Investors frequently focus on the yield to maturity that bonds pay, rather than recognizing the potential total returns that are available to global fixed income investors.
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Last week, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to take a significant step away from normalization and toward more accommodation. It cut the deposit facility rate by 0.1% to a level of -0.5% (the first time the deposit rate has changed since 2016) and announced a re-ignition of quantitative easing (QE).1
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The yield curve has been a constant topic of conversation among investors since mid-August, when the 2-year/10-year Treasury curve briefly inverted and launched furious speculation that a recession may be around the corner. The same holds true among Invesco’s market strategists, who have been debating what an inverted yield curve means and whether a recession is indeed inevitable.
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This week, we are going to take a deeper dive into the issues currently facing the U.S., Europe, and China. Guiding us through this “regional roundup” are three of Invesco’s Global Market Strategists who are on the ground in New York, London and Hong Kong. While the details differ in each region, the biggest commonality they report is the heavy shadow of uncertainty that continues to linger over markets.
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August is supposed to be a slow, relaxing month – but this August was anything but that for investors. Trade frictions were on the rise for much of the month. The U.S. Treasury yield curve inverted several times, causing jitters for investors concerned that a U.S. recession is imminent. Of course, stock volatility rose, with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) hitting its highest level of 2019 in the month of August.1 Instead of enjoying calm, sunny days, markets were rocked last month by interviews with Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members at Jackson Hole, tweets from President Donald Trump, and geopolitical events in the U.K., Italy and India – to name just a few.
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As we embarked on this year, I expected 2019 to be the year of slower growth but better policy. And that, I posited, would be better for financial markets than 2018’s combination of strong growth and bad policy, specifically Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hikes and trade tariffs.
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Last week was one of those weeks when anyone following the news flow closely would have a serious case of whiplash. Friday alone put me in a neck brace as we saw a serious escalation in the trade wars between the U.S. and China. Other notable events last week included:
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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:
Comments Off on Beyond the yield curve: Other economic indicators to watch
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 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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As the Federal Reserve joins the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan in rolling out new stimulus measures, global central banks are making their marks on the investment outlook for the remainder of 2019.
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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.
Comments Off on You can’t train a great white shark – or control global trade
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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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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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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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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Market gyrations can make investors want to run, but history shows stocks’ ability to overcome these concerns
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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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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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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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