Sovereign Debt

Special Report

Highlights We continue to recommend overweighting Mexican local fixed-income markets, the peso and sovereign credit relative to their respective EM benchmarks. A new trade: Sell Mexican CDS / buy Brazilian and South African CDS. Continue holding the long MXN / short ZAR position. We have a lower conviction view that Mexican equities will outperform the EM benchmark. Feature Since the election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador – or AMLO, as he is commonly known – as President, investors have been worrying about Mexico’s fiscal policy and public debt sustainability. Specifically, investors have expressed concern over the debt dynamics of state-owned petroleum company Pemex and its impact on the country’s public debt. While these concerns are not groundless, on balance we find the risk-reward profile of Mexico’s sovereign credit and local currency bonds superior relative to their respective EM peers. Fiscal Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis We discussed debt sustainability in Brazil and South Africa in two of our recent reports, and concluded that their public debt dynamics are unsustainable without drastic fiscal reforms. However, a closer look at debt sustainability in Mexico reveals a different picture. Chart 1Public Debt Burden Including SOE Debt Mexico’s public debt level including the debt of state-owned enterprises is lower than those in Brazil and South Africa (Chart 1). Notably, Mexico’s public debt-to-GDP ratio has been flat over the past three years. Importantly, as detailed below, the two primary conditions for public debt sustainability – the level of government borrowing costs and the primary fiscal balance - are far superior in Mexico relative to Brazil and South Africa.   Government borrowing costs in local currency terms are only slightly above nominal GDP in Mexico. Brazil and South Africa score much worse on this measure (Chart 2). The primary fiscal balance in Mexico is much better than in Brazil and South Africa (Chart 3). In fact, Mexico is targeting a primary surplus of 1% for 2019. Chart 2Local Borrowing Costs Versus Nominal GDP Chart 3Primary Fiscal Balances Even with potential pension reforms, Brazil will continue to run primary deficits for the next few years. As we discussed in our recent report on Brazil, the government’s submitted draft on social security reforms will save only BRL190 billion over the next four years, or 0.7% of GDP per year. The current primary deficit is 1.5% of GDP. Unless nominal GDP growth and government revenue growth shoot up, the primary deficit will not be eliminated in the next four years. Unlike Brazil and South Africa, the growth of public sector debt in Mexico is not outpacing nominal GDP growth (Chart 4). Critically, the latter point is also true in Mexico if one includes state-owned enterprises’ debt. Brazil and South Africa sovereign spreads are currently only 40 and 85 basis points above those in Mexico, respectively. The spread will widen further in favor of Mexico, given the latter’s superior fundamentals (Chart 5). In terms of local currency bonds, real yields in Mexico are also on par with Brazil but are well above those in South Africa (Chart 6). Hence, Mexican local bonds offer relative value versus many of their EM peers. Chart 4Public Debt and GDP Growth Chart 5Sell Mexican CDS / Long South African and Brazilian CDS             Nominal local currency bond yields in Mexico are about 200 basis points above the EM GBI benchmark domestic bond yield index (Chart 7). This is great value. Clearly, Mexico’s fiscal worries are overblown relative to those in Brazil and South Africa. Besides, relative valuations of sovereign credit and local bonds adjusted for relative fundamentals warrant outperformance in Mexico versus the other two markets as well as against the respective EM benchmarks in the months ahead. Chart 6Real Bond Yields: Decent Value In Mexico Chart 7Nominal Bond Yields: Great Value In Mexico In addition, AMLO’s administration has proven to be committed to fiscal austerity. Last month, the Ministry of Finance reinforced this notion by announcing a reduction in public spending on social programs in order to balance the loss of fiscal revenue from decreasing oil revenues and lower GDP estimates. Mexico’s fiscal worries are overblown relative to those in Brazil and South Africa. Besides, relative valuations of sovereign credit and local bonds adjusted for relative fundamentals warrant outperformance in Mexico versus the other two markets as well as against the respective EM benchmarks in the months ahead. We view the primary fiscal target of 1% for 2019 as aggressive and potentially unattainable due to a shortfall in revenues. However, these actions prove that AMLO’s administration is not intending to run a large fiscal deficit to finance populist spending programs, as investors had feared. Adding Pemex To Public Finances Pemex’s financial position and the government budget’s reliance on oil revenues are an Achilles’ heel for Mexico’s public finances. Therefore, we have incorporated Pemex into the budget. The resulting fiscal deterioration is not calamitous. Specifically, international credit agencies estimate that Pemex needs an additional $13 billion to $20 billion in capital expenditures per year in order to maintain current operations and replenish reserves. This is in addition to its debt service obligations in the coming years, as shown in Table 1. Table 1Pemex Debt Servicing We have the following considerations on this issue: First, this year the government announced $5.7 billion of financing for Pemex in the form of direct investment, tax breaks, deductions for drilling and exploration costs and revenue recovered from oil theft. In addition, the government will also do a one-time transfer of $6.8 billion from its $15.4 billion budget stabilization fund in order to finance Pemex’s debt payments due by the end of this year. While Congress must first approve the use of these funds, odds are that the bill will pass as AMLO’s party holds a majority. That would bring total capital injection into Pemex to $12.5 billion for the year, almost enough to finance the company’s capital spending this year. Second, in order to revive operations at Pemex in the medium to long term, the government must maintain this level of investment on an annual basis. Essentially, AMLO’s administration will inevitably have to sacrifice part of the $29 billion in net oil transfers it receives every year to finance the oil company and prevent further downgrades to its credit rating. How large is this required Pemex financing as a share of the public budget? We performed a simulation including into the public budget all of Pemex’s payments and all its receipts from the government. While the overall fiscal position deteriorates, it is not unsustainable. The primary and overall deficits would widen to 1.9% and 4.4% of GDP, respectively, if the government eliminates all transfers to Pemex and if the company stops all payments to the government budget, including direct transfers and indirect oil taxes1 (Table 2, Scenario 1). Table 2Mexico: Pemex And Government Budget In such a scenario, Pemex would gain $ 29 billion each year to invest in exploration and production. Pemex is the largest fiscal challenge for Mexico. Yet, even including Pemex debt and required financing, the nation’s fiscal accounts are not worrisome. Chart 8Mexico's Budget Balance Adjusted For Financing To Pemex Third, provided Pemex’s capital spending needs could be met by half of this $29 billion, the government could provide the company just half of this amount (Table 2, Scenario 3). In this scenario, the oil company will have sufficient funds to invest. Meanwhile, the government’s primary and overall fiscal deficit will deteriorate only moderately to 0.7% and 3.2% of GDP, respectively (Chart 8 and Table 2). Finally, the importance of oil revenues – both directly from Pemex and via indirect taxation on the oil industry – have already declined as a share of total fiscal revenues – from 40% in 2012 to 18.3% currently (Chart 9). In short, Mexico’s budget is less reliant on oil revenues. If economic growth picks up, non-oil revenues will improve. Consequently, the government’s fiscal position will improve, giving it more maneuvering room to deal with Pemex. Bottom Line: Pemex is the largest fiscal challenge for Mexico. Yet, even including Pemex debt and required financing, the nation’s fiscal accounts are not worrisome. Cyclical Economic Conditions The Mexican economy is slowing and inflationary pressures are subsiding. Narrow money (M1) and retail sales growth are decelerating (Chart 10, top panel) Capital spending is contracting and non-oil exports will be in a soft spot over the next six months, according the U.S. manufacturing ISM new orders-to-inventory ratio (Chart 10, bottom panel). Core inflation is at 3.55% and is heading south. Chart 9Dependence On Oil Revenues Has Declined A Lot Chart 10Mexico: Cyclical Conditions   Barring major turmoil in EM currency markets that weighs on the peso, weakening growth and disinflation will lead the domestic fixed-income market to discount rate cuts. Mexico’s central bank is very hawkish and will be slow to ease policy. Yet, such a policy stance warrants a bullish view on domestic bonds. The basis is that the longer they delay rate cuts, the more they will need to cut in the future. Investment Strategy We have been recommending an overweight position in Mexico in EM local currency and sovereign credit portfolios, and are reiterating these strategies. Relative value investors should consider this trade: Sell Mexico CDS / buy Brazilian and South African CDS. The Mexican sovereign credit market has made a major bottom versus the EM benchmark and the path of least resistance is now up (Chart 11). EM local currency bond portfolios should continue overweighting Mexico while underweighting Brazil and South Africa (Chart 12). Chart 11Sovereign Excess Returns: A Relative Bull Market In Mexico Chart 12Total Return on Local Currency Bonds in Dollar Terms Similarly, among EM currencies, we favor the Mexican peso because it is cheap (Chart 13). Specifically, we continue to hold the long MXN / short ZAR position; investors who are not yet in this trade should consider entering it now. Chart 13The Mexican Peso Is Cheap Finally, in the EM equity universe, we are overweight Mexican stocks, but our conviction level is lower than in the case of fixed-income markets. The basis is that AMLO’s policies intend to weaken oligopolies and monopolies and undermine their pricing power. These policies are very positive for fixed-income markets and the exchange rate in the long run, as they entail lower inflation resulting from a more competitive environment. Yet, they could hurt profits of incumbent monopolies and oligopolies. This is why we recommend equity investors focus on Mexican small-caps. That said, from a macro perspective, resulting disinflation and lower local rates are also positive for equity multiples. Hence, the Mexican stock market will also likely outperform the EM benchmark in common currency terms.   Arthur Budaghyan Chief Emerging Markets Strategist arthurb@bcaresearch.com Juan Egaña, Research Associate juane@bcaresearch.com     Footnotes 1 Indirect oil taxation includes different taxes for the oil fund for stabilization and development, such as rights on drilling and exploration, import and export duties on oil and gas and financing for oil and gas research.

Highlights Chinese credit origination surpassed expectations in March. Credit growth is now clearly trending higher, and the latest data suggest that economic activity is rebounding. This bodes well for global growth. The conventional wisdom is that China’s releveraging efforts represent “short-term gain for long-term pain.” We disagree. For the most part, Chinese releveraging is inevitable, desirable, and sustainable. Credit growth is inevitable because rising debt is necessary for transforming the country’s copious savings into fixed-asset investment. It is desirable for ensuring that GDP growth stays close to trend. It is broadly sustainable because the interest rate at which the government and much of the private sector are able to borrow is well below the economy’s growth rate. In fact, under a plausible set of assumptions, faster credit growth in China could lead to a lower debt-to-GDP ratio. Stronger global growth later this year should weaken the U.S. dollar. We are closing our long DXY trade for a carry-adjusted gain of 16.4% and exiting our long USD/CNY trade for a loss of 3.1%. We are also taking profits on our short AUD/CAD, short EUR/CAD, and short EUR/RUB trades of 1.6%, 3.9%, and 8.6%, respectively, and initiating two new currency trades: short USD/RUB and long EUR/JPY. The combination of a weaker dollar and faster Chinese growth should benefit EM and European stocks. Gold hit our limit buy order of $1275/ounce and we are now long the yellow metal. Feature A Blockbuster Month For Chinese Credit Growth After turning cautious for about six months, we moved back to being bullish on global equities in late December. We also sold our put on the EEM ETF on January 3rd for a gain of 104% in anticipation of a wave of Chinese credit stimulus. Credit growth blew past expectations in January, but surprised on the downside in February. This made the March release particularly important. In the end, the March data did not disappoint those who were hoping for a solid reading. New CNY loans rose by RMB 1690 billion, above Bloomberg consensus estimates of RMB 1250 billion. Our adjusted aggregate financing measure, which excludes a number of items such as equity financing but includes local government bond issuance, rose by 12.3% year-over-year, up from 11.6% in February (Chart 1). China’s credit impulse leads the import component of its manufacturing PMI (Chart 2). The credit impulse bottomed in November 2018, which should feed into higher imports over the coming months. This week’s release of better-than-expected data on industrial production, retail sales, and housing activity all suggest that the rebound in Chinese growth is already afoot. Chart 1Chinese Credit Growth Is Rebounding... Chart 2...Which Should Bode Well For Global Exports To China   Short-Term Gain For Long-Term Pain? At times like these, the bears are always ready with their standby argument: Sure, China may be stimulating, but all that credit growth will just make the debt bubble even bigger. Once the bubble bursts, there will be hell to pay. Long-term investors should steer clear of any growth-sensitive assets. It is a seductive argument. But it is wrong. Chinese releveraging is: 1) inevitable; 2) desirable; and 3) sustainable. The fundamental macroeconomic problem that China faces is that it consumes too little of what it produces. 1. Chinese Debt Growth Is Inevitable The fundamental macroeconomic problem that China faces is that it consumes too little of what it produces. The result is a national savings rate of 45%, by far the highest of any major economy (Chart 3). Chart 3China Still Saving A Lot Chart 4From Exporting Savings To Investing Domestically And Building Up Debt   There was a time when China was able to export a large part of its excess production. Its current account surplus reached nearly 10% of GDP in 2007. As its economy has grown in relation to the rest of the world, running massive trade surpluses has become more difficult. This is especially true today, when the country is being targeted by the Trump administration and much of the international community for alleged unfair trade practices. As China’s ability to churn out large current account surpluses declined, the government moved to Plan B: propping up growth by recycling the country’s copious savings into fixed-asset investment. This process saw households park their savings in banks and other financial institutions which, in turn, lent the money out to companies and local governments in order to finance various investment projects. Not surprisingly, debt levels exploded higher (Chart 4). As China’s population ages and more workers leave the labor force, savings will decline. However, this is likely to be a slow process. In the meantime, further debt growth is inevitable. 2. Chinese Debt Growth Is Desirable In an ideal world, Chinese households would consume more of their incomes, leaving only enough savings to finance high-quality private and public investment projects. That is not the world we are living in. In a far-from-ideal world, we need to think about second-best solutions. Yes, a sizable share of Chinese investment spending goes towards projects of dubious value. Yet, the same could have been said about Japan’s fabled “bridges to nowhere.” One may regard the construction of a seldom-used bridge as a misallocation of capital. But what is the counterfactual? If the bridge had not been built, would the workers have found productive work? If not, then there also would have been a misallocation of capital – human capital – which is arguably a much more serious problem. In any case, keep in mind that the rate of return on private investment depends on the state of the economy. If an economy is suffering from chronic lack of demand, only the most worthwhile projects will be undertaken. As the economic outlook improves, the set of viable projects will expand. It is only when all excess private-sector savings have been depleted, and interest rates are rising, that public spending starts to crowd out private investment. 3. Chinese Debt Growth Is Sustainable Even if one accepts the proposition that China needs continued debt growth to maintain full employment, is it still possible that all this additional debt will push the economy into a full-blown debt crisis? Most self-professed “serious-minded” observers would say yes. But then again, many of these same observers were predicting that Japan was heading for a debt crisis when government debt reached 100% of GDP in the late 1990s. Today, Japan’s government debt-to-GDP ratio stands at about 240% of GDP, and yet interest rates remain at rock-bottom levels. China will avoid a debt crisis for the same reason Japan has been able to avoid one. Much of China’s debt stock is composed of state-owned enterprise, local government, and other forms of quasi-public sector debt. Credit policy in China is often indistinguishable from fiscal policy. Given the abundant supply of savings in the economy, most of this debt can be internally financed at fairly low interest rates. The standard equation for government debt dynamics says that the change in the debt-to-GDP ratio, D/Y, can be expressed as:1 G - T is the primary budget deficit, r  is the borrowing rate, and g is the growth rate of the economy (it is irrelevant whether r and g are defined in nominal or real terms, as long as they are both expressed the same way). China will avoid a debt crisis for the same reason Japan has been able to avoid one. The Chinese 10-year government bond yield is currently four percentage points below projected GDP growth over the next decade, which is one of the biggest gaps among the major economies (Chart 5). Arithmetically, this means that China can have as large a primary fiscal deficit as it wants. As long as r remains below g, the debt-to-GDP ratio will converge to a stable level. Chart 6 shows this point analytically. In fact, it is possible that a permanently larger budget deficit could lead to a decline in the equilibrium debt-to-GDP ratio. How could that be? The answer is revealed by the equation above. If the debt-to-GDP ratio is fairly high to begin with and an increase in the primary budget deficit leads to higher inflation (and hence, lower real rates and/or faster nominal GDP growth), this could more than fully counteract the increase in the deficit. Chart 7Stronger Growth Coincided With Accelerating Inflation And Lower Real Rates This is not just a theoretical curiosity. Historically, Chinese inflation has risen while real rates have fallen whenever GDP growth has accelerated (Chart 7). Given China’s high debt levels, even a modest amount of additional inflation could put significant downward pressure on the debt-to-GDP ratio.2  Of course, all this is predicated on the assumption that faster credit growth will not cause interest rates to rise above the growth rate of the economy. For the portion of China’s debt stock that is either directly or indirectly backstopped by the central government, this seems like a safe assumption. After all, if credit/fiscal stimulus is simply being undertaken in response to inadequate demand, there is no need for policymakers to hike rates. Things get trickier when we look at private debt. In the past, the government has encouraged state-owned banks to roll over souring loans for fear that a wave of defaults would undermine the economy and endanger social stability. More recently, however, policymakers have been backing away from this strategy due to the well-founded view that it encourages moral hazard. Faster growth in China in the second half of this year will lift Chinese imports. This will be welcome news for the rest of the world. We expect the authorities to continue taking steps to instill market discipline by allowing failing firms to, well, fail. Realistically, however, the transition to a full market-based economy will take quite a bit of time. In the interim, the government will keep cutting taxes and increasing on-budget spending in order to ensure that any decline in employment among failing firms is offset by employment growth elsewhere. In such an environment, neither a debt crisis nor a deep economic slowdown appear likely. Investment Conclusions Faster growth in China in the second half of this year will lift Chinese imports. This will be welcome news for the rest of the world. Chart 9Germany Welcomes The Upturn In Chinese Credit Growth While the U.S. will benefit from a revival in Chinese growth, Europe will gain even more (Chart 8). Germany, in particular, should see a pronounced acceleration in growth. China’s credit impulse leads Chinese automobile spending which, in turn, reliably leads euro area automobile exports, as well as overall exports (Chart 9). The recent rebound in the expectations component of the German ZEW index, as well as in the manufacturing output component of the April flash PMI, suggests that green shoots are starting to sprout (Chart 10). Italy should also benefit from the steep drop in bond yields since last October (Chart 11). Italian industrial production strongly surprised to the upside in February, suggesting that the euro area’s third biggest economy may have finally turned the corner. Chart 10Tentative Green Shoots Out Of Germany Chart 11Italy: The Drop In Bond Yields Should Boost The EconomyThe ECB will not hike rates this year even if growth shifts into higher gear, but the market will probably price in a bit more monetary tightening in 2020 and 2021. This should help lift the euro. We recommend that investors position themselves for this by going long EUR/JPY. Relatedly, we are closing our short EUR/CAD trade for a gain of 3.9%.   The U.S. dollar tends to be a countercyclical currency, meaning that it moves in the opposite direction of the global business cycle (Chart 12). This countercyclicality stems from the fact that the U.S. is more geared towards services than manufacturing compared with most other economies (Chart 13). As such, when global growth accelerates, capital tends to flow from the U.S. to the rest of the world, translating into more demand for foreign currency and less demand for dollars. Chart 12The Dollar Is A Countercyclical Currency Chart 13The U.S. Is A Low-Beta Play On Global Growth A “patient” Fed and the prospect of stronger global growth in the second half of this year are bearish for the dollar. As such, we are closing our long DXY trade for a carry-adjusted gain of 16.4% and exiting our long USD/CNY trade for a loss of 3.1%. We are also closing our short AUD/CAD trade for a gain of 1.6%. Faster Chinese growth will boost metal prices, which is bullish for the Aussie dollar. Lastly, we are switching our short EUR/RUB trade (which is currently up 8.6%) into a short USD/RUB trade. A weaker greenback and stronger global growth will be manna from heaven for international stocks, especially when priced in U.S. dollars. Investors should prepare to move European and EM equities to overweight within a global equity portfolio during the coming weeks. A “patient” Fed and the prospect of stronger global growth in the second half of this year are bearish for the dollar. We are less keen on upgrading Japanese equities. While Japanese exporters will benefit from stronger Chinese growth, the domestic economy will be weighed down by the upcoming hike in the sales tax, which is slated to take place in October. Moreover, the yen is likely to experience headwinds as global bond yields rise in relation to JGB yields. Investors contemplating buying Japanese stocks should hedge any currency risk. Finally, the price of gold fell to $1275/ounce earlier this week, triggering our buy order. With the Fed on pause, the U.S. economy starting to overheat, and the dollar likely to trend lower, bullion could shine over the coming months.   Peter Berezin, Chief Global Strategist Global Investment Strategy peterb@bcaresearch.com Footnotes 1      Please see Global Investment Strategy Weekly Report, “Is There Really Too Much Government Debt In The World?” dated February 22, 2019, for a fuller discussion of this debt sustainability equation. 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Feature For a decade, mainstream economics has prescribed remedies for sluggish growth in the euro area on the basis of three articles of blind faith. First, that the ailment arises from structural impediments to growth; second, that in response to an ailing economy, ultra-loose monetary policy is always and everywhere effective; and third, that ‘Keynesian’ government stimuluses are at best a necessary evil and at worst a recipe for disaster. As a result, European policymakers have expended much time and energy attempting structural reforms, experimenting with ultra-loose monetary policy, while shirking government borrowing and spending. But have policymakers misdiagnosed the ailment? Chart of the WeekItaly’s Private Sector Is Paying Back Debt Why The Focus On Public Deficits And Debt Might Be Misplaced We frown upon government deficits. They are associated with crowding out and misallocation of resources. But when the private sector is running a financial surplus, the exact opposite is true. Government borrowing and spending causes no crowding out because the government is simply utilising the private sector’s surplus savings and debt repayments. And importantly, this deficit spending prevents a deflationary shrinkage of the broad money supply. Most people are aware of the size of government deficits. Few people are aware of the size of private sector surpluses; and the leakage from the national income stream that they create. By not making this connection, people might believe that government deficits are profligate. But if the private sector as a whole has a financial surplus, it makes sense for the government to borrow to support economic growth. In a similar vein, an economy’s debt sustainability depends on its total indebtedness, not on its public indebtedness or its private indebtedness in isolation. Debt becomes unsustainable when the marginal extra euro of debt results in misallocation of resources and mal-investment. At this point, the extra debt adds nothing to growth or, worse, it subtracts from growth. This is also the point at which lenders tend to be unwilling to provide the marginal loan. Therefore, debt reaches its sustainable limit when the economy has exhausted all productive uses for it. Deficit spending can prevent a deflationary shrinkage of the broad money supply. It does not matter whether these productive uses are funded with private debt or with public debt. For example, successful economies require investment in high-quality healthcare and education. Some economies fund this with private debt, while others fund it with public debt. This means that if productive private indebtedness is low, there is more scope for productive public indebtedness. Many people believe that Italy has one of the world’s most indebted economies. But this belief is wrong. Although Italy’s public indebtedness is high, Italy’s private indebtedness is one of the lowest in the world, making Italy’s total indebtedness less than that of France and the U.K., and broadly equal to that of the U.S. (Chart I-2-I-5). Crucially, Italy’s extremely low private indebtedness means that it could afford relatively high public indebtedness before reaching the limit of debt sustainability. Chart I-2Italy: Total Debt = 250% Of GDP Chart I-3France: Total Debt = 315% Of GDP Chart I-4U.K.: Total Debt = 280% Of GDP Chart I-5U.S: Total Debt = 250% Of GDP   Italy And Japan: Compare And Contrast In a normal world, the task of ensuring that private sector savings are borrowed and spent falls on the banks, which take in the savings and debt repayments and lend them out to others in the private sector who can make the best use of the funds. But if a dysfunctional banking system fails this task, the savings generated by the private sector will find no borrowers. The unrecycled funds become a leakage from the national income stream generating a persistent deflationary headwind for the economy. Welcome to Italy! Since 2008, the stock of loans to Italian households and firms has been stagnant while in real terms it has fallen (Chart of the Week). The upshot is that the real money supply has shrunk despite low private sector indebtedness, low interest rates and massive injections of ECB liquidity into the banking system. Japan’s public sector levering has been counterbalancing its private sector de-levering. After the 2008 global financial crisis Italian banks’ balance sheets were left unrepaired and undercapitalized. For an individual bank whose solvency is impaired, the right thing to do is shrink its loan book relative to its equity capital. But when the entire banking system is doing this simultaneously, the economy falls into a massive fallacy of composition: what is right for an individual bank becomes very deflationary when all banks are doing it together. Under these circumstances, an agent outside the fallacy of composition – namely, the government – must counter this deflationary headwind by borrowing and spending the un-recycled private sector savings. Welcome to Japan! The Japanese government has been doing precisely this for the past 25 years. Many people fret about the Japanese government’s persistent deficits and its ballooning public debt. What these people do not realise is that these persistent deficits are simply counterbalancing private sector de-levering. Hence, Japan’s all-important total (public plus private) indebtedness as a share of GDP has not been rising (Chart I-6). In Italy, the banking system has been dysfunctional for over a decade, preventing the private sector from borrowing (Chart I-7). Under these circumstances, the Italian government could borrow the private sector’s excess savings and debt repayments and put them to highly productive use, just like in Japan. Chart I-6Japan’s Persistent Deficits Have Been Counterbalancing Private Sector De-levering Chart I-7The Italian Banking System Has Been Dysfunctional Japan and Italy have quite similar demographics, but there is also a big difference. Despite the Japanese government’s persistent deficit and ballooning debt, the 10-year Japanese government bond seems not the slightest bit concerned and is yielding zero. Whereas in Italy, where the government finances are close to structural balance, the merest hint of a Keynesian stimulus sent the 10-year BTP yield rocketing towards 4 percent. Why? The answer is that Italy does not have its own central bank. The Japanese government bond yield is a direct function of the BoJ’s expected monetary policy. But the Italian BTP yield has two components: the ECB’s expected monetary policy plus a risk-premium for currency redenomination in the event that Italy left the euro. Italy’s problem is that even if modest deficit spending was the right policy, it would take time to prove. Meanwhile, bond vigilantes shoot first and ask questions later. The euro debt crisis was essentially a fear of currency redenomination which resulted from bond vigilantes running amok. When bond markets refuse to lend to sovereigns at a rational interest rate, maturing debt has to be refinanced at a penalising interest rate, causing an undeserved deterioration in the government’s finances. Thereby, the fear of redenomination could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In Italy, the banking system has been dysfunctional for over a decade. The bottom line is that every economy has its own ‘tipping-point’ interest rate, at which its debt financing can flip from stability to instability. But we believe this interest rate is low everywhere. Modern Monetary Theory Simplified Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is a hot topic of the moment. Our view is that its breakthrough is to establish the ‘appropriate’ public sector deficits in the context of private sector surpluses, and it simplifies to this question: In highly indebted economies, what is the interest rate needed to keep total (public plus private) indebtedness as a share of GDP stable, and prevent a deflationary shrinkage of the broad money supply? The answer differs slightly from economy to economy because private sector indebtedness is modestly rising in some places, stable in a few, while declining in others (Chart I-8).  But crucially, at a global level, total indebtedness is stabilising with the global bond yield within a historically depressed sideways channel (Chart I-9). Chart I-8Private Sector Indebtedness Is Not Rising As A Whole Chart I-9The Global Long Bond Yield Has Been In A Sideways Channel Admittedly, the global bond yield is now at the bottom of this channel. This means that from a tactical perspective, we can expect 10-year yields to go up about 50 bps before hitting the top of the channel. However, from a structural perspective, the interest rate needed to stabilise total indebtedness as a share of GDP now appears to be extremely low. And this means that structurally low bond yields are here to stay. Finally, I am excited to report that two of the main commentators on MMT – Richard Koo and Stephanie Kelton – are keynote speakers at our annual conference on September 26-27 in New York City. Suffice to say it will be an event not to be missed! Fractal Trading System* There are no new trades this week, leaving five open positions. For any investment, excessive trend following and groupthink can reach a natural point of instability, at which point the established trend is highly likely to break down with or without an external catalyst. An early warning sign is the investment’s fractal dimension approaching its natural lower bound. Encouragingly, this trigger has consistently identified countertrend moves of various magnitudes across all asset classes. Chart I-10 The post-June 9, 2016 fractal trading model rules are: When the fractal dimension approaches the lower limit after an investment has been in an established trend it is a potential trigger for a liquidity-triggered trend reversal. Therefore, open a countertrend position. The profit target is a one-third reversal of the preceding 13-week move. Apply a symmetrical stop-loss. Close the position at the profit target or stop-loss. Otherwise close the position after 13 weeks. Use the position size multiple to control risk. The position size will be smaller for more risky positions. *  For more details please see the European Investment Strategy Special Report “Fractals, Liquidity & A Trading Model,” dated December 11, 2014, available at eis.bcaresearch.com Dhaval Joshi, Chief European Investment Strategist dhaval@bcaresearch.com Fractal Trading System Recommendations Asset Allocation Equity Regional and Country Allocation Equity Sector Allocation Bond and Interest Rate Allocation Currency and Other Allocation Closed Fractal Trades Trades Closed Trades Asset Performance Currency & Bond Equity Sector Country Equity Indicators Bond Yields Chart II-1Indicators To Watch - Bond Yields Chart II-2Indicators To Watch - Bond Yields   Chart II-3Indicators To Watch - Bond Yields Chart II-4Indicators To Watch - Bond Yields   Interest Rate Chart II-5Indicators To Watch - Interest Rate Expectations Chart II-6Indicators To Watch - Interest Rate Expectations Chart II-7Indicators To Watch - Interest Rate Expectations Chart II-8Indicators To Watch - Interest Rate Expectations  

Special Report

Highlights Currency markets continue to fight a tug-of-war between deteriorating global growth and easing global financial conditions. Meanwhile, history suggests that the trade-weighted dollar should have been 10-15% higher, based on portfolio flows and interest rate differentials. The more-muted bounce is a cause for concern. As the battle unfolds, likely winners in the interim will be safe-haven currencies such as the yen. Watch the gold-to-bond ratio for cues on where the balance of forces are shifting, with a rising ratio negative for the dollar. We expect a day of reckoning to eventually arrive for the U.S. dollar, once investors shift their focus towards the rising twin deficits, de-dollarization of the global economy and low expected returns for U.S. assets. Feature The recent calm in developed currency markets seems very eerie, given the storm that has gripped global financial markets over the past week. Dismal manufacturing PMI readings from Europe and Japan last week sent equity markets into a tailspin. The closely watched U.S. 10-year versus 3-month spread inverted, triggering panic selling among investors who favor this spread as their most reliable recession indicator. Equity markets in Asia are off the year’s highs, while regional bond yields are holding close to trading lows. Outside of oil, commodity markets have also been soft. Despite these moves, the trade-weighted dollar has been relatively stable. Over the last few months, most currency pairs have been narrowly trading towards the apex of very tight wedge formations. This has severely dampened volatility (Chart 1). Over the longer term, the stability of these crosses relative to gold has spooky echoes of a fixed exchange rate regime a la Bretton Woods (Chart 2). Chart 1An Eerie Calm In Currency Markets Chart 2Fixed Exchange Rates Versus Gold?   In physics, centripetal systems tend to stay in equilibrium, while centrifugal forces can explode in spectacular fashion. In the post-Bretton Woods world, it has been very rare for periods of extended currency stability to persist. This means constantly monitoring both the trend and magnitude of imbalances between economies to gauge where the pressure points are, and in what direction the corresponding exchange rates might eventually give way. The balance of forces driving the dollar outlook seems like a natural starting point for this exercise.  Global Liquidity And The Dollar Judging by most measures of relative trends, the dollar should be soaring right now. The March Markit manufacturing PMI releases last week showed that while both Japan and the euro area remain in contraction territory, the U.S. reading of 52.5 puts it solidly above the rest of the world. It is true that the momentum of this leadership has been rolling over recently, but historically such large growth divergences between the U.S. and the rest of the world have generated anywhere from 10-15% rallies in the greenback over a period of six months (Chart 3). So far, the DXY dollar index is up 1.9% since October. Every time this measure has severely contracted in the past, the shortage of dollars has triggered a blowup somewhere. Until the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent volte-face on monetary policy, relative yields also favored the greenback. The 2-year swap differential between the U.S. and the rest of the world pinned the DXY dollar index at 105, or 8% above current levels (Chart 4). Meanwhile, relative policy rates also suggest the broad trade-weighted dollar should be 6% higher. And even today, unless the Fed moves towards outright rate cuts, the dovish shift by other central banks around the world remains an immediate tailwind for the U.S. dollar. Chart 3USD Should Be Higher Based On Growth Divergences   Chart 4USD Should Be Higher Based On Swap Differentials   Internationally, the Fed’s tapering of asset purchases has been a net drain on dollar liquidity, despite a widening U.S. current account deficit. The Fed’s balance sheet peaked a nudge above US$4.5 trillion in early 2015 and has been falling ever since. This has triggered a severe contraction in the U.S. monetary base (Chart 5), and severely curtailed commercial banks’ excess reserves, which are now contracting by over 20% on a year-on-year basis. One of BCA’s favorite key measures of international liquidity is foreign central bank reserves deposited at the Fed. This is contracting at its worst pace in over 40 years. Every time this measure has severely contracted in the past, the shortage of dollars has triggered a blowup somewhere, typically among countries running twin deficits. Chart 5A Liquidity Squeeze Of Dollars To cap it off, last year’s change in the U.S. tax code to allow for repatriation of offshore cash helped the dollar, but not to the extent that might have been expected. On a rolling 12-month basis, the U.S. has repatriated back a net of about $US400 billion in assets, or close to 2% of GDP. Historically, this is a very huge sum that would have had the potential to set the greenback on fire – circa 10% higher (Chart 6). Chart 6USD Should Be Higher On Repatriation Flows Dollar liquidity shortages tend to be vicious due to their ability to trigger negative feedback loops. As the velocity of international U.S. dollars rises, offshore dollar rates begin to rise, lifting the cost of capital for borrowing countries. Debt repayment replaces capital spending and consumption once this reaches a critical threshold. The drop in output, prices, or a combination of the two, only exacerbates the debt-deflation problem.  The bottom line is that looking at historical trends, the dollar should be much higher than current levels. Practical investors recognize the need to pay heed to correlation shifts. Either our favorite liquidity indicators have stopped working outright or more realistically other forces are at play, explaining the relative stability in the greenback. A Counter-Cyclical Currency The first possibility is that the recent stability in the U.S. dollar has been in anticipation of better economic data in the second half of this year. We have shown many times in the past that the greenback is a countercyclical currency that tends to do poorly when global economic momentum picks up. Many investors are now fixated on China – specifically, whether the latest credit injection will be sufficient to turn around the Chinese economy, let alone the rest of the world. Meanwhile, as the U.S.-China trade talks progress, it will likely include a currency clause to prevent depreciation of the RMB versus the dollar. In reality, there is still scant evidence to support a bottoming in global growth, making it difficult to loop this back to dollar stability.  In reality, there is still scant evidence to support a bottoming in global growth, making it difficult to loop this back to dollar stability. Typical reflation indicators such as commodity prices, emerging market currencies and industrial share prices are off their lows but rolling over. March export data remained weak globally, even though compositionally there were some green shoots. Exports to China from Singapore jumped by 34% year-on-year, and those to emerging markets by 22% year-on-year. Japanese machine tool orders from China also showed some stabilization. Historically, these are necessary but not sufficient conditions to gauge whether we are entering a bottoming process (Chart 7). Another contradiction is at play: If the dollar rally is being held back by prospects of improvement in global growth, then gold should fare poorly and most currencies should be outperforming both gold and the greenback. Until yesterday’s sell off in gold, this was not the case. Suggesting some other explanation might be tempering the U.S. dollar’s rise. Chart 7Tentative Green Shoots In Global Trade?   Regime Shift? While U.S. residents have been repatriating capital domestically, foreign investors have been fleeing U.S. capital markets at among the fastest pace in recent years. On a rolling 12-month total basis, the U.S. saw an exodus of about US$200 billion in equity from foreigners, the largest on record (Chart 8). In aggregate, both foreign official and private long-term portfolio investment into the U.S. has been rolling over, with investor interest limited only to agency and corporate bonds. Foreigners are still net buyers of about $450 billion in U.S. securities, but the downtrend in purchases in recent years is evident. Interestingly, gold has also outperformed Treasurys over this period. The U.S. dollar remains the reserve currency of the world today, but that exorbitant privilege is clearly fraying on the edges. Vis-à-vis official flows, China has risen within the ranks to be the number one contributor to the U.S. trade deficit. At the same time, Beijing has been destocking its holding of Treasurys, if only as retaliation against past U.S. policies, or perhaps to make room for the internationalization of the RMB (Chart 9). In a broader sense, the fall in dollar deposits at the Fed might just represent an underlying shift in the global economy away from dollars and towards a more diversified basket of currencies. This makes sense, given a growing proportion of trading – be it in crude, natural gas, bulk commodities or even softs – is being done outside U.S. exchanges. Chart 8Foreigners Are Dumping U.S. Equities   Chart 9China Has Stopped Recycling Surpluses Into Treasurys   Data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that the global allocation of foreign exchange reserves towards the U.S. dollar peaked at about 72% in the early 2000s and has been in a downtrend since. Meanwhile, allocation to other currencies, notably the British pound, Swiss franc and the yen have been surging (Chart 10). At the same time, foreign central banks have been amassing tremendous gold reserves, notably Russia and China, almost to the tune of the total annual output of the yellow metal (Chart 11). This further helps explain why the dollar may not be as strong as it should be. It also explains the stability of these currency pairs relative to the price of gold. Chart 10The World Is Diversifying Away From Dollars Chart 11Central Banks Are Absorbing Most Gold Production The U.S. dollar remains the reserve currency of the world today, but that exorbitant privilege is clearly fraying on the edges as the balance-of-payments dynamics are heading in the wrong direction. Over the next five years, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the U.S. budget deficit will swell to 4.5% of GDP. Assuming the current account deficit widens a bit then stabilizes, this will pin the twin deficits at 8.1% of GDP. This assumes no recession, which would have the potential to swell the deficit even further (Chart 12). Chart 12A Twin Deficit Cliff For The Dollar The U.S. saw its twin deficits swell to almost 13% of GDP following the financial crisis, but the difference then was that in the wake of the commodity boom the dollar was cheap (and commodity currencies overvalued). The subsequent shale revolution also greatly cushioned the U.S. trade deficit. Shale productivity remains robust and U.S. output will continue to rise, but the low-hanging fruit has already been plucked. For one reason or another, foreign central banks are diversifying out of dollars. If due to the changing landscape in trade, this is set to continue. If it is an excuse to shy away from the rapidly rising U.S. twin deficits, this will continue as well. And if the U.S. dollar cannot sufficiently rally on “good news,” expect it to sink when the bad news eventually starts rolling in. That said, the timing remains uncertain.   Private Capital Flows Foreign official flows might have been fleeing the U.S. dollar because it has lost some luster as a reserve currency, but private capital will begin stampeding toward the exits when the return on invested capital (ROIC) for U.S. assets falls below their cost of capital. For investors with a long horizon, this may already be happening. Take 10-year government bonds for example. For the Japanese or German investor, borrowing in local currency and investing in the U.S. might seem like the logical course of action given negative domestic rates and a 10-year Treasury yield of 2.4%. However, this positive carry suddenly evaporates when one factors in hedging costs (Chart 13). Chart 13JGBs More Attractive Than Hedged Treasuries During bull markets, countries that have negative interest rates are subject to powerful outflows from carry trades. The impact of these are difficult to measure, but it is fair to assume that periods of low hedging costs (which tend to correspond to periods of lower volatility) can be powerful catalysts. As markets get volatile and these trades get unwound, unhedged trades become victim to short-covering flows. With many yield curves around the world inverting, the danger is that the frequency of this short-covering implicitly rises, since long-bond returns are falling short of spot rates. One winner as volatility starts to rise is the yen. Investors should consider initiating short USD/JPY positions today as a hedge. Outside the fixed-income space, what matters is that relative ROICs are higher than the cost of capital. Both are difficult to measure for many emerging or even developed economies across asset classes. However, for the equity market, a good starting point has always been valuations as exchange rates tend to move to equalize returns across countries. The forward P/E on the MSCI U.S., Europe and Japan indexes is 16.5x, 12.6x and 12.3x. The skew towards the U.S. is because market participants expect U.S. profits to keep outperforming, the U.S. currency to keep appreciating, or a combination of the two. However, empirically, current U.S. valuations suggest future earning streams have already been fully capitalized today (Chart 14). Chart 14AReturn On Capital Could Be Lowest In The U.S. (1) Chart 14BReturn On Capital Could Be Lowest In The U.S. (2) Chart 14CReturn On Capital Could Be Lowest In The U.S. (3) The expected 10-year annualized return for MSCI U.S. is 3.1%, versus 5.5% for MSCI Europe and 9.6% for MSCI Japan. If we assume the U.S. dollar is overvalued, as some models suggest, this will further erode future U.S. returns. Net equity portfolio flows into the U.S. are already negative, as shown in a previous chart. This means the day of reckoning for the U.S. dollar may not be far off when current tailwinds eventually fade.   Chester Ntonifor, Foreign Exchange Strategist chestern@bcaresearch.com Trades & Forecasts Forecast Summary Core Portfolio Tactical Trades Closed Trades

Highlights It may seem self-evident that most governments are overly indebted, but both theory and evidence suggest otherwise. Higher debt today does not require higher taxes tomorrow if the growth rate of the economy exceeds the interest rate on government bonds. Not only is that currently the case, but it has been the norm for most of history. Unlike private firms or households, governments can choose the interest rate at which they borrow, provided that they issue debt in their own currencies. Ultimately, inflation is the only constraint to how large fiscal deficits can get. Today, most governments would welcome higher inflation. There are increasing signs China is abandoning its deleveraging campaign. Fiscal policy will remain highly accommodative in the U.S. and will turn somewhat more stimulative in Europe. Remain overweight global equities/underweight bonds. We do not have a strong regional equity preference at the moment, but expect to turn more bullish on EM versus DM by the middle of this year. Feature A Fiscal Non-Problem? Debt levels in advanced economies are higher today than they were on the eve of the Global Financial Crisis. Rising private debt accounts for some of this increase, but the lion’s share has occurred in government debt (Chart 1). Chart 1Global Debt Levels Have Risen, Especially In The Public Sector Not surprisingly, rising public debt levels have elicited plenty of consternation. While there has been a lively debate about how fast governments should tighten their belts, few have disputed the seemingly self-evident opinion that some degree of “fiscal consolidation” is warranted. Given this consensus view, one would think that the economic case for public debt levels being too high is airtight. It’s not. Far from it. Debt Sustainability, Quantified Start with the classic condition for debt sustainability, which specifies the primary fiscal balance (i.e., the overall balance excluding interest payments) necessary to maintain a constant debt-to-GDP ratio (See Box 1 for a derivation of this equation).   An increase in the economy’s growth rate (g), or a decrease in real interest rates (r), would allow the government to loosen the primary fiscal balance without causing the debt-to-GDP ratio to increase (Chart 2).1 If the government were to ease fiscal policy beyond that point, debt would rise in relation to GDP. But by how much? It is tempting to assume that the debt-to-GDP ratio would then begin to increase exponentially. However, that is only true if the interest rate is higher than the growth rate of the economy. If the opposite were true, the debt-to-GDP ratio would rise initially but then flatten out at a higher level.2 A Fiscal Free Lunch The last point is worth emphasizing. As long as the interest rate is below the economic growth rate, then any primary fiscal balance – even a permanent deficit of 20%, or even 30% of GDP – would be consistent with a stable long-term debt-to-GDP ratio. In such a setting, the government could just indefinitely rollover the existing stock of debt, while issuing enough new debt to cover interest payments. No additional taxes would be necessary. In fact, stabilizing the debt-to-GDP ratio becomes easier the higher it rises. Chart 3 shows this point analytically.    Ah, one might say: If the government issues a lot of debt, then interest rates would rise, and before we know it, we are back in a world where the borrowing rate is above the economy’s growth rate, at which point the debt dynamics go haywire. Now, that sounds like a sensible statement, but it is actually quite misleading. As long as a government is able to issue its own currency, it can always create money to pay for whatever it purchases. If people want to turn around and use that money to buy bonds, they are welcome to do so, but the government is under no obligation to pay them the interest rate that they want. If they do not wish to hold cash, they can always use the cash to buy goods and services or exchange it for foreign currency. As long as a government is able to issue its own currency, it can always create money to pay for whatever it purchases. Wouldn’t that cause inflation and currency devaluation? Yes, it might, and that’s the real constraint: What limits the ability of governments with printing presses to run large deficits is not the inability to finance them. Rather, it is the risk that their citizens will treat their currencies as hot potatoes, rushing to exchange them for goods and services out of fear that rising prices will erode the purchasing power of their cash holdings. When Is Saving Desirable? The reason governments pay interest on bonds is because they want people to save more. However, more savings is not necessarily a good thing. This is obviously the case when an economy is depressed, but it may even be true when an economy is at full employment. Just like someone can work so much that they have no time left over for leisure, or buy a house so big that they spend all their time maintaining it, it is possible for an economy to save too much, leading to an excess of capital accumulation. Under such circumstances, steady-state consumption will be permanently depressed because so much of the economy’s resources are going towards replenishing the depreciation of the economy’s capital stock.  Economists have a name for this condition: “dynamic inefficiency.” What determines whether an economy is dynamically inefficient? As it turns out, the answer is the same as the one that determines whether debt ratios are on an explosive path or not: The difference between the interest rate and the economy’s growth rate. Economies where interest rates are below the growth rate will tend to suffer from excess savings. In that case, government deficits, to the extent that they soak up national savings, may increase national welfare.   r < g Has Been The Norm Today, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield stands at 2.69%, compared to the OECD’s projection of nominal GDP growth of 3.8% over the next decade. The gap between projected growth and bond yields is even greater in other major economies (Chart 4). Granted, equilibrium real rates are likely to rise over the next few years as spare capacity is absorbed. Structural factors might also push up real rates over time. Most notably, the retirement of baby boomers could significantly curb income growth, leading to a decline in national savings. Chart 5 shows that the ratio of workers-to-consumers globally is in the process of peaking after a three-decade long ascent. Economic growth could also fall if cognitive abilities continue to deteriorate, a worrying trend we discussed in a recent Special Report.3 Chart 5The Global Worker-To-Consumer Ratio Has Peaked It may take a while before real rates rise above GDP growth. Still, it may take a while before real rates rise above GDP growth. As Olivier Blanchard, the former chief economist at the IMF, noted in his Presidential Address to the American Economics Association earlier this year, periods in U.S. history where GDP growth exceeds interest rates have been the rule rather than the exception (Chart 6).4 The same has been true for most other economies.5 Chart 6GDP Growth Above Interest Rates: Historically, The Rule, Not The Exception What’s Next For Fiscal Policy? Austerity fatigue has set in. In the U.S., fiscally conservative Republicans, if they ever really existed, are a dying breed. Trump’s big budget deficits and his “I love debt” mantra are the waves of the future. For their part, the Democrats are shifting to the left, with the “Green New Deal” proposal being the latest manifestation. The case for fiscal stimulus is stronger in the euro area than for the United States. The European Commission expects the euro area to see a positive fiscal thrust of 0.40% of GDP this year, up from a thrust of 0.05% of GDP last year (Chart 7). This should help support growth. Chart 7The Euro Area Will Benefit From A Modest Amount Of Fiscal Easing This Year Additional fiscal easing would be feasible. This is clearly true in Germany, but even in Italy, the cyclically-adjusted government primary surplus is larger than what is necessary to stabilize the debt ratio.6 Unfortunately, the situation in southern Europe is greatly complicated by the ECB’s inability to act as an unconditional lender of last resort to individual sovereign borrowers. When a government cannot print its own currency, its debt markets can be subject to multiple equilibria. Under such circumstances, a vicious spiral can develop where rising bond yields lead investors to assign a higher default risk, thus leading to even higher yields (Chart 8).   Mario Draghi’s now-famous “whatever it takes” pledge has gone a long way towards reassuring bond investors. Nevertheless, given the political constraints the ECB faces, it is doubtful that Italy or other indebted economies in the euro area will be able to pursue large-scale stimulus. Instead, the ECB will keep interest rates at exceptionally low levels. A new round of TLTROs is also looking increasingly likely, which should protect against a rise in bank funding costs and a potential credit crunch. Our European team believes that a TLTRO extension would be particularly helpful to Italian banks.  Even in Italy, the cyclically-adjusted government primary surplus is larger than what is necessary to stabilize the debt ratio. Despite having one of the highest sovereign debt ratios in the world, Japan faces no pressing need to tighten fiscal policy. Instead of raising the sales tax this October, the government should be cutting it. A loosening of fiscal policy would actually improve debt sustainability if, as is likely, a larger budget deficit leads to somewhat higher inflation (and thus, lower real borrowing rates) and, at least temporarily, faster GDP growth. We expect the Abe government to counteract at least part of the sales tax increase with new fiscal measures, and ultimately to abandon plans for further fiscal tightening over the next few years. In the EM space, Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa are among a handful of economies with vulnerable fiscal positions. They all have borrowing rates that exceed the growth rate of the economy, cyclically-adjusted primary budget deficits, and above-average levels of sovereign debt (Chart 9).   In contrast, China stands out as having the biggest positive gap between projected GDP growth and sovereign borrowing rates of any major economy. The problem is that the main borrowers have been state-owned companies and local governments, neither of which are backstopped by the state. Not officially, anyway. Unofficially, the government has been extremely reluctant to allow large-scale defaults anywhere in the economy. Despite all the rhetoric about market-based reforms, they are unlikely to start now. Historically, the Chinese government has allowed credit growth to reaccelerate whenever it has fallen towards nominal GDP growth. As we recently argued in a report entitled “China’s Savings Problem,” China needs more debt to sustain aggregate demand.7 Historically, the government has allowed credit growth to reaccelerate whenever it has fallen towards nominal GDP growth (Chart 10). The stronger-than-expected jump in credit origination in January suggests that we are approaching such an inflection point. Chart 10Historically, China Has Scaled Back On Deleveraging When Credit Growth Has Fallen Close To Nominal GDP Growth Investment Conclusions The consensus economic view is that deflation is a much harder problem to overcome than inflation. When dealing with inflation, all you have to do is raise interest rates and eventually the economy will cool down. With deflation, however, a central bank could very quickly find itself up against the zero lower bound constraint on interest rates, unable to ease policy any further via conventional means. While this standard argument is correct, it takes a very monetary policy-centric view of macroeconomic policy. When interest rates are low, fiscal policy becomes very potent. Indeed, the whole notion that deflation is a bigger problem than inflation is rather peculiar. Just as it is easier to consume resources than to produce them, it should be easier to get people to spend than to save. People like to spend. And even if they didn’t, governments could go out and buy goods and services directly. Looking out, our bet is that policymakers will increasingly lean towards the ever-more fiscal stimulus. If structural trends end up causing the so-called neutral rate of interest to rise – the rate of interest that is necessary to avoid overheating – policymakers will have no choice but to eventually raise rates and tighten fiscal policy (Box 2). However, they will only do so begrudgingly. The result, at least temporarily, will be higher inflation. Fixed-income investors should maintain below benchmark duration exposure over both a cyclical and structural horizon. Reflationary policies that increase nominal GDP growth will help support equities, at least over the next 12 months. Chart 11 shows that corporate earnings tend to accelerate whenever nominal GDP growth rises. We upgraded global equities to overweight following the December FOMC meeting selloff. While our enthusiasm for stocks has waned with the year-to-date rally, we are sticking with our bullish bias. Chart 11Earnings And Nominal GDP Growth Tend To Move In Lock-Step A reacceleration in Chinese credit growth will put a bottom under both Chinese and global growth by the middle of this year. As a countercyclical currency, the dollar will likely come under pressure in the second half of this year. Until then, we expect the greenback to be flat-to-modestly stronger. The combination of faster global growth and a weaker dollar later this year will be manna from heaven for emerging markets. We closed our put on the EEM ETF for a gain of 104% on Jan 3rd, and are now outright long EM equities. I do not have a strong view on the relative performance of EM versus DM at the moment, but expect to shift EM equities to overweight by this summer.8 Peter Berezin, Chief Global Strategist Global Investment Strategy peterb@bcaresearch.com   Box 1 The Arithmetic Of Debt Sustainability   Box 2 Debt Sustainability And Full Employment: The Role Of Fiscal And Monetary Policy Policymakers should strive to stabilize the ratio of debt-to-GDP over the long haul, while also ensuring that the economy stays near full employment. The accompanying chart shows the tradeoffs involved. The DD schedule depicts the combination of the primary fiscal balance and the gap between the borrowing rate and GDP growth (r minus g) that is consistent with a stable debt-to-GDP ratio. In line with the debt sustainability equation derived in Box 1, the slope of the DD schedule is simply equal to the debt/GDP ratio. Any point below the DD schedule is one where the debt-to-GDP ratio is rising, while any point above is one where the ratio is falling. The EE schedule depicts the combination of the primary fiscal balance and r - g that keeps the economy at full employment. The schedule is downward-sloping because an increase in the primary fiscal balance implies a tightening of fiscal policy, and hence requires an offsetting decline in interest rates. Any point above the EE schedule is one where the economy is operating at less than full employment. Any point below the EE schedule is one where the economy is operating beyond full employment and hence overheating. Suppose there is a structural shift in the economy that causes the neutral rate of interest – the rate of interest consistent with full employment and stable inflation – to increase. In that case, the EE schedule would shift to the right: For any level of the fiscal primary balance, the economy would need a higher interest rate to avoid overheating. The arrows show three possible “transition paths” to a new equilibrium. Scenario #1 is one where policymakers raise rates quickly but are slow to tighten fiscal policy. This results in a higher debt-to-GDP ratio. Scenario #2 is one where policymakers tighten fiscal policy quickly but are slow to raise rates. This results in a lower debt-to-GDP ratio. Scenario #3 is one where the government drags its feet in both raising rates and tightening fiscal policy. As the economy overheats, real rates actually decline, sending the arrow initially to the left. This effectively allows policymakers to inflate away the debt, leading to a lower debt-to-GDP ratio. Note: In Scenario #2, and especially in Scenario #3, the DD line will become flatter (not shown on the chart to avoid clutter). Consequently, the final equilibrium will be one where real rates are somewhat higher, but the primary fiscal balance is somewhat lower, than in Scenario #1.   Footnotes 1          One can equally define the interest rate and GDP growth rate in nominal terms (see Box 1 for details).  2       Japan is a good example of this point. The primary budget deficit averaged 5% of GDP between 1993 and 2010, a period when government net debt rose from 20% of GDP to 142% of GDP. Since then, Japan’s primary deficit has averaged 5.1% of GDP, but net debt has risen to only 156% of GDP (and has been largely stable for the past two years). 3      Please see Global Investment Strategy Special Report, “The Most Important Trend In The World Has Reversed And Nobody Knows Why,” dated February 1, 2019. 4      Olivier Blanchard, “Public Debt And Low Interest Rates,” Peterson Institute for International Economics and MIT American Economic Association (AEA) Presidential Address, (January 2019). 5      Paolo Mauro, Rafael Romeu, Ariel Binder, and Asad Zaman, “A Modern History Of Fiscal Prudence And Profligacy,” IMF Working Paper, (January 2013). 6      The Italian 10-year bond yield is 2.83% while nominal GDP growth is 2.64%. Multiplying the difference by net debt of 118% of GDP results in a required primary surplus of .22% of GDP that is necessary to stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio. This is lower than the IMF’s 2018 estimate of cyclically-adjusted government primary surplus of 2.14%. 7      Please see Global Investment Strategy Weekly Report, “China’s Savings Problem,” dated January 25, 2019. 8      Please note that my colleague, Arthur Budaghyan, BCA’s Chief EM strategist, remains bearish on both EM and DM equities and expects EM to underperform DM over the coming months. Strategy & Market Trends MacroQuant Model And Current Subjective Scores Tactical Trades Strategic Recommendations Closed Trades        

Highlights We would fade fears of an “earnings recession.” EPS growth should increase during the remainder of this year. While high debt burdens around the world may exacerbate deflationary pressures by restraining spending, they may also motivate policymakers to raise inflation in order to reduce the real value of outstanding debt. Ultimately, whether high debt levels turn out to be deflationary or inflationary depends on the extent to which policymakers have both an incentive and the means to increase inflation. The spread of political populism has made governments more inclined to boost nominal incomes by allowing economies to overheat. Central bankers have also become increasingly convinced that they should wait to see “the whites of inflation’s eyes” before tightening monetary policy any further. With inflation expectations still well anchored, it may take at least another 18 months for inflation in the U.S. to break out, and longer still elsewhere. Stay bullish on global stocks for now. However, be prepared to dial back equity exposure late next year, while shifting bond duration to a maximum underweight. Feature Fade Fears Of An “Earnings Recession” We upgraded global stocks in December following the post-FOMC meeting selloff. Our recommendation to go long the MSCI All-Country World Index has gained 9.0% since we initiated it. Although our enthusiasm for stocks has waned somewhat given the recent run-up, we continue to see upside for global bourses over the next 12-to-18 months. Admittedly, earnings growth has come down sharply from a year ago. To some extent, this reflects base effects (U.S. EPS rose by 23% in Q1 of 2018, thanks in part to the tax cuts). However, slower global growth and higher tariffs have also taken their toll. The good news is that the trade war is likely to stay on hiatus over the coming months. We also expect nominal GDP growth in the U.S. and the rest of the world to pick up by the middle of this year. Chart 1 shows that earnings growth tends to move in lock-step with nominal GDP growth. Chart 1Earnings And Nominal GDP Growth Move In Lock-Step Equity prices usually bottom when earnings growth bottoms (Chart 2). Analyst estimates based on IBES data foresee EPS growth troughing in Q1 and then accelerating modestly over the remainder of the year. If this happens, global equities will move higher over the coming months. What’s The Bigger Risk? Deflation Or Inflation? Last week, we argued that the next global economic downturn would probably be sparked by a surge in inflation which forces central banks to raise interest rates more aggressively than they would like.1 Given the absence of inflationary pressures today, and the still-ample spare capacity that exists in many economies, we noted that such an outcome is far from imminent. This implies that the global expansion still has plenty of room to run, thus justifying an overweight stance towards risk assets. One common objection to this thesis posits that deflation, rather than inflation, is the main risk to the global economy. And unlike its inflationary cousin, the next deflationary shock could be lurking just around the corner. Italy serves as a good example of the dangers of high debt levels. While many things can contribute to deflationary pressures, elevated debt levels are often cited as being the most important. An excessive debt burden can lead to a prolonged period of deleveraging. Since borrowers typically spend a larger share of their cash flows than lenders, overall spending could decline, leading to lower prices and wages. High debt levels can also make an economy vulnerable to interest-rate shocks. This is particularly the case when a country is reliant on external debt or issues debt in a currency it does not control. The Italian Lesson Italy serves as a good example of the dangers of high debt levels. Italy entered the euro area with one of the highest public debt ratios in the world. Private debt also soared in anticipation of euro membership as well as during the period leading up to the Global Financial Crisis, almost doubling as a share of GDP between 1998 and 2008 (Chart 3). Chart 3Italy's Debt Inferno Worries about high indebtedness, poor growth prospects, and contagion from Greece sent the 10-year Italian bond yield to nearly 7.5% on November 9, 2011. Yields tumbled after Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the common currency, but rose again last April after Italians brought an anti-austerity populist government into power. Today, the Italian government finds itself in the unenviable position of having to devote 3.4% of GDP to interest payments, more than double the euro area average (Chart 4). Domestic investors own less than half of Italian government debt, so most of those interest payments do little to stimulate domestic spending. Chart 4The Italian Government's Interest Payments Are Higher Than Elsewhere In The Euro Area The Inflation Solution When debt reaches elevated levels, faster nominal growth via higher inflation becomes an increasingly appealing solution for reducing debt ratios. A one percentage-point increase in nominal GDP will cut debt-to-GDP by half a percentage point when it stands at 50%, but by three full percentage points when it stands at 300%. Given the attractiveness of inflating away debt burdens, why don’t more governments pursue this strategy? Part of the answer is politics. The long history of hyperinflation in Europe and many other economies has cast a long shadow over how central banks operate. Unanticipated inflation also redistributes wealth from creditors to debtors. While the latter usually outnumber the former, the former typically have more political sway. Means And Opportunities Political will is a necessary condition for generating inflation, but it is not a sufficient one. Policymakers also need to possess the ability to accomplish their goal. What determines whether they will succeed? The answer, to a large extent, is the level of the neutral rate of interest. The neutral rate of interest is the long-term interest rate that is appropriate for the economy. When interest rates are above the neutral rate, growth will tend to fall below trend, while inflation will decline. Conversely, when rates are below their neutral level, the economy will grow at an above-trend pace and inflation will accelerate. Many things can influence the neutral rate of interest. These include: Trend GDP growth: Faster growth will incentivize firms to expand capacity in anticipation of rising demand. This will push up the neutral rate of interest. National savings: Lower taxes and increased government spending will drain national savings, while stimulating aggregate demand. This will push up the neutral rate of interest. Likewise, a decrease in private-sector savings — whether it be the result of easier access to credit or greater optimism about future income growth — will raise the neutral rate. The capital intensity of the economy: Economies that require a lot of physical capital will tend to have a higher neutral rate of interest. By the same token, economies where the capital stock needs to be replenished quickly in order to offset depreciation will have a higher neutral rate of interest.  The exchange rate: A weaker exchange rate will boost net exports. This resulting increase in aggregate demand will translate into a higher neutral rate of interest. With the exception of the currency effect, all of the factors listed above are captured by the canonical Solow growth model which undergraduate economics students usually encounter in their studies (See Appendix 1 for a derivation of the neutral rate of interest in this model). Inflation And The Neutral Rate Economists tend to define the neutral rate in real terms. However, when thinking about inflation, it is useful to consider the neutral rate’s nominal counterpart. Conceptually, the nominal neutral rate of interest can be either negative or positive. When the nominal neutral rate is negative, even a policy rate of zero will be insufficient to allow the economy to overheat. One might call this outcome the “strong form” version of the secular stagnation thesis. In contrast, when the neutral rate is low, but still positive, an interest rate of close to zero will be low enough to allow the economy to overheat, which will eventually generate inflation. One may refer to this as the “weak form” version of the secular stagnation thesis. Political will is a necessary condition for generating inflation, but it is not a sufficient one. The Danger Of Strong-Form Secular Stagnation In situations where the strong form version of secular stagnation prevails, deflationary pressures will feed on themselves. If an economy suffers from a chronic shortfall of aggregate demand, inflation is liable to drift lower. A lower inflation rate will push down the nominal interest rate that is consistent with any given real rate. For example, if the economy requires a real rate of -1% in order to grow at trend and inflation is 2%, a 1% nominal rate will suffice. But if inflation is 0%, then the policy rate would need to be -1%, which may be difficult to achieve. Japan serves as a case study for how this vicious circle can unfold. Following the simultaneous bursting of the property and stock market bubbles in the early 1990s, the Japanese private sector entered a prolonged deleveraging cycle. Inflation drifted steadily lower, ultimately falling into negative territory during the 1997-98 Asian Crisis (Chart 5). High debt levels in Japan were deflationary because the nominal neutral rate of interest was negative. Even if the Bank of Japan wanted to, it was greatly constrained in its ability to raise inflation. Chart 5Japan: A Case Study In Strong-Form Secular Stagnation Europe Is Not Japan… Yet Next to Japan, the euro area comes the closest to meeting the criteria for strong form secular stagnation. The euro area has low trend growth, owing to its slow population growth rate, as well as a banking system that is still focused on deleveraging. There is a silver lining, however: Despite the many woes the euro area has experienced, long-term inflation expectations are still over 100 basis points higher than in Japan (Chart 6). Fiscal policy is also turning somewhat more accommodative. Our base case is that the ECB will be slow to unwind its balance sheet and will only raise rates if the economy is showing more verve. This should be enough to move inflation towards target over the next two years. Chart 6Long-Term Inflation Expectations In The Euro Area Are Still Well Above Japanese Levels Inflation In The U.S. When inflation does break out early next decade, it will probably happen first in the United States. A large structural budget deficit and the revival of credit growth to the household sector following an intense period of deleveraging have boosted the neutral rate of interest. An overheated labor market is driving up real wages, which will lead to more consumer spending. December’s weaker-than-expected retail sales report will prove to be a fluke. Not only was it influenced by the sharp drop in the stock market and worries about a pending government shutdown (both of which have reversed), but the report itself was probably compromised by delays in the collection of data, which may have pushed some responses into January (historically, the weakest month for retail sales). This interpretation is consistent with strong holiday sales reported by online retailers and solid growth in the Johnson Redbook index of same-store sales. The latter captures over 80% of the sales surveyed by the Department of Commerce in its retail sales report, and featured a 9.3% year-over-year increase in sales in the final week of December, the fastest since the start of this series in 1997 (Chart 7). Chart 7The December Retail Sales Report Was Probably A Fluke Yes, corporate debt in the U.S. is high, but it is not particularly elevated relative to most other countries (Chart 8). Despite the collapse in equity prices and the spike in credit spreads late last year, U.S. corporations are still eager to expand capacity (Chart 9). This is not an economy teetering on the brink of recession. Chart 8U.S. Corporate Debt Is Not Extreme By Global Standards Chart 9U.S. Capex Plans Have Come Off Their Highs, But Remain Solid Policymakers in the U.S., and in much of the world, have grown more comfortable in letting economies overheat. Whether it be Trump’s unfunded tax cuts or the “Green New Deal” championed by the more liberal members of the Democratic Party, fiscal stimulus is in, austerity is out. Policymakers in the U.S., and in much of the world, have grown more comfortable in letting economies overheat. Even mainstream voices have given their nod of approval. Just this week, former IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard argued that the U.S. could safely increase public debt without endangering economic stability.2 Meanwhile, central banks have increasingly bought into the mantra, famously espoused by Larry Summers, that they should wait to see the “the whites of inflation’s eyes” before tightening monetary policy.3 What this mantra overlooks is that inflation is a highly lagging indicator. By the time you see the whites of a tiger’s eyes, you are already destined to be its dinner. Investment Conclusions The spread of populist economic policies offers a one-two punch to inflation. Not only are populist prescriptions apt to stimulate demand, but that stimulus will raise the neutral rate of interest, thereby giving central banks greater traction to further boost spending by keeping rates below their neutral level. For investors, this implies a dichotomy between the medium-term and longer-term asset market outlook. Easy money policies are a boon to risk assets when they are first introduced, as they typically combine low interest rates with fast nominal GDP growth. But the path to higher rates is lined with lower rates, meaning that the longer central banks keep rates below their neutral level, the more economies will overheat, and the larger the eventual inflation overshoot will be. As growth outside the U.S. begins to accelerate in the second half of 2019, the dollar will come under downward pressure. As such, investors should overweight global equities and high-yield credit for the next 12 months. However, be prepared to dial back equity exposure late next year, while shifting bond duration to a maximum underweight. In terms of regional equity allocation, we continue to see global growth bottoming by the middle of this year. As growth outside the U.S. begins to accelerate in the second half of 2019, the dollar will come under downward pressure. The resulting reflationary impulse will be manna from heaven for the more cyclically-sensitive sectors of the stock market, as well as Europe and EM. Peter Berezin, Chief Global Strategist Global Investment Strategy peterb@bcaresearch.com   Laura Gu Research Associate Footnotes 1      Please see Global Investment Strategy Weekly Report, “Minsky’s Corollary,” dated February 8, 2019. 2       Olivier Blanchard, “Public Debt and Low Interest Rates,” Peterson Institute for International Economics and MIT American Economic Association (AEA) Presidential Address, (January 2019); Noah Smith, “The U.S. Can Take on a Lot More Debt Within Limits,” Bloomberg Opinion, (February 2019). 3      Lawrence Summers, “Only raise US rates when whites of inflation’s eyes are visible,” Financial Times, (February 2015). Strategy & Market Trends MacroQuant Model And Current Subjective Scores Tactical Trades Strategic Recommendations Closed Trades

Special Report

Dear Client, This week we are sending you two Special Reports. One report deals with the outlook for U.S. fiscal policy and government debt. It was written by Mark McClellan, Chief Strategist of the monthly Bank Credit Analyst, and was first published in the July edition of that publication. We are also sending a Special Report on the topic of global yield curves that was written by Chief Global Fixed Income Strategist Robert Robis. We trust you will find both reports very informative. Best regards, Ryan Swift Highlights Congress is conducting a major economic experiment that has never been attempted in the U.S. outside of wartime; substantial fiscal stimulus when the economy is already at full employment. The budget deficit is on track to surpass 6% of GDP in a few years. It would likely peak above 8% in the case of a recession. The alarming long-term U.S. fiscal outlook is well known, but it has just become far worse. The combination of rising life expectancy and a decline in the ratio of taxpayers to retirees will place growing financial strains on the Social Security and Medicare systems. The federal government will be spilling far more red ink over the next decade than during any economic expansion phase since the 1940s. The debt/GDP ratio could surpass the previous peak set during WWII within 12 years. Shockingly large budget deficits in the past have sparked some attempt in Congress to limit the damage. Unfortunately, there will be little appetite to tighten the fiscal purse strings for the next decade. Voters have shifted to the left and politicians are following along. Factors that explain the political shift include disappointing income growth, income inequality, and rising political clout for Millennials, Hispanics and the elderly. Fiscal conservatism is out of fashion and this is unlikely to change over the next decade, no matter which party is in power. This means that a market riot will be required to shake voters and the political establishment into making the tough decisions necessary. While the U.S. is not at imminent risk of a market riot over the deteriorating fiscal trends, there are costs: in the long-term, the dollar will be weaker, borrowing rates will be higher and living standards will be lower than otherwise would be the case. Feature Profligacy: (Noun) Unconstrained by convention or morality. Congress is conducting a major economic experiment that has never been attempted before in the U.S. outside of wartime; substantial fiscal stimulus at a time when the economy is already at full employment. Investors are celebrating the growth-positive aspects of the new fiscal tailwind at the moment, but it may wind up generating a party that is followed by a hangover as the Fed is forced to lean hard against the resulting inflationary pressures. Moreover, even in the absence of a recession, the federal government will likely be spilling far more red ink than during any economic expansion since the 1940s (Chart 1). What are the long-term implications of this macro experiment? Will the U.S. continue to easily fund large and sustained budget deficits? Chart 1U.S. Deficits Will Be Extremely Large For A Non-Recessionary Period Historically, shockingly large budget deficits sparked some attempt by Congress to limit the damage. Unfortunately, we argue in this Special Report that there will be little appetite to tighten the fiscal purse strings for the next decade. Voters have shifted to the left and politicians are following along. While the U.S. is not at imminent risk of a market riot over the deteriorating fiscal trends, the dollar will be weaker, borrowing rates will be higher and living standards will be lower than otherwise would be the case. On The Bright Side The Trump tax cuts, the immediate expensing of capital spending and a lighter regulatory touch have stirred animal spirits in the U.S. The Administration's trade policies are a source of concern, but CEO confidence is generally high. The NFIB survey highlights that small business owners are almost euphoric regarding the outlook. The IMF estimates that the tax cuts and less restrictive spending caps will provide a direct fiscal thrust of 0.8% in 2018 and 0.9% in 2019 (Chart 2). The overall impact on the economy over the next 12-18 months could be larger to the extent that business leaders follow through on their newfound bullishness and ramp up capital spending. Chart 2Lots Of Fiscal Stimulus In 2018 And 2019 Fiscal policy is a clear positive for stocks and other risk assets in the near term, as long as inflation is slow to respond. In addition to the near-term boost, there will be longer-term benefits from the 2017 tax act. Various provisions of the act affect the long-run productive potential of the U.S. economy, by promoting increases in investment and labor supply. Corporate tax cuts and the full expensing of business capital outlays should permanently increase the nation's capital stock relative to what it otherwise would be, leading to a slightly faster trend pace of productivity growth. Similarly, lower income taxes are projected to encourage more people to enter the workforce or to work longer hours. The CBO estimates that the tax act will boost the level of potential real GDP by 0.9% by the middle of the next decade. This may not sound like much, but it translates into almost a million extra jobs. The supply-side benefits of the 2017 tax act are therefore meaningful. Unfortunately, given the lack of offsetting spending cuts, it comes at the cost of a dramatically worse medium- and long-term outlook for government debt. The CBO estimates that the recent changes in fiscal policy will cumulatively add $1.7 trillion to the federal government's debt pile, relative to the previous baseline (Chart 3). The annual deficit is projected to surpass $1 trillion in 2020, and peak as a share of GDP at 5.4% in 2022. Federal government debt held by the private sector will rise from 76% this year to 96% in 2028 in this scenario. The budget situation begins to look better after 2020 in the CBO's baseline forecast because a raft of "temporary provisions" are assumed to sunset as per current law, including some of the personal tax cuts and deductions included in the 2017 tax package. As is usually the case, the vast majority of these provisions are likely to be extended. The CBO performed an alternative scenario in which it extends the temporary provisions and grows the spending caps at the rate of inflation after 2020. In this more realistic scenario, the deficit reaches 7% of GDP by 2028 and the federal debt-to-GDP ratio hits 105% (Chart 3). Chart 3Comparing To The Reagan Era Moreover, there will undoubtedly be a recession sometime in the next five years. Even a mild downturn, on par with the early 1990s, could inflate the budget deficit to 8% or more of GDP. The Demographic Time Bomb The pressure that the aging population will place on federal coffers over the medium term is well known, but it is worth reviewing in light of Washington's new attitude toward deficit financing. The combination of rising life expectancy and a decline in the ratio of taxpayers to retirees will place growing financial strains on the Social Security and Medicare systems. In 1970, there were 5.4 people between the ages of 20 and 64 for every person 65 or older. That ratio has since dropped to 4 and will be down to 2.6 within the next 20 years (Chart 4). Spending on entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Income Security and government pensions) is on an unsustainable trajectory (Charts 5 and 6). In fiscal 2017, these programs absorbed 76% of federal revenues and the CBO estimates that this will rise to almost 100% by 2028, absent any change in law. If we also include net interest costs, total mandatory spending1 is projected to exceed total federal government revenues as early as next year, meaning that deficit financing will be required for all discretionary spending. Chart 4The Withering ##br##Support Ratio Chart 5Entitlements Will Explode ##br##Mandatory Spending Chart 6All Discretionary Spending ##br## To Be Deficit Financed? The CBO last published a multi-decade outlook in 2017 (Chart 7). The Federal debt/GDP ratio was projected to reach 150% by 2047. If we adjust this for the new (higher) starting point in 2028 provided by the CBO's alternative scenario, the debt/GDP ratio would top 164% in 2047. Chart 7An Unsustainable Debt Accumulation To put this into perspective, the demands of WWII swelled the federal debt/GDP ratio to 106% in 1946, the highest on record going back to the early 1700s (Chart 8). The debt ratio could rocket past that level before 2030, even in the absence of a recession. Chart 8U.S. Debt In Historical Context These extremely long-term projections are only meant to be suggestive. A lot of things can happen in the coming years that could make the trajectory better or even worse. But the point is that current levels of taxation are insufficient to fund entitlements in their current form in the long run. Chart 9 shows that outlays as a share of GDP have persistently exceeded revenues since the mid-1970s, except for a brief period during the Clinton Administration. The gap is set to widen over the coming decade. Something will have to give. Chart 9U.S. Outlays And Revenues Forget Starving The Beast "Starve the Beast" refers to the idea that the size of government can be restrained through a low-tax regime that spurs growth and pressures Congress to cut spending and control the budget deficit. It has been the mantra of Republicans since the Reagan era. The 1981 Reagan tax cuts included an across-the-board reduction in marginal tax rates, taking the top rate down from 70% to 50%. Corporate taxes were slashed by $150 billion over a 5-year period and tax rates were indexed for inflation, among other changes. It was not surprising that the budget deficit subsequently ballooned. Outrage grew among fiscal conservatives, but Congress spent the next few years passing laws to reverse the loss of revenues, rather than aggressively attacking the spending side. Today, Congressional fiscal hawks are in retreat and the Republican Party under President Donald Trump is not as fiscally conservative as it once was. This trend reflects the pull toward the center of the economic policy spectrum in response to a shift to the left among voters. BCA's political strategists have highlighted that this is the "median voter theory" (MVT) in action.2 The MVT posits that parties and politicians will approximate the policy choices of the median voter in order to win an election or stay in power. Every U.S. presidential election involves candidates making a mad dash to the most popularly appealing positions. President Trump exhibited this process when he ran in the Republican primary on a platform of increased infrastructure spending and zero cuts to "entitlement" spending. The Great Financial Crisis, disappointingly slow growth, stagnating middle class incomes and the widening income distribution have resulted in a leftward shift among voters on economic issues. Adding to the shift is the rising political clout of the Millennial generation, which generally favors more government involvement in the economy and will become the major voting block as it ages in the 2020s. There also are important changes underway in the ethnic composition of the electorate. The rising proportion of Hispanic voters will on balance favor the Democrats, according to voting trends (Chart 10). A previous Special Report by Peter Berezin, BCA's Chief Global Strategist, predicted that Texas will become a swing state in as little as a decade and a solid Democrat state by 2030.3 Chart 10The Proportion Of Minority Voters Set To Grow President Trump's shift to the left on economic policy helped him to out-flank Clinton in the election, particularly in the Rust Belt, where his protectionist and anti-austerity message resonated. Even his anti-immigration appeal is mostly based on economic reasoning - i.e. jobs, rather than cultural factors. Trump has admitted that he is not all that concerned about taking the country deeper into hock. The Republican rank-and-file has generally gone along with Trump's agenda because he has delivered traditional Republican tax cuts and continues to rate highly among his supporters (his approval is around 90% among Republicans). Fiscal hawks within the GOP have been forced to the sidelines while Trump and moderate Republicans have passed bipartisan spending increases with Democratic assistance. Where's The Outrage? The implication is that, unlike the Reagan years, we do not expect there will be a strong political force capable of leading a fight against budget deficits. After a decade of disappointing income growth, voters are in no mood for tax hikes. On the spending side, health care and pensions are still politically untouchable. A recent study by the Pew Research Center confirms that only a very small percentage of Americans of either political stripe would agree with cuts to spending on education, Medicare, Social Security, defense, infrastructure, veterans or anti-terrorism efforts (Chart 11). It is therefore no surprise that a populist such as Trump has promised to defend entitlement programs. Moreover, the graying of America will make it increasingly difficult for politicians to tame the entitlement beast. An aging population might generally favor the GOP, but it will also solidify opposition towards cutting Medicare and Social Security. As for defense, U.S. military spending was 3.3% of GDP and almost 15% of total spending in 2017 (Chart 12). Congress recently lifted the spending cap for defense expenditures, but it is still projected to fall as a share of total government spending and GDP in the coming years. It is conceivable that Congress could eventually trim the defense budget even faster, but spending is already low by historical standards and it is hard to see any future Congress gutting the military at a time when the global challenge from China and Russia is rising. Indeed, given the geopolitical atmosphere of great power competition, defense spending is more likely to rise. Chart 11Entitlements Are Popular* Chart 12What's Left To Cut? So, what is left to cut? If entitlements and defense are off the table, that leaves non-defense discretionary spending as the sacrificial lamb. This category includes spending by the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Justice, State and Veteran Affairs. Such spending has already declined sharply during the past several decades (Chart 12). Non-defense discretionary spending amounted to $610 billion in 2017, which is only 15.3% of total federal spending. To put this into perspective, cutting every last cent of non-defense discretionary spending by 2022 would still leave a budget deficit of about 2½% of GDP. And it would be political suicide. The Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice and Veterans Affairs account for more than half of non-defense discretionary spending. But these programs are very popular among voters. And, at only 1.3% of total spending, eliminating all foreign aid won't make much difference. Either President Trump or Vice-President Mike Pence will be the GOP presidential candidate in 2020. Pence could be more fiscally conservative than Trump, but Congress is unlikely to remain GOP-controlled through 2024. Similarly, it is difficult to see the Democrats making more than a token effort to rein in the deficit if the party is in charge after 2020. Perhaps they will raise taxes on the rich and push the corporate rate back up a bit, but voters will probably not favor a full reversal of the Trump tax cuts. Democrats will not tackle entitlements either. In other words, we can forget about "starving the beast" as a viable option no matter which party is in power. There will be little appetite for fiscal austerity in the U.S. through to the mid-2020s at a minimum. International Comparison This all places the U.S. out of sync with other major industrialized countries, where structural budget deficits have been tamed in most cases and are expected to remain so according to the IMF's latest projections (Chart 13). The U.S. cyclically-adjusted budget deficit is projected to be almost 7% of GDP in 2019, by far the highest among other industrialized countries except for Norway. Spain and Italy are expected to have relatively small structural deficits of 2½% and 0.8%, respectively, next year. Greece is running a small structural surplus! Including all levels of government, the IMF estimates that the U.S. general government gross debt/GDP ratio is projected to be well above that of the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Portugal in 2023 (Chart 14). It is expected to be on par with Italy at that time, although the newly-installed populist government there is likely to negotiate a loosening of the fiscal rules with Brussels, leading to higher debt levels than the IMF currently expects. Chart 13U.S. Budget Deficit Stands Out Chart 14International Debt Comparison The implication is that the U.S. government appears destined to become one of the most indebted in the developed world. The Fiscal Tipping Point Investors are not yet worried about the path of U.S. fiscal policy; the yield curve is quite flat, CDS spreads on U.S. Treasurys have not moved and the dollar is still overvalued by most traditional measures. The challenge is timing when a fiscally-induced crisis might occur. A warning bell does not ring when government debt or deficits reach certain levels. Fiscal trends generally do not suddenly spiral out of control - it is a gradual and insidious process reflected in multi-year deficits and slowly accumulating debt burdens. Eventually, a tipping point is reached where the only solution is drastic policy shifts or in extreme cases, default. Along the way, there are a number of signs that fiscal trends are entering dangerous territory. The relevance of the various signs will be different for each country, reflecting, among other things, the depth and structure of the financial system, the soundness of the economy, the dependence on foreign capital, and the asset preferences of domestic investors. Some key signs of building fiscal stress are given in Box 1. None of the factors in Box 1 appear to be a threat at the moment for the U.S. Moreover, comparisons with other countries that have hit the debt wall in the past are not that helpful because the U.S. is a special case. It has a huge economy and has political and military clout. The dollar is the world's main reserve currency and the country is able to borrow in its own currency. This suggests that the U.S. will be able to "get away with" its borrowing habit for longer than other countries have in the past. At the same time, financial markets are fickle and, even with hindsight, it not always clear why investors switch from acceptance to bearishness about a particular state of affairs. Box 1: Traditional Signs Of An Approaching Debt Crisis Government deficits absorb a rising share of net private savings, leaving little for new investment. Interest payments account for an increasingly large share of government revenues, squeezing out discretionary spending and requiring tough budget action merely to stop the deficit from rising. The government exhausts its ability to raise tax burdens. Traditional sources of debt finance dry up, requiring alternative funding strategies. Fears of inflation and/or default lead to a rising risk premium on interest rates and/ or a falling exchange rate. Political shifts occur as governments get blamed for eroding living standards, high taxes, and continued pressure to cut spending. The Costs Of Fiscal Profligacy Even if the U.S. is not near a fiscal tipping point, this does not mean that massive debt accumulation is costless: Interest Costs: Spending 3% of GDP on servicing the federal government's debt load over the next decade is not a disaster. Nonetheless, it does reduce the tax dollars available to fund entitlements or investing in infrastructure. Counter-Cyclical Fiscal Policy: Lawmakers would have less flexibility to use tax and spending policies to respond to unexpected events, such as natural disasters or recessions. As noted above, a recession in 2020 could generate a federal deficit of more than 8% of GDP. In that case, Congress may feel constrained in supporting the economy with even temporary fiscal stimulus. National Savings: Because government borrowing reduces national savings, then either capital spending must assume a smaller share of the economy or the U.S. must borrow more from abroad. Most likely it will be some combination of both. Crowding Out: If global savings are not in plentiful supply, then the additional U.S. debt issuance will place upward pressure on domestic interest rates and thereby "crowd out" business capital spending. This would reduce the nation's capital stock, leading to lower growth in productivity and living standards than would otherwise be the case. The CBO estimates that the positive impact on the capital stock from the changes to the corporate tax structure will overwhelm the negative impact from higher interest rates over the next decade. Nonetheless, the crowding out effect may dominate over a longer-time horizon. Academic studies suggest that every percentage point rise in the government's debt-to-GDP ratio adds 2-3 basis points to the equilibrium level of bond yields. If this is correct, then a rise in the U.S. ratio of 25 percentage points over the next decade in the CBO's baseline would lift equilibrium long-term bond yields by a meaningful 50-75 basis points. Much depends, however, on global savings backdrop at the time. External Trade Gap: If global savings are plentiful, then it may not take much of a rise in U.S. interest rates to attract the necessary foreign inflows to fund both the higher U.S. federal deficit and the private sector's borrowing requirements. Of course, this implies a larger current account deficit and a faster accumulation of foreign IOUs. Twin Deficits The U.S. has run a current account deficit for most of the past 40 years, which has cumulated into a rising stock of foreign-owned debt. The Net International Investment Position (NIIP) is the difference between the stock of foreign assets held by U.S. residents and the stock of U.S. assets held by foreign investors. The NIIP has fallen increasingly into the red over the past few decades, reaching 40% of GDP today (Chart 15). The current account deficit was 2.4% at the end of 2017, matching the post-Lehman average. Nonetheless, this deficit is set to worsen as increased domestic demand related to the fiscal stimulus is partly satisfied via higher imports. Chart 15Scenarios For The U.S. Net International Investment Position We estimate that a two percentage point rise in the budget deficit relative to the baseline could add a percentage point or more to the current account deficit, taking it up close to 4% of GDP. Upward pressure on the external deficit will also be accentuated in the next few years to the extent that the U.S. business sector ramps up capital spending. Chart 16Structural Drivers Of the U.S. Dollar The implication is that the NIIP will fall deeper into negative territory at an even faster pace. A 2% current account deficit would be roughly consistent with stabilization in the NIIP/GDP ratio. But a 4% deficit would cause the NIIP to deteriorate to almost 80% of GDP by 2040 (Chart 15). The sustainability of the U.S. twin deficits has been an area of intense debate among academics and market practitioners for many years. The U.S. has been able to get away with the twin deficits for so long in part because of the dollar's status as the world's premier reserve currency. The critical role of the dollar in international transactions underpins global demand for the currency. This has allowed the U.S. to issue most of its debt obligations in U.S. dollars, forcing the currency risk onto foreign investors. The worry is that foreign investors will at some point begin to question the desirability of an oversized exposure to U.S. assets within their global portfolios. We argued in our April 2018 Special Report 4 that the U.S. situation is not that dire that the U.S. dollar and Treasury bond prices are about to fall off a cliff because of sudden concerns about the unsustainability of the current account deficit. Even though the NIIP/GDP ratio will continue to deteriorate in the coming years, it does not appear that the U.S. is close to the point where foreign investors would begin to seriously question America's ability or willingness to service its debt. That said, the "twin deficits" and the downward trend in U.S. productivity relative to the rest of the world will ensure that the underlying long-term trend in the dollar will remain down (Chart 16).5 Conclusions The long-term U.S. fiscal outlook was dire even before the Great Recession and the associated shift to the political left in America. Fiscal conservatism is out of fashion and this is unlikely to change before the mid-2020s, no matter which party is in power. This means that a market riot will be required to shake voters and the political establishment into making the tough decisions. Given demographic trends, it appears more likely that taxes will rise than entitlements cut. We do not foresee a crisis occurring in the next few years. Nonetheless, arguing that the U.S. fiscal situation is sustainable for the foreseeable future does not mean that it is desirable. There will be costs associated with current fiscal trends, even on a relatively short 5-10 year horizon. Interest costs will mushroom, potentially crowding out government spending in other areas. U.S. government debt has already been downgraded by S&P to AA+ in 2013, and the other two main rating agencies are likely to follow suit during the next recession as the deficit balloons to 8% or more. Investors may begin to demand a risk premium in order to entice them to continually raise their exposure to U.S. government bonds in their portfolios. Taxes will eventually have to rise to service the government debt, and some capital spending will be crowded out, both of which will undermine the economy's growth potential. Finally, the dollar will also be weaker than it otherwise would be in the long-term, representing an erosion in America's standard of living because everything imported is more expensive. Could Japan offer a roadmap for the U.S.? The Bank of Japan has effectively monetized 43% of the JGB market and has control over yields, at least out to the 10-year maturity. Moreover, Japan has enjoyed a "free lunch" so far because monetization has not resulted in inflation. The reason that Japan has enjoyed a free lunch is that it has suffered from a chronic lack of demand and excess savings in the private sector. The government has persistently run a deficit and fiscally stimulated the economy in order to offset insufficient demand in the private sector. The Bank of Japan purchased bonds and drove short-term interest rates down to zero. These policies have made very slow progress in eradicating lingering deflationary economic forces. However, if animal spirits in the business sector perk up, then inflation could make a comeback unless the policy stimulus is dialed down in a timely manner. In other words, the BoJ-financed fiscal "free lunch" should disappear at some point. The U.S. is in a very different situation. There is no lack of aggregate demand or excessive savings in the private sector. The economy is at full employment, and thus persistent budget deficits should turn into inflation much more quickly than was the case in Japan. In other words, the U.S. is unlikely to enjoy much of a "free lunch", whether the Fed monetizes the debt or not. Mark McClellan Senior Vice President The Bank Credit Analyst 1 Mandatory spending refers to entitlements; that is, government expenditure programs that are required by current law. These include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, government pensions and other smaller programs. 2 Please see Geopolitical Strategy Monthly Report, "Introducing The Median Voter Theory," June 8, 2016, available at gps.bcaresearch.com 3 Please see The Bank Credit Analyst, "America's Fiscal Fortune: Leave Your Wallet On The Way Out," June 2011, available at bca.bcaresearch.com 4 Please see The Bank Credit Analyst Special Report, "U.S. Twin Deficits: Is The Dollar Doomed?," April, 2018, available at bca.bcaresearch.com 5 In the near term, fiscal stimulus and increased business capital spending will likely boost the dollar. But this effect on the dollar will reverse in the long-term.

Special Report

Highlights Without swift and considerable fiscal austerity or aggressive privatization, Brazil's public debt situation will become uncontrollable. Brazilian voters' priorities and preferences are for more public spending, not fiscal austerity. Hence, the upcoming president will not have a mandate to pursue fiscal austerity. The sole politically viable solution to stabilize Brazil's public debt situation is to boost nominal GDP growth - something that can only be achieved by sacrificing the exchange rate. The real is set to depreciate considerably. Provided the currency is key to the performance of Brazilian asset prices, the latter will remain in a bear market. Stay put/underweight on Brazilian risk assets. Feature Brazil is approaching a major showdown between creditors and the government. The country's public debt burden is out of control and unsustainable, unless immediate and drastic actions on the fiscal front are undertaken. At the same time, the economy has barely recovered after an extended period of depression, and the general population does not have the appetite for fiscal austerity. Crucially, the nation is heading into presidential and general elections in October. Whoever is elected, the new president will struggle to stabilize public debt dynamics amid a weak economy and the public's intolerance for fiscal tightening. On the surface, the plunge in Brazilian financial markets in recent months could well be attributed to the truckers' strike following the liberalization of fuel prices. The authorities hiked fuel prices because the deteriorating budget situation forced them to discontinue subsiding it. However, the strike was a symptom of a much deeper problem: the government's debt dynamics are degenerating, while the population and businesses have grown tired of the prolonged depression - and are deeply opposed to any kind of fiscal austerity. The sole macro solution to this debt problem is to boost nominal growth. This can be achieved via much lower real interest rates and/or a major currency devaluation. The latter will be detrimental to foreign investors holding Brazilian assets. Fiscal Austerity Is Required... Chart I-1Nominal Growth (A Proxy For Revenue) Is Lower Than Borrowing Costs Brazil continues to head towards a fiscal debacle. Not only does the government's fiscal position remain untenable, but nominal GDP growth has also relapsed to its 2015 lows (Chart I-1). The lack of nominal growth is depressing government revenues. Importantly, the widened gap between nominal GDP growth that currently stands at 4% and local currency borrowing rates of 10% is not sustainable (Chart I-1). Barring swift and substantial fiscal tightening, weak economic growth and high borrowing costs will ensure that the public debt-to-GDP ratio continues to rise into the foreseeable future. A rising debt-to-GDP ratio without clear government policies and actions to tackle indebtedness will feed into a higher risk premium in the exchange rate as well as government borrowing costs. Hence, a vicious cycle will likely unravel: escalating public debt will exert upward pressure on the government's borrowing costs, rising interest rate payments on public debt will keep the fiscal deficit wide and, consequently, the debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to escalate. Table 1 presents three scenarios for Brazil's public debt trajectory. In our base case scenario, the gross debt-to-GDP ratio1 reaches 82% by the end of 2019. In fact, even under the optimistic scenario, the gross public debt-to-to GDP ratio will continue to rise and end up at 80%. Table 1Brazil: Public Debt Sustainability Test Chart I-2High Debt Is Not A Problem In The U.S. A public debt burden above 80% of GDP would not be alarming if interest rates on that debt were not in the double digits. For example, the U.S.'s public debt burden of 100% of GDP is not a problem because interest rates are low, in fact well below nominal GDP growth (Chart I-2). To stabilize the public debt dynamics, the Brazilian government must run primary fiscal surpluses. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Brazil escaped a public debt trap because the government tightened fiscal policy considerably. They adopted Fiscal Responsibility Law in 2000, whereby the authorities were required by law to keep government expenditures limited to 50% of net revenues for that year. In turn, this allowed governments to run comfortable primary fiscal surpluses of 3% and above (Chart I-3). As shown on this chart, Brazil ran primary surpluses of 3-4% from 2001 through to 2012. Presently, the primary fiscal balance stands at -1.5% of GDP (Chart I-3, bottom panel). To stabilize the public debt dynamics, the government must undertake fiscal tightening of about 3% of GDP within the next 12-24 months to bring the primary surplus to around 1.5% of GDP. However, such fiscal tightening at a time when the economy is still very weak will push it back into recession. More importantly such fiscal tightening is politically unfeasible, as discussed below. Brazil's Achilles heel has been and remains social security finances. The social security deficit at the moment amounts to 3% of GDP (Chart I-4). According to IMF projections,2 social security expenditures will rise to 15% of GDP by 2021, bringing the total social security deficit to 12% of GDP under the current system. Chart I-3Brazilian Public Debt Dynamics Are Unsustainable Chart I-4Brazil's Social Security Deficit Crucially, Brazil is facing demographic headwinds that are contributing to the ballooning social security deficit. In particular, a rapidly aging population and rising life expectancy are all expected to drag government finances lower in the coming decades (Chart I-5). The social security deficit has increased in recent years to 40% of the overall deficit. Chart I-5Deteriorating Demographics Major and front-loaded cuts in social security expenditures are vital to stabilize government finances and debt dynamics. However, there is little support among the population and Congress for such austerity measures (we discuss this in more detail in the next section). Aggressive privatization could be a one-off short-term solution if the proceeds are used to reduce public debt. This could avert a vicious cycle of rising risk premiums, higher interest rates and larger debt burdens, at least for a while. However, the recent case of the privatization of Eletrobras shows that the process has been much slower than expected. Moreover, the total estimated sale price of Eletrobras will only produce BRL 12 billion. This compares with a BRL 104 billion annual primary deficit. Further, a sale of the Brazilian government's ownership of oil giant Petrobras would bring in an estimated BRL 90-95 billion, or 1.6% of GDP (this assumes a sale of a 64% stake in common shares, including government, BDNES and Caixa shares). This is still less than the annual primary deficit of BRL 104 billion (1.5% of GDP). Consequently, even aggressive privatization will not be sufficient to reduce debt or improve the nation's fiscal position on a sustainable basis. Further, aggressive privatization is not politically feasible as it lacks public support, and Congressional approvals on this matter will be a challenge. Bottom Line: The public debt burden is surging and fiscal dynamics remain unsustainable. Without swift and considerable fiscal austerity or aggressive privatization, Brazil's public debt situation will become uncontrollable. ...But Is Politically Unfeasible The prospects for fiscal reforms and improved public debt sustainability are dependent on the upcoming presidential elections. As October's vote approaches, social security and privatization reforms will be key determinants of the path of Brazil's risk premium for the foreseeable future. The presidential elections are scheduled for October 7 and 28 (a second round will be held if no candidate achieves an absolute majority of the vote). Uncertainty is unusually high. Yet investors need to understand the constraints that underpin the current presidential race. First, Brazilian voters' priorities and preferences are for more public spending, not fiscal austerity. According to polls conducted by Confederacao Nacional da Industria (CNI), the top five priorities of respondents are to improve health and education, and raise wages (Chart I-6). By contrast, only 3% of respondents believe that pension reform (cutting spending) should be a top government priority. Chart 6Brazil's Population Is Not Open To Fiscal Austerity This polling confirms our thesis that the median voter in Brazil remains firmly on the left of the economic policy spectrum.3 The combined support for left-leaning candidates Lula, Marina Silva and Ciro Gomes remains close to 50% (Table 2). Table 2The Left Is Ahead On the whole, fiscal austerity and privatization, as proposed by centrist and right-leaning candidates, will garner little support from the electorate. Second, Brazil's Congress is one the most fractious in the world. With over 20 political parties in Congress, the key to passing critical reforms is contingent on the ability of the president to form, maintain and reward a coalition that can muster majority votes in Congress. Crucially, reforms requiring constitutional amendments, such as the pension system, would need a supermajority of 308 out of 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, or 60% of congressmen. As the recent experience of acting president Temer shows, this will be difficult. Temer was an experienced political operator and the head of the largest party in Congress, yet even he failed to gain sufficient support to pass social security reforms, even when they were watered down and their costs back-loaded. There are low odds that any of the existing presidential candidates - all of whom have single-digit or low double-digit support rates - will be able to get enough votes to adopt meaningful social security reforms. True, the right-wing candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, has proposed aggressive privatization and spending cuts to rein in the public debt. Ultimately, only policies of this kind can reduce spending, correct the debt trajectory, stabilize the foreign exchange rate, and enable the country to avoid a vicious cycle of escalating risk premiums in financial markets. That, in turn, would give the economy some breathing room -- a buying opportunity in financial markets might emerge. However, Jair Bolsonaro faces an uphill battle in the presidential election given that the median voter is on the left. Even if elected, he is unlikely to garner support for privatization and austerity in a fractionalised Congress. Bottom Line: Brazilian voters' priorities and preferences are for more public spending, not fiscal austerity. Hence, the upcoming president will not have a mandate to pursue fiscal austerity. Monetary Policy And The Exchange Rate Given fiscal austerity is politically unviable, the other option to stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio is to boost nominal GDP. Yet the nominal GDP growth rate has relapsed to 2015 lows (refer to Chart I-1 above). Even though real GDP is slowly recovering, inflation has plunged, depressing nominal growth (Chart I-7). As a result, real rates in Brazil remain very high (Chart I-7, bottom panel). This in turn has curbed the economic recovery. Low income growth and high real rates are not only impairing public sector creditworthiness, but they are also hurting the private sector's ability to service its debt. Consistently, weaker nominal GDP growth points to a renewed rise in NPLs and NPL provisions at banks (shown inverted in the chart) (Chart I-8). Chart I-7Real Rates Are Still Punishingly High In Brazil Chart I-8Banks' Bad Loans And Provisions Are Set To Rise Monetary policy in Brazil is constrained by exchange rate movements. With the exchange rate currently under selling pressure, the central bank is unlikely to reduce interest rates for now. The next government will have no option but to force the central bank to reduce nominal and real interest rates in an attempt to both boost nominal growth and decrease public debt servicing costs. The victim of this policy will be the currency: the Brazilian real will plunge. The good news for the government is that 96% of its debt is in local currency. Hence, sizable currency depreciation will not have much of an effect on the public debt burden. Table 3External Debt As Of Q4 2017 That said, companies and banks have high levels of external debt (Table 3), and they will suffer at the hands of significant currency depreciation. However, this is the most politically viable and economically feasible way to avoid a public debt fiasco. If the government's pressure on the central bank to reduce interest rates leads to a riot in financial markets and borrowing costs on government debt rise, the government may put pressure on the central bank and state-owned commercial banks to monetize public debt - i.e., purchase government bonds to bring bond yields down. In short, Brazil could institute quantitative easing to reduce and cap government bond yields. The U.S., the UK, Japan, the euro area and Sweden have all done this, and the new government in Brazil may also opt for such a solution. It might either be done in a transparent way, as central banks in the developed economies did, or it might be done in a disguised manner. Chart I-9Divergence Between Central Bank Reserves & The Real Interestingly, there are some indications the central bank is trying to err on the side of easier money, despite the latest currency depreciation. Specifically, it has in recent months been injecting more liquidity into the banking system, despite the sharp selloff in the real, as illustrated in Chart I-9. This constitutes a departure from past policy reactions to selloffs in the real, and in a way is a form of disguised easing. The central bank's recent liquidity additions have prevented interbank rates - and hence the entire structure of interest rates - from increasing more than they otherwise would have. In short, the upcoming government might resort to open or disguised public debt monetization to prevent a fiscal debacle. Needless to say, the Brazilian real will plummet in such a scenario. Bottom Line: The sole politically viable solution to stabilize Brazil's public debt situation is to boost nominal GDP growth - something that can only be achieved by sacrificing the exchange rate. Financial Markets The currency is the key to the performance of Brazilian asset prices. The real will depreciate much further. In addition to the above factors, the following will continue to weigh on the currency: Export growth is decelerating (Chart I-10), and this trend is likely to persist as China's growth slows further and commodities prices drop. The currency is not yet very cheap, according to the real effective exchange rate based on consumer and producer prices (Chart I-11). Chart I-10Brazilian Export Growth Is Decelerating Chart I-11The Real Is Not Cheap Foreign debt obligations - external debt servicing over the next 12 months - are elevated both in dollars and from a historical perspective relative to exports (Chart I-12). Not surprisingly, demand for dollars is very strong, as evidenced by rising U.S. dollar funding rates (Chart I-13 ). Finally, even though interest rate differentials over the U.S. have never been a key driving force behind the real, they are currently at a record low (Chart I-14). Chart I-12Foreign Private Sector Debt Is High Chart I-13Demand For U.S. Dollars Is Strong Chart I-14Brazilian Interest Rate Differentials: At A Historical Low Chart I-15Brazil: Weak Trade Balance Is Negative For Equities With respect to equities, Brazilian share prices perform poorly when the current account and trade balances are deteriorating (Chart I-15). Falling commodities prices are negative for resource companies. Finally, the stock market's long-term technical profile seems to suggest that a major top has been reached in share prices in U.S. dollar terms and the path of least resistance is down (Chart I-16). Chart I-16Brazilian Stocks In U.S. Dollars Investment Conclusions We remain negative on Brazil's financial markets. Further depreciation in the currency will continue, and will cause a selloff in equities, local bonds and sovereign and corporate credit markets. Dedicated EM portfolios should continue to underweight Brazil in equity and fixed-income portfolios. We continue recommending a long position in the nation's sovereign CDSs. The BRL is among our favoured currency shorts - we are maintaining both our short BRL/long USD and our short BRL/long MXN positions. Among equity sectors, we are reiterating our short position in bank stocks. Arthur Budaghyan, Senior Vice President Emerging Markets Strategy arthur@bcaresearch.com Andrija Vesic, Research Analyst AndrijaV@bcaresearch.com 1 In our simulations, we used gross government debt, which is calculated as total government public debt excluding central bank holdings of government securities. Gross public debt-to-GDP ratio is now at 74%. Under the older methodology, which included accounting for government debt held by the central bank, the public debt-to-GDP ratio would have been 85%. 2 Cuevas et al. IMF Working Paper; Fiscal Challenges of Population Aging in Brazil, March 2017 3 Pease see Emerging Markets Strategy Special Report "Brazil's Election: Separating Signal From The Noise", dated September 10, 2014, available at ems.bcaresearch.com Equity Recommendations Fixed-Income, Credit And Currency Recommendations