-19bp), Jul'25 at -43.1bp (-40.1bp), Sep'25 -62.9bp (-59.9bp).
- Stocks reacting negatively, extending lows with SPX eminis slipping to 5207.5 low, Consume Discretionary and IT sectors underperforming.
