The Big Picture: Economic Cycle and Market Mean-reversion

The structural decline in long-term yields since 1980 until the covid-19 pandemic had been accompanied by investors complaining that the search of attractive investment opportunities was becoming more difficult over time. The decline in borrowing cost also has a significant ramification for global investors, including boosting stock buyback amid lack of investment opportunities, breeding ofContinueContinue reading “The Big Picture: Economic Cycle and Market Mean-reversion”

Being Defensive: Early or Simply Wrong?

One valuable suggestion my former boss gave me when I started writing macro research note was to imagine myself standing one year in the future, looking back to the events that have transpired since and asking yourself if it should have been more obvious. The regional banking crisis back in March is one of thoseContinueContinue reading “Being Defensive: Early or Simply Wrong?”

Into the Wild: The Known Unknowns

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so” – Mark Twain I think the quote above sums up beautifully the blind spot we and other strategists may have amid the current late phase of the business cycle. After all, few, if any,ContinueContinue reading “Into the Wild: The Known Unknowns”

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 yearContinueContinue reading “Bracing for an Economic Winter”

Ten Predictions for 2023

This year has been particularly difficult for most investors as there are few places to hide from inflation and rising cost of capital. Both equity and long-term bonds are down over 20% YTD, and even the value of cash is being eaten out by inflation, which rose as high as 9.1% y/y back in June.ContinueContinue reading Ten Predictions for 2023

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.ContinueContinue 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 andContinueContinue 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. TheContinueContinue 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 aContinueContinue reading “Macro Roadmap: Turning Point and Equity Rotation”

Can the Stock Market Handle Fed Tightening and Slowing Growth?

Download PDF: 202204_testing_timeDownload Three fundamental events have shaped the first quarter of 2022: Russian invasion of Ukraine, Federal Reserve’s hawkish monetary policy guidance and delivery of its first policy rate hike since the pandemic began, and greater reflationary efforts by Chinese authorities to stimulate growth. All these happened on the backdrop of a strong U.S.ContinueContinue reading “Can the Stock Market Handle Fed Tightening and Slowing Growth?”