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What Would It Take For Another Euro Crisis?

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What Would It Take For Another Euro Crisis?

Cedric Gemehl
21 Oct 2026
The widening of French sovereign bond spreads has revived fears about another euro crisis, but today's eurozone is far better equipped to contain financial contagion than it was in 2012. The ECB's expanded financial backstops, greater European integration and the moderation of Euroskeptic parties all help explain why markets are treating France's difficulties as a national credit problem rather than a threat to the monetary union, says Cedric.
The Ultimate Contrarian Trade?

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The Ultimate Contrarian Trade?

Louis-Vincent Gave
21 Oct 2026
French generals are said to spend their lives fighting the last war. The same could probably be said for European Union policymakers, who have adopted measures to limit the sale of Chinese hybrid vehicles in Europe. Louis asks: how sustainable will such policies prove to be over the medium to long term?

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The Struggle To Commoditize AI

Tilly Zhang
21 Oct 2026
The recent jitters in global equity markets show that investors are getting more worried about whether companies are going to be able to recoup their enormous investments in artificial intelligence. And those worries are not confined to the US, as China’s leading AI companies' share prices have also suffered in recent months. As Tilly explains in this piece, Chinese developers are facing capacity constraints that limit how much revenue they can generate from the strategy.

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On Common Myths

Louis-Vincent Gave
20 Oct 2026
A country's foundational myths can help bind its people together, but when those shared narratives begin to fracture, the consequences can extend to financial markets. Louis explores how shifting national identities and political allegiances are influencing capital flows, from growing doubts about the US as a benevolent hegemon to the contrasting experiences of Canada, China, Germany and Japan. France presents a particularly troubling case, with deep divisions over its national identity compounding political and fiscal strains and potentially undermining investor confidence.

Gavekal Dragonomics

Growth Target Secured
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Wei He, Dragonomics Team
The Fruit Of Tariffs Is Fraud
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Thomas Gatley
How Late Payments Became A Permanent Problem
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Andrew Batson, Xiaoxi Zhang
A Speed Limit For EV Development
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Ernan Cui
The Other Energy Shock
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Wei He

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Why Bonds Respond To The Fed, Not To Inflation
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Anatole Kaletsky
Uncle Sam Gets Heavy In Brazil
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Tom Miller
The Confluence Of Risks
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Louis-Vincent Gave
Geoeconomic Monitor: Russian Hopes, Chinese Fears
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Tom Holland, Tom Miller, Udith Sikand
Going Back To An Old Tool
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Charles Gave

Gavekal Technologies

The State Of Chinese AI
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Arthur Kroeber, Laila Khawaja
China’s Growing Grip On Printed Circuit Boards
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Laila Khawaja
Can China Export Its Nuclear Boom?
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AJ Cortese
Capitalizing On China’s Data Advantage In AI
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Laila Khawaja
Great Tech In Search Of Profits
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AJ Cortese, Laila Khawaja

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The Big Neutral
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Didier Darcet
Why Aren’t Stocks Plunging?
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Didier Darcet
Amathia
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Didier Darcet
When Asia Revalues…
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Didier Darcet
Where Does The Money Go?
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Didier Darcet

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Desperately Seeking An Anchor

Charles Gave, Louis-Vincent Gave
14 Sep 2026
Charles and Louis argue that a new monetary anchor is emerging in Asia, centered on the renminbi, just as Western currencies and bond markets are becoming less reliable stores of value. With most of the world’s excess savings generated in Asia, more capital will stay in the region rather than flow into Western assets, eroding structural support for the US dollar, euro and Western bond markets.

Checking The Boxes

Our short take on the latest news

Fact
Surprise
Takeaway

US building permits fell -0.2% MoM to 1.400mn in Sep, from 1.403mn in Aug

Slightly stronger than 1.390mn expected; starts fell to 1.221mn, from 1.288mn

Builders face higher mortgage rates and higher costs for labor and materials

Germany's ZEW economic sentiment index fell to 28.1 in Oct, from 34.7 in Sep

Lower than 30 expected

Hit by higher energy prices; tight winter natural gas supplies pose further risks

UK unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in Aug, from 4.9% in Jul

Lower than 4.9% expected

UK labor market showing signs of stabilization; case for BoE rate hike in Nov strengthening

Taiwanese export orders rose 62.4% YoY in Sep, from 71.4% in Aug

Stronger than 58.7% expected

Momentum of AI capex boom remains healthy

Test Your Knowledge
The IMF says that between 2023 and 2025, global trade grew by 8.3%. How much of that growth does the IMF attribute to the AI boom?
  1. 2.3pp
  2. 3.7pp
  3. 5.1pp
Post Your Answer

Chart of the Week

Week 43, 2026
US inflation accelerated in September, with the headline consumer price index rising 3.7% year-on-year, up from 3.4% in August. This was hardly surprising given elevated energy prices, which were bound to feed through to consumer prices. The question for investors and policymakers is whether price pressures will spread through the economy, pushing up long-term inflation expectations, as some Federal Reserve officials fear.
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Essential Reading: A Book For Every Week Of The Year

Gavekal is often asked for a recommended reading list. So, here it is: a book a week that everyone interested in the world of macro investing—whether hoary veteran or eager apprentice—can benefit from reading.

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Webinar: Bond Market Blues

Anatole Kaletsky, Will Denyer, Cedric Gemehl
9 Oct 2026
Holders of developed world bonds experienced a world of pain in the third quarter of 2026, with long-dated US treasuries making a loss of -7.6% and equivalent French bonds down almost -15% in US dollar terms. In this webinar, founding partner Anatole Kaletsky, US chief economist Will Denyer and European economist Cedric Gemehl examine the forces driving the brutal sell-off in major debt markets and ask whether the time is approaching for investors to buy bonds once again.

The Iran War And Fallout

The Non-Threatening Energy Crisis
This weekend’s media made for sobering reading. Between bombs flying in the Middle East, more refineries blowing up in Russia and US senators calling for petroleum export bans, it felt like enough negative news flow to send hearts racing. But most major global equity markets remain close to all-time highs. Louis examines the possible reasons for this counterintuitive configuration.
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No Good Outcomes For Energy Inflation
It is Wednesday. Warring parties in the Middle East are again exchanging fire, and energy prices are spiking. For investors, it may be tempting to shrug off the latest flare-up, but disregarding the latest escalation in the Persian Gulf would be rash. Developments in the region will matter greatly for the trajectory of inflation over the coming months, and therefore for financial markets.
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The Record High Diesel Prices
Because of soaring crack spreads, diesel prices everywhere around the world are making new all-time highs, at least in nominal terms. In real terms, the diesel price is still lower than the 2022 spike that followed the start of the Ukraine war. But Louis points out that with a real term diesel price above US$5/gallon, few good things happen.
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The Limits Of Economic Fury
The US administration is now switching its focus to a campaign of “economic fury” in an effort to achieve its strategic aims against Iran. It is not obvious that this latest phase of the conflict is any more likely to result in a quick and easy US victory than the kinetic war. However, the economic implications of a prolonged stand-off may be less ominous than they at first appear.
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US economy & markets

Another Leg Up In US Inflation?
US inflation accelerated in September, with the headline consumer price index rising 3.7% year-on-year, up from 3.4% in August. Looking ahead, geopolitics and energy prices will, of course, remain key swing factors for inflation. But beyond energy, the question for investors and policymakers is whether price pressures will spread through the economy, pushing up long-term inflation expectations, as some Federal Reserve officials fear. Two scenarios are worth considering.
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Hedging US Growth Stocks
US growth stocks have proved remarkably resilient, with the MSCI US growth index generally outperforming its value counterpart since 2007. But when everything is going well, prudent investors look for potential pitfalls. So, what could derail the strength of US growth stocks, and how to hedge against these risks?
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Are Yields Rising Too Fast For Banks?
US bank stocks have lagged the broader equity market since the start of September, with the S&P 500 bank index down -7.5% against a 1% gain for the S&P 500. Curiously, this has happened during an inflationary boom, which should favor banks. While higher yields typically benefit lenders by allowing them to charge more on loans and earn higher returns on their securities holdings, a rapid rise in yields can break things and hurt the sector. KX argues there are reasons to think these concerns will prove short-lived.
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Are US Long Bonds A Buy? (Part IV)
US bonds face an unappealing near-term backdrop of persistent inflation, Fed tightening and heavy public and private-sector issuance. Yet unlike in 2022, valuations now favor bonds over equities, while rising real yields are approaching levels that could start to constrain capital spending and growth. For Will, this argues against going overweight bonds, but makes a neutral position increasingly attractive as a hedge against a sudden change in the investment environment.
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China chartbook

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Macro Update: Pushed And Pulled

Wei He, Dragonomics Team
3 Aug 2026
China’s economy is being pushed and pulled by two external shocks: the supply shock from the Iran war and the demand shock from the AI capex boom. Both are creating lots of volatility in trade flows, prices and profits, although the underlying trend of the domestic economy has not yet changed much. Neither are China’s policymakers showing much sign of significantly changing course. In our latest quarterly chartbook, Wei and the Dragonomics team diagnose the current situation and the policy outlook.

India chartbook

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India Corporate Update: Waiting For Capex

Rohan Daswani, Udith Sikand
28 Aug 2026
India remains one of the world’s strongest growth stories, supported by resilient domestic demand, improving corporate balance sheets and strong credit growth. Yet as the boost from public infrastructure investment fades, the big question is whether these strengths can finally translate into a sustained revival in private investment. Rohan and Udith assess the prospects for that transition and the implication for Indian equities, where performance is increasingly diverging across sectors.

Latest video

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Video: The US Supply Response

Tan Kai Xian
15 Oct 2026
US manufacturing capacity and production are both improving, but the country remains far from being able to meet more of its domestic demand. In this video interview, Kai Xian explains why labor shortages, compounded by tight immigration policies, are a bigger obstacle to expanding US manufacturing than a lack of physical capacity. With Washington pressing other countries to curb excess production, the risk is that trade restrictions drive US inflation even higher, rather than deliver the intended revival in domestic manufacturing.

Strategy Chartbook

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Quarterly Strategy Review: 3Q26

Louis-Vincent Gave
5 Oct 2026
After the third quarter saw a brutal sell-off in major government bond markets, with yields breaking out to a generational high, Louis takes stock. In this Quarterly Strategy Review, he examines the forces driving the sell-off and asks the key questions facing investors everywhere.

Emerging markets

EMs Are The New DMs
Emerging-market bonds have dramatically outperformed their developed-market peers since 2020, helped by greater policy credibility, deeper domestic financial markets and reduced reliance on foreign investors. With DM bond yields now hitting multi-year highs, policymakers may increasingly look to the EM playbook, including softer forms of financial repression, to stabilize their markets, says Udith. From the US to Japan, signs of this shift are already emerging, suggesting that EMs may have a thing or two to teach DMs.
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Video: Are EMs Back?
It’s been a good quarter for the broad emerging markets complex. The MSCI EM index has returned almost 7% in US dollar terms, while US equities are down by some -3.5%. So should investors jump on the EM train? Udith points out that there is a wide divergence in the performance of individual emerging markets, and the threat of tariffs hangs heavy over EM corporate earnings. Investors need to be selective.
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Video: Southeast Asia Under Trump 2.0
Global investors are rightly focused on the potential losers from the United States pursuing an aggressively protectionist trade policy agenda, but there may be winners as well. Tom went in search of such economies last week. Today he explains how such “swing states” are likely to perform in an intensified period of great power rivalry between the US and China.
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China Turbocharges EM Investment
As the rich world pulls up the protectionist drawbridge, investors risk missing a bigger story in emerging markets. Here, Chinese outbound investment is rebounding after the fallow Covid years, and is driving a new wave of industrialization that promises to lower the cost of the green-energy transition.
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Europe's economy

What Would It Take For Another Euro Crisis?
The widening of French sovereign bond spreads has revived fears about another euro crisis, but today's eurozone is far better equipped to contain financial contagion than it was in 2012. The ECB's expanded financial backstops, greater European integration and the moderation of Euroskeptic parties all help explain why markets are treating France's difficulties as a national credit problem rather than a threat to the monetary union, says Cedric.
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The Cost Of Protection
China appears to have accepted export restraints on hybrid cars in exchange for the European Union dialing down its confrontational trade rhetoric. However, a de-escalation in rhetoric should not be mistaken for a retreat from the protectionist impulse taking hold within the EU. Germany’s hardening stance toward China has brought Berlin closer to Paris and revived the Franco-German axis as a driver of EU policymaking.
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Three Tests For French Spreads
After touching 150bp last Friday, October 2, the 10-year OAT-bund spread retraced to 127bp on Tuesday, before widening again to 139bp Thursday. Rather than beginning a meaningful tightening, the spread appears to be undergoing a repricing which is likely to see it settle somewhere between 125bp and 300bp. However, this is a remarkably broad range. So, what forces could push spreads towards either the floor or ceiling of this band over the coming months?
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Reasons To Start Buying Bonds
After four and a half years of steadfast bearishness on bonds, Anatole argues that after the latest sell-off, the relentless rise in US yields may be coming to an end—at least for the next year or two. This is not because fundamentals have improved. Rather it is because the bond market no longer trades on fundamentals, but on short term expectations of Federal Reserve policy, and the Fed has a mandate to preserve US government solvency. In this report, he explains why it now makes sense to start buying bonds again.
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Equities

Where The US Is (Still) Exceptional
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Profit Maxing And Social Anti-Fragility
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The (Better) Case For European Banks
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Should Equity Investors Be Reassured By Record Corporate Profits?
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Important Recent Developments
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A Buy Recommendation
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Fixed income

How Wide Can French Spreads Get?
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The Biggest Hot Potato In History
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Video: The Challenge For Fixed Income Investors
Are US Long Bonds A Buy? (Part III)
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Video: The Bond Market’s Big Question
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Video: Breakdown Or Buying Opportunity For US Bonds?
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From the archives: oldies but goodies

Deficit Deniers Of The World Unite
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Deficit Deniers Of The World Unite

Anatole Kaletsky
In our politically correct age the pressure to bow down before certain popularly accepted and apparently proven “truths” can be overwhelming. In the aftermath of the US elections, two such nostrums are unnecessarily vexing investors—the urgency of deficit reduction and fear of higher taxes. I believe that both of these obsessions will soon be forgotten.
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Are We Entering into Revolutionary Times?
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Are We Entering into Revolutionary Times?

Louis-Vincent Gave
The role of a society’s elite is to rise to the challenges of the times, and find solutions fitting to those times, even if this involves a radical break with the past. But the modus operandi for most leaders is to try and maintain the status quo. But if the problems are large enough, this does not work, and the same challenges reappear until either a solution is found, the elite is replaced by a new elite, or the country, system or civilization disappears.
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The High Cost Of Free Money
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The High Cost Of Free Money

Charles Gave
Perhaps the most famous economic law is the one that there is no such thing as a free lunch. By keeping US short rates at abnormally low levels beyond the financial crisis and as growth bounces back beyond the dreams of the wildest optimists, the Fed increasingly seems to be trying to ‘feed the US economy for nothing’. This is worrying, for extended periods of cheap money typically come back with a hefty price tag.
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