Asset Allocation Update Will a rising tide continue to lift all the S&P 500’s boats? We wouldn’t be surprised if the “non-tech” sectors of the S&P 500 continued to make gains over the rest of 2024, but we don’t expect them to keep pace with the tech giants as well as they have lately... 27th March 2024 · 4 mins read
US Economics Update Software increasingly driving productivity gains We still believe that the current productivity boom is mainly a cyclical phenomenon, as tight labour market conditions have forced firms to expand output by boosting the efficiency of their existing... 26th March 2024 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Rapid Response US Case-Shiller/FHFA House Prices (Jan. 2024) The fairly large gain in house prices in January points to a rebound in price growth driven by the fall in mortgage rates towards the end of last year. Although its early in the year, today’s data fit... 26th March 2024 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update Renting to remain substantially cheaper than buying As mortgage rates fall, we think the difference between the cost of buying and renting will narrow from the current all-time highs. But even by 2026, renting will remain by far the more cost-effective... 25th March 2024 · 3 mins read
US Chart Pack US Chart Pack (Mar. 2024) Faltering consumer spending reinforces our view that GDP growth will slow this year, although that slowdown is likely to be modest. After a disappointing couple of months for inflation, easing demand... 25th March 2024 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Rapid Response US New Home Sales (Feb. 2024) February’s tiny drop in new home sales cut short what appeared to be the beginning of a recovery in recent months. Even though the drop was extremely small, it still potentially casts some doubt over... 25th March 2024 · 2 mins read
FX Markets Weekly Wrap Quasi-dovish Fed can’t keep the dollar down for long The US dollar has bounced back from its brief drop after the FOMC’s policy announcement and Chair Powell’s press conference, and is ending the week stronger across the board. To some extent that is... 22nd March 2024 · 5 mins read
US Economics Weekly Fed opens door a little further to June rate cut The Fed wasn’t as hawkish as we had expected this week and, assuming the recent upturn in core inflation proves temporary, there is still a good chance that interest rate cuts will begin in June. 22nd March 2024 · 6 mins read
US Commercial Property Outlook A tough year in store, but retail returns will be positive This year is being flagged by many as the year the recovery starts, but there is still a substantial amount of pain (and value falls) to come. We think activity will gradually pick up in H2, but... 22nd March 2024 · 22 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Some global market implications of BoJ tightening Japan’s exit from negative interest rates could place some upward pressure on bond term premia elsewhere, but we don’t think it will prove too disruptive to markets even if the BoJ ultimately hikes a... 22nd March 2024 · 5 mins read
US Economic Outlook Inflation to fall further as GDP growth slows Although we expect GDP growth to slow to a below-potential pace over the next few quarters, we then anticipate a pick-up late this year, as monetary policy flips from a headwind to a tailwind. Our... 21st March 2024 · 16 mins read
US Housing Market Rapid Response US Existing Home Sales (Feb. 2024) Existing home sales rose in February which we think largely reflects the sharp fall in mortgage rates at the end of last year. But borrowing costs have been rising so far in 2024, which in the near... 21st March 2024 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Fed still on track for a June rate cut Despite upward revisions to the median projections for both GDP growth and core PCE inflation, the Fed’s median forecast for interest rates still shows a cumulative 75bp of policy loosening this year... 20th March 2024 · 3 mins read
Capital Daily How the Fed might – or might not – affect the markets Our view that Treasury yields will fall back a bit and that the US dollar will generally weaken by the end of the year rests on the assumption that the Fed will deliver more rate cuts than currently... 20th March 2024 · 5 mins read