‘Grand’ gestures with minimal effects, Europe is doing the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ with a glass of water. Measures won’t measure up to much. Little movement in interest rates, not enough assets to buy and ultimately – you can put out as many cream cakes as you’d like, but if people aren’t hungry, they aren’t going to eat. The pressure is rising and more is needed. Europe has become a ‘binary trade’, and it is important to invest in those set to benefit regardless.
(Click on the image below for a quick video clip summary)
The global recovery does not fully account for the rise in markets, and the growth that would justify these elevated price levels is not guaranteed. (more…)
Vitally important for being a successful investor is the ability to look beyond ‘buzzwords’, acknowledge that a wobble can be more dangerous when the training wheels come off and understand the nature of those that hold the future of the company / country / financial market in their hands.
Gemma Godfrey highlights the factors that could cause a pullback in markets and provide buying opportunities, on CNBC’s Fast Money. Published on cnbc.com by Bruno J. Navarro.
“Disappointing growth in Germany, the potential for political deadlock in Italy and corruption allegations in Spain appears to be increasing risk.
Market elation has been a little bit too early, moved a little bit too far, and there are these potholes that actually could cause markets to stumble, at least in the shorter term. Markets do not like uncertainty, and the longer this continues, the longer the uncertainty is over the markets, the more likely is it will have a pullback.
The U.S. stock market is approaching 500 days since a 10 percent-plus correction, which she said was the tenth-longest time in history that such a bull run has occurred.
And it means when we’re looking at where valuations are , they’re no longer cheap with respect to the U.S. market, growth isn’t coming through as we thought it was going to come through, and you’ve got this level of uncertainty, meaning that it is more likely that these momentum followers – for example, the hedge funds are buying into financials – that they’re going to start to stumble.
But I do think that that means if we do see a correction, it could be muted because it’ll be a fantastic buying opportunity for those investors that are looking to rotate back into risk assets because over long-term, we’re actually more bullish about equities.
Low interest rates, credit spreads at multiyear lows and the prospects of a return to growth could still bode well for equities.
What the market needed was confidence and the return of depositors to put their money into European banks, something that hasn’t happened sufficiently.
All of that gives us slight cause for concern, meaning that we’re growing more cautious shorter-term, although, obviously, more bullish longer-term.”
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And just a reminder of why Spain has been able to withstand bailout pressure and markets have shrugged off European woes until recently…
The fear of inflation is heating up as on Wednesday the Bank of England suggested that “there is a good chance” inflation will hit 5% later in the year, far above the target rate of 2%. Elsewhere, on the same day, Chinese inflation figures surprised on the upside. However, is gold an adequate hedge? It can be shown graphically that it is not. Charting the inflation rate (CPI change year on year) against the gold price, we can see that over the past decade the relationship breaks down. Indeed, if the gold price kept up with increases in general price levels, it would be valued at $2,600 an ounce instead of around the $1,500 level. How about if instead of actual inflation, we look at the market’s expectation of inflation? Even in this case, the relationship does not hold. Instead, there are other factors at play. As previously discussed, investors may be more focused on the sustainability of the economic growth rate and allow for some inflation. Inflation alone may not provide sufficient support.
The Gold Price (white) vs. CPI change year-on-year (orange). Source: Bloomberg
A Beneficiary of Risk Aversion
So — could upcoming economic, fiscal or political disappointments sufficiently boost the gold price? Here the case looks stronger. From sovereign debt crises in Europe, to the tragic tsunami in Japan and the turmoil in the Middle East, there has been enough newsflow to stoke fears and flows into gold (a “whopping” $679m of capital was invested in precious metals in one week alone at the beginning of April). Furthermore, a lack of confidence in the dollar further boosted investment for those looking for a more reliable base.
In addition to jewellery demand, central bank purchases may provide much support for gold as we move forward. Russia needs to acquire more than 1,000 tons and China 3,000 tons to have a gold reserve ratio to outstanding currency on parity with the U.S. This is even likely to be an understatement with China stating publicly they would like to acquire at least 6,000 tons and there are unofficial rumors that this may go as high as 10,000 tons.
A bubble with no clear end
George Soros described gold as the “ultimate asset bubble” and with sentiment driving the price as much as fundamentals, it’s unclear when the trend will reverse. An increasing monetary base is looking for a home. As Marcus Grubb, MD of Investment at the World Gold Council was quoted as saying at a ‘WealthBriefing’ Breakfast on Thursday: “In the next 10 minutes the world’s gold producers will mine $3m of gold, while the US prints $15m.” However, an often-overlooked drawback in investing in gold is its lack of yield. With some stock offering attractive dividend yields and investors wanting their investments to provide attractive returns during the life of their investment, capital flows may wander.
The Investment Insight
Remain wary of relying on one driver of returns; it can often be overshadowed by another. Instead build a complete picture and continuously question your base case scenario. Gold is a more complex asset than many give it credit for and as always, it pays to be well diversified.
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