Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Black swans and white doves

In the past week European and global politics, strong US growth data, mixed global macro numbers and eurozone, Chinese and Indian central bank policy have eclipsed Trump-mania.

What is perhaps more remarkable is markets’ reasonably benign, “risk-on” reaction, bar the euro’s sell-off in the wake of today’s ECB policy meeting.

One interpretation is that markets have become complacent to the risks presented by President Trump’s constellation of pseudo-policies, surging nationalism in Europe, the UK’s uncertain economic future and continued capital outflows from China.

I have a somewhat different take, namely that markets are rightly discounting some of the more extreme and perverse scenarios, including:

  1. Protectionist US policies coupled with higher US yields and a strong dollar collapsing tepid emerging market, and eventually global, economic growth;
  1. The “no” vote in the Italian referendum leading to the economic collapse of the European Union’s third largest economy;
  1. Surging European nationalism culminating in the collapse of the eurozone and/or European Union;
  1. The British government opting to sacrifice growth in exchange for a hard version of Brexit and;
  1. Capital outflows from China ultimately forcing policy-makers into accepting a Renminbi collapse and shocking a corporate sector with significant dollar-debt.

 

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EM currencies, Fed, French elections and UK reflation “lite”

Rising US yields, stronger dollar, FX outflows from emerging markets into US equities, President Trump’s still uncertain policies regarding global trade and country-specific concerns continue to weigh on EM currencies.

But the pace of depreciation in EM currencies has abated, with a number of central banks hiking their policy rate and likely intervening in the FX market. China is manipulating its currency but perhaps not the way that US President Trump thinks.

With the market having almost fully priced in a December Fed hike, it will focus on FOMC members’ likely further downward revision to their forecasts for the appropriate policy rate.

Commentators are making a number of assumptions about next year’s French presidential elections and the potential impact on the euro. Some seem reasonable, others less so.

The first assumption is that Fillon will beat Juppé in the second round run-off of the Republican primaries on 27th November. This is indeed the most likely outcome.

The second assumption, which I agree with, is that no presidential candidate will clear the 50% threshold required in the first round of the elections on 23 April to become President.

The third assumption, now seemingly hard-baked, is that no Socialist candidate stands even a remote chance of making it to the second round of the presidential elections on 7th May 2017. I would argue that it is too early to write off that possibility.

The fourth assumption, which I believe is still far-fetched, is that Front National leader Marine Le Pen could win the second round to become President, which in turn would precipitate France’s exit from the EU and pressure the euro.

UK markets’ mixed reaction to Wednesday’s Autumn budget was in line with my expectations of higher yields and stronger Sterling.

Chancellor Hammond’s modestly stimulative package reflects the realities and uncertainties which the UK economy has faced since the June referendum. This is still the over-riding theme markets will have to deal with in the near and potentially long-term.

Hammond had one hand behind his back and a moving target to hit. He has backloaded spending to 2018-19 and beyond with a focus on infrastructural projects to boost languishing UK productivity. Read more

Nationalism, French presidential elections and the euro

The shock results of US presidential elections and UK referendum are shining the spotlight on the rise of nationalist and populist policies.
 
The rejection of the political, economic and social status-quo has lead to increasingly vocal predictions that populist and/or nationalist parties will cause major upsets at forthcoming elections in EU member states, including Italy and Austria.
But forecasts that a broad-sweep of nationalist parties will rise to the highest political echelons in EU countries may still be far-fetched.
 
In most cases these parties still command only modest popular support which can be overstated in polls and difficult to translate into actual political power.
 
France is such an example. Support for Marine Le Pen, leader and presidential candidate of the far-right Front National (FN) party, has risen in recent years and she will likely make it to the second round of presidential elections in April-May 2017.
But she is unlikely to become President, with opinion polls showing she would lose the head-to-head vote, almost irrespective of the candidate she faces.
 
Moreover, the FN is likely to remain a minority party following next June’s elections for the French Assembly.
 
France’s presidential and parliamentary elections will in any case have far more modest repercussions for the global economy and asset markets than the election of Donald Trump in the US.
 
Even in the very unlikely event of Marine Le Pen becoming president, the impact on the euro could be modest and short-lived as France’s economy accounts for only 21% of the eurozone’s economy.
 
ECB policy and German elections due in September 2017 are likely to exert greater influence on the euro’s path.
 
It is also noteworthy that the euro has been one of the most stable major currencies in the past six-and-a-half years, despite the Greek crisis and the shock UK referendum result.
 
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