Displaying items by tag: ECB

(Brussels)

In the US, the Fed has only started kicking the tires on climate change talks at its regional branches. However…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site.

(Frankfurt)

New data on the EU economy has just come in and it isn’t pretty. Overall, the bloc grew just 01% in the fourth quarter, while Italy and France actually contracted. According to Commerzbank, “The spectre of recession is back … Economic growth in the eurozone came to a virtual standstill at the end of the year . . . The ECB is likely to view this with concern”. Ironically though, this may be positive for market as the ECB is likely to take an even more dovish approach.

FINSUM: It feels like we just did a time warp back to around 2013, when central banks were ready to stick to ZIRP for years. We all know how stocks performed then!

(New York)

Investors seem to have every reason to worry about bonds. Prices are high, yields are low, and low quality companies are accessing easy financing even in the face of an uncertain economic future. With all that said, there might not be any reason to worry at all. Central banks are still gaming the system. From the Fed being really conservative with rates, to the ECB and BOJ doing massive QE, the whole central bank mechanism is conspiring to prop up bond prices in a major way.

FINSUM: As long as that pre-condition of huge central bank support is in place, it is hard to see bonds taking much of a hit.

(New York)

Investors have been playing defense in stocks for months. Everyone has been very spooked by economic data and the trade war, which has caused a rotation into defensive sectors. However, a top manager at Fidelity, Denise Chisholm, is saying the opposite: it is time to play offense. Her core argument is that real interest rates in the US are negative--which happened after the Crisis and also in the 1970s and 1980s—which is highly bullish for the stock market. Further, the ECB and Fed are cutting at the same time, a quite rare occurrence, and one that has always led to an equity market rally.

FINSUM: This is an interesting contrarian argument. We particularly like the ECB + Fed narrative.

(New York)

It has been a rough road for equities this month. Benchmarks are down 5% and there has been frequent whip-sawing action based on data and news over the trade war. Despite the fears, JP Morgan is telling investors that it is time to buy. The bank’s equity strategists, led by Mislav Matejka think that stocks are going to turn the corner very soon. The bank thinks three elements may catalyze a move higher into the year end—restarted ECB easing, a bigger than expected Fed rate cut, and improving technical indicators on signs the market has bottomed out.

FINSUM: The Fed and the ECB could certainly help support stocks, but it hard to imagine benchmarks gaining much if we keep up the frenzy of trade war news.