Slow food for thought

Insights and research on global events shaping the markets

As financial markets brace for the release of Japan’s April 2024 Core Consumer Price Index (CPI), expected to slow to 2.4% from March’s 2.9%, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) stands at a pivotal junction. This forthcoming data, a stark contrast to the peak of 4.3% in July 2023, highlights the complexity of the BoJ’s monetary policy landscape amid a significantly depreciated yen. The continued weakness of the yen, despite ending the world’s only negative interest rate policy in March, underscores the profound challenges the BoJ faces. This focus explores the strategic manoeuvres within the larger context of global economic pressures, examining the implications of potential policy shifts not just for Japan, but for the broader global fixed income markets.

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24/05/2024

Banking giant HSBC has just embarked on the tokeniszation of gold, enabling the precious metal to be invested and traded digitally.

Thanks to numerous strategic partnerships and visionary local players, Ticino's largest city is establishing itself as a European cryptocurrency and blockchain capital.

Key takeaways • There has been a change of tone in the markets with equities pulling back in April and US 10-year yield moving up 45 basis points over the month, while gold and the dollar soared. • The weight of evidence of our fundamental and market dynamics indicators leads us to remain neutral to positive on equities. While markets could stay choppy for a little while, we believe that the pullback could be contained, and that further equity market weakness is buyable. • Going forward, we want to keep our allocation to Equities close to our strategic asset allocation (SAA) neutral weights. We upgraded our stance on European stocks (from neutral to positive) and downgraded our view on Japanese stocks from positive to neutral. We remain negative in fixed income and downgraded our view on Emerging markets bonds. We have also upgraded our stance on Commodities to positive from neutral. Last but not least, we reduced all currencies by one “notch” vs. USD: EUR, CHF, GBP & EM are reduced down to negative (from neutral) while JPY is down to neutral (from positive).

Hyperbitcoinisation is not just about the growing success of bitcoin. It is actually a scenario in which the digital token becomes the world's dominant currency. Overview.

For as long as markets have been open, traders have been exploring different techniques to earn quick profits on the financial markets. Among the various strategies pursued is the "Turtle Trading" system. Developed in the early 1980s by commodity traders Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt, this system was at the heart of an experiment to determine whether anyone could be trained to become a successful trader. They formed a group nicknamed the "Turtles", who generated over $175 million in combined profits over five years, proving the effectiveness of this method. This article provides an overview of the "Turtle Trading" programme, illustrating its origin, principles, and current relevance.

At the end of the week, a major event will take place in the cryptocurrency world. It's called the bitcoin halving. Scheduled 15 years ago, this process occurs approximately every four years, making bitcoin rarer over time. Preview below.

A consolidated view of the markets, across geographies and asset classes.

The Asia House Annual Outlook 2024 classifies it as one of the best positioned markets in Asia-Pacific for 2024. Nestled beside the giant China, Vietnam aspires to become a high-income country by 2045, relying on a growing economy, strong manufacturing activity and rising middle class. This article offers a comprehensive view of Vietnam's potential and obstacles on its path to economic prosperity.

Why the end of negative interest rates is no obstacle to the continued bull market in Japanese equities?

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