Eq: Total Market
(New York)
Most investors are deeply worried about a forthcoming recession and the damage it could cause to markets. However, recession is hardly the biggest risk to worry about. Rather, investors should fear the end of globalization, anemic interest rates and growth, and liquidity risks, says Amundi Asset Management. According to Amundi’s CIO, the world’s future will be more regional and less global and suffer from aging populations. “Investors like me have been long global trade for three decades … It is the reason international diversification doesn’t work”.
FINSUM: So the argument here is that long-term stagnation causes by aging and the end of globalization is a bigger threat than a recession. Seems a solid point of view.
(Berlin)
In what comes as a very worrying sign for the global economy, one of the world’s largest economies has just gone into a recession. Germany now appears to be in an economic downturn says the country’s central bank. The Bunbesbank says Germany just shrank for the second consecutive three-month period, meaning it is officially in a recession. The decline in economic output has been led by a strong weakening in the manufacturing sector, but the labor market is still hanging on. This is Germany’s first recession in six years.
FINSUM: Germany is the world’s fourth largest economy. How long until the gloom spreads?
(New York)
Quick quiz: what is the pillar of this bull market? Unless you answered “the US consumer”, you probably are not getting a passing grade. Therefore, any dents to the teflon-coated US consumer are very worrying, and that looks like the road we are headed down. New consumer spending data is in and it is poor. Spending at gas stations, on cars, and on home materials was considerably weaker. The overall boom in spending now appears to be over as we head into the winter, which could prove to be more than just meteorological.
FINSUM: There is good news and bad news. On the downside, this means that consumers may no longer be able to shoulder the load of carrying the economy. On the positive side, this could lead to rate cuts by the Fed, which the market would love, at least in the short-term.
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(New York)
Is the bull market winding down? Most people seem to think that is inevitable after such a long run. However, there are some contending the bull market could go on for years. The argument comes from Ciovacco Capital Management, which contends that by analyzing historical charts, the stock market looks poised for another breakout out, especially considering the Brexit deal, the US-China “phase one deal”, and the generally buoyant mood on Wall Street. Ciovacco says worries about China have been the biggest drag on performance, but that a lot of progress has been made, and one more piece of good news, such as the delay of December tariffs, could spark a big run by igniting “animal spirits”.
FINSUM: This is obviously highly speculative. However, it is a decent 30,000 foot view of where the market stands right now.
(New York)
JP Morgan has gone on the record with two worrying recession warnings this week. The first came from the consumer focused analyst in their research division, who warned that the US consumer—who has been the key support for the economy—will weaken rapidly in 2020. Now, the analyst at JP Morgan who covers GE says that markets are likely to sink alongside falling economic expectations. The key point being made is that just having lower expectations won’t allow markets to rebound. “Don’t expect to see enough to justify a meaningful rebound in sentiment”, he said.
FINSUM: The whole of the economy, other than consumers, has been pretty weak lately. If the consumer falters, it is hard to imagine the US staying out of a recession for long.
(New York)
It may seem overly bearish right now, but put this one in the “take note” category. A hedge fund manager on Bloomberg yesterday argued that the market looks set for a bear market downturn very similar to last year. According to the manager, a mix of liquidity constraints, insufficient Fed support, and large geopolitical issues, could all combine to drive prices down 20% or more in benchmark indices. The most interesting part of this argument is that he contends the pressures will create this downturn in the next few weeks.
FINSUM: Last year’s bear market was principally about investors worrying the Fed would hike the market into a recession. That is a completely different backdrop from right now. We don’t discount the chances for a downturn, but this logic does not seem sound to us.