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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Jul 10th 2018
India’s Logistics Revolution
India's logistics sector is so inefficient that getting goods from producers to consumers accounts for about 17% of national output, or twice the level in most developed economies. The result is retarded growth and weakened competitiveness. But thanks to a nationwide goods and services tax, growing consumer demand and rising land prices, consolidation and modernization is afoot across the sector.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand, Joyce Poon
Jul 05th 2018
Hard Yards For Emerging Markets
Emerging markets have been hit by the combined effect of a stronger US dollar, tighter international liquidity and rising trade tensions, causing their currencies to fall more in the last few months than in the 2013 “taper tantrum”. The big fear for EMs is that the end of easy money globally creates a giant margin call. As a firm, we have tended to be upbeat on their prospects in this cycle, and it may be that a huge buying opportunity has...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave, Arthur Kroeber
Jul 03rd 2018
Strategy Monthly: The Four Roads Ahead
The first half of the year was not a great one for global equities, and the second half is clouded by risks: slowing growth, rising inflation, renewed political stress in the eurozone, and most of all the threat of massive protectionism by the United States. Louis Gave offers four scenarios of how things could play out, and Arthur Kroeber explains why it's time to start seriously worrying about a worst-case trade scenario.
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Gavekal Research
Tan Kai Xian
Jun 28th 2018
The New Model Duration Rule
Choosing the right level of duration for a bond portfolio is devilishly tough. It is doubly so when the global interest rate environment is shifting. For this reason KX is introducing a new top-down based duration management tool which encouragingly offers superior signaling and can be used across multiple developed economy bond markets.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jun 27th 2018
The Message From Bank Stocks
This year, being a bank investor has been almost as miserable as being a bank employee. European banks are down -17% year to date. Japanese banks have hardly fared much better, falling -13%. Asian banks are down -7%. And US banks are down around -5%. Tuesday was a case in point: on a day when the US market was broadly flat, banks were once again one of the worst-performing sectors.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jun 21st 2018
The Investment Scenarios Ahead
The interaction of three prices—the US dollar, long-dated US interest rates, and oil—tend to determine the behavior of most other asset values, and so far this year, all three have moved higher. Investors have adjusted to this new reality with some trepidation: among major markets, only the US (S&P 500) and Japan (Nikkei 225, barely) are up year-to-date in US dollar terms.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Yanmei Xie
Jun 13th 2018
The Way Ahead For North Korea
After the Trump-Kim summit, North Korea's commitment to denuclearization still remains a fiction. Future negotiations will be mostly about stringing along the US administration. While Washington and Pyongyang talk, Beijing and Seoul will continue to try to normalize the existence of a nuclear-armed North Korea and cement peace.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Louis Gave, Charles Gave
Jun 11th 2018
Audio & Transcript — Gavekal Research Call June 2018
During Friday’s monthly call, Louis Gave addressed the direction of the US dollar and the impact of expanding US fiscal deficits. Anatole Kaletsky focused on the rise of populist politics, which remains his major concern. Charles Gave considered the impact of resurgent nationalism on the investment environment. There was also significant discussion of the oil price with Anatole and Louis taking differing positions.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand, Joyce Poon
Jun 11th 2018
The Moment Of Truth For Emerging Markets
A strong US dollar, rising interest rates and higher oil prices are a toxic mix for emerging markets. A month ago it was only Turkey and Argentina that were looking really sick, punished by investors for their structural imbalances. But in recent weeks nervousness has engulfed the currencies of Indonesia, South Africa, India and—most notably—Brazil. This leaves the emerging markets facing a pivotal moment. Until now, the assets of those emerging...
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller, Udith Sikand
Jun 08th 2018
In Sweeps The Monsoon
The summer monsoon lashed across southwest India yesterday, just a few hours after the central bank announced its first interest-rate hike in more than four years. With oil prices stoking inflation and foreign portfolio flows pouring out of the country, the Reserve Bank of India followed the lead of other emerging markets battling the global US dollar squeeze. Yet the darkest storm clouds are now political, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Jun 06th 2018
‘Peak Politics’: Another Chance To Buy The Dip?
In recent weeks, investors have been hit with multiple political shocks in the shape of Italian politics, American trade policy and global oil shenanigans. But even as President Donald Trump seems to escalate the American “trade war” and Italy’s new prime minister thumbs his nose at Brussels’ budget parsimony, Anatole asks if political risks have in fact peaked, offering a “buy the dip” opportunity.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Jun 06th 2018
America First, The Rest Of The World Second
Bears are stealthy creatures that rarely offer much warning of their arrival. Based on my experience in the financial wilderness, I have rarely recognized the clear manifestation of a bear market until I was caught firmly in its clutches. In the US today, excitement about President Trump’s daily activities means there is a lack of clear thinking about this market’s outlook. Similarly, a meme for many investors, including Gavekal colleagues, has...
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Jun 05th 2018
Going Underground (And Overground) In Delhi And Beyond
India is rapidly adding new urban metro systems, with ten already built, five under construction and 17 in the planning stages. Tom argues that it is following in China’s footsteps, but unlike China, foreign equipment suppliers and contractors look likely to be major beneficiaries of the Indian build-out.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jun 04th 2018
Not Letting A Good Crisis Go To Waste
At the beginning of 2018, one of Gavekal’s big themes for the coming year was that the liquidity environment was deteriorating. Behind this we saw three causes: 1) the US Federal Reserve’s decision to shrink its balance sheet; 2) the growing toll of rising energy prices, and 3) the coming liquidity drain from runaway US government spending.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber
Jun 01st 2018
Strategy Monthly: Dollar + Oil + Political Risk = ?
So far, 2018 has delivered a lot of volatility, and mediocre returns across almost all asset classes. Will the second half be any different? It's hard to sustain a high level of conviction given the resurgence of political risk. In the latest Strategy Monthly, we offer a way to think through investment decisions based on the direction of oil prices and the dollar.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
May 31st 2018
Video: Malaysia's Old Man In A Hurry
In elections earlier this month, Mahathir Mohamad stunnned Malaysia, defeating the party he led for 20 years to become the country’s new prime minister. In this short video interview, Udith examines Mahathir’s policy platform, and asks whether the resurgent 92-year-old can really rejuvenate Malaysia’s economy.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand, Tom Miller
May 22nd 2018
India Macro Update: Summer Market Blues
Indian growth is picking up nicely just as the external financing environment gets tougher, with a strengthening US dollar, raising yields and most importantly, a sharply rising oil price. In their regular quarterly review, Udith and Tom argue that India can weather the storm, but global investors would do well to back away from the market.
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Gavekal Research
Joyce Poon
May 16th 2018
Beyond Japan’s 1Q GDP Contraction
Japan’s longest run of growth since the 1980s has come to an end. After eight consecutive quarters of growth, data released on Wednesday morning showed that the Japanese economy contracted in the first quarter. For investors, the question is whether this contraction will prove a short-lived blip, or whether it marks a decisive turn for the worse in both Japan’s macro-environment and equity market.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
May 10th 2018
Malaysia’s 92-Year-Old Populist
It is surely the most remarkable political comeback of recent history. At the tender age of 92, former prime minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad won a shock victory in Wednesday’s general election, ousting from power the coalition he himself headed for 22 of the 61 uninterrupted years it ruled the country—ever since independence in 1957.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
May 04th 2018
EMs And The Oil Syndrome
Having fallen more than -10% from their late January peak, emerging markets are looking shaky. Higher yields, a stronger US dollar and rising oil prices have all contributed to a tough environment. In the face of big current account deficits, Turkey and Argentina look properly imperiled, with some saying that their troubles point to a bigger problem for emerging economies. I disagree. Not all headwinds are created equal, and what matters for EMs...
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