Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report Commercial crude stocks rose again this week, following another unusually large release from the strategic reserve. Meanwhile, implied product demand fell back as petroleum product prices remain very... 15th June 2022 · 2 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Treasuries and US equities less likely to bottom out together The prospect of even tighter Fed policy than we had previously envisaged raises the risk of a worse outcome for the US economy and corporate earnings further down the line than we had assumed. So, we... 15th June 2022 · 5 mins read
US Data Response Retail Sales (May) The 0.3% m/m fall in retail sales in May and downward revisions to previous months’ gains suggest that surging prices might finally be taking their toll on real consumption. But with the latter still... 15th June 2022 · 2 mins read
Energy Update Freeport outage fuels already heightened supply fears The closure of the Freeport LNG facility in the US, for up to six months, adds to concerns about Europe’s ability to fill its gas storage tanks ahead of winter. We always suspected that supply... 15th June 2022 · 2 mins read
Global Markets Update Turning more downbeat on both Treasuries & US equities The prospect of tighter Fed policy than we had previously envisaged presents upside risks to our forecasts for the 10-year Treasury yield as well as downside risks to our forecasts for the S&P 500. In... 14th June 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Will property resist the effects of deglobalisation? A recent MSCI article speculated that real estate investment could buck the deglobalisation trend given distinct features of the asset class, though we are not convinced that will bring many benefits... 14th June 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (Apr.) The 0.9% m/m rise in April, combined with a large upward revision to March, means that manufacturing sales volumes have finally risen above their pre-pandemic peak. While the recovery in the motor... 14th June 2022 · 2 mins read
US Housing Market Update Existing home sales set for a sharper fall Leading indicators are pointing to a large fall in existing home sales. For example, the recent sharp decline in the NAR buyer traffic balance is consistent with a fall in sales to 4.5m annualised... 14th June 2022 · 3 mins read
US Commercial Property Data Response Commercial Property Lending (May.) Commercial real estate debt continued to grow at a decent pace in May, in line with the recent strength in investment activity. However, we expect a weaker economic backdrop to weigh on commercial... 13th June 2022 · 2 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly From one policy mistake to another? Governor Tiff Macklem’s hawkish comments this week, even as he presented a report warning of the risks of aggressive policy tightening, leave little doubt that the Bank of Canada is singularly focused... 10th June 2022 · 5 mins read
US Economics Weekly Reports of the consumer’s death greatly exaggerated In contrast to reports from individual retailers, the aggregate data show that retail inventories are still lean, while the very strong May CPI data revelated no signs whatsoever of any discounting. 10th June 2022 · 6 mins read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (May) The 39,800 rise in employment in May drove down the unemployment rate to a multi-decade low and there are now clear signs of the tight labour market pushing up wages. That raises the chance of the... 10th June 2022 · 2 mins read
US Data Response Consumer Prices (May) The surprise increase in headline inflation to a 40-year high of 8.6% in May, from 8.3%, together with another strong rise in core prices raises the odds that the Fed will need to extend its series of... 10th June 2022 · 2 mins read
Asset Allocation Update US equity valuations still much higher than elsewhere Despite the sharp fall in the US stock market this year so far, US equities still appear much more highly valued than their peers in the rest of the world. While that might not tell us much about the... 10th June 2022 · 5 mins read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Housing demand falls as mortgage rates rise Housing activity is slowing in the face of higher mortgage interest rates. Mortgage applications for home purchase dropped to a two-year low in May, existing homes sales have declined in each of the... 9th June 2022 · 9 mins read
FX Markets Update Fed’s “QT” supports our case for a stronger US dollar While we doubt it will be the main driver of the US dollar, the ongoing reduction in the size of the Fed’s balance sheet (i.e., “quantitative tightening”, or “QT”) adds to our conviction that the... 9th June 2022 · 3 mins read