When I was working as a junior doctor many years ago, one of my professors always stresses the importance of determining the cause (etiology) of a disease rather than simply alleviating the patient’s symptoms. The collapse of SVB in March and the associated ripples to other regional banks are one of the many symptoms ofContinue reading “Bank Failure Is Only One of Many Symptoms of Tight Monetary Conditions”
Category Archives: Investment Management
Gradually, Then Suddenly: Beware of the Lag Impact of Policy Tightening
Green shoots in the economic data and the associated change in market narrative from hard landing six months ago to no landing currently have bolstered the performance of equities and pushed bond yields to near previous highs. January’s retail sales number shows consumers in the U.S. spent 3% more relative to in December, outpacing analysts’Continue reading “Gradually, Then Suddenly: Beware of the Lag Impact of Policy Tightening”
Evidence, Dear Boy, Evidence
The resilience of the U.S. equity market despite falling fundamentals have continued to puzzle investors expecting lower stock prices. The S&P 500 has rallied 14% from its recent bottom in October, consumer discretionary has been outperforming staples for the past two months and sell-side analysts are sounding more bullish – with some pointing to theContinue reading “Evidence, Dear Boy, Evidence”
Bracing for an Economic Winter
The week between Christmas and New Year last year was exceptionally cold, with snowstorms in both the Eastern and Western Coast of Canada and the U.S. Many flights were cancelled and those that managed to land at their destination, including the one that I was in, experienced heavy turbulence. The exceptionally cold winter this yearContinue reading “Bracing for an Economic Winter”
End of Year Recap: 2022 in a Rearview Mirror
December has always been a good month to reflect on what happened over the past year and set goals for the next. Although this year has been painful for most investors, in hindsight it was only logical that the above-potential growth seen following the pandemic could not last forever and the frothy valuations of bothContinue reading “End of Year Recap: 2022 in a Rearview Mirror”
An Update on Equity Sector
Market has been trading lower since mid-August peak and we are revisiting our recommendation on sectors given the sharp moves in cyclical and defensives of late. Below are our sector view with a brief rationale and supporting charts. Healthcare: Overweigh (2-4%) Pro: uncorrelated to the cycle and historically outperformed due to earnings resilience during downturn.Continue reading “An Update on Equity Sector“
The Making of An Accident, Brace for Impact
It was four decades ago when Federal Reserve last tighten monetary policy in a comparable speed and size to what we are seeing today. This is not surprising as it was also the last time the U.S. saw headline CPI inflation above 8% (Chart 1). Although the Fed was successful in bringing down inflation andContinue reading “The Making of An Accident, Brace for Impact”
Show Me the Data: Equity Outlook Through Growth and Liquidity Lenses
Sentiment and technical analysts are bullish. Fundamental and macro analysts are bearish. This captured the tone among the sell-side research I read in the past three weeks. The equity market 15%+ bounce from mid-June low has made several strategists turned bullish on risk assets, believing that we have seen the low of the cycle. TheContinue reading “Show Me the Data: Equity Outlook Through Growth and Liquidity Lenses“
Macro Roadmap: Turning Point and Equity Rotation
Since early this year, we have been adamant in our view that the U.S. economy will decelerate rapidly this year amid the combination of the rise in the dollar, yields, and oil price, which all amount to a growth tax for the economy. There is little doubt that the manufacturing PMI surveys will show aContinue reading “Macro Roadmap: Turning Point and Equity Rotation”
Equity Bear Market and Today’s Macro: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The U.S. and global stock market have officially entered the bear market in June following upside surprises on U.S. inflation that was followed by the Fed having to raise its interest rate by 75bps – contrary to Chairman Powell’s comment that such size of hike is not on the table weeks earlier. Monetary conditions haveContinue reading “Equity Bear Market and Today’s Macro: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”
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