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Invesco Canada blog

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Macro views

Beyond the yield curve: Other economic indicators to watch


August 20, 2019
Subject | Macro views

Last week, the U.S. Treasury yield curve, specifically the spread between the 10-year U.S. Treasury rate and the 2-year U.S. Treasury rate, briefly inverted. An inverted yield curve is considered to be a good predictor of recession, and so markets sold off on fears that a recession will occur in the next year. However, I believe a U.S. recession is not a foregone conclusion — and so we should monitor the economic data closely. I have received a number of questions from clients and the media about what other indicators to follow to help divine how the economy is doing. The following are just a few indicators to watch — and some caveats:

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Will the inverted yield curve lead to recession?


August 14, 2019
Subject | Macro views

The U.S. Treasury yield curve, specifically the spread between the 10-year U.S. Treasury rate and the 2-year U.S. Treasury rate, briefly inverted on the morning of Aug. 14. As of early afternoon, the spread was roughly 1 to 2 basis points wide. The brief inversion follows the inversions earlier this year between the spread of short-term rates (such as the federal funds rate and the 3-month Treasury bill) and the benchmark 10-year rate.

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Argentina’s presidential primary raises policy questions


August 14, 2019
Subject | Macro views

Argentina’s presidential primary elections shocked investors Sunday when President Mauricio Macri suffered a major defeat against leftist politician Alberto Fernandez, whose running mate is controversial former president Cristina Kirchner. According to the official election results, Macri received 32% support while Fernandez received 48%, a much wider margin than expected. Election authorities reported high voter turnout at 75%, and Fernandez won every province except Cordoba and the City of Buenos Aires.

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You can’t train a great white shark – or control global trade


August 12, 2019
Subject | Macro views

One of my all-time favorite movies is “Jaws,” an iconic American summer movie about a great white shark that terrorizes a seaside New England resort town. Maybe it’s because I like the musical score, or maybe it’s because I like hearing my last name interspersed throughout the movie (a particularly noteworthy line is “Hooper drives the boat, Chief”), but I can be found watching the movie at least several times each summer. In fact, I like the movie so much that I’ve watched documentaries and read articles about the making of “Jaws.” My husband thought that was a strange and ridiculous waste of time, but I actually learned some very interesting factoids.

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Stock market sell-off underscores trade war dangers


August 6, 2019
Subject | Macro views

Monday’s significant market sell-off reflected fears about escalating trade tensions, which caused investors to panic. This sell-off should not come as a surprise to those who recognized that stocks were vulnerable because the market wasn’t fully pricing in trade tensions. I view this as a healthy re-pricing of stocks to more fully factor in the potential that the trade war is likely to drag on.

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Measure twice, cut once: Fed delivers expected cut


August 1, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) cut rates by 0.25% for the first time in over a decade,1 a move largely expected by the market. Heading into the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, much of the debate was around whether or not the Fed would deliver 25 or 50 basis points. However, we were focused on the statement and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference for further insight on future policy. Future policy, or the Fed’s reaction function, is particularly important as we navigate in an environment where we believe market pricing indicates more cuts than our economic outlook would imply.2

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This week the Fed will remind us that it’s the world’s central bank


July 29, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

Back when I was in high school, I worked as a lifeguard. I thought it would be a great job, with an opportunity to get a tan and do some summer reading. However, it was a lot of responsibility for a 15-year-old, and I found myself running around with a first aid kit, bandaging cut toes and knees, and even having to perform a water rescue in my first few weeks on the job. I soon realized that I could save myself a lot of trouble, especially since I hated the sight of blood, if I strictly enforced the rules – like no running in the pool area – in order to pre-empt accidents and other mishaps.

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Don’t be so negative: Finding value in U.S. corporate bonds


July 25, 2019
Subject | Institutional | Macro views

As yields across the globe plummet, many investors are now actually paying someone to take their money. Currently, there are more than US$12 trillion of bonds with negative yields outstanding which equal 24% of the global bond market.1 In Europe, the search for positive yield is especially challenging. Over half (51%) of the European bond market now yields a negative rate.1 Germany recently issued €5 billion of bunds at a price of €101.5, but these will only return €100 in two years with zero coupons paid.2 And according to Reuters, Austria is also rumoured to be planning to issue a 100-year bond at roughly 1% to feed yield-hungry investors.

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Waiting for a rate cut: How much is too much?


July 16, 2019
Subject | Institutional | Invesco | Macro views

As any parent of toddlers or teenagers knows, there’s often a big difference between what kids want (candy and a later bedtime) and what they need (vegetables and plenty of rest). I’m reminded of this as I anticipate this month’s Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting. A cut is widely expected — but what is the level that markets need, versus what they want?

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Global trade issues force Bank of Canada to wait and watch


July 10, 2019
Subject | Macro views

The Bank of Canada (BoC) kept the target rate at 1.75% at its July 10 meeting. The tone of the statement was positive on the Canadian economy itself, but was extremely cautious regarding the potential impact of global trade tensions.

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ECB worries have receded, but Fed policy doubts have some pundits on the defensive


July 8, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

I spent the past week in Knoxville, Tennessee, watching my daughter’s basketball team play in a national tournament. I am the unofficial scorekeeper of the team, which makes the experience even more interesting, as I track the games on a variety of metrics. What I found is that the risks to my daughter’s team were different in each game, depending on the abilities of the opposing team. It reminded me that various market environments present different risks and, just as quickly as one game ends and a new game against a different team begins, so too can environments change.

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Navigating the low interest rate environment


July 3, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

The most recent monetary policy meetings from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB) laid the ground work for a new round of interest rate cuts and potential quantitative easing (QE) in Europe. This comes as global central banks are trying to get in front of softening economic data and disappointing inflation measures.

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Algorithm Wars

The U.S. cycle breaks a record. So now what?


July 2, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

Kristina: As of July 1, the U.S. business cycle has set a new record for longevity. It’s a significant milestone, to be sure, but what does it really mean for investors? The answer might not be what you think. To help put this cycle into context, I’m turning over this edition of Weekly Market Compass to my colleague Brian Levitt, Global Market Strategist for North America.

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The superiority of Canadian Corporate Credit


June 27, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

Canadian companies continue to benefit from a strong earnings growth backdrop, especially in domestic facing sectors of the economy. Demand for new bond issuance remains exceptionally strong, highlighted by the recent all-time record number of buyers1 for a 10-year bond issued by Telus Corporation. In a world of a growing stock of negative-yielding debt, demand for high-quality, I believe positive-yielding bonds should continue to be well supported.

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Could central banks boost stocks in the second half?


June 24, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

The Federal Reserve (Fed) met last week and clearly telegraphed that it will no longer be “patient” and that it is leaning toward loosening monetary policy. Why? Fed Chair Jay Powell said trade developments and global growth concerns are on the mind of the central bank. As I look into the second half of the year, those two items are key to my outlook as well – and I believe the willingness of central banks to become more accommodative could be a positive development for stocks.

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Will the Fed lose its patience this week?


June 17, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

All eyes will be on this week’s U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting — especially the statement (whether the central bank will retain its “patient” stance) and the “dot plot” (which charts the outlook for interest rates). The June 18-19 Fed meeting is very important because market expectations have gotten so dovish recently. And with risks rising, many investors recognize that once again the Fed stands between them and a more challenging stock market environment.

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Central banks provide a silver lining to the escalating trade war


June 10, 2019
Subject | Invesco | Macro views

A collective sigh of relief was expelled on Friday evening as U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would indefinitely suspend the planned imposition of tariffs on Mexico – which was set to go into effect on June 10. Markets have entered “risk on” mode, given that the crisis was averted. However, we need to recognize that the announcement that the U.S. would apply a tariff on Mexican goods as a way to address immigration was a “game changer.” I believe strongly that just the threat of using tariffs to achieve non-trade policy objectives is very concerning and will likely contribute to a significant escalation in economic policy uncertainty – even though the current situation has been resolved.

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