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Watch, listen and read to our investment management team’s views on the current market situation.

Look beyond borders – opportunities outside the US market

5 April 2023

Dr. Pascal Koeppel – Head Investment Management Vontobel SFA – and Guido Marveggio – Portfolio Manager and European stock selection specialist Vontobel SFA – offer you an inside perspective and update on current European markets. The discussion is moderated by Patrick Schurtenberger, Head Business Development Vontobel SFA.

  

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A crude awakening

September kicked off with a surprise and set the tone for the month’s market developments. The announcement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to extend voluntary cuts in oil production to the end of the year—longer than investors had expected—created more uncertainty surrounding the inflation normalization path.

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Three bowls of porridge

Market participants who expected August to be a quiet month for financial markets were thrown a curveball this time around. A rollercoaster of headlines from the US highlighted the stark contrasts found in the world’s largest economy: on the one hand, we saw a downgrade of its long-term debt rating amid expected fiscal deterioration and a growing government debt burden, as well as rating downgrades for several banks, amidst the challenges arising from the sharp increase in interest rates. On the other hand, data showed that the tight housing market fueled construction spending, the robust labor market created new jobs and strong consumption continued to promote spending.

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Investors Outlook July 2023: Time to pause - Teaser Image

Time to pause

The period through the end of June has unfolded like the standard playbook of a late economic cycle: lending standards and financial conditions have tightened. The US housing market started to reveal its first cracks and jitters in the banking system followed. Default rates are likely to rise next. After an eventful first half-year, we are now focused on what the next six months might have in store.

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Looking at the big picture

A sequence of supply and demand shocks in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic has driven inflation to levels not seen in several decades, forcing central banks to change course to avoid a collision and the risk of a potential death trap. Central banks tightened their monetary policy robustly and quickly. Recessionary and even stagflation concerns drove down risk assets, resulting in double-digit negative returns on both bonds and equities.

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Not a time to change course

Inflation in the advanced economies, especially in the US and the euro area, continues to fall but remains well above of the policy objectives of most central banks. Monetary policy currently has no leeway to cut interest rates in the foreseeable future to bring inflation back to the targets within a reasonable timeframe. The global economy can digest high or even higher rates, as many sentiment indicators have turned again to the upside making a severe economic downturn less likely.

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