Equities

Neutral Our recent gold miners overweight has pushed the broad materials sector from underweight to neutral. Simultaneously, macro data also suggests that it no longer pays to be bearish materials stocks. Our materials sector profit growth model has troughed and signals that a turnaround in EPS growth is underway and should gain steam this year (second panel). Keep in mind that this niche deep cyclical sector has borne the brunt of the Sino/American trade war and the recent de-escalation can serve as a catalyst for an earnings-led recovery. Moreover, this industry is not at a standstill. Contrary to the overall economy, materials executives are investing in new projects as financial market reported materials sector capex clearly shows (third panel). These investments should bear fruit in coming quarters and translate into higher top line growth, something that is not at all discounted in bombed out relative sales growth expectations (bottom panel). Bottom Line: Book relative gains of 5% since inception and lift the S&P materials sector to a benchmark allocation. Please refer to this Monday’s Weekly Report for more details. ​​​​​​​

Highlights The euro area bond yield 6-month impulse recently hit 100 bps, constituting the strongest headwind to growth for three years. Nine times out of ten, the strong headwind to nominal growth pushes the bond yield to a lower level six months later. Downgrade banks and materials to underweight. Downgrade the Eurostoxx 50 to underweight versus the S&P 500 and the Nikkei 225. Upgrade Switzerland to overweight, and upgrade Denmark to neutral. Downgrade Sweden to neutral, and downgrade Spain and Austria to underweight. Fractal trade: short NZD/JPY. Feature Chart of the WeekIf You Get The Bond Yield Right, You'll Get Banks Right Too The analysis in this report differs from the BCA house view which is overweight European versus US equities and expects modestly higher bond yields in the next six months. The euro area 10-year bond yield stands at a miserly 50 bps, though admittedly this does mark a 60 bps increase from its record low of -10 bps last August (Chart I-2).1 However, if you look only at the level or the change in the bond yield you will miss the bigger story. As we explained in Four Impulses, Three Mistakes, the bond yield’s impact on growth accelerations and decelerations comes neither from its level nor from its change – instead, the impact comes from the change in its change, the bond yield impulse.2 Chart I-2The Recent Rise In Bond Yields Followed A Sharp Decline In The Preceding Six Months The Strongest Headwind Impulse For Three Years The euro area bond yield 6-month impulse recently hit 100 bps, its highest mark, and therefore its strongest headwind to growth, for three years. The impulse hit such a high mark because the recent rise in yields followed a sharp decline in yields in the preceding six months. The euro area bond yield 6-month impulse recently hit 100 bps, its highest mark, and therefore its strongest headwind to growth, for three years.  Since the turn of the century, the euro area bond yield 6-month impulse has reached the 100 bps strong headwind mark ten times. Nine times out of the ten, the strong headwind to nominal growth pushed the yield to a lower level six months later. That’s the bigger story. The one exception was in 2006 at the frothy end of the credit bubble which bears no resemblance to today. In any case, nine times out of ten are odds that we wouldn’t want to bet against right now (Chart I-3). Chart I-3Nine Times Out Of Ten, A Strong Headwind Bond Yield Impulse Pushes Yields To A Lower Level Six Months Later Suffice to say, in the vast majority of these cases the lower bond yield also hurt bond yield proxies in the equity market such as banks and materials. The Bond Yield Drives Sector Strategy Investment is complex but it is not complicated. The words complex and complicated are often used interchangeably but they mean different things. Complex means something that is not fully predictable or analysable, whereas complicated means something that is made up of many parts. A car’s movement in traffic is complex, but it is not complicated. A car engine is complicated, but it is not complex. Unlike a car engine, investment is not complicated. This is because investment has just a few key parts that drive everything, albeit these parts are themselves highly complex. The objective of investment is to identify the few key parts that drive everything and to conquer their complexity. One key part is the bond yield. The Chart of the Week and Chart I-4 should leave you in no doubt that if you get the bond yield right, you will also get the relative performance of banks right, whether you are in Europe, Japan, or, for that matter, anywhere. Chart I-4If You Get The Bond Yield Right, You'll Get Banks Right Too The connection between the bond yield and bank performance is twofold. First, to the extent that a higher bond yield reflects higher nominal economic growth, it also likely reflects higher growth in bank credit, which effectively constitutes bank ‘sales’. Second, a higher bond yield also typically signifies a steeper yield curve, which lifts bank net interest (profit) margins. And vice versa for a lower bond yield. Investment is complex but it is not complicated. Likewise, Chart I-5 should also leave you in no doubt that if you get the bond yield right you will also get commodity prices right. Again, this is not surprising. The higher nominal economic growth reflected in a higher bond yield could come from stronger real demand or from higher inflation, either of which would be bullish for commodity prices. And vice versa for a lower bond yield. Albeit the causality can sometimes go the other way, from a commodity price shock via inflation to the bond yield. Chart I-5If You Get The Bond Yield Right, You'll Get Commodity Prices Right Too However, the bond yield’s movement itself is highly complex because it is subject to numerous feedback loops. One feedback loop is that the valuation of equities and other risk-assets depends inversely and exponentially on the bond yield level. A higher yield will ultimately undermine equity and other risk-asset prices and thereby unleash a deflationary impulse, and vice versa. A separate feedback loop comes via the direct impact on economic accelerations and decelerations which, as we have just seen, depends on the bond yield impulse – which is to say, its second derivative. Mathematicians will immediately recognise this setup as a second order differential equation with delayed negative feedback. They will tell you that it describes a complex adaptive system (CAS) which you cannot predict or analyse with any certainty. The best you can do is understand the probabilities that the system goes in one direction or the other. Based on the euro area bond yield impulse at a strong headwind mark, and the previous ten outcomes from this setup, there is a high probability that the post-August burst of outperformance from banks and materials is now over. Accordingly, we are now downgrading both banks and materials to underweight. Sector Strategy Drives Regional And Country Strategy To repeat, investment is highly complex but it is not highly complicated. If you get the bond yield right you will get your equity sector strategy right. And if you get your equity sector strategy right you will automatically get your regional and country allocation right too. This is because each major stock market has a distinguishing ‘long’ sector in which it contains up to a quarter of its total market capitalisation, as well as a distinguishing ‘short’ sector in which it has a significant under-representation. The combination of this long sector and short sector gives each equity index its distinguishing fingerprint which drives relative performance (Table I-1): Table 1The Sector Fingerprints Of Major Regional Stock Markets FTSE 100 = long energy, short technology. Eurostoxx 50 = long banks, short technology. Nikkei 225 = long industrials, short banks and energy. S&P 500 = long technology, short materials. MSCI Emerging Markets = long technology, short healthcare. Specifically, the Eurostoxx 50 has an 11 percent overrepresentation to banks and materials versus both the S&P 500 and the Nikkei 225. Against the S&P 500 it is at the expense of technology and against the Nikkei 225 it is at the expense of industrials. It follows that if banks and materials underperform technology and industrials, the Eurostoxx 50 must underperform the S&P 500 and the Nikkei 225. Chart I-6 and Chart I-7 should convince you that there are no ifs, buts, or maybes. Chart I-6Euro Stoxx 50 Vs. S&P 500 = Global Banks In Euros Vs. Global Technology In Dollars Chart I-7Euro Stoxx 50 Vs. Nikkei 225 = Global Banks In Euros Vs. Global Industrials In Dollars Accordingly we are now downgrading the Eurostoxx 50 to underweight versus the S&P 500 and the Nikkei 225. Exactly the same principle applies to the stock markets within Europe. Relative performance comes from nothing more than the stock market’s long and short sector fingerprint combined with sector performance (Table I-2 and Table I-3). Table I-2The Sector Fingerprints Of Euro Area Stock Markets Table I-3The Sector Fingerprints Of Non Euro Area European Stock Markets Based on the expected underperformance of banks and materials, we are now upgrading Switzerland to overweight, and upgrading Denmark to neutral. Also, we are downgrading Sweden to neutral, and downgrading Spain and Austria to underweight (Chart I-8). Chart I-8Spain = Long Banks Fractal Trading System* This week's recommended trade is short NZD/JPY. Set the profit target at 2.3 percent with a symmetrical stop-loss. The rolling 1-year win ratio now stands at 61 percent. Chart I-9NZD/JPY 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. * 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 Footnotes 1 This is the weighted average of 10-year government bond yields in the euro area, weighted by the stock of government issued debt. 2 Please see the European Investment Strategy Weekly Report “Four Impulses, Three Mistakes” October 31, 2019 available at eis.bcaresearch.com. Fractal Trading System   Cyclical Recommendations Structural Recommendations 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  

In this Monday’s Weekly Report we build on our four-factor S&P 500 EPS model by plugging in our base, worse, and best case estimates of the four variables and got as output the model’s EPS growth estimate for the calendar 2020.  We then assigned probabilities to those three outcomes resulting in an EPS forecast of $169/share. Next, we introduced our base, worse and best case forward P/Es (with an equal probability of occurrence) and multiplied them with our $169/share weighted EPS forecast in order to arrive at the SPX 3,049 expected value for end-2020. The Chart on the right depicts results of our analysis, which also suggests that the SPX is currently 8% overvalued. Bottom Line: We remain cautious on the prospects of the broad equity market. For a more detailed discussion of our EPS analysis please refer to this Monday’s Weekly Report.  

Highlights Portfolio Strategy Gold bullion is on the move again, and falling real yields, a soft economic backdrop, a depreciating US dollar and resurgent geopolitical uncertainty, all argue for reintroducing a modest portfolio hedge by overweighting the global gold mining index. Washed out technicals, depressed valuations, the turn in our EPS growth model, rising industry capex and bottoming EM-related financial market data, all signal that it no longer pays to be bearish materials stocks. Augment exposure to neutral. Recent Changes Boost global gold miners to overweight via the long GDX/short ACWI exchange traded funds, today. Book gains and lift the S&P materials sector to neutral, today.  Table 1Sector Performance Returns (%) Feature “There is nothing so disturbing to one's well-being and judgment as to see a friend get rich.” - Charles P. Kindleberger “The bubble involves the purchase of an asset, usually real estate or a security, not because of the rate of return on the investment but in anticipation that the asset or security can be sold to someone else at an even higher price; the term the ‘greater fool’ has been used to suggest the last buyer was always counting on finding someone else to whom the stock or the condo apartment or the baseball cards could be sold.”  - Charles P. Kindleberger Equities broke out to fresh all-time highs in the second week of the year, shrugging off the flare up in geopolitical risk. It seems that nothing can derail this juggernaut and the following narrative is now prevalent: Bad news is actually good for equities because the Fed will step in and do more QE and cut interest rates anew. Good news is great because the Fed will not hike interest rates as the economy is chugging along. No news is good news as money has to flow somewhere and equities are the default answer. Kindleberger’s quotes above are instructive.      To put the recent advance in perspective, the SPX is up 425 points uninterruptedly since early October – when the Fed commenced ramping up its Treasury purchases – and it is, at a minimum, headed for a much needed breather. Contrary to popular belief, a handful of tech stocks explain this recent meteoric rise rather than a broad-based advance (Chart 1). Currently, the top five stocks in the S&P 500 (AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL, AMZN & FB) comprise over 18% of its market cap, even higher than the late-1999/early-2000 concentration (top panel, Chart 1). On January 9, 2020, AAPL’s $30bn one day market cap increase was larger than the bottom 300 stocks’ market cap in the S&P 500 and is another anecdote that drives this return concentration point home.   Chart 1Teflon Tech Stocks   As a reminder, we are neutral the broad tech sector and overweight the largest subgroup, the S&P software index, thus participating in this euphoric rise in stocks that has been defying earnings fundamentals. Granted, such phenomena are prevalent late cycle. While this can go on for a bit longer, it is clearly unsustainable and represents a big risk especially given the proliferation of passive funds. Tack on rising geopolitical risks and the odds of a sharp drawdown increase significantly. Before we proceed to our SPX EPS analysis, however, it is worth noting some disappointing economic data. The decade low in the ISM manufacturing, the deceleration in non-farm payroll growth, the grinding higher in the 4-week average of unemployment insurance claims, the contraction in C&I loans, the sustained pessimism in CEO confidence and the down hook in average hourly earnings all warn that macro headwinds abound despite the looming signing of the “phase one” US/China trade deal (Chart 2). All of the rise in the SPX last year was due to multiple expansion. Now, in order for the SPX to continue rallying, profits will have to do the heavy lifting. However, our analysis shows that the market is fully priced and earnings will have to hit escape velocity in order for equities to grow into their pricey valuations (Chart 3). Chart 2Underwhelming Chart 3Lofty Valuations Currently, our SPX EPS growth model has no pulse. This four-factor macro model is regression based (out of sample since January 2014) and continues to forecast a contraction into mid-year (Chart 4). Chart 4No EPS Pulse Table 2 summarizes three EPS scenarios analysis, along with a forward P/E multiple and SPX forecast. Table 2Three Scenarios This week we are re-instituting a small portfolio hedge, which lifts a niche deep cyclical sector to neutral from previously underweight. Step 1: We plugged into the model our base, worse and best case estimates of these four variables into mid-year, and we got as output the model’s estimate of EPS growth for end-2020 with a range of -1% to 10% (one important assumption is that the historical correlation of the movement of these variables holds steady). Step 2: Then, we applied these growth rates to the IBES 2019 EPS forecast of $162/share and arrived at our end-2020 three scenarios EPS level estimates with a range of $160/share to $178/share. Step 3: We then assigned probabilities to those three outcomes resulting in an EPS forecast of $169/share. Step 4: In order to get an SPX expected value we needed to assign a forward P/E multiple to our EPS estimate. Thus, we introduced our base, worse and best case forward P/Es (with an equal probability of occurrence) and multiplied them with our $169/share weighted EPS forecast in order to arrive at the SPX 3,049 expected value for end-2020 (please refer to the Appendix below for additional details of our analysis and click here if you would like to request the excel file and insert your own estimates and probabilities). Chart 5 depicts the results of our analysis. Chart 5Projections Currently, sell-side analysts expect 10% profit growth in calendar 2020, a tall order in our view, and the SPX appears 8% overvalued according to our analysis. However, a potential break in historical correlations where the ISM recovers, the bond market sells off fearing an inflationary spurt pushing interest rates higher yet P/E multiples continue to expand indiscriminately, could sustain the melt-up phase in stocks in general and mega cap tech stocks in particular. While the macro data cannot fall indefinitely and a natural trough will occur sometime in the first half of the year, we doubt that a V-shaped recovery is imminent. Our base case is a stabilization of macro data equating to roughly 5% EPS growth for this year as noted above, with risks clearly titled to the downside. Under such a backdrop, perceptive equities will have to, at least, mildly deflate to this EPS reality. This week we are re-instituting a small portfolio hedge, which lifts a niche deep cyclical sector to neutral from previously underweight. In Gold We Trust While the SPX has been on an impressive run, it has failed to outshine gold bullion that has been on a tear lately. The bottom panel of Chart 6 shows that gold could be sniffing out a couple of Fed interest rate cuts, warning that the economic backdrop remains frail. This gold move is compelling us to reintroduce a modest portfolio hedge and today we recommend augmenting exposure to global gold miners to overweight. Chart 6What Is Gold Sniffing Out? Global gold miners have a lot going for them. Rising global policy uncertainty plays to their strength as investors seek the refuge of safe haven assets especially when geopolitical risks flare up (top panel, Chart 7). If our FX strategists hit the bull’s eye and the greenback loses steam this year,1 then gold related equities should outperform given the inverse correlation most commodities, including bullion, enjoy with the US dollar (bottom panel, Chart 7). Chart 7Solid Backdrop Importantly, real US bond yields have taken a beating recently underpinning gold prices and gold mining equities. This is significant, as bullion yields nothing and gold miners next to nothing so from an opportunity cost perspective it pays to hold a zero yielding asset when competing yields fall and vice versa (second panel, Chart 7). Worrisomely, this fall in real US yields is de facto pushing global real yields lower, which might indicate that investors worry that the global economy has more downside. In fact, economists’ estimates for GDP growth (as compiled by Bloomberg, third panel, Chart 7) continue to decelerate globally, and they forecast below-trend real output growth in the US for 2020. Global manufacturing also reflects this soft economic backdrop. While the global manufacturing PMI is trying to trough – it ticked down last month and is just a hair above the boom/bust line – both its momentum and diffusion are weak, heralding a catch up phase in global gold miners (PMI momentum shown inverted, Chart 8). Chart 8Global Economy Not Out Of The Woods Yet Boost global gold miners to an above benchmark allocation via the long GDX/short ACWI exchange traded funds. From a gold positioning perspective, on all three fronts we monitor (gold ETF holdings, gold net speculative positions and bullish consensus on gold) we see green lights (Chart 9). Even global gold miners’ extremely overbought positions have now been worked out according to our Technical Indicator (TI). Following the parabolic bull run from May to September last year, our TI is now drifting to the neutral zone. Relative valuations have also corrected offering investors a compelling entry point (Chart 10). Chart 9Enticing Sentiment Chart 10Compelling Entry Levels In sum, gold bullion is on the move again and falling real yields, a soft economic backdrop, a depreciating US dollar and resurgent geopolitical uncertainty, all argue for reintroducing a modest portfolio hedge by overweighting the global gold mining index. Bottom Line: Boost global gold miners to an above benchmark allocation via the long GDX/short ACWI exchange traded funds. Lift Materials To Neutral While materials stocks have broken down recently, our fresh gold miners overweight lifts the broad materials sector from previously underweight to currently neutral (Chart 11). Not only have relative share prices given way, but also breadth is weak as measured both by the percentage of groups with a positive year-over-year momentum and by the number of groups trading above their 40-week moving average (Chart 12). Moreover, relative valuations are downbeat (second panel, Chart 12), with relative P/S and P/B cratering. Chart 11Breakdown On the profit front, earnings breadth fell below neutral recently and net earnings revisions have collapsed. Wall Street analysts are even forecasting a dire relative revenue backdrop for the coming twelve months (Chart 13). Chart 12Washout Chart 13Extreme Pessimism Reigns While the sell-side has all but given up on this niche deep cyclical sector, we are going against the grain and posit that it no longer pays to be bearish materials stocks. First, our materials sector profit growth model has troughed and signals that a turnaround in EPS growth is underway and should gain steam this year (second panel, Chart 14). Keep in mind that this niche deep cyclical sector has borne the brunt of the Sino/American trade war and the recent de-escalation can serve as a catalyst for an earnings-led recovery (trade policy uncertainty shown inverted, Chart 11). Book relative gains of 5% since inception and lift the S&P materials sector to a benchmark allocation. Second, this industry is not at a standstill. Contrary to the overall economy, materials executives are investing in new projects as financial market reported materials sector capex clearly shows (third & bottom panels, Chart 14). These investments should bear fruit in coming quarters and translate into higher top line growth, something that is not at all discounted in bombed out relative sales growth expectations (bottom panel, Chart 13). Finally, there is tentative evidence that the EMs in general and China in particular are at least stabilizing. Not only are their manufacturing PMIs above the boom/bust line (not shown), but also financial market data suggest that the selling in materials stocks is nearing exhaustion. JP Morgan’s EM currency index is ticking higher, the CRB metals index is showing some signs of life and EM equities have been outperforming their global peers (Chart 15). Chart 14EPS Model Trough, Rising Capex…   Chart 15…And Firming Financial Market Data Signal It No Longer Pays To Be Bearish Netting it all out, washed out technicals, depressed valuations, the turn in our EPS growth model, rising industry capex and bottoming EM-related financial market data all signal that it no longer pays to be bearish materials stocks. Bottom Line: Book relative gains of 5% since inception and lift the S&P materials sector to a benchmark allocation.   Anastasios Avgeriou US Equity Strategist anastasios@bcaresearch.com       Appendix Appendix 1 Appendix 2 footnotes 1     Please see BCA Foreign Exchange Strategy Weekly Report, “On Oil, Growth And The Dollar” dated January 10, 2020, available at fes.bcaresearch.com.   Current Recommendations Current Trades Size And Style Views Stay neutral cyclicals over defensives (downgrade alert) Favor value over growth Favor large over small caps (Stop 10%)

Highlights Global Investment Strategy View Matrix Receding trade tensions; diminished risks of a hard Brexit; reduced odds of a victory for Elizabeth Warren in the US presidential elections; liquidity injections by most major central banks; and improved sentiment about the state of the global economy all helped push stocks higher late last year. Some clouds have formed over the outlook since the start of the year, however. The December US ISM manufacturing index fell to the lowest level since 2009, while the PMIs in the euro area, UK, and Japan gave up some of their November gains. The conflict between the US and Iran also flared up. Although tensions have abated in recent days, BCA’s geopolitical strategists worry that the détente may not last. The US is seeking to shift its military focus towards East Asia in order to counter China’s ascendency. They argue that this could create a dangerous power vacuum in the Middle East. Stock market sentiment is quite bullish at the moment, which makes equities more vulnerable to any disappointing news. While we are maintaining our positive 12-month view on global equities and high-yield credit in anticipation that global growth will rebound convincingly later this year, we are downgrading our tactical 3-month view to neutral. Ho Ho Ho After handing investors a sack of coal last Christmas, Santa was back to his true self this past holiday season. Global equities rose 3.4% in December, finishing the year off with a stellar fourth quarter which saw the MSCI All-Country World index surge by 8.6%. Five forces helped push stocks higher: 1) Receding trade tensions; 2) Diminished risks of a hard Brexit; 3) Reduced odds of a victory for Elizabeth Warren in the US presidential elections; 4) Liquidity injections by the Fed, ECB, and the People’s Bank of China; and arguably most importantly 5) Improved sentiment about the state of the global economy. Tarrified No More Trade tensions subsided sharply after China and the US reached a “Phase One” agreement. The deal prevented tariffs from rising on December 15th on $160 billion of Chinese imports. It also rolls back the tariff rate from 15% to 7.5% on about $120 billion in imports that have been subject to levies since September (Chart 1). Chart 1The Evolution Of The US-China Trade War In addition, the Trump Administration allowed the November 13th deadline on European auto tariffs to lapse. This suggests that the US is unlikely to impose tariffs under the Section 232 investigation of auto imports. The auto sector has been at the forefront of the global manufacturing slowdown, so any good news for that industry is welcome. To top it all off, the US House of Representatives ratified the USMCA, the successor to NAFTA, on December 19th. We expect it to be signed into law in the first quarter of this year. Brexit Risks Fading... Chart 2The Majority Of British Voters Aren't Keen On Brexit Boris Johnson’s commanding victory in the UK elections has given him the votes necessary to push a withdrawal bill through parliament by the end of the month. The British government will then seek to negotiate a free trade agreement by the end of the year. A “no-deal” Brexit is unacceptable to the majority of British voters (Chart 2). As such, the Johnson government will have no choice but to strike a deal with the EU. ... While Trump Gains On the other side of the Atlantic, President Trump’s re-election prospects improved late last year despite (and perhaps because of) the ongoing impeachment process. There is an uncanny correlation between the probability that betting markets assign to a Trump victory and the value of the S&P 500 (Chart 3). Chart 3An Uncanny Correlation Chart 4Who Will Win The 2020 Democratic Nomination? It certainly has not hurt market sentiment that Elizabeth Warren’s poll numbers have been dropping recently (Chart 4). Warren’s best hope was to squeeze out Bernie Sanders as soon as possible, thereby leaving the far-left populist lane all to herself. That dream appears to have been dashed, which suggests that even if Trump loses, a centrist like Joe Biden could emerge as president. An Uneasy Truce It remains to be seen how President Trump’s decision to assassinate General Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander, will affect the election outcome. A YouGov/HuffPost poll taken over the weekend revealed that 43% of Americans approved of the airstrike against Soleimani compared to 38% that disapproved.1 History suggests that the public’s patience for war will quickly wear thin if it results in American casualties or significantly higher gasoline prices. Neither side has an incentive to allow the conflict to spiral out of control. Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Tuesday shortly after Iran lobbed missiles at two US military bases that Iran had “concluded” its retaliatory strike, adding that “We do not seek escalation or war.” Despite claims on Iranian public television that 80 “American terrorists” were killed in the attacks, no US troops were harmed. This suggests that the Iranians may be putting on a show for domestic consumption. The US economy is less vulnerable to spikes in oil prices than in the past. Nevertheless, plenty of things could still go wrong. BCA’s geopolitical team, led by Matt Gertken, has argued that the US is seeking to shift its military focus towards East Asia in order to counter China’s ascendency. This could create a dangerous power vacuum in the Middle East. There is also a risk that President Trump overplays his hand. Contrary to the President’s claims, Soleimani was quite popular in Iran (Chart 5). If Trump begins to mock the Iranian leadership’s feeble response, Iran will have no choice but to take more aggressive action. Chart 5Soleimani Was More Popular In Iran Than Trump Claims Chart 6US Economy Is Less Vulnerable To Spikes In Oil Prices Than In The Past One thing that could embolden Trump is that the US economy is less vulnerable to spikes in oil prices than in the past. US oil output reached as high as 12.9 mm b/d in 2019, allowing the country to become a net exporter of oil for the first time in history (Chart 6). Any increase in oil prices would incentivize further domestic production, which would help bring prices back down. The US economy has also become less energy intensive – it takes less than half as much oil to produce a unit of GDP today than it did in the early 1980s. Finally, unlike in the past, the Fed will not need to raise rates in response to higher oil prices due to the fact that inflation expectations are currently well anchored. In fact, as we discuss below, we expect the Fed and other central banks to continue to provide a tailwind for growth over the course of 2020. The Fed’s “It’s Not QE” QE Program The jump in overnight lending rates in mid-September torpedoed the Federal Reserve’s efforts to shrink its balance sheet. Thanks to a steady stream of Treasury bill purchases since then, the Fed’s asset holdings have swelled by over $400 billion, reversing more than half of the decline observed since early 2018 (Chart 7). Chart 7Fed's Asset Holdings Are Growing Anew Chart 8The Fed's Balance-Sheet Expansion Helped Fuel The Dot-Com Bubble The Fed has insisted that its latest intervention does not amount to a new QE program, stressing that it is buying short-term securities rather than long-dated bonds. In so doing, it is simply creating bank reserves, rather than seeking to suppress the term premium by altering the maturity structure of the private sector’s holdings of government debt. Nevertheless, even such straightforward interventions have proven to be powerful signaling tools. By growing its balance sheet, a central bank is implicitly promising to keep monetary policy very accommodative. It is worth remembering that the run-up in the NASDAQ in 1999 coincided with a significant balance-sheet expansion by the Fed in response to Y2K fears, which came on the heels of three “insurance cuts” in 1998 (Chart 8). Gentle Jay Paves The Way Chart 9Inflation Expectations Remain Muted In 2000, the Fed moved quickly to reverse the liquidity injection it had orchestrated the prior year. We do not expect such a reversal anytime soon. Moreover, unlike in 2000, when the Federal Reserve kept raising rates – ultimately bringing the Fed funds rate up to 6.5% in May 2000 – the Fed is likely to stay on hold this year. The Fed’s ongoing strategic policy review is poised to move the central bank even closer towards explicitly adopting an average inflation target of 2% over the course of a business cycle. Since inflation tends to fall during recessions, this implies that the Fed will seek to target an inflation rate somewhat higher than 2% during expansions. Realized core PCE inflation has averaged only 1.6% since the recession ended. Both market-based and survey-based measures of long-term inflation expectations remain downbeat (Chart 9). This suggests that the bar for raising rates this year is quite high. More Monetary Easing In The Euro Area And China Chart 10Chinese Monetary Easing Should Help Global Growth Bottom Out The ECB resumed its QE program in November after a 10-month hiatus. While the current pace of €20 billion in monthly asset purchases is well below the prior pace of €80 billion, the central bank did say it would continue buying assets for “as long as necessary” to bring inflation up to its target. The language harkens back to Mario Draghi’s 2012 “whatever it takes” pledge, this time applied to the ECB’s inflation mandate. Not to be outdone, the People’s Bank of China cut the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points last week, a move that will release RMB 800 billion ($US 115 billion) of fresh liquidity into the banking system. Historically, cuts in reserve requirements have led to faster credit growth and ultimately, to stronger economic growth both in China and abroad (Chart 10). The PBOC has also instructed lenders to adopt the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) as the new benchmark lending rate. The LPR currently sits 20bps below the old benchmark rate (Chart 11). Hence, the PBOC’s order amounts to a stealth rate cut. Our China strategists expect further reductions in the LPR over the next six months. In addition, the crackdown on shadow bank lending seems to be subsiding, which bodes well for overall credit growth later this year (Chart 12). Chart 11China: Stealth Monetary Easing Chart 12Crackdown On Shadow Banking In China Is Easing   Rising Economic Confidence Chart 13Recession Fears Amongst Economists Began To Gather Steam At The Start Of Last Year Chart 14The Wider Public Was Also Worried About A Downturn   At the start of 2019, nearly half of US CFOs thought the economy would be in a recession by the end of the year. Similarly, two-thirds of European CFOs and four-fifths of Canadian CFOs expected their respective economies to succumb to recession. Professional economists were equally dire (Chart 13). Households also became increasingly worried about a downturn. Google searches for “recession” spiked to near 2009-highs last summer (Chart 14). The mood has certainly improved since then. According to the latest Duke CFO survey, optimism about the economic outlook has increased. More importantly, CFO optimism about the prospects for their own firms has risen to the highest level in the 18-year history of the survey (Chart 15). Chart 15CFOs Have Become More Optimistic Of Late Show Me The Money Going forward, global growth needs to accelerate in order to validate the improved confidence of CFOs and investors alike. We think that it will, thanks to the lagged effects from the easing in financial conditions in 2019, a turn in the global inventory cycle, a de-escalation in the trade war, easier fiscal policy in the UK and euro area, and re-upped fiscal/credit stimulus in China. For now, however, the economic data remains mixed. On the positive side, household spending is still robust across most of the world, a fact that has been reflected in the resilience of service-sector PMIs (Chart 16). Chart 16AThe Service Sector Has Remained Resilient (I) Chart 16BThe Service Sector Has Remained Resilient (II) Chart 17US Wage Growth Has Picked Up, Especially At The Bottom Of The Income Distribution Chart 18US Housing Backdrop Is Solid The US consumer, in particular, is showing little signs of fatigue. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow estimates that real personal consumption grew by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, having increased at an average annualized pace of 3% in the first three quarters of 2019. Both a strong labor market and housing market have buoyed US consumption. Payrolls have risen by an average of 200K per month for the past six months, double what is necessary to keep up with labor force growth. This week’s strong ADP release – which featured a 29K jump in jobs in goods-producing industries in December, the best since April – suggests that today’s jobs report will remain healthy. In addition, wage growth has picked up, particularly at the bottom of the income distribution (Chart 17). Residential construction has also been strong. Homebuilder sentiment reached the best level since June 1999 (Chart 18). Global Manufacturing: Too Early To Call The All-Clear The outlook for manufacturing remains the biggest question mark in the global economy. The US ISM manufacturing index dropped to 47.2 in December, its lowest level since June 2009. The composition of the report was poor, with the new orders-to-inventory ratio dropping close to recent lows. Chart 19Other US Manufacturing Gauges Are Not As Weak As The ISM We would discount the ISM report to some extent. The regional Fed manufacturing indices have not been nearly as disappointing as the ISM (Chart 19). The Markit PMI, which tracks US manufacturing activity better than the ISM, clocked in at a respectable 52.4 in December, down only slightly from November’s reading of 52.6. Nevertheless, it is hard to be excited about the near-term outlook for US manufacturing, especially in light of Boeing’s decision to suspend production of the 737 Max temporarily. Most estimates suggest that the production halt will reduce real US GDP growth by 0.3%-to-0.5% in the first quarter. The euro area manufacturing PMI gave up some of its November gains, falling to 46.3 in December. While the index is still above its September low of 45.7, it has been under 50 for 11 straight months now. The UK and Japanese PMI also retreated. Chinese manufacturing has shown clearer signs of bottoming out. Despite dipping in December, the private sector Caixin manufacturing PMI remains near its 2017 highs. The official PMI published by the National Bureau of Statistics is less upbeat, but still managed to come in slightly above 50 in December. The production subcomponent reached the highest level since August 2018. Reflecting the positive trend in the Chinese economy, Korean exports to China rose by 3.3% in December, the first positive growth rate in 14 months (Chart 20). Taiwan’s exports have also rebounded. The manufacturing PMI rose above 50 in both economies in December. In Taiwan’s case, this was the first time the PMI moved into expansionary territory since September 2018. On balance, we continue to expect global manufacturing to recover in 2020. This is in line with our observation that global manufacturing cycles typically last three years, with 18 months of weaker growth followed by 18 months of stronger growth (Chart 21). That said, the weakness in European and US manufacturing (at least judged by the ISM) is likely to give investors pause. Chart 20Some Positive Signs Emerging From Korea And Taiwan Chart 21A Fairly Regular Three-Year Manufacturing Cycle   Investment Conclusions We turned bullish on stocks in late 2018, having temporarily moved to the sidelines during the summer of that year. Global equities have gained 25% since our upgrade. We see another 10% of upside for 2020, led by European and EM bourses. Despite its recent gains, the real value of the MSCI All-Country World Index is only 3% above its prior peak in January 2018. The 12-month forward PE ratio of 16.3 is still somewhat lower than it was back then. The valuation picture is even more enticing if we compare equity earnings yields with bond yields, which is tantamount to computing a rough equity risk premium (ERP). The global ERP remains quite high by historic standards, especially outside the US where earnings yields are higher and bond yields are generally lower (Chart 22). Chart 22The Equity Risk Premium Is Fairly High, Especially Outside The US Chart 23Stock Market Sentiment Is Quite Bullish   Nevertheless, sentiment is quite positive towards stocks at the moment (Chart 23). Elevated bullish sentiment, against the backdrop of ongoing uncertainty about the outlook for global manufacturing and an uneasy truce between the US and Iran, poses a near-term headwind to risk assets. As such, while we are maintaining our positive 12-month view on global equities and high-yield credit, we are downgrading our tactical 3-month view to neutral for the time being. We do not regard this as a major realignment of our views; we will turn tactically bullish again if stocks dip about 5% from current levels.   Peter Berezin Chief Global Strategist peterb@bcaresearch.com   Footnotes 1 Ariel Edwards-Levy, “Here's What Americans Think About Trump's Iran Policy,” TheHuffingtonPost.com (January 6, 2020).   MacroQuant Model And Current Subjective Scores   Strategic Recommendations Closed Trades

Highlights An analysis on Indonesia is available below. We intend to maintain our long EM stocks position, initiated on December 19, as long as the MSCI EM equity index does not break below our stop point of 6% below current levels. Global trade will improve on a rate-of-change basis. Nevertheless, both money and bank asset impulses in China have already rolled over, and the credit impulse could relapse in the first half of 2020. As a result, the staying power of China’s recovery remains doubtful. For now, we continue to recommend underweighting EM equities, currencies and credit markets versus their DM counterparts. Feature Chart I-1Investors Are Very Bullish On US Stocks EM share prices and currencies are at a crossroads. On one hand, some green shoots have recently emerged in Asia’s business cycle. On the other hand, global stocks are overbought and investor sentiment is very bullish, as evidenced by the record large net long position held by asset managers and leveraged funds in US equity indices futures (Chart I-1). The clash between these forces will define trading in EM risk assets in the coming weeks. If EM share prices and currencies consolidate their recent gains without a major relapse, it will signal that a sustainable rally lies ahead. Alternatively, if EM stocks and exchange rates drop considerably, it will indicate that improving investor sentiment and flows (technicals) rather than a durable recovery in corporate profitability (fundamentals) are what produced the recent rebound. We initiated a long position in EM stocks on December 19 and intend to maintain it unless the MSCI EM equity index breaks below our stop point of 1050, which is 6% below current levels. Green Shoots In Asia There are a number of green shoots beginning to emerge in Asia. December data point to a budding recovery in Asia’s business cycle: manufacturing PMIs rose in December in Korea, Taiwan and Singapore (Chart I-2). The measure was flattish in China and slightly down in Japan (Chart I-2, bottom two panels). Korean exports have begun recovering on a rate-of-change basis (Chart I-3, top panel). What’s more, the average of new and backlog orders rose for Chinese NBS and Taiwanese manufacturing PMIs in the past couple of months (Chart I-3, middle and bottom panels). Chart I-2Green Shoots In Asia Chart I-3Asian Exports To Improve On A Rate-Of-Change Basis   Chart I-4DRAM And NAND Prices Have Improved Post December 15 Finally, following the announcement of the US-China phase one trade deal on December 13, semiconductor NAND and DRAM prices rose (Chart I-4). It seems that the phase one trade deal has boosted sentiment not only among investors worldwide but also among business executives in Asia. Even though US ISM and European PMI manufacturing data remain lackluster, we continue to emphasize that what matters for – and is an indication of – EM growth is China’s and emerging Asia’s manufacturing cycles. In a nutshell, we put much more weight on Asian rather than DM manufacturing data when gauging trends in EM stocks and currencies. The marginal improvement in Asian manufacturing provides veracity to the recent rally in EM equities and currencies. Chart I-5China: Credit And Fiscal Versus Broad Money Impulses China’s credit and fiscal impulse continues to point up (Chart I-5, top panel), also supporting the notion that global trade will be improving on a rate-of-change basis. In addition, we have entered the second year of the global trade/manufacturing contraction, and the base effects are much more benign – Asian exports started shrinking in late 2018. Hence, odds are that global trade will be contracting at a reduced pace from a year ago, and by mid-2020 may even post slightly positive growth. Looking beyond the near term, however, the Chinese money and bank asset impulses have already rolled over (Chart I-5, middle and bottom panels). Given that they have often led the credit and fiscal spending impulse, odds are that the latter will roll over in the coming months. If this is indeed the case, the improvement in China’s growth will be short-lived. What does it all mean? Investors should play this EM rally with tight stop points. The near-term growth outlook is benign, but the sustainability of this recovery is not yet assured. Having rebounded in recent months, EM financial markets could soon start looking through the current improvement in economic conditions in China and could become preoccupied with its growth outlook in the second half of 2020. Market Signals Are Mixed Apart from China’s money and credit impulses, we are watching numerous market signals to corroborate or reject the hypothesis of a durable recovery in both China’s business cycle and global trade. Several of these market signals have not yet confirmed this hypothesis. Chinese and Korean government bond yields have drifted lower in recent weeks, a phenomenon that is typically associated with weakening growth in China and global trade (Chart I-6). Apart from semiconductor stocks, global cyclical sectors have not outperformed the global equity index. Specifically, global industrials, materials, autos, as well as freight and logistics, have been flat to down versus the global aggregate stock index (Chart I-7). Chart I-6Yellow Flags From Bond Yields In China And Korea Chart I-7Global Cyclicals Have Not Outperformed Yet Chart I-8No Breakout In Industrial Metals Prices Industrial metals in general – and copper prices in particular – have not yet broken out (Chart I-8). Correspondingly, the broad trade-weighted US dollar has corrected sharply but has not yet broken down. So far, the greenback’s retrenchment is more consistent with a correction rather than a bear market. A breakout in industrial metals prices and a breakdown in the broad trade-weighted dollar would confirm that China’s growth and global trade have entered a period of lasting expansion. Finally, our Risk-On/Safe-Haven currency ratio1 has so far been inconclusive. This ratio strongly correlates with the EM equity index (Chart I-9). Barring a major breakout in this indicator, the medium- and long-term outlook for EM stocks will remain opaque. Chart I-9Cyclical Versus Safe-Haven Currencies And EM Stocks Bottom Line: While some global growth-sensitive markets have broken out, signposts from other markets are not yet flashing green. In the coming weeks, price actions in EM financial markets will reveal if EM stocks and currencies have entered a genuine and lasting bull market or if their recent rebound has been driven by euphoria surrounding the US-China trade deal. Asset Allocation: EM Versus DM We recommended buying EM stocks on December 19 but we stopped short of outright upgrading EM versus DM stocks. We are seeking confirmation from the market signals listed above before upgrading our allocation to EM within a global equity portfolio from underweight to overweight. While some global growth-sensitive markets have broken out, signposts from other markets are not yet flashing green. First, EM per-share earnings (EPS) continue to underperform DM EPS in both local and common currency terms (Chart I-10). So long as EM EPS lag DM peers, EM equities, currencies and credit markets will trail their DM counterparts. Second, growth woes in EM are not limited to China or global trade. Domestic demand in many EM economies outside China, Korea and Taiwan continues to slump (Chart I-11, top and middle panel). Besides, core inflation has fallen to a record low, dampening corporate profits (Chart I-11, bottom panel). Chart I-10EM EPS Continues To Lag DM Chart I-11EM Ex-China, Korea and Taiwan: Domestic Demand Is Very Weak Chart I-12EM Ex-China, Korea And Taiwan: Need Lower Lending Rates Even though EM central banks have reduced interest rates, in many economies lending rates in real, inflation-adjusted terms have risen rather than declined (Chart I-12). The basis is that inflation has dropped more than lending rates. High lending rates explain why credit demand is poor. In a nutshell, many EM economies require much more easing to recover. Third, EM equity valuations are not more attractive than DM ones. While EM stocks are cheaper compared to their US counterparts, they are more expensive versus euro area equities. Overall, EM equities command a neutral valuation both in absolute terms and relative to their DM counterparts (Chart I-13). In short, there is no strong valuation case for favoring EM versus DM. Finally, we have been speculating since March 2019 that the absolute and relative performance of EM stocks is more likely to resemble their profiles in 2011-14 rather than in 2016-17. This thesis has so far been playing out. Chart I-14 illustrates an overlay of share prices in EM and DM as well as EM’s relative equity performance to DM. The overlay compares the period from 2017 to present with the one from 2011-14. Chart I-13EM Equities Command Neutral Valuations Chart I-14EM And DM Stocks Are Tracking Their 2012 Profiles   DM share prices rallied substantially in 2011-14 but EM equities, currencies and credit markets as well as commodities prices have been flat to down. As a result, EM massively underperformed DM during that global bull market (Chart I-14, bottom panel). EM equities command a neutral valuation both in absolute terms and relative to their DM counterparts. That occurred because EM domestic fundamentals were poor back in 2011-14 and China’s growth stabilized but failed to stage a meaningful recovery (please refer to the bottom panel of Chart I-2 on page 2). Bottom Line: We continue to recommend underweighting EM equities, currencies and credit markets versus their DM counterparts. Review Of Some Of Our Open Positions We are closing the following strategic position: short EM equities / long US 30-year Treasurys. In the past 10 years, US bonds have done much better than EM equities on a total return basis in common currency terms (Chart I-15). This position had been profitable till October but our gains have evaporated since then and we are closing it flat. We are booking a 8.3% gain on long Asian / short US semiconductor stocks, a position initiated on June 13, 2019. Asian semis stocks have already rallied a lot and potential weakness in the US dollar will help US semis while cap upside in Asian semis stocks. We are reiterating the long gold / short oil and copper trade recommended on July 11, 2019 (Chart I-16). In any feasible global macro scenario, gold will continue outperforming oil and copper. The basis is that global real interest rates will stay low. Chart I-15Close Short EM Equities / Long US 30-Year Treasurys Position Chart I-16Stay With Long Gold / Short Oil And Copper Trade   Arthur Budaghyan Chief Emerging Markets Strategist arthurb@bcaresearch.com Indonesia: Struggling Under High Real Rates Indonesian commercial banks have been the only leg holding up the Indonesian stock market (Chart II-1). However, their cyclical outlook is uninspiring as their share prices risk selling off. The critical issue is that lending rates in the Indonesian economy are too high for borrowers. Hence, banks are facing a lose-lose dilemma: Either bank lending rates will have to drop, squeezing Indonesian commercial banks’ net interest rate margins, or non-performing loans (NPL) will mushroom as debtors cannot afford such high borrowing costs. In both cases, bank profits will suffer. Both of these scenarios are bearish for commercial banks’ share prices. Given that banks account for 47% of the overall MSCI Indonesia stock market capitalization and the rest of the equity market has been struggling due to worsening corporate profitability, the outlook for this bourse is downbeat. We continue recommending underweighting Indonesian stocks within an EM equity portfolio. The Indonesian economy is facing strong deflationary pressures. Both headline and core consumer price inflation have dropped to the bottom of the central bank’s inflation target band (Chart II-2, top panel). Meanwhile, corporate pricing power as measured by the GDP deflator has weakened significantly (Chart II-2, bottom panel). Chart II-1Indonesia: Financials Are The Only Sector Rallying Chart II-2Indonesia: Inflation Is Undershooting   Disinflationary forces have caused the nation’s nominal GDP growth to plummet dangerously below bank lending rates (Chart II-3). This makes it more difficult for borrowers to service their debt and will ensure rising NPL in the banking system. Crucially, it also discourages new credit demand. The top panel of Chart II-4 shows that bank loan growth is decelerating. Chart II-3Borrowing Costs Are Excessive Chart II-4Policy Rate Cuts Did Not Translate To Much Lower Bank Lending Rates     Although the central bank has cut its policy rate by 100 basis points in 2019, bank lending rates dropped by only 17 basis points and currently stand at 10.2% in nominal terms (Chart II-4, middle panel). In real (inflation-adjusted) terms, bank lending rates remain very elevated (Chart II-4, bottom panel). Consistent with excessive borrowing costs, both the consumer and business sectors are struggling: Retail sales (excluding vehicles) volume growth is hovering around zero (Chart II-5, top panel). Retail sales of specific items are contracting (Chart II-5, middle panel). Meanwhile, motorcycle and car unit sales are shrinking (Chart II-5, bottom panel). Industrial activity is also lackluster. Freight traffic is very weak, capital goods imports are contracting and domestic cement consumption remains anemic (Chart II-6). Consistently, EBITDA of non-financial publically-listed companies is flirting with contraction (Chart II-7). Chart II-5A Major Deceleration In The Consumer Sector Chart II-6Indonesia: Industrial Activity Is Subdued   Overall, the Indonesian economy needs much lower lending rates and a fiscal boost. The government is focused on keeping the budget deficit in check and no major fiscal stimulus should be expected. Therefore, monetary policy/lower interest rates should be the only source of stimulus. Overall, the Indonesian economy needs much lower lending rates and a fiscal boost. With rate cuts by the central bank failing to translate into much lower bank lending rates, the sole viable option for authorities is to force commercial banks to reduce their lending rates. This strategy appears to be already in place, as demonstrated by President Joko Widodo’s November speech where he explicitly encouraged commercial banks to lower their lending rates. Such moral suasion or regulatory push by the authorities will likely intensify in the coming months. Doing so, however, will squeeze commercial banks’ net interest rate margins and hit banks’ profits (Chart II-8). Alternatively, if banks refuse to drop their lending rates meaningfully, their NPL will proliferate, damaging their profits.  Chart II-7Indonesia: Corporate Profits Are About To Contract Chart II-8Commercial Banks' Net Interest Margins Will Fall   Importantly, Indonesian commercial banks are expensive with a PBV ratio of 2.7; therefore, banks’ share prices will be extremely sensitive to negative news regarding their profit growth outlook. Investment Recommendations Chart II-9Indonesian Stocks Relative To The EM Equity Benchmark Equity investors should continue underweighting this bourse. Chart II-9 shows that relative equity performance versus EM is teetering. Our short position in the rupiah versus the US dollar remains in place but we are instituting a stop point at 13500 USD/IDR to manage risks. The basis for rupiah depreciation is as follows: In an economy that is facing unbearable high real borrowing costs and no willingness or ability to stimulate fiscally, the currency will likely serve as an adjustment valve. It will probably depreciate to boost exports and encourage import substitution as well as generate inflation. Critically, when the economy is stumbling due to excessive real interest rates, the latter do not typically engineer currency appreciation. In fact, the currency tends to depreciate rather than appreciate in cases when the return on capital is below borrowing costs. Indonesia fits this profile very well. Consistent with our expectations for currency depreciation, we continue underweighting Indonesian domestic bonds and sovereign credit within their respective EM benchmarks. We will alter this stance if our stop on the rupiah is triggered. Ayman Kawtharani Editor/Strategist ayman@bcaresearch.com Footnotes 1    Average of CAD, AUD, NZD, BRL, MXN, RUB, CLP & ZAR total return indices relative to average OF JPY & CHF total return indices. Equities Recommendations Currencies, Credit And Fixed-Income Recommendations

Highlights Incoming economic data suggests that China’s economy is in the process of bottoming, but also that the intensity of a recovery is likely to be more muted than it has been during past economic cycles. Recent Chinese equity market performance is consistent with a bottoming in the economy: cyclicals are outperforming defensives, and both the investable and domestic markets have broken above their respective 200-day moving averages versus global stocks. We continue to recommend that investors cyclically overweight Chinese domestic and investable stocks relative to the global benchmark. However, there is more potential upside for investable than domestic stocks, and the gains in both markets may be front loaded in the first half of the year. Feature Tables 1 and 2 on pages 2 and 3 highlight key developments in China’s economy and its financial markets over the past month. On the growth front, several indicators now suggest that China’s economy is in the process of bottoming, but these indicators also imply that the intensity of a recovery in economic activity is likely to be more muted than it has been during past economic cycles. We see this as consistent with the views presented in our December 11 Weekly Report,1 which laid out four key themes for China and its financial markets for 2020. Table 1China Macro Data Summary Table 2China Financial Market Performance Summary Within financial markets, recent developments are also consistent with the view that Chinese economic activity will modestly accelerate and that a Sino-American trade truce will last until the US presidential election in November 2020. Chinese stocks have rallied both in absolute terms and relative to global equities over the past month, and cyclical stocks are clearly outperforming defensives on an equally-weighted basis in both markets. The RMB has also appreciated modestly, with USD-CNY having now durably fallen back below the 7 mark. We continue to recommend that investors cyclically overweight Chinese domestic and investable stocks relative to the global benchmark, with the caveat that we expect more potential upside for investable than domestic stocks and the gains in both markets may be front loaded in the first half of the year. We expect modest further gains in the RMB over the coming few months, as we see the PBoC is unwilling to allow rapid appreciation. In reference to Tables 1 and 2, we provide several detailed observations below concerning developments in China’s macro and financial market data: Chart 1A Bottoming In China's Economic Growth Is Now Likely Underway On a smoothed basis, the Bloomberg Li Keqiang index (LKI) rose in November, driven largely by an improvement in electricity output (Chart 1). While our alternative LKI is weaker than Bloomberg’s measure, we see the improvement in the latter as a sign of a bottoming process for growth that is now underway (Bottom panel, Chart 1). Our leading indicator for the Li Keqiang index was essentially flat in November, with the large gap that has persisted between the degree of monetary accommodation and money & credit growth still present. There was a notable improvement in the Bloomberg Monetary Conditions Index (MCI) in November, but this can be attributed to a surge in headline inflation (which depressed real interest rates). This underscores that the ongoing uptrend in our LKI leading indicator is modest, and that an improvement in economic activity this year is thus unlikely to be sharp or intense. With the pace of pledged supplementary lending (PSL) injections and Tier 1 housing price appreciation as exceptions, all of the housing market data series that we track in Table 1 deteriorated in November. On a smoothed basis, residential housing sales rose at a slower pace and the previous surge in housing construction waned, in line with our expectation (Chart 2). House prices have continued to deviate from housing sales; deteriorating affordability and tight housing regulations have contributed to this divergence. Although funding from the PBoC’s PSL program improved in November, even further funding assistance is likely necessary in order to expect a strong uptrend in housing sales given the affordability and regulatory headwinds (Bottom panel, Chart 2). Both China’s Caixin and official manufacturing PMIs continue to signal positive signs for Chinese economic activity. While the Caixin PMI fell slightly in December, it stayed in expansionary territory for the fifth consecutive month. The official PMI also provided positive signs: the overall index remained above 50 for the second month, the production component rose further into expansionary territory, and the new export orders moved above the 50 mark. All told, China’s PMI data now clearly suggests that a bottoming in China’s economic growth is underway. Although the overall PMI data is sending a positive signal, Chart 3 highlights two series that are somewhat less positive. First, while the import component of the official PMI is rising, it is lagging other key sub-components and remains below 50. In addition, the PMI for small enterprises, which led the early phase of the 2016 recovery in the official PMI, has not meaningfully changed over the past few months. For now, these series suggest that a recovery in growth is likely to be muted compared with previous episodes over the past decade. Chart 2More Accommodative Funding Is Needed For Stronger Housing Sales Chart 3Weaker PMI Sub-Components Suggest A More Muted Recovery In USD terms, China’s equity markets (both investable and domestic) have rallied more than 8%-9% in absolute terms over the past month. In relative terms, both investable and A-share markets have also outperformed the global benchmark. It is notable that the relative performance trend of Chinese investable stocks has broken clearly above its 200-day moving average, which is the first time since the trade talks collapsed in May of last year (Chart 4A). The strong rally in China’s stock prices over the past month, particularly in the investable market, largely reflect the likely signing of a trade truce between the US and China. In our view, more accommodative monetary and fiscal support in 2020, as well as an ongoing truce, provide a sound basis to overweight China’s stocks within a global equity portfolio over both a tactical and cyclical horizon. However, we expect that China’s investable market has more upside potential than its domestic peer, given how much further the former fell in 2019.    From an equity sector perspective, the most notable development over the past month is that cyclical sectors have outperformed defensives in both the investable and domestic markets and have broken above their respective 200-day moving averages (Chart 4B). Among cyclical sectors, industrials, energy, consumer discretionary, especially materials and telecommunication services, have all contributed to cyclical outperformance over the past month. The outperformance of cyclical sectors is strongly consistent with continued outperformance of Chinese stocks versus the global average, and strengthens our conviction that investors should be overweight Chinese markets within a regional equity portfolio. China’s 3-month repo rate fell meaningfully over the past week, in response to a 50 bps cut in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR). The decline has merely returned the repo rate back to the level that prevailed on average in 2019, but it does underscore the PBoC’s desire to modestly ease liquidity on a net basis. We will be presenting a Special Report on China’s government bond market later this month, but for now, our view remains that easier monetary policy is unlikely to materially impact Chinese government bond yields this year, unless the PBoC decides to target sharply lower interbank repo rates (which is not our expectation). Chart 4AThe Meaningful Rally In China's Equity Markets Sends A Positive Signal Chart 4BThe Outperformance Of Cyclicals Over Defensives Is Consistent With An Economic Recovery China’s onshore corporate bond spread has risen slightly over the past month alongside falling corporate yields. Despite persistent concerns of rising defaults on China’s onshore corporate bonds, the overall default rate remains quite low compared with those in developed economies, and China’s corporate bond market will benefit from even a modest improvement in economic growth this year. As such, we expect a continued uptrend in China’s onshore corporate bond total return index, and would favor onshore corporate over duration-matched Chinese government bonds. Chart 5A Modest Further Downtrend In USD-CNY This Year Is Likely The RMB has gained more than 1.35% versus the U.S. dollar over the last month, which caused USD-CNY to durably break below 7 (Chart 5). The rise was clearly in response to news that the US and China will agree to a trade truce, and we expect a further modest downtrend in USD-CNY as China’s economy continues to improve. Investors should note that we are likely to close our long USD-CNH trade (currently registering a gain of 1%) following the signing of the Phase One deal on Jan 15, given that we opened the trade as a currency hedge for our overweight towards Chinese stocks (denominated in USD terms). As such, upon the signing of the deal, we would recommend that investors favor Chinese stocks versus the global benchmark in unhedged terms.   Qingyun Xu, CFA Senior Analyst qingyunx@bcaresearch.com Jing Sima China Strategist jings@bcaresearch.com Footnotes 1    Please see China Investment Strategy Weekly Report "2020 Key Views: Four Themes For China In The Coming Year," dated December 11, 2019, available at cis.bcaresearch.com Cyclical Investment Stance Equity Sector Recommendations

Highlights Stock markets begin 2020 with fragile short-term fractal structures, which means there is a two in three chance of a tactical reversal. The bond yield impulse is now a strong headwind, which reliably predicts that bond yields are not far from a near-term peak. The oil price tailwind impulse is fading. German and European growth will lose some momentum in the first and/or second quarters of 2020. Tactically underweight equities versus bonds. But on a longer-term horizon, the low level of bond yields justifies and underpins exponentially elevated equity market valuations. Markets Are Fractally Fragile Stock markets begin 2020 with fragile short-term fractal structures. In plain English, this means that usually cautious value investors have become momentum traders, and their buy orders have fuelled a strong short-term trend. But the danger is that when everybody becomes a momentum trader, liquidity evaporates and the market loses its stability. After all, when everybody agrees, who will take the other side of the trade without destabilising the price? When everybody becomes a momentum trader, liquidity evaporates and the market loses its stability.  When a fractal structure is fragile the tiniest of straws can break the camel’s back. But the straw is simply the catalyst for a potential market reversal. The straw could be, say, US/Iran geopolitical tensions escalating, or it could be something else, or there might be no straw needed at all. The underlying cause of the potential reversal is the market’s fragile fractal structure and its associated illiquidity and instability (Chart of the Week). Chart of the WeekStock Markets Are Fractally Fragile Investment presents no certainties, only probabilities. Successful investing is about identifying and playing those probabilities right. When the market’s fractal structure is at its limit of fragility, the probability that the short-term trend reverses by a third rises to two in three, while the probability that the short-term trend continues uninterrupted drops to one in three. Hence, a fractal warning of a reversal will be right two times out of three, but it will be wrong one time out of three. Still, we can accept being wrong one time out of three if it means we are right the other two times! For further details please revisit our recent Special Report ‘Fractals: The Competitive Advantage In Investing’.1 Translating all of this into current index levels, there is a two in three probability that over the next three months the Euro Stoxx 600 sees 405 before it sees 435. Across the Atlantic, there is a two in three probability that the S&P500 sees 3150 before it sees 3400 (Chart I-2). Nevertheless, a better tactical trade might be to play a short-term reversal in stocks in relative terms versus bonds. Chart I-2Stock Markets Are Fractally Fragile The Bond Yield Impulse Is Now A Strong Headwind A commonly held belief is that a decline in bond yields causes economic growth to accelerate. For example, we frequently hear bold claims such as: financial conditions have eased, so economic growth is likely to pick up. Unfortunately, the commonly held belief is wrong. What causes growth to accelerate or decelerate is not the change in financial conditions but rather the change in the change – the impulse. If the decline in the bond yield is the same in two successive periods, growth will not accelerate. For example, a 0.5 percent decline in the bond yield will trigger new borrowing through an increase in credit demand. The new borrowing will add to spending, meaning it will generate growth. But in the following period, all else being equal, a further 0.5 percent decline in the bond yield will generate the same additional new borrowing and thereby exactly the same growth rate. Therefore, what matters for a growth acceleration or deceleration is whether the bond yield change in the second period is greater or less than that in the first period. In other words, what matters is the bond yield impulse. A bond yield impulse at +1 percent constitutes a strong headwind to short-term growth.  Now look at the actual numbers. The euro area 10-year bond yield stands at a lowly 0.45 percent and the 6-month change is a seemingly benign +0.2 percent. Nothing to worry about, right? Wrong. The crucial 6-month impulse equals a severe +1 percent, because the +0.2 percent rise in yields followed a sharp -0.8 percent drop in the preceding period (Chart I-3). A similar story holds in the US, where the bond yield 6-month impulse now equals +0.5 percent, the highest level in two years (Chart I-4). Chart I-3The Euro Area Bond Yield Impulse Is Now A Strong Headwind Chart I-4The US Bond Yield Impulse Is A Headwind Too A bond yield impulse at +1 percent constitutes a strong headwind to short-term growth. Hence, through the past decade, this impulse level has reliably predicted that bond yields are not far from a near-term peak (Chart I-5). Combined with fractally fragile stock markets, there is a two in three chance that equities underperform bonds by about 4 percent on a three month tactical horizon. Chart I-5When The Bond Yield Impulse Is A Strong Headwind, Bond Yields Are Near A Local Peak Yet on a longer horizon, the low level of bond yields also provides comfort to equity investors by underpinning elevated valuations. At ultra-low yields, bonds become a risky ‘lose-lose’ proposition: prices can no longer rise much, but they can fall a lot. As bonds become riskier, the much higher return required on formerly riskier assets – such as equities – collapses to the feeble return offered on equally-risky bonds (Chart I-6). Meaning that the valuation of equities resets at an exponentially higher level. Chart I-6Ultra-Low Bond Yields Justify Ultra-Low Returns From Equities As long as bond yields stay near current levels, long-term investors should prefer equities over bonds. The Oil Price Tailwind Impulse Is Fading The preceding discussion on the bond yield impulse applies equally to how the oil price can catalyse growth accelerations and decelerations. For the impact on inflation, what matters is the oil price change. But for the impact on growth accelerations and decelerations what matters is the oil price impulse. The German economy is especially sensitive to the oil price impulse. The German economy is especially sensitive to the oil price impulse. This is because its decentralized ‘hub and spoke’ structure requires a lot of criss-crossing of road traffic that relies on imported oil. Hence, when the oil price falls it subtracts from imports and thereby adds to Germany’s net exports, and vice versa (Chart I-7). But just as for the bond yield, what matters for a growth acceleration or deceleration is whether the oil price change in a given 6-month period is greater or less than that in the preceding 6-month period. In other words, the evolution of the oil price 6-month impulse. Chart I-7The Oil Price Explains Swings In Germany's Net Exports Oscillations in the oil price 6-month impulse have explained the oscillations in Germany’s 6-month economic growth with an uncanny precision. The first half of 2019 constituted a severe headwind impulse, because a 30 percent increase in the oil price followed a 40 percent decline in the previous period, equating to a severe headwind impulse of 70 percent.2 But as the oil price stabilized in the second half of 2019, this flipped into a tailwind impulse of 30 percent (Chart I-8). Chart I-8The Oil Price Tailwind Impulse Is Fading Allowing for typical lags of a few months, this severe headwind impulse followed by a tailwind impulse explains why Germany experienced a sharp slowdown in the middle of 2019 followed by a healthy rebound which continued through the fourth quarter (Chart I-9). Chart I-9The Oil Price Impulse Explains Oscillations In German Growth However, even without any escalation of US/Iran tensions, the oil price 6-month impulse is now fading. Combined with the headwind from the bond yield 6-month impulse it is highly likely that German and European growth will lose some momentum in the first and/or second quarters of 2020. Next week, we will explain what all of this means for sector, country, and regional equity allocation in the first half of 2020. Stay tuned. Fractal Trading System* To repeat the main theme of the week, all of the major stock markets are fractally fragile. Play this by going tactically short stocks versus bonds. Our preferred expression of this is short the S&P500 versus the 10-year T-bond. Set the profit target at 5 percent with a symmetrical stop-loss. Chart I-10EUROSTOXX 600 In other trades, short GBP/NOK achieved its 2.5 percent profit target at which it was closed. The rolling 1-year win ratio now stands at 62 percent comprising 19.7 wins and 12.0 losses. 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. * 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 Footnotes 1 Please see the European Investment Strategy Special Report ‘Fractals: The Competitive Advantage In Investing’, October 10, 2019 available at eis.bcaresearch.com. 2 The 6-month steps in the WTI crude oil price were $74.15, $45.21, and $58.24. The first change equated to a 40 percent decrease and the second change equated to a 30 percent increase. So the 6-month impulse was 70 percent. Fractal Trading System   Cyclical Recommendations Structural Recommendations 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  

Overweight On January 3rd, the United States conducted a drone strike against two high-level targets near the Baghdad International Airport further fueling the tensions in the region. The US President has also warned that should Iran retaliate, death of an American citizen or an attack on US assets is a redline that cannot be crossed. While, at the margin, this new geopolitical risk should refocus investors’ minds and lead to a rise in risk premia, it foreshadows a favorable backdrop for our long-held cyclical and secular overweight in BCA’s Defense Index. As a reminder, the position is currently up nearly 17% since inception. Industry level data corroborates the message from the geopolitical front as the US is projected to continue ramping up its defense spending (middle & bottom panels). Bottom Line: We reiterate our overweight call on the BCA Defense index in light of the increasing geopolitical tensions. The ticker symbols for the stocks in the pure-play BCA defense index are: LMT, RTN, NOC, GD, HII, AJRD, BWXT, CW, MRCY.