Latest from BCA Research
The US High Quality (USHQ) portfolio underperformed its benchmark through June, returning 1.2%, whilst its SPY benchmark returned 5.1%. On a trailing three-month basis, performance was notably weak vs. benchmark, with USHQ underperforming by approx. 600bps.
Alligator Bite #1: As US net portfolio inflows decline (the alligator's upper jaw closes), its current account deficit must narrow (the lower jaw will also shut). Alligator Bite #2: As the US current account deficit shrinks (the lower jaw closes), current account surpluses in the rest of the world will narrow (the upper jaw will come down).
June’s employment report showed a tick down in the unemployment rate, an improvement that rules out a Fed rate cut later this month.
Acute geopolitical risks, like a massive oil shock, may be abating. But structural geopolitical risk remains high and could upset a blithe market. Cyclical economic risks are underrated as the US slows down and China continues to stumble. Investors should book some profits in anticipation of tariff implementation and a downturn in hard economic data.
Downward pressure on the pound will rise in the coming months. Inflation will go up, so will bond yields. It’s time to book profits on Egyptian domestic bonds.
This report analyzes China’s persistent deflation, which is rooted in supply-side forces. Consumption support will be slow and incremental, keeping deflationary pressures elevated for the next 6–12 months.
Volatility is back in UST/Bund spreads. We unpack what’s driving the moves and explain what we are watching for tactical opportunities in the UST/Bund spread.
Trump’s immigration policies are protecting the US economy from a sharp rise in unemployment but steering it into a ‘mini stagflation’. Plus: a new tactical trade is to underweight global technology (IXN).
Monetary policy is about to become a powerful tailwind to the already bullish brew that includes Trump’s repeated step-downs from a global trade war, irrelevant geopolitical risks in the Middle East, and a fiscal policy that is no longer as alarming to the bond markets as the raft of campaign promises appears to be. Investors should hesitate to get overly bearish either bonds or stocks. However, we remain uber USD bears.