Negative Outlook: Chile, Peru and Brazil

Download PDF: Downgrade Chile and Peru to Underweight Our recommendation to trim exposure to Chile and Peru is driven by three things: downside risk in copper price, rising political risk, and aggressive tightening by both countries’ central bank. Slowdown in Chinese growth is going to weigh on commodity intensive Latam bourse heavily through the declineContinue reading “Negative Outlook: Chile, Peru and Brazil”

USDBRL – Better Entry Point Ahead

We are currently cautious on the BRL. Although valuation is cheap, deceleration in global growth and rising downside risk for global equities and commodities mean there will be a better entry point to short USD/BRL. Shorting EUR/BRL is a more attractive trade given the risk of a stronger dollar in such macro environment. First, theContinue reading “USDBRL – Better Entry Point Ahead”

Central and Eastern European Countries: Rising Rates Will Lift All Boats

Download PDF: Central banks in Czech and Hungary have begun to raise their policy rate this year amid acceleration in inflation as their domestic recovery unfolds, creating a tailwind for the koruna and forint against the Euro, which will not see the ECB raising its borrowing cost anytime soon (Chart 1). With Central and EasternContinue reading “Central and Eastern European Countries: Rising Rates Will Lift All Boats”

Research Note: South Africa Local Curve

Download PDF: South African local curve will likely continue to bear flatten in the coming months as the central bank start to raise policy rate as inflationary pressure rises – in line with other EM countries. Currently we see sufficient spread of ZA 10-year bonds against global benchmark amid the backdrop of abundant global liquidityContinue reading “Research Note: South Africa Local Curve”

February 2021: EM Bonds, Brazil and Turkey

Download PDF: EM local-currency bonds EM bonds still have room for spread tightening against U.S. Treasury. The 10-year Treasury yield will have difficulty to break 1.2% level as the Fed is unlikely to raise rate until inflation overshoot its 2% target, creating an anchor for yields globally to remain low. Moreover, the relatively modest fiscalContinue reading “February 2021: EM Bonds, Brazil and Turkey”

South Africa: Is The Worst Yet To Come?

Download PDF: South African government fiscal situation turned from bad to worse this year amid a shortfall in tax revenue and increase in spending to support growth (Chart 1). The government’s revision to its budget in June mainly reflects a shifting of its spending, i.e. delaying projects to 2021/2022 or beyond while prioritizing funds forContinue reading “South Africa: Is The Worst Yet To Come?”

Turkey: The CBRT Strikes Back and A New Hope?

Download PDF: The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey finally capitulated to market pressure and raised its policy rates by 200 bps last week amid a weakening lira. This is a reversal of its aggressive easing policy since the 2018 crisis, when the central bank has been under government pressure to bring its policyContinue reading “Turkey: The CBRT Strikes Back and A New Hope?”

A Tale of Two Countries: Indonesia and Philippines

Download PDF: As a rising growth star in the Emerging Market universe and South East Asia region, both Indonesia and Philippines share many similarities. First, both countries run fiscal and current account deficit. Second, both have a government that are currently focusing on building the country’s capital through multi-year infrastructure projects. Third, they have aContinue reading “A Tale of Two Countries: Indonesia and Philippines”

February 2020: In-Depth Analysis of EM Equities Performance, Valuation and Sector Comparison

Download PDF: Monthly_202002 Part I: EM Equity Performance in the Past Decade In the past decade, investing in Emerging Markets equity has not been particularly rewarding for most investors. Much of it could be blamed to the weakness of EM currencies against the greenback, rather than lackluster earnings growth in EM countries. All EM economies,Continue reading “February 2020: In-Depth Analysis of EM Equities Performance, Valuation and Sector Comparison”

April 2019: Is the Recession in Front or Behind Us?

Download PDF: March19_PC It is tempting to argue that we are currently experiencing the “manufacturing recession”, similar to the “commodity recession” we experienced back in 2011-2012 and 2014-2015. All the data is supporting the thesis that we did have a recession in 2018, albeit a mild one: 1) industrial production and manufacturing PMI weakens inContinue reading “April 2019: Is the Recession in Front or Behind Us?”