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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Apr 01st 2019
A Tactical Opportunity In Turkey
Turkey has long been a market to steer well clear of, with investment opportunities poisoned by toxic politics and an ever-depreciating local currency. However, with the US Federal Reserve adopting a more dovish stance and following the weekend’s municipal elections, Turkish lira assets may now offer an attractive tactical opportunity.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer, Udith Sikand
Apr 01st 2019
Strategy Monthly: A New Liquidity Environment
The prospect of easier liquidity conditions helped make 1Q19 one of the best ever quarters for US equities. Confirmation of the Federal Reserve’s newly dovish policy stance means that US equities should continue to do well through 2019. Other big winners in this environment may be equities in northeast Asian emerging markets that do not rely on Chinese commodity demand.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Mar 28th 2019
Among EMs, Favor North Asia
With their high beta to global growth, emerging markets seldom outperform when investors begin to get nervous about the health of the global economy. So it is no surprise that the risk-off move of the last week has seen the Brazilian real and Argentinian peso each sold off by more than -5% against the US dollar, while the Turkish lira has been propped up only by a regulatory squeeze on liquidity. But the jitters have not affected all emerging...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Tom Miller
Mar 18th 2019
The End Of China's ODI Party
Beijing’s decision to use foreign acquisitions as a tool of state industrial policy has badly backfired. With advanced economies stiffening their resistance to Chinese investment, China’s decade-long outward direct investment spree looks spent. In this piece, Tom explains how the boom ended and where funds will flow in the future.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Mar 14th 2019
The Central Banker Who Cried Wolf
In January, the BoJ governor promised more monetary easing if that was what it took for inflation to reach 2%. Investors increasingly doubt the fortitude of Japan’s financial sector as it endures the pain inflicted by the world’s easiest central bank. If that suspicion grows, the variable of adjustment may be a rising yen, which would be a big headache for the BoJ.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Mar 06th 2019
Towards A New Triple Merit Scenario
Emerging market equities have benefited handsomely from the global risk-on move so far this year. With the prospect of a US-China tariff truce and the likelihood that China’s growth rate will stabilize in the coming months, EM may be on the cusp of a new “triple merit scenario” that could extend the equity rally through the rest of 2019.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Feb 28th 2019
Crisis And Opportunity In Kashmir
India and Pakistan engaged in air-to-air combat yesterday, raising the prospect of war between the two nuclear powers. Markets fell only marginally but are vulnerable if the conflict escalates, which for the moment looks unlikely. If Modi keeps his nerve, the crisis could put the BJP on a sure path to victory in May’s general election, heralding a rally in Indian asset prices.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie
Feb 26th 2019
What To Expect From Trump-Kim II
The the eight months since Trump and Kim's historic handshake in Singapore has seen no progress on North Korea’s denuclearization, with the two sides still leagues apart. Although their second meeting this week will do nothing to bridge the gap, Trump’s determination to be seen as a peacemaker will further reduce tensions in North East Asia.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Feb 22nd 2019
Time To Underweight Thailand
In the two weeks since the announcement that a movie star princess would stand for prime minister in Thailand's March election—though her candidacy was swiftly shot down by the palace—investors have largely shrugged off fears of renewed upheavals. However, this is not just Thai politics as usual. It reopens old wounds and throws current alignments into doubt.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand, Tom Miller
Feb 20th 2019
India Macro Update: Pre-Election Jitters
In India, all eyes are focused on May’s general election. In the lead-up, the government has turned on the spending spigots and the central bank has obliged with a recent surprise interest rate cut. However, in this quarterly update Udith and Tom argue that such measures may not be enough to restart the stalled capital spending cycle.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Feb 20th 2019
Three Odd Things
Reserves held by foreign central banks at the Fed are shrinking, which implies there aren’t enough US dollars in the system. This would make sense: the Fed has been draining excess US dollars for the past couple of years. So with shrinking central bank reserves and a shrinking US monetary base, the US dollar should be going up, and most risk assets should be hurting. Oddly, this isn’t happening.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Feb 19th 2019
The Biggest Investment Story Of 2019
Now that stock markets around the world have recovered from the year-end panic of December 2018, it is worth returning to the question I posed here on the first trading day of 2019: was the disappointing performance of equities and other risk assets in 2018 the prelude to a deep and protracted bear market, or a contrarian opportunity to “buy the dip”?
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Feb 08th 2019
EM Balance Sheet Vs Income Statement
Emerging market investors face a dilemma in 2019. Softer relative growth prospects in the US as the initial effects of 2018’s tax cuts wear off, coupled with the easing of the US dollar liquidity squeeze implied by a more dovish Federal Reserve and softer oil price, favor emerging market assets. The question is: how best to implement this view?
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Feb 08th 2019
The Global Car Industry Catches Chinese Flu
If the auto industry is a bellwether of global economic health, then much of the world is looking sick. The second half of 2018 was painful for carmakers in all the major auto markets, and 2019 is shaping up to be as bad. Is this just a passing malady that carmakers will soon shrug off, or a chronic condition they will have to manage for years to come?
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller, Udith Sikand
Feb 04th 2019
The Politics Of Indian Largesse
India aspires to be a US$10trn economy by 2030. It’s fine to dream, but first the ruling BJP must win a general election. After recent defeats in three state elections and a resurgent opposition, it faces a tough race. The interim budget on Friday responded to the Congress Party’s leftist populism while presenting a fiscal plan designed not to spook markets.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Jan 30th 2019
The Recession Of 2019: Revisited
Six months ago Charles posited the idea of a global recession starting in and around March 2019. He revisits that idea in this piece and concludes that there is clear evidence of the global system suffering a marked slowdown. Here, he seeks to identify the source of the problem by a process of elimination (spoiler alert, the problem isn’t China).
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Jan 28th 2019
Favor Local Bonds Over EM Equities
After a dismal year for emerging market assets in 2018, emerging markets have started 2019 on a positive note, with equities rising 6.5% and local currency bonds up 3% year-to-date. On Friday, Louis looked at shifts in the US dollar, long term US interest rates, credit spreads and the oil price, and concluded they favor emerging market assets through the rest of 2019. Broadly I agree, but I would take a slightly more nuanced stance. The shifts...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jan 25th 2019
The Four Prices That Matter
It is Gavekal’s longstanding mission to develop simple principles that investors can use to navigate complicated financial markets. In this vein, one of our core tenets is that four prices matter more than all others, and together these determine the level of global economic activity and of investor risk appetite. Let us see where they stand as we head deeper into 2019.
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Gavekal Research
Tan Kai Xian
Jan 21st 2019
Time For US Curve Steepeners
Despite the risk-on move of the last four weeks in the US, the two-year to five-year portion of the yield curve remains inverted. And as recent data releases pointing to a slowdown in growth, fears persist that the US economy is heading towards a recession. However, while US growth set to moderate, forecasts of recession are premature.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand, Pratik Bhandari
Jan 15th 2019
India's Acceleration Phenomenon
As China’s market grows more mature, multinationals and investors are increasingly looking to households in emerging economies elsewhere to deliver the next big growth surge in demand for consumer goods and services. Above all they are pinning their hopes on India. With a population of 1.3bn, most aged under 30, and a GDP forecast by the International Monetary Fund to expand by 7.4% in 2019, India is easily the world’s fastest-growing major...
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