Developed Countries
While excellent state & local government balance sheet health will remain a tailwind for muni returns, poor valuation prompts us to downgrade the sector from overweight to neutral.
In this report, we evaluate the breakdown in the dollar and next moves in the DXY, based on fundamentals, historical precedents, and technical patterns over the last few years.
Spain is holding a general election this Sunday and the country is likely to veer to the right. Will this shift threaten European unity and herald a new period of tensions in the Eurozone?
Softer-than-anticipated CPI inflation caused UK Gilts to rally and the British pound to weaken on Wednesday. Headline CPI inflation fell from 8.7% y/y to a 15-month low of 7.9% y/y in June – a greater decline than anticipations of 8.2% y/y. On a…
The South African rand has been a key winner amid the recent improvement in risk sentiment. Notably, the ZAR's 10.9% appreciation versus the US dollar since May 25 has made it the best performing major currency over this period. To the extent that the…
US speculative-grade corporate bond (junk) spreads rose significantly last year in response to a sharp increase in US interest rates and widespread concerns about a US recession. Junk spreads have since come in from their mid-2022 peak, and now trade below…
US retail sales delivered a mixed signal on Tuesday. On the one hand, overall retail sales growth decelerated from 0.5% m/m to 0.2% m/m in June– disappointing expectations of 0.5% m/m. Spending on retail sales excluding the volatile auto and gas retailers…
Canada’s CPI release showed headline CPI inflation cooled from 3.4% y/y to 2.8% in June – below estimates calling for a less pronounced moderation to 3.0% y/y. This marks inflation’s first return to the Bank of Canada’s 1%-3% percent inflation target range…
Results of the NAHB survey shows US homebuilder sentiment inched further above 50 to a 13-month high of 56 in July. Its ongoing rise above 50 indicates that net sentiment is becoming increasingly favorable. That said, homebuilders pared back some optimism…
After US inflation slowed down markedly, EUR/USD broke out to 1.12, which constitutes a 16-month high. The euro is benefiting from the market expectation that the Fed will soon be done with its hikes while the ECB’s monetary tightening campaign remains more…