One of the key risks to markets that I’ve been discussing for more than a year is balance sheet normalization. I have argued — and continue to argue — that quantitative easing was a big experiment, and so unwinding it is an experiment in and of itself. Now that balance sheet normalization has been in force for more than half a year, we are seeing its effects. And one key effect is on liquidity.
Leave a comment
Global stocks have been in positive territory thus far in July with even emerging markets stocks eking out a tiny gain.1 With positive returns and relatively low volatility in July, it appears that the stock market is not worried about the burgeoning trade war. Admittedly, it’s easy to ignore since investors don’t have a frame of reference for the impact of a major trade war – and so far, earnings season has been very good. But other markets may be telling us that we should be worried.
As I travel the world to talk about global markets, I encounter questions about interest rates, inflation, trade wars and much more. Below, I answer some of the most common questions I’m hearing from institutional investors.
Leave a comment
Invesco Fixed Income is positive on fundamentals for the rest of this year. Global growth is solid and inflation is tame. As central banks have pivoted away from stimulus, tighter financial conditions have hurt risky assets. But major central bank policies are still generally easy – we expect the Federal Reserve to tighten gradually, and the runway for other central banks to normalize policy is still long. Nevertheless, political uncertainty, trade tensions and a sell-off in emerging markets have challenged investors in recent months. We expect these factors to generate further volatility and believe caution is warranted. However, we believe greater volatility will generate new opportunities for fixed income investors against a backdrop of solid macro and credit fundamentals. Below are five risks we are monitoring.
Leave a comment
As I write this, early on July 9, global stocks have hit a two-week high1 and the price of copper is rallying. Markets are clearly focusing on positive data at the moment, which is a welcome change. Below, I highlight six important things that happened last week – both positive and negative – and several upcoming issues to watch.
Leave a comment
U.S. growth remains strong, accelerating in the second quarter versus the first quarter’s lackluster 2.2% performance.1 We expect 2018 growth of around 2.8%, with strong contributions from capital expenditures and consumption. Core inflation continues to be benign, and we see it peaking in the next two months at around 2.2%. After that, softer rental and service costs should drive it back below 2%. In our view, the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike one more time this year before pausing in response to declining inflation. Strong growth and lower-than-expected inflation point to a 10-year Treasury yield of around 3%. However, supply dynamics will likely begin to shift in the third quarter as the Treasury begins to issue more long-term debt. This may pressure the Treasury yield curve steeper.
Developments in cryptocurrencies are fueling the next technology revolution
Leave a comment
I keep promising myself that I will stop writing about trade and protectionism in my weekly commentaries. And then virtually every week, something happens that forces me to address the topic once again. This past week, unfortunately, was no exception. In my mid-year outlook, I mentioned that my outlook is predicated on the trade situation not worsening materially – so it’s important that we closely follow trade developments. Last week, there were six trade developments that are helping to place downward pressure on stocks:
Leave a comment
We are coming to the mid-year point for 2018, and the past six months have felt like six years. Markets have experienced a significant uptick in volatility, yet equity investors may not have much to show for all their troubles.
Leave a comment
After years of debate, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have announced new policies on advisor compensation and have proposed important changes on how registered firms and individuals deal with their clients. A proposed rule amendment on advisor compensation will be published for comment in September. I’d like to address each of these.
Central banks took centre stage last week, with a trifecta of major central bank meetings. The clear theme was that most major banks are at least taking small steps toward monetary policy normalization. However, the central banks that are tightening may be caught by surprise if the trade situation worsens – which I believe is a strong possibility.
Leave a comment
The U.S. Federal Open Market committee (Fed) continued their recent gradual hiking cycle by increasing the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points at today’s meeting. The target range after the hike is now 1.75%-2.00%. The financial markets had been fully expecting today’s move.
Leave a comment
The global trade environment seriously worsened last week as the U.S. applied aluminum and steel tariffs to Canada, Mexico and the European Union (EU). Just a few days before, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he is exploring tariffs of up to 25% on imported cars. In my view, this is a very negative development that has implications for the global economy for several different reasons:
Leave a comment
We have devoted much time in this weekly blog to geopolitical risks. However, I have tried to stress that geopolitical risk, while disruptive, tends not to impact fundamentals – although it can certainly create a lot of turmoil in capital markets in the shorter term. A case in point is the current political situation in Italy, which has worsened over the last few days and thrown into question the country’s future with the European Union (EU).
Leave a comment
In the past few weeks, the price of a barrel of oil has risen to its highest level in the last several years, and I believe it is poised to move higher. Lately, I’ve been asked quite a bit about what this means for the stock market. While high oil prices may have an effect on certain sectors and industries, I believe the far greater impact would be indirect – and could happen in several different ways.
Leave a comment
Economic data have been mixed since the Bank of Canada increased the overnight rate 25 basis points in January.1 Employment growth remains positive and consumer price inflation has been firm.
Leave a comment
For more than a year, I have been talking about the growing impact that disruption is having on global markets. The events of last week illustrated that this theme isn’t slowing down.
Leave a comment
Investors began 2018 with a generally optimistic view, but this euphoria faded by quarter-end as protectionism and talk of a U.S./China trade war became a key concern. Despite investor pessimism, we expect further volatility might create the opportunity to invest in high-quality Asian equities at lower valuations.
Leave a comment
“Getting long in the tooth” is an interesting way to describe something that is getting old and presumably nearing its end – it refers to the long-time practice of estimating a horse’s age by looking at its mouth. I’ve found myself using this expression a lot these days, as the U.S. experiences its second-longest economic expansion in the last 100 years. But investors should remember that – even as market-watchers talk about “synchronized global growth” – other economies are in much earlier stages of expansion.
Leave a comment
