Asset Allocation
Consumer products stocks are likely to move to an even larger valuation premium before the cyclical outperformance phase ends.
The secular bond bull market is over. Safety is in a bubble. The shift from monetary to fiscal easing is the most likely candidate to prick the bubble in safety.
In this piece we revise our yield portfolio to increase its resilience to interest rate shocks.
We extracted the key factors driving currency returns; these variables approximate the dollar, EM spreads, and commodities. Any currency's sensitivity to these factors can be estimated, offering a great degree of flexibility for investors to generate trade ideas. Based on our macro views, this approach recommends being short commodity currencies and being long the dollar. The BoJ, BoE, and Riksbank are also covered.
Fed policy - and, importantly, policy expectations' effect on the broad trade-weighted USD (TWI) - will dominate price evolution over the short term, as markets puzzle out if and when a rate hike is coming this year.
The median voter moving to the left has spurred paradigm shifts. These new regimes are giving way to transformational leaders who seek change by breaking convention. As they test their constraints and pursue their preferences, a cautious stance towards risk assets is warranted. In this Monthly Report, BCA's Geopolitical Strategy discusses Trump's recent comeback, rising EM political risk, and Italy's upcoming constitutional referendum.
The Fed is sending signals that another rate hike is coming, despite sluggish U.S. growth and modest inflation, while both the ECB and BoJ are facing questions about the ability to maintain the pace of bond purchase programs. Amidst all this uncertainty, bond risk premiums can rise further in the near term.
The Treasury curve will bear-flatten between now and a likely December rate hike. Beyond December, our strategy will depend on how the dollar responds to increased rate hike expectations. For now, maintain below benchmark duration and favor convexity risk over credit risk.
Cuba will become a notable frontier market now that the Communist regime has no foreign geopolitical partner to prop it up. A poor demographic profile does not prevent the country from capitalizing on American tourism. It also stands to benefit from access to U.S. consumers and rising Chinese consumerism.
Disappointing ISM surveys could signal a growth consolidation.
That, in turn, would spur a correction in risk assets.
Equities are celebrating domestic economic disappointment rather than re-pricing the risk of ongoing profit struggles. This reinforces that liquidity and share price momentum are still the dominant market forces.