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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave, Anatole Kaletsky, Charles Gave
Dec 13th 2018
Audio & Transcript — Gavekal Research Call December 2018
In the final Gavekal Research Conference Call of the year, Louis-Vincent Gave, Anatole Kaletsky and Charles Gave shared their perspectives on a year which has been challenging for all asset classes, and offered their thoughts on what could be in store for investors in 2019.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Dec 12th 2018
Drinking Red Wine And Buying Italy
A Gavekal rule of thumb has it that investors can safely invest in economies where the “working class” mostly drink beer but should be careful in places where theymostly drink red wine. I make this observation as investors face a quandary among the wine drinkers: France versus Italy. The assumption in the spring was that holding Italian bonds was crazy, while French paper offered safety. But is that the case?
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Dec 11th 2018
The Brexit Game Of Chicken
The Brexit roller coaster seemed to come off the rails on Monday with Theresa May’s effort to prevent parliament voting on what looked like her doomed plan to leave the European Union. May’s decision, which had been denied by her most trusted senior ministers right up to the moment it was leaked to the BBC, initially looked like a typical case of the can being kicked down the road. Yet by the time she had finished her parliamentary statement,...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Dec 06th 2018
The Evolving Trade War
There is little doubt that the US president is surrounded by advisers who see China as a genuine threat to the long term economic health and geopolitical strength of the United States. But, it is likely that Donald Trump’s most immediate concerns are more down to earth. Specifically, in order to be re-elected in 2020, Trump needs once again to carry states such as Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. And it is unlikely that he will be able to win the...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Dec 06th 2018
Strategy Monthly: Three Questions For The Year Ahead
This has been a miserable year across most asset classes, with markets roiled by tighter US dollar liquidity. Looking into 2019, Louis sees the investment environment being dictated by whether the US dollar liquidity situation really is easing, the overall US policy and the possibility for the “Chimerica” relationship to rupture.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Dec 05th 2018
The Real Gilets Jaunes
France’s yellow vest protest movement may have been the first since 1789 not to stem from left-wing origins, argues Charles. Instead, it reflected a great uprising by the forgotten people of middle France who have had enough of being the piggy bank that funds the lives of an urban elite which has rigged the system to its favor.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Dec 05th 2018
Macron’s Reform Program Lives On
At first sight, the French government’s decision to postpone its proposed fuel tax increases in the face of popular gilet jaune street protests looks a lot like the climb-downs of 1996, 2006 and 2016, all of which saw attempts at economic reform derailed by mass opposition. Cedric argues such a conclusion would be overly hasty.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Dec 03rd 2018
The Next Target Of Trump’s Firepower
In today’s Daily, Arthur Kroeber offered his analysis of the weekend’s Trump-Xi summit in Buenos Aires. In this short report, Louis takes a slightly different tack, reviewing the series of tumultuous events in recent weeks. His conclusion is that few investors’ portfolios are well positioned for the probable outcome.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Nov 30th 2018
Winter For Eurozone Credit Growth
A depressing autumn is turning into a dismal winter in the eurozone, as November’s deteriorating PMIs follow weak third quarter growth—and even a quarter-on-quarter contraction in Germany. Much of the softness can be attributed to poor external demand, especially from China and the emerging markets, and to the ongoing disruption to car sales caused by the introduction of new emissions tests. Together these have hammered European manufacturing,...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Yanmei Xie
Nov 29th 2018
Germany Is Rethinking But Not Rejecting China
As the US-China trade conflict drags on, both sides are looking to Europe, particularly Germany, for support. Germany does share US concerns about China’s protectionism and expansionism. But it still sees China as an economic boon and is committed to engagement. Berlin is therefore unlikely to fully take the side of either Beijing or Washington.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Nov 22nd 2018
The Conflict Between Liquidity And Growth
In recent days my colleagues Anatole Kaletsky and Arthur Kroeber have debated the strained relationship between China and the US, and what it may mean for emerging markets. I agree that this standoff matters greatly for the world, but I’m not convinced it’s the main issue driving markets and therefore a resolution—or not—at the G20 next weekend may end up as a damp squib for investors. A range of issues have me concerned, from widening credit...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Nov 22nd 2018
Salvini, Part Deux?
This weekend saw protests in France that united demonstrators from all parts of the political spectrum against President Emmanuel Macron. Louis wonders if this represents the beginning of a populist wave that rejects the president’s mushy centrism and joins political bed fellows who have never laid down before. After all, it happened in Italy.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Nov 19th 2018
The Uphill Struggle For Equities
Last week saw the MSCI World turn in its sixth negative week in eight, while the only sector to record gains over the last two months has been utilities; cyclical sectors like materials, industrials, IT, energy and consumer discretionary have mostly entered correction territory. That begs the question: Is this a dip to buy, or will the environment remain harsh?
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Nov 19th 2018
Countering The Belt And Road
In its escalating rivalry with China, the US has a new target: the Belt and Road Initiative. But both the US and Europe are struggling to redefine the way they win friends and influence people with development finance. Tom argues that the somewhat quieter middle way being pursued by Japan is delivering it both influence and profits.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Simon Pritchard
Nov 15th 2018
The Winding Road To Vassalage
No one much likes Theresa May’s compromise deal that would leave Britain as a rule-taking, semi-detached appendage to the European Union. That, however, is the most likely outcome after the UK cabinet yesterday approved an exit deal that sets up a November 25 summit, where EU leaders will be asked for their assent. Shortly afterwards, the UK parliament will have its say, and despite challenging math in the House of Commons a “national interest”...
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Nov 13th 2018
The Doom Loop Tightens
The stand-off between Rome and Brussels over Italy’s 2019 budget claimed its first casualty on Monday. Italy’s major banks were forced to club together to support an emergency bond issue by Banca Carige, after the rise in Italian government bond yields triggered by the budget battle eroded the mid-sized lender’s capital base, pushing it to the brink of collapse.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews, Cedric Gemehl
Nov 12th 2018
Germany, And Europe, After Merkel
All political careers end in failure. Doubtless Angela Merkel is already feeling the sting. Even as the long-serving German chancellor stands up on Tuesday to address the European parliament in Strasbourg, political observers and investors are looking beyond Merkel’s term in office to the identity of her successor. That is likely to be decided on December 7, when Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union is set to elect a new party chairman, so...
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Nov 12th 2018
The True Story Of Eurozone Equities
Since the financial crisis, European equities have proven serial duds compared to their transatlantic cousins. Cedric argues this divergence is simple reflection of the higher earnings-per-share achieved by US firms. Looking forward, however, he says it will be almost impossible for US firms to maintain this profits gap.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Charles Gave
Nov 09th 2018
London Seminar — October 2018
At Gavekal’s seminar in London last month Charles Gave and Anatole Kaletsky presented on whether the world is breaking up into three different monetary zones, and whether this is a correction to, or an end to, the long-running global bull market. Micahel Clendenin of Gavekal RedTech explained how they conduct research on the Chinese technology and internet sector.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Holland
Nov 08th 2018
What's Changed In The Oil Market
“Sanctions are coming,” proclaimed Donald Trump in a tweet last week, three days before the imposition of the latest US embargo on Iranian oil exports. The oil market was not impressed. Since late September, when crude hit four-year highs, the Brent price has slumped -16.7% from US$86.29 to US$71.91, with WTI falling -19.1%.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Nov 02nd 2018
It's Finally Safe To Buy Sterling
The pound rose 2% yesterday after a statement from the British government that a Brexit deal could be expected by late this month. That has since been rowed back. Nevertheless, the UK is moving into an endgame where the most plausible outcomes are either a "soft Brexit", or a new referendum which results in the UK remaining in the EU. Both would be good news for sterling.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Will Denyer
Nov 01st 2018
Strategy Monthly: Yes, We're Still In A Bull Market
Anatole and Will believe that continued exposure to US equities makes sense, since underlying corporate profitability remains strong. So long as one avoids the most rate-sensitive sectors, US portfolios should be 70-75% in stocks, with the rest mainly in cash. Moreover, they argue that the period of EM underperformance is now done, and emerging markets are poised for a significant rally.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Oct 31st 2018
Has Oil Set Its High For This Cycle?
With the price of WTI crude oil now back below its 200-day moving average, Louis puts himself in the shoes of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and imagines what sort of leverage he could exert over Donald Trump, what this means for the enforcement of sanctions against Iran, and what that implies for the oil price going forward.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Oct 30th 2018
Another Weight On The Euro
The bear flattening of the US yield curve while European short rates remain anchored in negative territory means that it no longer makes sense for euro-based investors to hedge the currency risk of US bond purchases. Their hedging costs have risen to a level that wipes out the yield they would get on a 10-year US treasury. For US dollar investors, the opposite is true.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Oct 26th 2018
Listen To What Italians Say
Among the factors rattling global markets this week has been the brewing dispute between Brussels and Italy’s populist government over its blowout budget proposal.The fear is that Italy gets into a vicious circle of tightening credit markets and faltering growth that could end with a resumption of the euro crisis and ultimately its exit from the single currency.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Oct 24th 2018
World Trade And A Troubling Signal
As Donald Trump has ramped up tariffs on US imports from China, investors have understandably grown anxious about the impact on world trade. Few significant effects have shown up in the data so far. Nevertheless the outlook is alarming—although not necessarily in the way many might think.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Oct 22nd 2018
How The Brexit Stalemate Breaks
As the Brexit negotiations enter their endgame, a stalemate has become the most likely outcome. Theresa May’s Conservative Party is now in open rebellion against her leadership, with Britain’s weekend press reporting that her government is just 72 hours from collapse. And a “No Deal” Brexit “car crash” is now described as a 50-50 probability by many politicians and commentators in both Britain and Europe. Yet the pound has maintained its value...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Oct 16th 2018
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast
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.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Oct 15th 2018
Softly, Softly, Mr. Draghi
Last week was an ugly one for equity markets on both sides of the Atlantic. But there was a crucial difference. US stocks are down from an all-time high set as recently as last month, with the S&P500 closing on Friday above (just) its 200-day moving average. In contrast, eurozone equities have been trending continuously lower ever since the end of January.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews, Cedric Gemehl
Oct 15th 2018
The Politics (And Economics) Of A Multi-Polar Europe
This weekend’s election in Bavaria saw voters deal parties in Germany’s ruling coalition a bruising rebuff that further erodes Merkel’s authority and effectively kills off Macron’s plan for the EU to integrate at a faster pace. In light of such a changed environment, Nick and Cedric introduce a new framework to explain how political bargaining will work in an increasingly multi-polar Europe.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Oct 11th 2018
Bonds' Failure To Rally
Given all the bad news for markets this year, one would be forgiven for thinking that US treasuries and German bunds would have been a good investment. But even as emerging markets have sold off and the US dollar has risen against almost every emerging market currency out there, US treasuries (and to a lesser extent bunds) have been an absolute dog of an investment.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave, Anatole Kaletsky
Oct 11th 2018
Audio & Transcript — Gavekal Research Call October 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. However, he warned that the outcome will depend heavily on where the oil price goes from here.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Oct 09th 2018
Why I Love The Euro
By now surely almost everyone, except perhaps Jacques Delors and Jean-Claude Trichet, must accept that the euro is the greatest monetary mistake governments have imposed on their unsuspecting populations since then Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill took Britain back onto the gold standard in 1925.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Oct 05th 2018
Bottoming Out In France
It has been a tough summer for the French economy, and a difficult rentrée—as the French call September’s return to classes at the start of the school year—for the government of president Emmanuel Macron. France’s growth rates have fallen of a cliff this year, with GDP growth falling to just 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first and second quarters, from an average of 0.7% in 2017. And after household spending actually contracted in 2Q, consumer...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Oct 04th 2018
Strategy Monthly: Are We Still In A Bull Market?
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. Louis examines the reasons why and concludes that portfolio managers should stay defensive, while looking for buying opportunities in oversold emerging markets, and in European assets in non-euro countries such as the UK, Sweden and Switzerland.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Oct 03rd 2018
Italy’s Inevitable Endgame
Just over a year ago, with the optimism towards eurozone stock markets, and Italy in particular, riding high, I wrote a paper expressing the view that none of the eurozone’s underlying problems, nor Italy’s, had been solved. One year later, the situation is now looking very dangerous indeed.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Oct 01st 2018
More Trouble Ahead For Italian Yields
The market gave an unequivocal two thumbs down to Italy’s budget deficit forecast announced on Friday. In proposing a deficit target for each of the next three years of 2.4% of GDP, finance minister Giovanni Tria was perceived to have bowed to pressure from Italy’s populist coalition for spending increases and tax cuts, and to have relegated debt reduction to a back seat. In response, Italy’s 10-year government bond yield jumped 26bp to 3.14%,...
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Sep 24th 2018
No Deal Could Mean No Brexit
After European Union leaders rejected Theresa May’s Chequers deal, the UK government is left with only two alternatives, argues Anatole. If Parliament in November is confronted with No Deal or No Brexit, the most likely outcome would be a new referendum and a vote to remain. The result will be a massive appreciation of sterling and a rally in many UK domestic assets.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Sep 12th 2018
Why The US Cannot Win A Trade War
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. This sell-off may be an ideal opportunity to "buy the dip" in EMs
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Sep 11th 2018
Europe’s Populist Wave Peaks
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.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Sep 10th 2018
The Exit From A Liquidity Squeeze
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. By the same token, if central bank reserves are shrinking, the US dollar is rising, and emerging market currencies are cratering, we probably face a liquidity squeeze. None of this should be surprising, as the drains on US dollar liquidity have come from all directions this year.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Sep 07th 2018
The Case Against Eurozone Stocks
The eurozone may not face the kind of liquidity crunch roiling US dollar-based emerging economies, but its equity markets remain on a grinding downward trajectory. The MSCI EMU index is within 1.0% of this year’s low and a range of technical indicators make for ugly reading. I would advise global investors to generally avoid the single currency area, but for those who must be there I will slightly surprise myself by arguing that the eurozone’s...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Sep 06th 2018
On Getting It Wrong
Louis went into 2018 with a set of assumptions about how growth and markets around the world would play out. It hasn’t exactly worked out as expected and in this mea culpa he seeks to understand how he got it wrong and what comes next. He concludes that a key driver of the changed investment environment was not so much the strength of the US dollar but China’s decision to allow a renminbi devaluation.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Sep 04th 2018
Italy’s Chaotic Tendency To Stabilize
Italian debt holders have been spooked by a leading figure in the country’s populist government threatening a fiscal blowout. Such rhetoric threatens the relatively benign scenario that I advocated in July and has investors fretting about another eurozone crisis. While Italian politics will remain febrile, such concerns are probably overdone.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer, Tan Kai Xian
Sep 04th 2018
Strategy Monthly: A Simple Guide To US Asset Allocation
We synthesize four years of work on asset allocation and present a model portfolio built around analysis of the cost of and return on capital; the real rate of return on equities, bonds and cash; and the ideal duration of fixed-income holdings. Today we recommend that US portfolios hold 75% in equities, 25% in cash, and shun bonds.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Sep 03rd 2018
Europe’s Whimpering Economic Cycle
As with most of the developed world, the eurozone has seen a breakdown of the Phillips Curve link between inflation and unemployment. The 2008 crisis and ensuing double-dip recession created a sclerotic environment where labor market dynamics had little impact on general prices. This is another way of saying that Europe’s economy has remained stuck a in low-growth funk. Last year that seemed to have finally changed, with cyclical forces driving...
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Aug 30th 2018
Tail Risks That Worry Me
Yesterday I made the case that emerging markets should be superior performers in a global bull market, which I characterized as the most hated in history. What that analysis left out was the relative prospects of the other big blocks in the global equity universe; namely, Europe and Japan. My core point yesterday was that trade wars do more harm to economies that close their markets than those countries which supply them, and on this score...
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Gavekal Research
Tom Holland, Nick Andrews
Aug 27th 2018
Last Place In The FX Beauty Contest
In mid-August, the US dollar hit a 12-month high against developed country currencies, and a multi-year high against emerging market currencies. Two weeks on, the burning question for investors is whether those highs represent a turning point, whether the dollar strength that prevailed from mid-April to mid-August has now played out, and whether the US currency is about to resume the softening trend that predominated through 2017. As always,...
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Aug 22nd 2018
Trouble With Monopsonies II: Joan Robinson Versus David Ricardo
Among the discussion topics at this week’s Jackson Hole meeting of world central bankers will be whether the market power of giant corporations is so great it allows them to hold down workers’ wages at the global level. Charles has no doubt, arguing in this paper that the development of platform companies into labor monopsonies accounts for what has been misunderstood as “secular stagnation”.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber
Aug 21st 2018
A Step Back From War On All Fronts
Events of the past few weeks have lowered the risk of the worst-case scenario of a trade-war-on-all-fronts that Arthur laid out earlier this summer. But although officials in both the US and China are eyeing a truce, no bilateral deal can be nailed down until the two countries’ presidents meet in November, after the US midterm elections. That leaves time for the Trump administration’s trade hawks to regain the upper hand.
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