We think euro-zone equities’ recent run of underperformance relative to those in the US will extend over the next couple of years, as bond yields fall back and enthusiasm around “AI” continues to grow. With the bond market sell-off seemingly having abated …
12th October 2023
Surveyors reported the most widespread price falls since February 2009 in September as mortgage rates of over 5% took their toll. Looking ahead, a further slide in house prices appears inevitable. The drop in the past prices balance to a fresh 14-year low …
Most of the recent surge in net migration has been driven by the increased arrival of foreign students, who generally spend less, work fewer hours and demand less housing than the average Australian. On balance though, the surge in net migration probably …
The price of wheat and corn will stay historically high for now, as Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative has re-ignited concerns about supply from Ukraine. We think that prices will drift lower into 2025 as supply from other producers …
11th October 2023
Tightness in Mexico’s labour market continues to fuel wage pressures, with real wages now rising at their fastest pace since the early 2000s. But this isn’t being matched by productivity growth and, in turn, threatens to keep inflation above Banxico’s …
There may be more political support for the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the European Union than in some other economies. However, it is still uncertain whether it will ever see the light of day or whether there would be much …
The recent strength of core inflation compared to that in the US is mainly due to a rebound in durable goods prices. That has little to do with demand, which has weakened to a greater extent in Canada, suggesting that either the earlier depreciation of …
We’ve long argued that EMs were well placed to weather the Fed’s tightening cycle and episodes of rising US Treasury yields – and that has largely been borne out. And, as it happens, the latest sell-off in global bond markets has started to reverse over …
Headline inflation has jumped across much of Emerging Asia over the past couple of months on the back of rises in food and fuel prices. This won’t prompt central banks to resume tightening (the Philippines is the exception). However, the rise in inflation …
Labour has made housing a major theme of its conference, and the party’s attitude towards New Towns and social housing means that the next election could prove a turning point in the structure of the UK housing market. Over the past 30 years successive …
10th October 2023
The UK manufacturing sector has faltered in recent months, as rising interest rates and slowing economies in many parts of the world have cut global demand. That spells trouble for manufacturing demand and suggests yields in that subsector will see a …
Flows out of EM bonds and equity markets have intensified in recent weeks amid the sell-off in global bond markets, and an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Gaza would exacerbate this further. Nonetheless, the narrowing of current account …
Despite a marked improvement in Egypt’s current account deficit, the pound’s de-facto peg is deterring critical capital inflows and adding to concerns over large external financing needs. A fresh devaluation and a commitment to a flexible exchange rate …
Any fall in bond prices resulting from higher bond yields won’t affect the BoJ’s balance sheet unless the Bank decides to sell its holdings. By contrast, rising interest payments on commercial banks’ reserve holdings could create losses, though those …
The recent shift towards looser fiscal policy in Italy and increase in sovereign bond yields once again have raised concerns that investors may lose confidence in Italy’s ability to sustain its debt burden. We don’t think this will morph into an acute …
9th October 2023
The scale of the rise in bond yields over recent weeks has provoked worries about the impact on real estate. The sell-off presents an upside risk to our yield outlook, but we think falling inflation will help bond yields across the region to soon fall …
The Asian Tiger economies of Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are likely to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the emergence of new AI technologies. But the boost will not be enough to offset the drag from worsening demographics, and we still …
Note: We discussed the outlook for oil prices and the geo-economics around the conflict between Israel and Hamas in a Drop-In on 9th October. Click here to watch the recording. First and foremost, the renewed fighting between Hamas and Israel since the …
The attack by Hamas on Israel on Saturday has led to widespread casualties and deaths, and the declaration of war by Israel’s prime minister. From an economic perspective, the experience from the 2014 Gaza war suggests that the effects on Israel’s economy …
Becoming liable for the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) would nullify any cost-reduction benefit from a lower carbon price for UK companies that trade closely with the EU. That said, the CBAM would have less impact on domestically-focused …
6th October 2023
The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected and continued to strike a hawkish tone despite the recent easing in inflation. Indeed, it even raised the possibility of open-market bond sales to drain excess liquidity. There is a significant …
Sub-Saharan African central banks are unlikely to follow their peers in other EMs in cutting interest rates soon. With inflation falling more slowly, alongside balance of payment and public debt strains, interest rates will stay high for longer. Nigeria …
5th October 2023
The trend of rapid increases in industrial metals supply this year is likely to unwind over the next few years for copper, but we think nickel supply growth will remain robust. We think that divergence will be a key reason why the price of copper will …
While we think the risk of a material increase in euro-zone “peripheral” spreads has risen, our central forecast remains that they will end 2024 a bit below their current levels. Last week, long-dated euro-zone peripheral bond yields reached highs not …
The ‘higher for longer’ narrative on interest rates that is baked into market pricing is at odds with evidence of widespread falls in inflation. Higher oil prices mean that fuel inflation will be a bit higher than seemed likely a few months ago. But the …
Rising food prices have already led to upside inflation surprises in parts of Asia, and central banks in the region are likely to ease policy later than their EM peers. But inflation should eventually resume its downward path and, once it does, policy …
Equities in the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods industry have fared quite poorly recently, which has weighed on the luxury-heavy French stock market. But while they might underperform a bit more in the near-term, we suspect that they will recover next …
We expect any rise in bond yields to be gradual and don’t believe it will create major economic or market dislocation. But there are risks that the Bank of Japan loses control over longer-term yields . A rapid surge in bond yields would threaten the …
We think the yields of 10-year government bonds in Australia, New Zealand and Canada will diverge from the yield of 10-year US Treasuries – which they have tracked very closely this year – over time, with bonds in all three countries outperforming those …
The central bank (CBSL) today cut interest rates by a further 100bps. With inflation low and the economy still very depressed, further easing is likely over the coming months. Today’s 100bps cuts take the lending and deposit rates to 10% and 11% …
The latest activity data from Korea were downbeat. Although industrial production grew strongly, the manufacturing PMIs, along with the export figures and retail sales data, all point to continued weakness. However, with inflation rising again last month, …
The sell-off in bond markets has taken a breather today, helped in part by softer data on the US labour market. However, the scale of the moves over the past week has invoked comparisons to previous financial crises that have been caused by sharp moves in …
4th October 2023
IWG’s record revenues in the first half of this year may suggest that flexible offices are the answer for many firms as hybrid working cements itself as the ‘new normal’. However, we don’t think current flexible offices currently offer the right product …
Falls in the value of China’s recorded holdings of US Treasuries tell us little about whether China is divesting from the dollar. A broader look at the data suggests that it isn’t, despite geopolitical pressure to decouple. And while we don’t have timely …
Food price inflation is now falling back, which will help boost supermarket profits. That means the recent underperformance of the supermarket sector relative to all-retail will soon come to an end. Total returns are set to turn positive in 2023 and by …
The resilience of investment in the euro-zone to higher interest rates and slowing economic growth at the start of the year appears to have been driven in part by the gradual clearing of backlogs in various industries. This has now come to an end and we …
While some measures of optimism have been improving, the majority of the survey evidence suggests the economy is weakening and the chances of the mild recession we have been forecasting have increased. The 0.5% m/m fall in real GDP in July and the decline …
With its assessment of the balance of risks broadly unchanged, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left rates on hold at its meeting today. Although the Bank will likely retain its tightening bias, we continue to believe that the official cash rate is at its …
Office-based jobs are on course to underperform total jobs this year for the first time since 2009 and there is a growing risk this could be repeated in 2024, though that is not yet our central forecast. At the metro level, we expect differentials to …
3rd October 2023
Although the job openings rate rebounded sharply in August, we suspect that was more noise than a signal that the labour market is enjoying a resurgence. The rest of the JOLTS report presented a more balanced picture, with the latest data still pointing …
Talk of “dollarisation” has recently re-emerged, despite broader moves in the EM world to challenge the hegemony of the US dollar. Indeed, the fact that Argentina is considering adopting the dollar underscores that the greenback will remain the currency …
Construction spending in Korea is falling sharply as developers respond to an oversupply of new homes by cutting back on new projects. The sector’s weakness will remain a major drag on economic growth throughout next year. Property prices in Korea dropped …
While new RBA Governor Michelle Bullock didn’t spring any surprises at her first interest rate decision today, we think that the Bank will hike interest rates to a peak of 4.35% at its next meeting in November . However, we expect the RBA to pivot towards …
By putting upward pressure on JGB yields and the yen, tighter monetary policy could lead to falls in the value of bonds and overseas assets held by Japanese investors. Insurance companies and pension funds have the most to lose. However, we do not think …
Strong production growth has helped to pull US natural gas prices below 2019 levels for most of this year. But prices should rise by the end of 2024 as production growth is set to ease and exports will surge when LNG export capacity rises by nearly a …
2nd October 2023
September’s manufacturing PMIs suggest that global industrial activity stagnated at the end of Q3, and forward-looking indicators point to further weakness ahead. The recent rise in oil prices seemed to push up the prices of manufactured goods. But …
The latest above-50 readings in China’s PMIs are consistent with our view that China’s demand for commodities will remain solid in the second half of this year, but not grow strongly. The China PMIs released over the weekend pointed to fairly stable …
The EM manufacturing PMIs for September were the proverbial mixed bag, but one commonality is that external demand remains fairly soft across the regions. Meanwhile, the further rise in the price components last month probably reflects the jump in oil …
Saudi Arabia’s 2024 pre-Budget statement reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining its loose fiscal stance, with the government now projecting budget deficits all the way out to 2026. That shouldn’t cause any problems given the Kingdom’s strong …
The stakes could not be higher for this year’s presidential election – with the head-to-head rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump offering starkly contrasting polices on trade, the environment and international relations. Historically, US …
