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Economy

US job openings softened from 8.5 million in March to 8.1 million in April, below expectations of 8.4 million, and the lowest level in three years. Healthcare and social assistance, as well as leisure and hospitality, drove the decline while openings in the…
The moderation in core PCE in April was a step in the right direction towards a Fed easing. Our Global Investment Strategists also highlighted that outside of a few pandemic-related “catch-up” categories such as shelter, health care, and auto insurance, CPI…
Consumption accounts for two-thirds of the US economy, and our recession view relies heavily on the deteriorating outlook for US consumers. That said, dissecting US GDP into its components reveals that consumption tends to merely stabilize during recessions…

MORENA has once again swept the Mexican election: Claudia Sheinbaum will be president, with little to no constraint in Congress. All in all, Mexican politics will remain stable and overall supportive of markets. In the medium term, fiscal spending will return to conservatism and the constitutional reforms will lead to mixed fiscal and economic repercussions. In the long term, however, fiscal and institutional risks will rise. We advise investors to remain overweight Mexican risk assets relative to EM in cyclical and structural time horizons, but prepare for Mexican markets to sell off in absolute and relative terms in the next couple of months.

The ISM manufacturing PMI declined further in May, from 49.2 to 48.7, thus disappointing expectations of a slower pace of deterioration. Similar to dynamics observed with their Chinese counterparts (see Country Focus), both US manufacturing PMI measures are…
The Caixin Chinese manufacturing PMI reached a two-year high in May, expanding at a larger-than-expected rate from 51.4 to 51.7. The Caixin figure thus contrasts with the alternative NBS manufacturing PMI, which unexpectedly contracted in May. The Caixin…
The Swiss KOF Barometer is a composite leading indicator of the Swiss economy. It surprised to the downside in May, coming in at 100.3 from 101.9, below expectation of an acceleration to 102.1. Switzerland’s economy is highly pro-cyclical and export-oriented,…
According to BCA Research’s Commodity & Energy Strategy service, the oil demand forecasts from the IEA, EIA, and OPEC are too optimistic. The IEA, EIA, and OPEC all anticipate oil demand growth to slow this year following a robust post-pandemic increase over…

Our Portfolio Allocation Summary for June 2024.

The US economy is in the “Overheating” phase, so stronger growth brings higher inflation. Tight monetary policy means recession is still likely over the next 12 months. Stay defensive.