The heat may be off

4 ביולי 2022

INVESTMENT CONTEXT

• Inflation in Eurozone climbed from 8.1% in May to 8.6% in June, growing in 17 of 19 countries, with the notable exception of Germany (slide from 8.7% to 8.2%) and the Netherlands (from 10.2% to 9.9%). ECB officially scrapped its EUR 20bn/months bond-buying program on July 1
  
• S&P 500 energy sub-index fell 17% in June, ranking as the worst-performing within the index
  
• While U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced “the single biggest tax cut in a decade”, estimated in of GBP 6bn (USD 7.4bn), France slashed its forecast for GDP growth in 2022 from 4% to 2.5%
  
• After lifting objections, Turkey said that it could still block Finland and Sweden’s accession to Nato in case if Nordic countries failed to meet the demand of Kurdish separatists extradition. Inflation in the country is still just a hair below 80%, as the Central Bank refuses to raise interest rates, leaving analysts to presume capital controls may be introduced to stop the bleeding
  
• On July 3, Russia announced its full control of Luhansk region in Eastern Ukraine, after seizing the city of Lycychansk, the last Ukrainian holdout in the area
  
• Digital asset brokerage Voyager Digital suspended trading, deposits, loyalty rewards and withdrawals on July 1, after sending a default notice to hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC)
  
• U.S. markets closed on July 4 for Independence Day; European markets regularly open
  

PROFONE'S TAKE

• Global equity markets recorded their worst half of a year since 1970, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq collapsing 21% and 30%, respectively. Deep risk-off sentiment still grips most areas of the market, fueled by growing inflation (8.6% in June after 8.1% in May in Eurozone; U.S. print expected in the coming days) and next steps of tightening monetary policy (in July, both the Fed and the ECB are expected to hike rates by 75 bps and 25-50 bps, respectively). The correction in energy and industrial metals prices was caused by mounting recession fears, while also a potentially better than forecasted harvest season in some parts of globe (U.S., Europe, Australia) could ease the pressure on consumer prices. Still, Profs don’t see the emergence of any major catalyst that could trigger a sustained reversal: for instance, on the macro front, there are no clear-cut signs of a ceasefire happening in Ukraine, thus leaving the threat of supply chain disruptions looming.
  

PROFZERO'S TAKE

• As early as May 6, ProfZero placed global credit markets on particular watch, as much of the global pressures could be expected not only to raise the costs of business financing; but in more dire terms, to trigger defaults on weakest borrowers. On May 20, Sri Lanka defaulted for the first time in its history, as the economy was crushed by unsustainable fuel and food prices; at the time of writing, also the State of Laos faces fuel shortages and growing default risk. ProfZero is not particularly concerned by Russia's technical default, which has been clearly caused by the effect of sanctions; in contrast, what catches its attention is the state of financial health of several European countries, and chiefly Italy, who relied excessively on both low interest rates and the ECB role of buyer of last resort. Analysts have already dubbed ECB President Christine Lagarde messages on fragmentation as "vague" - and nothing irritates traders more than ambiguity, save, perhaps, short sellers, who indeed are piling up bear positions (Ray Dalio's Bridgewater has amassed some USD 10.5bn sell-side positions). Europe is the epicenter of this bear market - and ProfZero unfortunately sees scant chances for a quick turnaround
  
• ProfZero is also unfazed by the purported fall in commodity prices. While certainly the prices of cotton, wheat, copper and iron ore are are down even up to more than 30%, European natural gas is trading at EUR 155/MWh for 1-month deliveries - compared to EUR 22.11/MWh on July 4, 2021. Inflation is certainly receding from certain corners of the economy - but the European energy tangle remains far from being undone