by Variant Perception | Sep 22, 2017 | Framework, Global Economy
In addition to our usual shorter blog posts, we will be posting a series of longer, more in-depth posts that illustrate our framework, and explain how we look at markets and the economy. In this first post, we tour through the work of Hyman Minsky and Charles...
by Simon White | Aug 5, 2017 | Emerging Markets, Global Economy
The macro-economic landscape has profoundly changed since the financial crisis. Developed markets deleveraged, and emerging markets became the engine of global credit and money growth. The top-left chart from the BIS shows this very clearly. EMEs (emerging market...
by Simon White | Jul 28, 2017 | Global Economy
BIS data allow one to see where foreign leverage is building up, and in what currency. Over half of cross-border banking claims are in USD, which represents a large structural short for the USD. Any financial panic that spreads globally is highly likely to kickstart a...
by Bill | Sep 23, 2015 | Global Economy, US Economy
Structural factors are ensuring that the unemployment rate in the US today is not what it was in periods past. Yellen has seemed to be more in the camp that the decline in the labour participation rate (PR) since the crisis has been mainly cyclical in nature and...
by Bill | Aug 27, 2015 | Global Economy, Monetary Policy
Stock markets are experiencing a classic crash pattern. Volatility has spiked and sharp sell offs are often being followed by powerful rallies. As with previous crash patterns, we would expect markets to continue to gyrate wildly for around the next 8 weeks,...
by Bill | Feb 26, 2015 | Global Economy, Leading Indicators, Monetary Policy
As we remind our readers often, yield curves are one of the single best leading indicators. A yield curve inversion has predicted every US recession since 1945, with only one false positive, in 1966 (although the false positive preceded a downturn in industrial...
by Bill | Mar 20, 2014 | Emerging Markets, European Economy, Featured, Global Economy, Leading Indicators, US Economy
One of the themes we have been tracking in the past 6 months is the slowdown in global money growth and excess liquidity. The focus on the second derivative is important here. The level of growth in liquidity and money growth indicators is decent but the annual...
by Bill | Feb 26, 2014 | China, Emerging Markets, Featured, Global Economy
Many emerging markets were in recession last year and are only slowly emerging. Tight financial conditions and flat to inverted yield curves will make the recovery slow and fraught with risks. Global growth will be lower as a result. Flattening and inverted yield...
by Bill | Feb 14, 2014 | China, Emerging Markets, Featured, Global Economy
The debate on EM economies (and equities) is heating up. Initially this week, we had the financial world equivalent of the pillory with the widely reported closing of a high profile US hedge fund’s EM fund due to heavy losses in 2013. Solemn nodding followed by...
