Latest from BCA Research

Pent-up demand for services is keeping the global economy going, but we still expect recession over the next 12 months. Investors should keep a cautious portfolio stance.

This week we present our Portfolio Allocation Summary for May 2023.

EUR/USD is trying to breach above 1.10. What is the balance of positive versus negative factors that would allow the euro to breakout?

Yen bulls need patience. The near-term narrative remains bearish on the back of interest-rate differentials. Longer term, it is the most attractive currency the G10, on valuation grounds.

Yen bulls need patience. The near-term narrative remains bearish on the back of interest-rate differentials. Longer term, it is the most attractive currency the G10, on valuation grounds.

Fertilizer prices will continue to move lower as the natgas price shock touched off by the Russian invasion of Ukraine dissipates. As a result, we expect grain prices to soften another 10% this year. Food-price inflation will move lower over the course of the year as grain prices weaken, provided a weather- or geopolitical shock does not once again send natgas prices higher.

The new fiscal framework will fail to prevent the rise of the public debt-to-GDP ratio as it relies on overly optimistic revenue growth. A rising public debt-to-GDP ratio will lead to a widening fiscal risk premium in Brazilian financial markets. We are making two new recommendations: downgrade Brazilian sovereign credit from neutral to underweight, and go long Brazilian CDS / short Mexican CDS.

Bank Credit Analyst

Bank Credit Analyst

In Section I, we discuss why the rally in stock prices over the past month reflects the soft-landing view, and why that is not a likely economic outcome. US inflation is slowing, but target inflation remains elusive. Meanwhile, cracks in the US labor market are already apparent, and there is strong evidence against the view that US stocks are appropriately priced for an eventual US recession. This underscores that conservative investment positioning is still warranted. In Section II, we check in on the indebtedness risk of several major economies, and examine whether these risks exist primarily in the household, nonfinancial corporate, or government sectors. While there are limited cyclical implications of recent trends in global indebtedness, there are several problems that will eventually “come home to roost” – particularly in the US and China.

Special Report

An important annual event is when long-time client Mr. X visits BCA strategists at the end of each year to talk about the economic and financial outlook and a write-up of the discussion is published as our Annual Outlook report. Recently, BCA’s former Chief Economist Martin Barnes had the pleasure of a chance encounter with Mr. X at an airport lounge, and this report is an edited transcript of their conversation.