This is yet another important week for Brexit deliberations as UK Prime Minister May, under pressure to resign, may bring her Brexit deal agreed with European Union back to Parliament. Parliament could vote on different Brexit options in a series of indicative votes as early as Wednesday, including possible options of a soft Brexit or second referendum. MPs will decide today whether to take control of the parliamentary agenda. GBP meanwhile continues its two steps forward, one step back trajectory, but appears to be finding solid demand on any down step.
Also in focus this week will be a number of Fed speakers who will speak at a time when bond yields are sliding globally. Markets were roiled by growth worries at the end of last week following a sharp drop in German manufacturing confidence (The Markit/BME PMI fell to 44.7 in March from 47.6 in February), which dampened hopes that weakness in the Eurozone economy would be temporary. Taken together with dovish comments from G10 central bankers, the net result was an inversion of the yield curve and German bond yields turned negative. Such signs have in the past been associated with the onset of a recession.
Despite a host of factors including lower US yields, a more dovish Fed stance, markets shifting towards pricing in US rate cuts, and restrained USD, emerging market (EM) assets have not benefitted greatly. EM assets are torn between these factors on the one hand and global growth concerns on the other. A host of idiosyncratic factors, whether it is political noise and pension reform in Brazil, or the impending Moodys’ review of South Africa this week, Thai elections etc, etc, are also resulting in more discriminatory investing.
US –China trade talks will also continue to be in focus this week, with the US administration’s Lighthizer and Mnuchin schedule to be in Beijing on March on Thursday and Friday to meet with China’s Lie He, who is planned to travel to Washington in the week after. Structural issues such as technology transfers, state subsidies and intellectual property and the removal of all tariffs, have been stumbling blocks so far. Latest reports reveal that China is refusing to back down on US demands that it eases restrictions on digital trades. The absence of progress on trade talks are yet another reason for markets to trade under a shadow.
ECONOMETER 