Economy
The July FOMC meeting proceeded pretty much as expected. The Fed hiked by 25 basis points, bringing the target range for the funds rate up to 5.25%-5.50%. The forward rate guidance included in the post-meeting statement was also unchanged from June. It…
Australian material stocks have been in a broad trading range since the beginning of the year both in absolute terms and relative to the overall market. This stabilization follows a sharp rally in the fourth quarter of 2022 which saw the sector gain 17% in…
Palladium is by far the worst performing precious metal so far this year. The 30% year-to-date price decline is significantly worse than platinum’s 10% loss and contrasts with higher gold (+8%) and silver (+4%) prices. Interestingly, palladium’s dismal…
According to BCA Research’s Counterpoint service, the top five blockchains are Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), Cardano (ADA), and Avalanche (AVAX). Investors should have a small (up to 5 percent) structural exposure to cryptocurrencies and…
A brief recap of the July FOMC meeting and its investment implications.
Tuesday’s German IFO survey corroborates the downbeat message from Monday’s flash PMI estimate highlighting weak economic conditions. The headline Business Climate Index dropped 1.3 points to 87.3 in July – its weakest level since November, and below…
Over the past two months, copper has rallied alongside risk assets and now stands 9% above its late-May trough. Here, the outlook for China’s economy – which accounts for over half of global refined copper usage – is key to whether the red metal will continue…
Results of the ECB’s bank lending survey (BLS) show the impact of the central bank’s aggressive tightening cycle on the region’s economy. Uncertainty about the economic outlook, borrower-specific dynamics, lower risk tolerance and higher cost of funding…
The US Consumer Discretionary sector has been one of the top winners since the equity rally broadened two months ago. Its 13% gain since the end of May outpaces the S&P 500’s rally by 3.8 percentage points This outperformance comes despite last week’s…
According to BCA Research’s US Bond Strategy service, inflation will fall during the next 12 months, but not by as much as markets expect. Investors should take advantage of this valuation opportunity by entering 2-year/10-year TIPS breakeven slope…