Gavekal Research

Charles Gave

Dec 21st 2018

For investors around the world, 2018 proved to be “challenging”. Yet to Gavekal’s clients, hopefully the year’s difficulties did not come as a surprise. Just over 12 months ago, early in December 2017, I published a paper entitled From A Ferrari To A Jeep advising investors to reduce the volatility of their portfolios.

Gavekal Research

Nick Andrews

Dec 19th 2018

As the European Central Bank halts net new asset purchases and ends its balance sheet expansion, European equities are back at almost exactly the same level as in December 2014, on the eve of the ECB’s announcement of quantitative easing. Clearly, with extraordinary monetary stimulus no longer in the mix, European stocks will need a different driver if they are to make gains in 2019.

Gavekal Research

Udith Sikand

Dec 18th 2018

US markets have come back to earth with a bump on a reassessment of risk and growth prospects. As a result, investors are betting on a less hawkish Federal Reserve and a weaker US dollar, both of which are a boon to hard-pressed emerging markets. The question is: do investors gain more from a more favorable US dollar liquidity environment than they lose from a growth picture clouded by a slowing China and unresolved trade tensions?

Gavekal Research

Charles Gave

Dec 17th 2018

In my Wicksellian world, when the “market rate of interest” (cost of capital) moves above the “natural rate of interest” (return on capital) a recession usually follows. Italy offers an interesting case in point as it has spent so much time since the euro’s launch operating below this critical threshold.

Gavekal Research

Cedric Gemehl

Dec 14th 2018

Until last week it was possible to make the case that the EU could still push ahead with major structural reform under the current political configuration. After a continuity candidate took over as head of Germany’s governing party and Macron turned on the fiscal spigots in France to buy off political dissent, that is no longer the case.

Gavekal Research

Charles Gave

Dec 13th 2018

My career in financial markets began in January 1971, which means I’ve seen a few bull and bear markets. A common trait of bear markets is that as the big decline starts, most investors have no idea why asset prices are falling. At some point, perhaps much later, the root cause of the marauding bear becomes clear and this revelation triggers the final phase of the sell-off. Hence, in light of the recent pull-backs, readers may like to consider...

Gavekal Research

Louis Gave

Dec 12th 2018

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?

Gavekal Research

Anatole Kaletsky

Dec 11th 2018

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,...

Gavekal Research

Tan Kai Xian, Will Denyer

Dec 10th 2018

November’s payroll report gave investors in US equities reason to cheer on Friday as it suggested reduced inflationary pressure, yet they chose to focus on an escalating row over the fate of a top Chinese telecom executive that is intensifying trade tensions with China. A -2.3% fall in the S&P 500 had the technically-inclined scrambling to glean meaning from a “death cross” as the 50-day moving average fell below the 200-day level. We remain...

Gavekal Research

Tom Holland

Dec 07th 2018

The arrest last Saturday in Vancouver airport of the CFO of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei at the request of US prosecutors will have major consequences for investors beyond the short term market volatility it contributed to this week. Reaching a permanent US-China agreement is now much more complicated, and the arrest shows the US can use more than tariffs against China.

Gavekal Research

Louis Gave

Dec 06th 2018

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.

Gavekal Research

Charles Gave

Dec 05th 2018

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.

Gavekal Research

Will Denyer

Dec 04th 2018

At least as interesting as the 1.1% rise in US equities on Monday, following the weekend’s news of a three-month US-China tariff truce, was the day’s decline in long-dated US treasury yields and the concomitant flattening of the US yield curve. But was this bond market action good news or bad for investors?

Gavekal Research

Arthur Kroeber

Dec 03rd 2018

The Trump-Xi showdown at the G-20 has produced a truce, and Asian equity markets rallied in response. But Arthur is skeptical of the durability of the rally, as the structural nature of the US-China rivalry was not addressed by the deal, and hardliners in Washington are likely to keep ratcheting up the pressure on Beijing.

Gavekal Research

Nick Andrews

Nov 30th 2018

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,...

Gavekal Dragonomics

Yanmei Xie

Nov 29th 2018

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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Udith Sikand, Tom Miller

Nov 28th 2018

India is beset with economic problems that range from a deepening credit crunch, a worrying stand-off between the government and central bank and a capital spending cycle that has never really gotten going. Yet despite these challenges, the economy keeps chugging along and should hit 7.5% growth in the current fiscal year. In this quarterly macro update, Udith and Tom consider the outlook in light of political uncertainty ahead of next year’s...

Gavekal Dragonomics

Ernan Cui

Nov 27th 2018

In our annual review of the economic performance of the Chinese consumer, Ernan examines the key issues affecting households. This chartbook covers the reasons for the decline in car sales, the rising burden of household debt, the effects of the income-tax cut, the prospects for consumption upgrading—and where all these trends are headed in 2019.

Gavekal Research

Louis Gave

Nov 23rd 2018

If you had been told on September 20, when the US stock market made its high, that two months later the MSCI US would be entering correction territory, down almost -10%, and that oil would be in a full-blown bear market, with Brent down almost -30%, you would probably have concluded that long-dated US bonds would be the place to be. The US dollar delivered; the DXY is up 2.7%. But long bonds did not; over the two-month period, the TLT ETF has...

Gavekal Research

Louis Gave

Nov 22nd 2018

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.

Gavekal Dragonomics

Dan Wang

Nov 21st 2018

Chinese internet companies are now the only credible challengers to the global hegemony of US internet companies. In this piece, Dan explains that, although they may not directly challenge Google or Facebook, the Chinese firms are pushing abroad and are well on their way to becoming a formidable presence in developing countries.

Gavekal Research

Anatole Kaletsky

Nov 20th 2018

Should we take seriously President Donald Trump’s prediction of “a deal” at his summit with President Xi Jinping on November 30? Nobody can be sure—not even Trump himself—since the outcome may depend on whether Peter Navarro or Steven Mnuchin manages to catch his attention before Air Force One lands in Buenos Aires next week. There are, however, four reasons which I have discussed here before to justify continuing to increase long positions in...

Gavekal Dragonomics

Rosealea Yao

Nov 19th 2018

China’s property market has had a record-breaking run, but where is it headed next? In this concise chartbook, Rosealea delivers her annual overview of the key drivers of housing sales and construction activity and explains the outlook for 2019. An overdue correction in sales is coming, but construction should hold up relatively well.

Gavekal Research

Will Denyer

Nov 16th 2018

There is suddenly a flood of commentary speculating that General Electric is a canary in the proverbial coal mine for the US corporate credit market. With investors focused on the troubled conglomerate’s underfunded pension scheme and ailing power business, GE has seen its credit rating downgraded and become a focal point for broader fears that US corporates have taken on too much debt and bought back too much equity. Without taking a view on GE...