Other posts

Thoughts From The Divide: Collateral Damage – May 31 2024 – MI2 Partners

BY JON WEBB
If this week’s title sends a small shiver down your spine, you may be in the Real Estate/lending business. Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be any quick or easy cures, which is perhaps unsurprising as the hits keep coming. Bank OZK is the latest example, getting slammed after a Citi analyst noted “substantial concerns” over the company’s “largest individual loan… and Life Science construction lending in general”. Some might think the residential side is also showing some cracks, with pending home sales slumping to the “lowest level since the start of the pandemic”, and with an increasing number of listings opting to cut prices. The latter metric might itself be muted by the number of listings getting pulled… Cheery stuff! Read more →

Thoughts From The Divide: Adjustments

BY JON WEBB
Last week’s excitement in bond markets came courtesy of Governor Waller offering a mechanical rationale for rate cuts. Simply, “If inflation goes down, you would lower the policy rate.” This came, of course, in the context of warnings about financial conditions and other caveats, but as is so often the case, what the markets heard was “so you’re telling me there’s a chance?”. That doesn’t mean that we disagree with the market’s read of where the Fed’s head is. Fed Governors don’t make too many boo-boos with their messaging, and when they do, it’s often an error of timing rather than content. The market has now priced cuts down to “around 4% by the end of 2024” and while that seems perhaps overdoing the enthusiasm a tad, we suspect that the market has gotten the gist about right.  Read more →

C8 Currency Compass – September 2024

BY JON WEBB
We are firmly in the 50bp rate cut camp – if  the Fed is worried about employment, they need to get ahead of the curve.  This is likely to put further pressure on the USD in the near term.  USDJPY has hit its downside target (see below) so the benefit is more likely to accrue to the EUR and GBP.  We also see the BoJ on hold this week, which adds weight to this view.  However, we note our systematic models still point to EURUSD and GBPUSD weakness over time, so any bounce may prove a good opportunity to add EUR and GBP hedges.  Read more →
Back to all posts →