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Greek Games
After the Syriza party won 149 of the 300 seats in the Jan. 24th Greek elections, European markets have been roiled by worries over another crisis developing. In this report, we use game theory to describe the situation between Greece and the EU/Germany/ECB. This method shows how misunderstandings can develop and how catastrophic mistakes are made. Using this structure, we will outline the positions and perceptions of both sides and describe how this situation could lead to another crisis. As always, we will finish with market ramifications.
Riding An Aging Bull (Market)
The year has begun in roller coaster fashion, and our team has been busy reading and digesting the many 2015 outlooks that come across our desks. But reading is the easy part, and now it’s our turn to distill the many facets of our process into a workable thesis that allows us to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns in this maturing market cycle.
Bonds or Jeter?
In baseball, batters choose to either swing for the fences in hopes of a home run or go for more consistent base hits. These same principles are highly relevant to the current market environment and long-term investment success. So, see if you really want home run hitters in your portfolio?
The International Ramifications of ECB QE
by Andrew Bosomworth of PIMCO,
By engaging in quantitative easing, the European Central Bank is pursuing its inflation mandate with a vengeance. Overall, we think the combination of quantitative easing, investment and lower oil prices will help eurozone growth reach approximately 1.3% in 2015. Global central bank balance sheets continue to expand: Although the Federal Reserve stopped purchasing assets in 2014, the Bank of Japan and now the ECB have stepped up buying bonds where the Fed left off.
Leaning in to Headwinds and Headlines
by Matt Dennis of Invesco Blog,
There’s been no shortage of headlines focused on European volatility lately, and the current consensus is that Europe is the last place investors want to put money. The risk for investors in my mind, however, is that they follow the headlines and exit Europe now instead of leaning into the headwinds of consensus and building positions.
Expect a Decade of 1.7% Portfolio Returns from a Conventional Asset Mix
by John Hussman of Hussman Funds,
The problem for investors here is that risk premiums are compressed in equities at a time when bonds offer no way out. When risk premiums are compressed across the board, conventional asset allocations are very much like trying to squeeze water from a stone. We project a 10-year nominal annual portfolio total return averaging only about 1.7% annually for anything close to a standard portfolio mix of equities, bonds and cash, regardless of how much diversification one has within each of those asset classes.
Quarterly Letter
by Team of Grey Owl Capital Management,
Over the past seven months the price of oil has plunged from a peak above $100/barrel to the mid-$40s today. This is just the most extreme version of the market volatility and divergence we began highlighting in our second quarter letter. A cautious investment stance remains the prudent choice.
Worried About US Stocks?
by Joseph G. Paul of AllianceBernstein,
After a jittery January, investors in US equities are gritting their teeth. But even if equities lose some steam after last year’s rally, we think company fundamentals and the interest-rate environment should support a resilient market in 2015.
Why own bonds?
by Anthony Valeri of LPL Financial,
A soft start for the U.S. stock market in 2015 once again illustrates the diversification benefit of high-quality bonds even at very low yields. Even in a low-yield environment, bonds provide a cushion as price movements, not yields, are the primary buffer to equity movements. An allocation to core bonds, in addition to more attractively valued high-yield bonds, may make sense for investors.
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities: Approaching the Later Innings of a Recovery
With the U.S. recovery as a supportive backdrop, PIMCO expects commercial real estate prices to rise 4%-6% in 2015. Commercial mortgage-backed securities issuance has increased for five years, and projections for 2015 are for growth of 20%-30%, driven largely by an increase in maturing loans on the supply side and the continued search for yield on the demand side. The growth in issuance does not come without concern: CMBS underwriting standards will likely continue to slip.
Don't fret about January effect
by Burt White of LPL Financial,
The stock market fell in January, causing some to ask whether the so-called January effect means that stocks will fall this year. Recall less than four weeks ago the “first five days” indicator sent a positive stock market signal for 2015. We always put fundamentals first when forecasting stock market direction—and on that score, we believe stocks still look good.
Greek Drama
Alexis Tsipras, the new prime minister of Greece, was elected because he and the Greeks who voted for him oppose the austerity imposed by Greece’s creditors. Apparently, markets were shocked by this turn of events: Greek bond yields spiked and bank stock prices plunged as euros began flowing out of the country. But should this scene have been a surprise?
The Opportunity in Volatility
by Heather Rupp of AdvisorShares,
While 2014 was characterized largely by the lack of volatility for most the year, and active management suffered as a result, we see those tables turning in 2015 as we expect this volatility to continue. As we sit today, we see an attractive entry point into the high yield market for active managers who can parse through the space to determine where there is value to be had, and where there are value-traps.
There's Diversity in Value
A portfolio comprising long positions in individual fundamentally weighted country indices and short positions in cap-weighted country indices might prove to be the Boris Diaw of a diversified portfolio. Investors would be unlikely to meet their return targets by concentrating all their assets in such a strategy. However, given its high Sharpe ratio and low correlation with widely used asset classes, it seems a suitable addition to a robust asset mix.
Seeking Value Amid Volatility
by Russ Koesterich of BlackRock,
Stocks struggled last week, and once again the losses were most pronounced in the United States.
Financial markets remain highly volatile, with violent swings in the oil price and interest rates adding to the angst.
With the Fed likely to start removing monetary accommodation, 2015 was bound to be a more volatile year than last.
Deflation: Consternation Not Elation
Deflation has been around ever since there was an excess supply of something or when demand had plummeted. The term “deflation” has now become mainstream in the general public’s lexicon, though the understanding of the declining economic growth that corresponds with it is often disregarded until it wreaks havoc on the consumer’s paycheck. When we see deflation permeating global economics, market movements and NFL games, the general public will become acutely aware of the other major impact from deflation, the increasing symbiotic nature of all the global economies.
Municipal Market Perspectives
by Team of SMC Fixed Income Management,
Pick your poison: weaker oil and copper prices; increasing gold demand; Swiss Franc and Canadian Dollar devaluations; another possible Greek tragedy; launch of European Central Bank (“ECB”) bond buying program; waning emerging markets; weakening U.S. stock prices; global deflation worries. It appears to us that the broadening global weakness could be beginning to negatively impact the U.S. expansion. Given the current state of global events, we see no reason for the Fed to prematurely move ahead with its rate normalization plan as many anticipate occurring by mid-year 2015.
Weighing the Week Ahead: Will the data deluge signal economic weakness?
This is a landslide week for economic data, and earnings season is in full swing. Last week’s Q4 GDP report and overall market tone has revived deflation concerns. I expect market participants to be watching each economic release closely, asking: Are there signs of incipient economic weakness?
Market Action Suggests Abrupt Slowing in Global Economic Activity
by John Hussman of Hussman Funds,
The combination of widening credit spreads, deteriorating market internals, plunging commodity prices, and collapsing yields on Treasury debt continues to be most consistent with an abrupt slowing in global economic activity.
Finding Tax-Free Transfer Opportunities in Undervalued Energy Stocks
In the past few weeks, crude oil has extended its biggest price slump since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, dropping to the lowest levels since 2009 amid signs of softer demand growth from major economies, strong output from the US and steady output from the rest of the world.
PIMCO Extends Its Dividend Suite With Two New Regional Strategies
by Brad Kinkelaar, Adam Muller of PIMCO,
As is the case with our other dividend strategies, we are unconstrained by benchmarks and focused on generating yield and capital appreciation by finding attractively valued companies that pay appealing dividends today and have an ability and willingness to grow dividends over time.
Games People Play
My mother taught me how to play Monopoly ? the game ? and the markets over 40 years past have taught me how to play Monopoly ? the financial economy. Financial markets and our finance-based economy are actually quite similar to the game in terms of the rules and strategies it takes to win. Monopoly?s real-time bank (the Fed) distributes money to players at the beginning and then continues to create more and more credit as the economy passes go.
Municipal Market Update: What's Ahead in 2015
Municipal bonds ended 2014 as one of the best-performing asset classes - buoyed by investors’ search for yield in a low interest-rate environment. For 2015, we are positioned cautiously for greater volatility in the fixed income markets. We currently prefer revenue-backed bonds over most general obligation (GO) debt, as these sectors typically benefit from dedicated revenue streams and do not have the pension challenges that many state and local governments face.
Commodity Outlook 2015: Watching the Supply Response Across Markets?
Today?s low oil prices should allow for supply and demand to come back into alignment by year-end, led by a decline in the U.S. output growth rate and a modest increase in global demand. We expect continued oversupply to weigh on natural gas prices this year, but some semblance of balance may return to this market in 2016. Grain prices may experience pressure in 2015 as low oil prices pass through to corn prices, which may cause producers to switch to higher-priced crops. With production growth likely having peaked, we expect metals prices to stabilize this year.
European Central Bank Embraces QE, For Better Or Worse
Last Thursday, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi announced the much-anticipated launch of a sovereign bond buying program at the rate of ?60 billion ($70 billion) per month known as ?quantitative easing.? The amount of the monthly purchases was slightly higher than had been expected.
Is There A Case For German Equities?
by Team of GaveKal Capital,
With the highest productivity in Europe, a sizeable current account surplus and rock bottom interest rates, is there a case to made for German equities? Germany's competitiveness, export performance and trade surplus should increase as the Euro weakens helping German exporters in markets outside of the Euro bloc.
Global Economic Perspective: January
by Christopher Molumphy, Michael Materasso, Roger Bayston, Michael Hasenstab, John Beck of Franklin Templeton Investments,
After a much better-than-expected annualized growth rate of 5% in the third quarter of 2014, the stars would seem to be fairly much aligned for continued US growth in the months ahead. Job growth has continued apace, interest rates and energy prices have remained low, and consumer and business confidence has been buoyant. As we start the new year, the main areas of uncertainty would seem to be the pace of growth and the implications of recent price and employment trends for the timing of monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
What Happened to the Secular Bear Market in Equities?
History shows that US equity prices have consistently alternated between secular bull and bear trends. These price movements typically average 15-20 years in length and embrace several different business cycles. In April 2003 we published an article posing the question, ?Whither the Secular Trend of Equities?? which laid out the case for the year 2000 being a secular or very long-term peak for the US stock market. Since the three previous secular bears averaged just over 18-years, our working hypothesis was for a weak market until sometime around 2018.
No Deflating the U.S. Dollar
by Burt White of LPL Financial,
The latest leg up for the U.S. dollar has been driven by anticipation and arrival of QE by the ECB. The dollar has been strong for a number of reasons, all of them good things. Though not the end all and be all, currency is an important consideration when determining asset allocation.
Introducing the Retirement Wealth and Affordability Indices
by Wade Pfau,
How can you help clients determine if they are retiring at a good time? I aim to answer that with my recently developed Retirement Accumulation Index and Retirement Affordability Index. Let me explain how those two indices work and how you should use them with clients.
Key Issues for 2015: The View from Western Asset
The U.S. represents a bright spot in a global recovery best characterized as "two steps forward, one step back." Sector and issue selection remain crucial in this environment, but so do macroeconomic strategies, which may help provide ballast when the pace of recovery slows.
Time to Get Off the Merry-Go-Round ??
by Jerome Schneider of PIMCO,
In 2014, many investors de-risked their portfolios by moving into shorter-duration passive approaches but the potential for capital preservation from these strategies may face challenges. Passive benchmarks and strategies with pre-specified, structural interest rate exposure may have little to no flexibility around their positioning and may push investors into the heart of the proverbial storm. Active strategies not constrained by benchmark limitations may be optimal for investors as they can seek to manage exposure to interest rates.
Global Economic Growth Should Gradually Begin to Improve
Equity markets reacted to both positive and negative forces last week, but the positive factors won out in the end. Corporate earnings sentiment was lackluster and investors continued to focus on the negative effects of falling oil prices. However, markets experienced a significant tailwind from a more aggressive-than-expected quantitative easing announcement from the European Central Bank (ECB). For the week, the S&P 500 Index climbed 1.6%, snapping a three week losing streak.
How Global Interest Rates Deceive Markets
by John Mauldin of Mauldin Economics,
When it comes to interpreting what current interest rates are telling us about the markets in various countries, I have to say that I do not think they mean what the market seems to think they mean. In fact, buried in that list of bond yields is ?false information? ? information so distorted and yet so readily misunderstood that it leads to wrong conclusions and decisions ? and to bad investments.
Fixed Income Investment Outlook: 2014 is Over. Long Live 2014!
by Team of Osterweis Capital Management,
We believe that at current yields there is no investment grade ?fat pitch? at this time. Our focus remains on keeping duration short and layering-in higher yielding paper, especially on sharp corrections in markets like we have seen recently. We believe that the appropriate time to take a swing at investment grade bonds will be when yields are much higher and the economy is teetering towards recession.
There?s More to the Gold Rally than European Market Fears
Even though gold was down last year, it still ranked as the second-best-performing currency, following the U.S. dollar. The metal has risen about 10 percent year-to-date, and on Tuesday, for the first time since mid-August, it broke through the $1,300 mark.
Weekly Market Summary
by Urban Carmel of The Fat Pitch,
It's safe to say that US indices have been acting very differently over the past two months than they have at any other time in the past 3 years. This oscillating pattern of sharp falls and rebounds suggests equities are searching for direction. In the past 5 years, this has been a prelude to a change in trend.
Quarterly Review and Outlook
Commodity price declines were the symptom of sharply deteriorating economic conditions prior to the 1920-21 depression. To be sure, today?s economic environment is different. The world economies are not emerging from a destructive war, nor are we on the gold standard, and U.S. employment is no longer centered in agriculture and factories (over 50% in the U.S. in 1920). The fact remains, however, that global commodity prices are in noticeable retreat.
Results 9,651–9,700
of 11,878 found.
