Fund Strategy (June 1)
“European sceptics are being forced to acknowledge the recovery in a region that they have failed to understand politically, as the eurozone enjoys positive PMIs and employment figures while rejecting populist politics…. April saw the fifth largest allocation shift from US to European equities since the start of the eurozone in 1999.”
Tags: Allocation, Employment, Equities, Europe, eurozone, PMIs, Populist, Positive, Recovery, Sceptics, US
Bloomberg (April 4)
“Now could be the time for foreign investors to return to Japanese equities, according to Goldman Sachs. Corporate governance reforms, a recovery in domestic demand and the strong performance of local stocks in U.S. dollar terms are all potential catalysts that may lure foreigners back.”
Tags: Catalysts, Demand, Equities, Foreign investors, Goldman Sachs, Governance, Japan, Performance, Recovery
Institutional Investor (July 18)
Following a tumultuous weekend with a failed coup, another police officer shooting in the U.S., and continuing Brexit worries, investors may want to consider “whether security and geopolitical threats to stability will undermine the impact of aggressive easing actions of the world’s central banks. A recovery in the Turkish lira and global equity indices and a retreat in gold prices, seemingly fueled by the coup’s failure, suggests that at least some parts of the market believe central bank policymakers still trump security threats when it comes to financial asset valuation.”
Tags: Asset valuation, Brexit, Central banks, Easing, Equities, Failed coup, Geopolitical threats, Gold, Investors, Lira, Police, Recovery, Security, Shooting, Stability, Threats, Tumultuous, Turkey, U.S., Worries
Bloomberg (May 31)
“Chinese equities are once again in the cross hairs of short sellers…. The last time bearish bets were so elevated, such pessimism proved well-founded as China’s bull market turned into a $5 trillion rout.”
Tags: Bearish, Bull market, China, Cross hairs, Equities, Pessimism, Rout, Short sellers
Bloomberg (February 1)
“The Bank of Japan governor’s major additions to stimulus in 2013 and the following year were unequivocally good for equities…. The latest salvo to spur inflation- negative interest rates on some deposits- is less straightforward.” Kuroda’s surprise move to negative rates has earned everything from praise to criticism, with some taking a wait-and-see approach.
Tags: BOJ, Deposits, Equities, Inflation, Interest rates, Kuroda, Stimulus, Straightforward
Institutional Investor (September 18)
“Ebullient growth isn’t likely any time soon, but with no recession in sight, equity bears are likely to remain in hibernation.” The 6.5 year bull market in the U.S. still has further to run.
Institutional Investor (May Issue)
“The secret weapon of Abenomics” is the rebalancing of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). “The GPIF is diversifying at a pace that’s astonishing for a fund of its size…. In the last six months of 2014, while slashing its JGB holdings, the fund increased its exposure to Japanese stocks by ¥5 trillion, to foreign equities by ¥7 trillion and to foreign bonds by ¥4 trillion.”
Tags: Abenomics, Bonds, Diversifying, Equities, GPIF, Japan, JGBs, Rebalancing, Stocks
Investment Week (November 10)
“Investors and fund buyers are increasingly backing Japanese equities as the country boosts its QE programme, and rotates its national pension fund towards domestic equities.”
Tags: Equities, Funds, Investors, Japan, Pension fund, Quantitative easing
Institutional Investor (August 12)
“Disappointing sentiment data and continued conflict in eastern Ukraine” are leading to investor apprehension. “Slowing production levels and low inflation appear to leave the door open for European Central Bank intervention but political support for action from European Union leaders is still far from consensus. With a strong correlation between primary global equity indexes that has been noted by multiple strategists in recent sessions, deteriorating investor confidence in Europe is likely to cast a shadow over U.S. equity markets in the near term.”
Tags: Confidence, Conflict, Consensus, Disappointing, ECB, Equities, EU, Inflation, Intervention, Investors, Production, Sentiment, U.S., Ukraine
Institutional Investor (April 7)
In 2013, asset managers “poured a record of $43.7 billion into Japanese equities….and the massive net inflows helped propel the Nikkei 225 index up nearly 57 percent—it’s largest gain in more than 40 years.” As concerns mount about the sustainability of Abenomics, however, “many of those investors have been reversing course.” Nevertheless, some top analysts, such as Mizuho’s Yohei Osade and Nomura’s Jun Konoumi, believe the concerns are overblown and that any consumption tax related slow down will be temporary.
Tags: Abenomics, Analysts, Asset managers, Consumption tax, Equities, Inflows, Investors, Japan, Jun Konoumi, Mizuho, Nikkei, Nomura, Yohei Osade
