Global Markets Update Has the Fed driven down the term premium on US Treasuries? We think the Fed has been instrumental in the collapse of term premiums on long-dated Treasuries and that the effect of its actions will not be unwound soon. If we are right, and other depressing... 20th January 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Some market implications of the SNB's change in policy The SNB’s decision to abandon its exchange rate ceiling of 1.20 francs per euro sent shockwaves through the financial markets today. This Update provides some of our initial reactions. 15th January 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Would euro-zone equities benefit from QE? The European Central Bank (ECB) looks set to announce a quantitative easing (QE) programme at its next policy meeting. However, we doubt that it would provide a large boost to euro-zone equities. The... 15th January 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update What next for US government bonds? We still expect the 10-year US Treasury yield to rise this year from its current level of around 1.9% as the Fed begins to tighten policy, but have decided to lower our end-2015 forecast significantly... 13th January 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will capital flows put further pressure on the euro? As investors’ confidence in the euro-zone has waned, overall inflows of portfolio capital from abroad have slowed. We suspect this trend may continue, undermining the euro further in the process. 7th January 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Oil price slide prompts withdrawal from emerging markets Investors’ retreat from emerging markets over the past month has reflected growing concerns about the implications of the collapse in the price of oil. Admittedly, most countries (and the world as a... 23rd December 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Is the Russian ruble “extremely undervalued”? We are not convinced by the Russian finance ministry’s claim on Wednesday morning that the ruble is “extremely undervalued”. After all, Russia has undergone an enormous deterioration in its terms of... 17th December 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will frontier market equities continue to underperform? The sharp drop in oil prices has played a major role in the recent poor performance of the MSCI Frontier Markets (FM) Index, in which a small number of oil exporting countries have large weightings... 15th December 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update How would prolonged deflation affect euro-zone equities? It is tempting to think that a prolonged period of mild deflation in the euro-zone would be terrible news for equities. After all, Japan’s stock market generally fared poorly for much of the time... 15th December 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Is the lower oil price a threat to US Treasuries? It is sometimes argued that a lower oil price is a threat to Treasuries because oil exporters typically save a larger share of their income than oil importers and are more inclined to put their... 8th December 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will Venezuela’s oil problems spill over? Would a sovereign default in Venezuela, which now seems increasingly likely given the plunge in the price of oil, cause upheaval in the global financial markets? We suspect not, even though a... 3rd December 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update What if the Swiss vote to “save our gold”? This weekend the Swiss public will probably reject a proposal to force the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to increase its gold holdings. Nonetheless, a surprise “yes” would provide a significant boost to... 28th November 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Are investors set to flee emerging market assets? October saw net outflows from global ETF and mutual funds that invest in emerging market (EM) assets for the first time since March. This was primarily driven by net outflows from funds that invest in... 28th November 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Are Bunds the new JGBs? While we are still not convinced that the euro-zone is the new Japan, despite the many similarities in their economic predicaments, we are increasingly of the view that the 10-year Bund yield will... 25th November 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will the yen bounce back? There have been three episodes in the past twenty years when the yen has rebounded substantially following a sustained period of depreciation. In each case, the trigger was an increase in financial... 20th November 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update How vulnerable are other Asian currencies to yen weakness? It is tempting to think that a further sharp fall in Japan’s currency would prompt policymakers in the rest of Asia to try to weaken their own in an effort to maintain their competitiveness. But there... 19th November 2014 · 1 min read