Gavekal Research
October 17, 2018
The stock market volatility of the last week, triggered by fears over rising bond yields, emphasizes how participants now accept that the US economy is in the late phase of its cycle. KX argues this is not a reason to flee US equities, but it does demand a more discerning approach.
Gavekal Research
October 16, 2018
Louis investigates six of the most incongruous sets of relationships that have held sway this year and offers alternative explanations. In particular, he focuses on the strange case of China’s response to US trade hostility and argues that understanding Beijing’s game plan may hold the key to whether the long US bull market in equities can stay the course.
Gavekal Research
October 16, 2018
So far this year the CSI 300 A-share index is down -22.3%. However, argues Thomas, this is no repeat of 2015’s bear market. While there’s little chance of a significant rebound anytime soon, without a stimulus or an end to the trade war, when investors eventually do return to Chinese markets they will be greeted by an improved regulatory environment.
Gavekal Research
September 18, 2018
Donald Trump’s administration has upped the ante in its trade war with China, imposing tariffs on an additional US$200bn of Chinese imports. The tariffs will take effect on September 24 at a rate of 10%, rising to 25% at the beginning of 2019 unless some kind of a deal can be worked out with Beijing. The chances of a deal are vanishingly small.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 15, 2018
The number eight is traditionally a lucky number for Chinese. Exporters could be forgiven for not believing in that tradition: 2018 looks like it will join 1998 and 2008 as a year in which exports suffer a major shock. In this piece, Andrew evaluates the state of the economy as the US prepares more tariffs, and how China can manage the impact.
Gavekal Research
September 12, 2018
The US has made a fundamental policy mistake in pursuing a trade war against China. A Keynesian macroeconomic analysis shows that the US will likely be worst affected by the conflict, while China should escape unscathed and several other emerging markets could be clear gainers.
Gavekal Research
May 8, 2018
A decade ago the US corporate bond market was about half as big as it is today, yet bond dealers held about six times more inventory than they do today. In our latest Loser Report which focuses on assets to avoid, Louis worries that the next big financial accident could happen in this aggressively priced arena.
Gavekal Research
March 19, 2018
Our regular Loser Reports are based on the premise that good money management can be as much about “avoiding losers” as “picking winners”. This month, Louis looks at the (worrying) direction of US fiscal policy and wonders whether the next shoe to drop could be defense contractors and energy producers in the US, and even municipal bonds.
Gavekal Research
November 15, 2017
Our new monthly Loser Report aims to identify things that investors should avoid, whether countries, sectors, themes or asset classes. In this second instalment Louis looks at the tumult affecting Saudi Arabia and assesses the ricochet effect across the Middle East and beyond.
Gavekal Research
September 20, 2018
Wednesday saw a soft US housing data release for August, pointing to a coming weakening in residential construction. With the Fed raising rates and 10-year treasury yields well above 3%, equity investors may sniff late-cycle decay. KX shares such concerns, but advises investors to hold their noses for a while longer.
Gavekal Research
September 17, 2018
Emerging economies have spent the last three or four months squirming under the weight of a strong dollar. The effect of such currency strength is now showing up in the US itself, with the price of both consumer goods and imports softening.
Gavekal Research
September 6, 2018
Even as the US economy fires up on tax cuts and government spending, interest rate-sensitive sectors show signs of rolling over. First it was housing, and now auto sales have slid to the lower end of their range after steadily softening this year.
Gavekal Research
September 11, 2018
Since the migration crisis of 2015, nationalist-populist movements have been on a tear across Western Europe. Sunday saw the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats boost their ranking, and even claim to be the election’s real winner. Yet look closer and what stands out over the last two years has been such parties’ failure to fully break through.
Gavekal Research
July 12, 2018
The big worry about Italy is that its new populist government adopts policies that spark another eurozone crisis, and even a breakup of the European Union. This view is almost certainly wrong, for despite the government this week announcing a roll-back of labor market reforms, it will struggle to implement its radical agenda in any systematic way.
Gavekal Research
May 31, 2018
On Wednesday, Louis argued that the Italian president’s rejection of a proposed coalition finance minister was “worse than a crime, a mistake”. Anatole and Cedric are not so sure. In this paper they examine the two conditions—one political, one financial—that will signal a major buying opportunity in Italy.
Gavekal Dragonomics
August 16, 2018
China’s government is making a determined effort to co-opt private technology companies to help modernize its military. The pressure to support this drive, known as “military-civil fusion,” creates new political risks for tech companies and their investors: they could face more Chinese government interference and a political backlash from abroad.
Gavekal Research
July 31, 2018
Last week’s technology sector jitters have continued into the this week, with the FANG+ index now down -9% from last Wednesday’s close. Amid the general pull-back, two spectacular high-profile face-plants have really stood out: within one trading session, Facebook and Twitter both shed a fifth of their values.
Gavekal Dragonomics
July 9, 2018
Xiaomi and other Chinese smartphone makers are among the first Chinese consumer-goods companies to have gained significant market share outside of China. In this piece, Dan explains where their success has come from and assesses their prospects: Chinese smartphones may not displace Apple and Samsung, but can limit their gains in emerging markets.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 20, 2018
In this chartbook, Thomas outlines the key trends in the fundamentals of China’s corporate sector. Growth in sales and profits has stayed stronger for longer, but is driven mainly by high materials prices. A rebound in capex is starting to fade. Deleveraging continues but more slowly, and may not last much longer as profits cool and debt rises.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 13, 2018
China’s government is worried about slowing growth, but also does not want to give up on financial de-risking. To balance these priorities, it has devised a new tool: “special-purpose” bonds issued by local governments. In this piece, Chen Long explains how this new way of funding infrastructure will work, and how much stimulus it can deliver.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 10, 2018
China’s healthcare reforms have created new opportunities for global pharmaceutical firms and made healthcare a favored sector for many investors. But as Ernan explains, the government’s top priority these days is controlling healthcare costs, especially drug prices. That trend makes it trickier to profit from China’s healthcare growth story.
Gavekal Research
August 15, 2018
Among the collateral casualties of Turkey’s lira crisis have been European bank shares. Over the last week, as the lira plunged, the SX7E index—the EuroSTOXX banking index—slumped -7% on fears about banks’ exposure to Turkish borrowers. But Turkey is not the only concern weighing on European bank stocks.
Gavekal Research
August 14, 2018
Markets have an end-of-an era feeling to them as the US’s exit from easy money causes the dollar to rise, emerging markets to crater and strongmen to cry blue murder . Louis yesterday concluded that we are not yet seeing the kind of event that marks a cycle’s denouement.
Gavekal Research
August 13, 2018
The meltdown unfolding in Turkey is not a surprise (see A Turkish Vortex). However, it does raise the question of where we go from here, and whether the Turkish crisis is a symptom of a change in the investment environment.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 19, 2018
The US is preparing to re-impose sanctions on Iran, threatening to punish any country that continues to buy its oil. China has struck a defiant tone, and many analysts expect Chinese oil companies to ignore the US sanctions. But in this piece, Yanmei argues that Chinese importers have little choice but to sharply reduce their purchases from Iran.
Gavekal Research
May 18, 2018
I have tended to see oil not so much as an asset in which to build a position as a party spoiler that can wreak havoc on a portfolio. Yesterday saw the price of Brent break above US$80 a barrel for the first time since November 2014 and the pain is visible in a range of emerging markets that run big external deficits.
Gavekal Research
May 4, 2018
Having fallen more than -10% from their late January peak, emerging markets are looking shaky. Higher yields, a stronger US dollar and rising oil prices have all contributed to a tough environment.
Gavekal Research
August 15, 2018
Some 25mn Indians traveled abroad last year, making sub-continent tourists increasingly important for a range of major destinations. They may not yet rival Chinese travellers who are by far the biggest group of globe-trotters, but in this piece Tom argues that is only a matter of time.
Gavekal Research
August 9, 2018
Which is the best-performing stock market in Asia so far this year? If you look at the headline equity indexes, the answer is India. On Thursday morning, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex 30 index hit yet another record high, up 11.6% year to date in local currency terms, and up 4% in US dollar terms.
Gavekal Research
July 25, 2018
India has won kudos for adopting a modern bankruptcy law that makes it easier for big lenders to clean house on a bad debt problem that has festered since the early 2000s.
Gavekal Research
July 25, 2018
India has won kudos for adopting a modern bankruptcy law that makes it easier for big lenders to clean house on a bad debt problem that has festered since the early 2000s. In this video interview Udith discusses how the new bankruptcy law has worked in practice, and whether it will be enough to solve Indian banks' bad debt problem.
Gavekal Research
May 17, 2018
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has again been intervening in the foreign exchange market after it stepped in last month when the Hong Kong dollar fell to its weakest in 35 years. So far the HKMA has bought HKD62bn, selling almost US$8bn to defend the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US dollar.
Gavekal Research
April 13, 2018
At Gavekal’s seminar in Hong Kong this week, Arthur Kroeber, Rosealea Yao and Nick Andrews presented their latest views on the brewing trade war between the US and China, Chinese growth and the property market outlook, and how to capture European growth.
Gavekal Research
September 19, 2018
“Deal or no deal” is the question blurring all UK investment decisions. Britain’s exit from the European Union should be settled before the end of the year, but the run-in will be nerve-wracking.
Gavekal Research
August 6, 2018
The UK government is on the offensive trying to sell a “Chequers” plan that would leave it with a semi-detached trading and administrative relationship with the European Union. The negotiating position, has won few plaudits at home, and over the last week got a courteous, but non-committal response on the continent.
Gavekal Research
July 30, 2018
On Friday, Anatole set out his view that a second Brexit referendum is likely, and that in all probability it will reverse the original 2016 vote.
Gavekal Research
September 14, 2018
There are reasons to think that a 2% rise in the broad emerging market index over the last two days may be more than just a relief rally. For those investors who are minded to seek out EM equities, one of the more interesting options is Indonesia, which has unfairly been treated by investors as a sort of Asian Turkey.
Gavekal Dragonomics
August 8, 2018
China is going port-crazy in Southeast Asia. Chinese firms are now engaged in building 15 port projects in the region, at a total cost of more than US$50bn. Will these bricks in the Maritime Silk Road prove to be valuable assets, or financial black holes? In our new DeepChina report, Lance Noble and Tom Miller find the answer is: some of both.
Gavekal Research
August 7, 2018
The strong US dollar, rising oil prices and a gathering trade war have sent capital fleeing from emerging markets. Asian high-yield debt has taken a hit with the benchmark (JP Morgan) index down -3% this year, sparking worries of a self-feeding cycle that ends with a debt crisis.
Gavekal Research
October 11, 2018
In this month’s Research Conference Call Louis-Vincent Gave examined the present bad tidings from markets and asked whether the global bull market faces a denouement. Anatole Kaletsky argued that this sell-off will likely prove to be a temporary setback for emerging markets and that the global bull market may have further to run.
Gavekal Research
October 4, 2018
At the start of the year, markets seemed poised for a rotation out of US equities into non-US assets. In fact, US equities and cash are the only assets to have delivered positive returns this year.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 27, 2018
Where does China stand as the trade conflict with the US mounts? While stock markets have tanked, the economy has not. In this concise chartbook, Chen Long presents the major macro and market indicators to explain why growth is holding up and why the government is not yet unleashing a major stimulus.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 6, 2018
While China’s government is talking tough about containing its frothy property market, the market does not appear to be listening. Housing sales are still growing, price rises are accelerating and construction activity is robust. In this piece, Rosealea explains why property has outperformed, and updates her outlook for the rest of 2018.
Gavekal Dragonomics
July 26, 2018
The long decline in China’s housing inventories—the key factor driving the recovery in construction—now seems to have ended. After falling in 2015, 2016 and 2017, housing inventories are now on pace to end 2018 slightly higher. In this piece, Rosealea explains why this change will not spell the end of the construction cycle just yet.
Gavekal Dragonomics
May 29, 2018
Chinese government policy for the property market is turning tighter, a shift that will weigh on housing sales and construction activity in the rest of 2018. But Rosealea cautions against overreacting, arguing that the downcycle in property is still likely to be a shallow one, and that policy will loosen again once market conditions weaken.
Gavekal Research
November 23, 2012
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.
Gavekal Research
July 20, 2011
In A Study of History, Toynbee explains that 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.
Gavekal Research
February 28, 2011
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’.
Gavekal Research
June 13, 2018
After the Trump-Kim summit, North Korea's commitment to denuclearization still remains a fiction. Future negotiations will be mostly about stringing along the US administration. While Washington and Pyongyang talk, Beijing and Seoul will continue to try to normalize the existence of a nuclear-armed North Korea and cement peace.
Gavekal Dragonomics
June 7, 2018
Ominous clouds are gathering over Taiwan, as China steps up displays of military force and its campaign of international isolation. Could this escalate into a replay of the 1995-6 Taiwan Strait crisis, or something even worse? In this piece, Yanmei assesses the rising risks, but argues that military conflict is still a remote possibility.
Gavekal Dragonomics
April 26, 2018
With North Korea suddenly seeming happy to negotiate with its old adversaries, some analysts reckon the regime is buckling under US pressure. Yanmei says this is wishful thinking. Kim Jong-un probably believes he has achieved nuclear deterrence—and he is most unlikely to relinquish it. China and South Korea just want to avoid a US military strike.