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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Apr 02nd 2021
Webinar: The Macro And Market Implications Of Europe’s Pandemic Response Shambles
As the European Union’s vaccination program stumbles from one misstep to another, investors are being forced to put back their expectations for European economic recovery, while a procurement scandal in Germany raises the probability that the pandemic will have a long-term effect on the EU’s political landscape. Anatole, Cedric and Nick examined the near-term market impact and long-term economic policy implications.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Mar 30th 2021
Yield Differentials Matter—For Now
As the first quarter draws to a close, the US dollar has confounded December’s bearish consensus expectations by generating a positive total return versus the euro of 3.8%. As Louis and Will and KX explained last week, in retrospect the US dollar’s performance over the last three months is not that surprising. The question now is: how long will these near-term factors persist?
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Mar 12th 2021
The Yield Curve Control That Dare Not Speak Its Name
A year ago today, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said “we are not here to close spreads”. With a fair amount of water having flowed under the bridge since then, the spread between 10-year Italian BTP’s and bunds has fallen from 261bp to just 94bp. So when on the anniversary of that proclamation, she said the “ECB is not doing yield curve control”, one could be forgiven for demurring.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Mar 03rd 2021
The Problem With Europe’s Inflation
Later this year, eurozone consumer price inflation should hit its highest level in more than a decade. We found out on Tuesday that February’s consumer prices rose by 0.9% year-on-year, and more price hikes are in the works. Alas, this is not the type of inflation that the European Central Bank has been seeking to engineer for the best part of a decade.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews, Anatole Kaletsky
Feb 26th 2021
Webinar: Europe And The Politics Of Exiting The Pandemic
Europe is at a strange juncture, as governments remain committed to massive fiscal and monetary support and refuse to rush into any economic reopening before Covid vaccinations are deployed. Yet despite this collective risk aversion, Italy has appointed a new technocratic government run by Mario Draghi that looks to have broad political support and a fairly radical plan for change. Our team explored Europe's exit from the pandemic and asked...
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Feb 19th 2021
Draghi’s Reform Plan And Asset Prices
Newly installed as Italy’s prime minister at the head of a broad coalition, on Wednesday Mario Draghi outlined an ambitious agenda of structural reforms. Notably, the former European Central Bank chief wants to oversee a root-and-branch overhaul of Italy’s tax system, while investing in the education system and streamlining public administration. His first task will be to steer Italy through the pandemic. But beyond that, Draghi’s plans could...
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Feb 16th 2021
The Long Bond Bait And Switch
Ultra-long bond issuance is back in vogue in Europe. This month Spain has sold €5bn of 50-year bonds at a yield of 1.45%, while Belgium snapped out a 50-year issue at 0.69%. In January it was France, which sold a 50-year at 0.59%. Next up is likely to be Italy, which is expected to take advantage of the tightening in spreads following the appointment of Mario Draghi as prime minister (see Draghi’s Return) to come to market with a 50-year of its...
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Feb 10th 2021
A Canary Chirps
In late January, just as the GameStop squeeze was beginning to attract attention, Louis advised investors “to keep European banks on their screens.” As the canary in the coal mine of global financial markets, eurozone banks would signal broader trouble ahead if they continued to fall. But if they rebounded, it would be a sign the global inflation trade was back on (see Third Time The Charm?).
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Feb 03rd 2021
Draghi’s Return
Say what you like about Mario Draghi, but he’s not one to shirk responsibility in a crisis. Almost 10 years after he took the helm at the European Central Bank to steer the eurozone through its debt crisis, on Wednesday he is due to meet Italian president Sergio Mattarella, who will ask him to form a government and take over as prime minister.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews, Cedric Gemehl
Feb 01st 2021
Strategy Monthly: Europe’s Troubled Trajectory
For the eurozone, it seems everything went wrong at the end of 2020—and things have only got worse at the beginning of 2021. Unfortunately, hopes for recovery are pinned on a vaccination program which has been late to start, slow to gather speed, and beset by problems. Nevertheless, despite this gloomy prognosis, there will still be opportunities for investors.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Jan 28th 2021
Video: The UK — At The Center Of The Maelstrom
It’s been an especially stormy start to the year for the United Kingdom, which finds itself at ground zero for the spread of a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus, even as it struggles to cope with withdrawal from the European Union’s single market and customs zone. Yet the UK’s financial markets are performing relatively respectably year-to-date as investors focus on the UK’s strong vaccination performance and look ahead to the...
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Jan 20th 2021
Webinar: Europe’s Cruel Winter
As the pandemic intensifies across Europe growth prospects in the first quarter are dimming, but investors are focused on a potential economic reopening by the spring. In yesterday’s webinar, Anatole Kaletsky, Nick Andrews and Cedric Gemehl discussed whether markets are overly optimistic since the European Union seems to have botched its vaccine procurement strategy.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews, Cedric Gemehl
Jan 06th 2021
Europe’s New Lockdowns
On Tuesday, Germany followed the United Kingdom by imposing fresh restrictions on activity and movement that in effect amount to a new lockdown comparable—and in some areas even stricter—than the anti-coronavirus shutdown imposed over the second quarter of last year. With infection rates across Europe stubbornly high despite the controls already in place, and with fears mounting about the spread of new viral strains, the risk is high that other...
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Dec 08th 2020
The Limits Of Europe’s Rotation
The last five weeks have seen an impressive rally in Europe’s formerly beaten- down equity market sectors. As hopes have grown that vaccines will bring the coronavirus pandemic to an early end in 2021, the stocks of Covid losers such as banks, oil and gas companies, airlines and airports have leapt sharply higher. The Stoxx bank index, for example, is up 44% since the end of October in euro terms, 50% in US dollar terms.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Nov 27th 2020
Yield Curves, The Euro And The Dollar
The balance of probability points towards a steeper US yield curve over the short to medium term as US short rates remain pinned at zero and long-dated US treasury yields push higher. One might think that higher US long rates should attract capital inflows, but what matters is the relative shift in gradients, notably between the US dollar and euro yield curves.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Nov 20th 2020
Webinar: Europe And The Second Wave
European markets were ebullient earlier this week on news that an effective Covid-19 vaccine may be approved for use early next year. In the meantime, regional lockdowns aimed at curbing the escalating pandemic threatens Europe's economic recovery. This all but guarantees loose monetary and fiscal policy for the foreseeable future. In yesterday's webinar Nick and Cedric discussed how this shakes out for investors.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews, Cedric Gemehl
Nov 19th 2020
Limits To EU Solidarity
This week, Hungary and Poland vetoed the European Union’s €750bn recovery fund in a fit of pique at a new mechanism that will stop money going to “bad boy” states deemed to impede the rule of law. With southern Europe waiting for EU cash to support its post-Covid recovery, the two eastern bloc countries hope to force a compromise that will stop outside interference in their domestic affairs. The issue tops the agenda of today’s EU leaders’...
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Nov 19th 2020
Video: EU Summit Tensions
European Union leaders are today sitting down for a high stakes summit. Poland and Hungary are threatening to scupper the EU’s budget and grandly-announced Recovery Fund if they are further penalized for becoming authoritarian and eroding the rule of law. The pandemic continues to demand leaders’ attention and Brexit lurks as the ugly beast in the background.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Nov 13th 2020
Biden And Brexit
Despite the UK enduring another Covid lockdown and facing a key Brexit deadline on November 15, its political class spent this week obsessing over a personality struggle inside the prime minister’s office. The real significance of a Brexit-supporting aide to Boris Johnson quitting his post may be that the UK is about to accept a trade deal will leave it as an effective satellite of the European Union. After all, hopes for a plucky Britain going...
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Nov 13th 2020
After Consolidation, A Further Rerating
Given the violence of Monday’s rotation-driven rally on soaring hopes of an early coronavirus vaccine rollout, it is small surprise that equity markets are now giving back some of those gains. Expectations are still high that developed economies will be able to begin vaccination programs as early as the first quarter of next year. But the intervening days have given investors a keener appreciation of the challenges involved. Meanwhile, the...
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