Products January 2, 2013

J.P. Morgan Debuts Investment Blog

A new blog shines a light on the weekly strategy meetings of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s global fixed-income, currency and commodity group.
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Institutional clients gain direct communication about market and investment views from the group’s global network of portfolio managers and research analysts. Blog posts are drawn directly from the investment team’s weekly strategy meetings, giving readers unusual access to the team’s market dialog and investment discussions.

According to Bob Michele, global chief investment officer for the group, the blog brings the investment conversation and the team’s commentary directly to clients. “In making our thought leadership available in this interactive, dynamic channel, we’re excited about its potential to strengthen our client dialogue,” Michele said.

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Blog posts from the group cover a range of market topics, including the investment implications of global monetary policy, insights on currency moves, fixed-income asset allocation, relative value trading opportunities and fixed-income asset class outlooks. A video library of strategy insights from portfolio managers and client portfolio managers is also available.

Some recent blog posts have included:

  • What’s Next for EMD?, a road map for the first quarter of 2013 by Pierre-Yves Bareau, head of emerging market debt.
  • QE and Helicopter Money by David Tan, head of global rates.
  • Muddle Through—Chinese Style. Stephen Chang, head of Asian fixed income, examines the government response to the slowdown in China’s economy.
  • Opportunity Knocks, a preview of what fixed-income sectors might hold in 2013, by Nick Gartside, international chief investment officer.

The Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities blog can be accessed here.  

J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s global fixed-income, currency and commodities team has assets under management of $158 billion as of September 30, 2012.

Data & Research January 2, 2013

BMO Sees Global Hurdles, Opportunites

 

Europe, China and the U.S. must overcome hurdles to keep the global economic recovery intact.

 

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BMO’s report “More Silver Linings than Clouds” found while both the stock and bond markets have made significant recoveries domestically, the European economy has inched toward recession. Despite debt in the southern countries, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Union (EU) developed plans that have already produced some positive results, including decreased interest rates, establishment of emergency reserves, the avoidance of a recession in Germany and France, a rebound by the STOXX Europe 600 Index and the introduction of the ECB as bank supervisor for the EU. 

China’s slowdown, which was induced by measures taken to moderate inflation and rapid growth, has been exacerbated by Europe’s weakness. As a result, their government has taken reverse actions to jump-start demand. Several encouraging trends include: decreased lending rates, export growth turned positive, steadied gross domestic product (GDP) and increased retail sales.

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The U.S.–fiscal cliff aside–has been benefiting from powerful trends in consumer confidence and an uptick in the housing sector. Some optimistic economic signs include: rising consumer confidence and retail sales, housing upswing, rising employment rates, positive manufacturing activity and solid corporate operating margins.

BMO sees opportunity in equities worldwide due to dividends that equal or exceed Treasury yields. They recommend U.S. investors have U.S. equities as the largest portion of their stock portfolio.

Investors seeking more income have moved to riskier fixed-income sectors, but BMO says investors should be aware of the interest rate and credit risks of this strategy.

The report is available here.

 

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