CoreMacro

The latest edition of our Big Bank Beige Book suggests the expansion remains intact, though weakness in C’s private-label credit card portfolio could be a harbinger of distress among lower-income consumers. We remain tactically neutral with a bias to turn defensive once clearer signs of a recession emerge.

Special Report

In this Special Report, we introduce our Euro Inflation-Linked Golden Rule – a framework to profitably trade and invest in Euro Area inflation-linked bonds versus nominals. The Rule is currently signaling that nominal government bonds should outperform inflation-linked bonds over the next year as disinflation in the Euro Area continues.

Special Report

A deep dive into the balance sheets of top listed firms around the world suggests that corporate health differs substantially across key equity markets. To profit from these differences when the next recession arrives, we recommend that equity investors favor the US and Japan, be neutral on Europe while being wary of China for a range of compelling reasons.

The disinflation process is over in Poland and Hungary. Only the Czech Republic will see its core inflation meet its central bank target this year. The reason is much tighter labor market dynamics in the first two. Investors should continue to short a basket of CE3 currencies vis-à-vis the US dollar.

China’s economy is cruising at a very low altitude. The odds are that China’s equity rebound is running out of time. The RMB will continue to depreciate versus the US dollar in the coming months, albeit the pace may be modest.

European profits margins are elevated. Will a mild recession be enough to bring them down?

This year’s rise in commodity prices represents a blow-off rally rather than the start of a durable bull market. The global economy is heading for a recession. Stocks, commodities, and other risk assets are vulnerable.

Unlike most advanced economies that are flirting with recession due to weak demand, the ‘inverted’ US economy is motoring along due to strong supply, from a combination of surging labour participation and surging immigration. We go through the implications for stocks, bonds, interest rates, and the dollar. Plus: IXJ, PEP, and MCD are good tactical outperformance candidates.

Special Report

This year’s cash for clunkers program will have only a mildly positive impact on domestic demand for automobiles and home appliances in China. In the meantime, the equipment renewal program will prop up domestic manufacturing moderately as well as help the country reduce its reliance on high-end equipment imports. We recommend continuing to overweight onshore auto stocks relative to the A-Share Index.

In the short run, global risk assets are vulnerable due to rising oil prices and bond yields. Cyclically, a global economic downturn will weigh on global risk assets.