Gavekal Research

Edward Hookey, Udith Sikand

Sep 04th 2020

A weak US dollar is generally a boon for both global growth and asset prices, yet its recent fall has ruffled feathers. So spare a thought for the Reserve Bank of Australia, which is not only presiding over the country’s first recession in 30 years but is getting no help from its “little battler” currency, which has rocketed 27% against the US dollar since its March low.

Gavekal Research

Charles Gave, Louis Gave

Sep 03rd 2020

With US equities once again at record highs and the Fed promising to keep rates nailed to the floor, it is time to ask hard questions of the bull market that won’t die. That interrogation is conducted by Charles and Louis Gave. In these strange times, the case for owning anti-fragile assets has rarely been stronger, they contend. Four stand out for having weathered the pandemic and should be treated seriously.

Gavekal Research

Udith Sikand, Vincent Tsui

Sep 02nd 2020

Asia is seen as having had a “good” Covid-19 crisis, as it learnt vital lessons from the 2003 Sars outbreak and its policymakers have been typically more frugal than their Western peers.The problem with such generalizations, argue Udith and Vincent, is that they conceal huge discrepancies among countries.

Gavekal Research

Udith Sikand

Aug 26th 2020

This week Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe went into hospital for medical tests, sparking fresh reports that he may soon step down on health grounds. Should Abe exit the scene it is unclear who will succeed him. If a leadership change becomes unavoidable, Abe will likely play a key role in anointing his successor, so there is unlikely to be a big shift in the “Abenomics” program anytime soon.

Gavekal Research

Charles Gave

Aug 12th 2020

On Monday, Charles argued that developed economies’ moves to nationalize both the creation of money and the distribution of credit would degrade the unit-of-account function played by fiat currencies in many markets. Today, he outlines new monetary mechanisms that are likely to replace, or at least live alongside, fiat currencies.

Gavekal Research

Vincent Tsui

Jul 31st 2020

Aided by lockdown effects, Big Tech has rolled out some stellar results. Self-isolating consumers have replaced devices and devoured cloud computing services, spurring a new upgrade cycle. Such demand has boosted Asia’s tech supply chain, but surging hardware demand is about to become more specific, with some segments facing excess supply and others sustained tightness.

Gavekal Research

Tom Miller, Udith Sikand

Jul 28th 2020

As India's economic and fiscal situation goes from bad to worse, the government is preparing to do the unthinkable: privatize state-owned banks. Ever since the first round of nationalization of private lenders in 1969, the state has kept a tight grip on the financial system. Now it reportedly plans to sell its majority stake in six banks, hoping that an infusion of private capital and managerial skill can nurture them back to health.

Gavekal Research

Louis Gave

Jul 21st 2020

In the second quarter of this year, global equity markets registered their best quarterly performance in two decades. In this, the third paper of a series about the record-breaking rebound, I will consider the possibility that the present growth in monetary aggregates is leading investors to conclude that they have no alternative.

Gavekal Research

Vincent Tsui

Jul 17th 2020

Despite a worsening Covid-19 situation in many big developing economies and concerns over central banks’ monetization responses, emerging market investors continue to climb the wall of worry, betting that a putative “second wave” does not stymie the recoveries of developed economies and China. But another challenge for EM economies is a collapse in foreign tourism.