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☆ Bargain hunters dig in to 'cheap' European banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Just before earnings season kicks off, European bank shares are sporting a dividend yield of almost 8%, making them cheaper on this basis than during the 2008 global financial crisis. European banks, which struggled during 2014 to 2022 as the ECB kept rates below zero, have had a major boost from hiking their loan costs in line with central bank rates. Analyst forecasts collated by European asset manager Amundi show European banks are expected to grow adjusted earnings per share by 25% this year, followed by a 6% gain in 2024. Generali's Morganti said he has moved his position on European banks from negative to neutral and was likely to add more. He did not forecast quick gains for European banks ahead, however.

Persons: Guy de Blonay, Sebastiano Pirro, Roger Lee, Amundi, LSEG, Michele Morganti, Italy's Unicredit, Banks, Pirro, Generali's Morganti, Naomi Rovnick, Joice Alves, Dhara Ranasinghe, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters Graphics Banks, Jupiter Asset Management, Algebris Investments, European Central Bank, Reuters, ECB, Bank, Generali Investments, Monetary Fund, Thomson

☆ Take Five: War and peace of mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in August as a surge in gasoline prices boosted receipts at service stations. Bar chart with data from LSEG I/B/E/S show the projected year-over-year growth in Q3 2023 earnings of S&P 500 industries. There have been reports the government is looking to increase its budget deficit to meet this year's 5% growth target. That said, inflation is still over three times the BoE's 2% target and growth isn't exactly stellar.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Kevin Buckland, Lewis Krauskopf, Naomi Rovnick, Karin Strohecker, Amanda Cooper, Goldman Sachs, Johnson, Philip Morris, It's, Banks, Amundi, BoE, it's, Sumanta Sen, Prinz Magtulis, Vineet, Pasit, Jayaram, Mark Potter Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Hamas, Bank of America, Johnson, Netflix, Philip Morris International, Investors, HK, Law, Justice, Reuters, The Bank of England, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Israel, Palestinian, China, Britain, Tokyo, New York, London, LSEG, Beijing, Europe's, Brussels, Europe

Israeli assets and the shekel remain under pressure and oil and gold prices are marginally higher than last week. World Markets Impact From MidEast Attacks WanesBlackRock chart on its Geopolitical Risk IndicatorNOWHERE TO RUN TO... Last updated shortly before the weekend events in Israel, BlackRock's Geopolitical Risk Indicator - which attempts to capture market attention to political risks - had indeed crept up to six month highs. Releasing its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund warned that more volatile commodity prices were a possible reflection of both greater climate and geopolitical risk. And yet hand wringing about geopolitical risk in different corners of the globe can also deflect from rising political risks in core economies - not the least in the United States.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Vincent Mortier, Anna Rosenberg, Kristina Hooper reckons, Hooper, that's, It's, Amundi's Rosenberg, Pierre, Olivier Gourinchas, Gourinchas, Josie Kao Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, West Bank, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Israel, Gaza, Iran, United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Taiwan, Ukraine

How the $13 trillion economy's slowdown will affect other emerging markets is still an unanswered question for investors. "Lower for longer Chinese growth is shaping a new regime of investments," Amundi's head of emerging markets Yerlan Syzdykov told Reuters. The World Bank trimmed its 2024 China growth forecast to 4.4% from 4.8%. 6/DEVELOPING REFORMThe World Bank, IMF and other multilateral development banks are under pressure to boost lending to poorer countries to fund development and tackle climate change. China and other large emerging economies have long demanded a greater say in the global financial architecture, which is still dominated by parameters set out by the 1944 Bretton Woods meeting, where the IMF and World Bank were established.

Persons: Abdelhak, Joseph Cuthbertson, Syzdykov, Anna Gelpern, Gregory Smith, Smith, Mehmet Simsek, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, drubbing, Timothy Ash, Jorgelina, Rosario, Rachel Savage, Marc Jones, Karin Strohecker, Christina Fincher Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Palais des, REUTERS, Federal Reserve, International Monetary, PineBridge Investments, Reuters, Bank, Ukraine, U.S, Kyiv, Paris Club, IMF, American, London, G Investments, JPMorgan, Egypt IMF, Fitch, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Finance, BlueBay Asset Management, Thomson Locations: Palais, Palais des Congres, Marrakech, Morocco, Argentina, Pakistan, Kenya, Egypt, CHINA, China, UKRAINE, Ukraine, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Georgetown, Nigeria, TURKEY, Ankara, New York, Washington, London, Woods

☆ Bonds eye Q4 salvation in another year to forget: McGeever
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Jamie Mcgeever | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Treasury bond indexes are down as much as 2.5% this year, not a huge move and most of it has come since Federal Reserve policymakers published their upwardly revised median policy projections on Sept. 20. For an investor with a typical portfolio weighted 60% stocks and 40% bonds, these losses are more than offset by double-digit equity returns. Their base case is for a 14% return on 10-year Treasuries, rising to 20% in the event of recession. Even in their upside scenario of a more resilient economy, 10-year Treasuries should return around 10% over the coming year, they estimate. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data, meanwhile, showed that asset managers had built up a then record net long position in 10-year Treasuries futures of 1.26 million contracts by mid-January.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, ”, Keith Lerner, Jonathan Duensing Organizations: Department of, U.S . Treasury, REUTERS, U.S, Treasuries, U.S ., Bank of America, Treasury, Bloomberg U.S, ICE, Advisory, Fed, UBS, Bank of, Futures, Amundi, Reuters Locations: ORLANDO, Florida, Washington , U.S, U.S . Republic, Treasuries

☆ Column-Bonds eye Q4 salvation in another year to forget: McGeever
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Jamie Mcgeever | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Why are global bond yields rising? With inflation excluding food and energy prices elevated and the U.S. economy resilient, central banks are pushing back against rate cut bets. Many investors were also betting bond yields would drop, so are extra sensitive to moves in the opposite direction, analysts say. That is no surprise, and analysts do not rule out a rise in 10-year Treasury yields to 5%, from 4.7% now . Bond yields determine governments' funding costs, so the longer they stay high, the more they feed into the interest costs countries pay.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, August's, Goldman Sachs, Mahmood Pradhan, Treasuries, Andrea Kiguel, Yoruk, Dhara Ranasinghe, Karin Strohecker, Marc Jones, Amanda Cooper, Ed Osmond Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S . Treasury, August's Fitch, Reuters, Treasury, Deutsche Bank, Amundi Investment, U.S, JPMorgan, Barclays, Yoruk Bahceli, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Germany, Japan, Italy, Europe, Americas, Amsterdam, London

The ramifications for global markets are significant, with Washington and Beijing's determination to loosen dependence on each other fraying long-established supply chains. Many central banks target 2% inflation; market gauges of traders' long-term U.S. and European inflation expectations are running higher , . Anna Rosenberg, head of geopolitics at the Amundi Investment Institute, said Sino-U.S. tensions, provide a "new lens" through which to analyse emerging markets' growth prospects. But the performance of big U.S. tech stocks and global share indices are vulnerable to signs of Chinese retaliation. With China underperforming global stocks, investors are split on how to approach this market.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Joe Biden, Goldman Sachs, Wouter Sturkenboom, Laura Alfaro, Anna Rosenberg, Christopher Rossbach, J, Stern, Carole Madjo, Wendy Liu, Baird, Patrick Spencer, Naomi Rovnick, Kripa Jayaram, Riddhima, Vineet, Sumanta Sen, Pasit, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, EMEA, APAC, Northern Trust, Reuters, Research, Harvard Business, Amundi Investment Institute, INDIA RUSH, Barclays reckons, EU, Apple, China, Barclays, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: West, China, Washington, Western, Germany, Northern, Europe, FRIENDSHORING Washington, Vietnam, Mexico, Mongolia, Philippines, Sino, U.S, India, Beijing, COVID, CHINA

☆ These bonds offer high yields for taking on hurricane and other disaster risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Hurricane Lee is just the latest in what is expected to be an above-normal hurricane season this year. To help potentially pay for damages borne of these extreme weather events, companies in the insurance industry sell catastrophe bonds. There is just over $38 billion in outstanding cat bonds on the market right now, and she thinks it could push over $40 billion by the end of the year. How cat bonds work Cat bonds pay the issuer when a predefined disaster risk is realized, known as an attachment point. Investing in cat bonds While catastrophe bonds mainly target institutional investors, Amundi's Pioneer Cat Bond Fund has A shares available for retail investors.

Persons: Hurricane Lee, Corey Anger, Guy Carpenter, Artemis, Anger, Steve Evans, Amundi's, Morningstar Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, GC Securities, Treasury, AAA, World Bank, Cat Bond, Artemis Deal Locations: United States, U.S

An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China July 6, 2018. A monthly report from the Institute of International Finance showed non-residents funneled $14.9 billion out of China stocks, the largest monthly outflow on records back to 2015, while Chinese debt saw $5.1 billion in outflows. The broad MSCI stock and currency emerging market indexes posted in August their largest monthly drops since February. Equities fell across all geographical regions while debt posted inflows in Asia, Latam and emerging Europe. Year-to-date numbers through August show a $13.1 billion outflow from China while emerging markets ex-China has seen $139.5 billion in non-resident portfolio inflows.

Persons: Aly, Jonathan Fortun, Fortun, Rodrigo Campos, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, China, EMs, Institute of International Finance, China's, Reuters Graphics Equity, Emerging, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, outflows, Emerging Asia, Latin, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe

Inditex shares have risen around 64% over the past 12 months as the world's biggest clothing retailer successfully passed cost increases on to shoppers and reported record profit margins. But after several U.S. retailers including Macy's and Foot Locker warned of weak consumer spending, fears of an economic slowdown have come back into focus. "I think companies will be more disciplined and will reduce pricing where they think they can gain volumes," said Fabio Di Giansante, portfolio manager at Amundi, which holds shares in Inditex. In the six months to July last year, Inditex's sales increased by 25% and profits climbed by 41% - but that was in comparison with a period marked by COVID-19 lockdowns around the world. According to Bernstein analysts, Inditex's key rival H&M (HMb.ST), set to report third-quarter sales on Friday, has pushed through more price increases than peers over the past year.

Persons: Inditex, Locker, Inditex's, Fabio Di Giansante, Geoffroy De Mendez, De Mendez, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Bernstein, Amundi's Di Giansante, Helen Reid, Corina Pons, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Macy's, Inditex . Bank of America, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Zara, Amundi, Inditex ., U.S, London, Madrid

Fundraising and deal-making have dropped sharply at European private debt funds, new data shows. Faisal Ramzan, a partner at law firm Proskauer Rose who advises private credit funds, said he was not seeing default. "There's plenty of dry powder," said Fidelity International's head of private credit strategies Michael Curtis, referring to capital raised already. Joanna Layton, managing director of European private credit at Alcentra, one of Europe's largest private debt managers, added there was "no rush" to deploy capital. High rates have also made private credit less appealing to institutional investors, analysts said.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Francesco Sandrini, BoE, Andrew Cruickshank, Cruickshank, Pictet, Patrick Marshall, Faisal Ramzan, Proskauer Rose, Michael Curtis, Joanna Layton, Mark Brenke, Ardian, Chris Sier, Sier, Dhara Ranasinghe, Catherine Evans Organizations: City, REUTERS, Reuters Graphics Reuters, The Bank of, European Central Bank, Graphics, Deloitte, Fitch, Federated Hermes, Fidelity International, ClearGlass, Thomson Locations: London's, London, Britain, The Bank of England

☆ Bond traders prepare to brave 'painful' yield curve bets as rate hikes slow
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Harry Robertson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Those moves have put the focus back on "steepening trades" - bets that shorter-dated yields will fall relative to longer-dated yields. "Everyone is now re-looking at these curve trades," said Olivier De Larouziere, chief investment officer for global fixed income at BNP Paribas Asset Management. "I would expect that in the next quarter, more people will start positioning for a steepening of the yield curve." That's led to a rare situation where the bond yield curve is "inverted". TIMING IS EVERYTHINGThe market moves over the last week highlight the risk of curve trades.

Persons: Lucas Jackson, Olivier De Larouziere, Fabio Bassi, That's, Alexandre Caminade, Anne Beaudu, Larouziere, JPMorgan's Bassi, Franck Dixmier, John Williams, Ostrum's Caminade, Harry Robertson, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Federal Reserve Bank of New, REUTERS, Bond, U.S, BNP, Management, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, JPMorgan, Treasury, Ostrum, ECB, Allianz Global Investors, Reuters Graphics, New York Fed, New York Times, Thomson Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, U.S, Europe, New

[1/2] The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. Investor attention will be squarely on the July U.S. non-farm payrolls report, with a Reuters survey of 80 economists expecting payrolls to have increased by 200,000 last month, after rising 209,000 in June. "Today’s U.S. payrolls data is likely to continue to showcase the resilience of the U.S. economy," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a note. The dollar meanwhile rose 0.1% against a basket of major currencies , heading for its third weekly gain in a row. Oil prices headed for a sixth straight weekly gain, driven up by the prospect of reduced supply from Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Persons: Toby Melville, payrolls, Michael Hewson, Germany's DAX, Francesco Sandrini, Fitch, Brent, Ankur Banerjee, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kirsten Donovan, Alexander Smith Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, Treasury, U.S . Federal, CMC Markets, FTSE, Nasdaq, Apple, Bank of England, U.S ., U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, U.S, United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Singapore

☆ Investors still see blue sky ahead for Europe travel stocks as boom abates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Danilo Masoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"For many people, the pandemic is now over, and this is time now for travelling far from home," said Corinne Martin, fund manager at Ofi Invest in Paris. The point at which China announced the end of health restrictions in 2022 was probably the best moment to jump into travel stocks. They remain buyers, noting how at 11 times 2024 earnings, the stock displays an unjustified discount and prices no growth. "Now, vacation budget is no more a variable families adjust," said Jerome Schupp, fund manager at Prime Partners in Geneva. European travel and leisure earnings are seen rising 63% this year and 23% in 2024, according to Refinitiv Datastream.

Persons: Corinne Martin, Ofi's Martin, Martin, Goldman Sachs, Jerome Schupp, Schupp, Cristina Matti, Andrea Scauri, Lastminute, Refinitiv, Lucy Raitano, Conor Humphries Organizations: MILAN, Ofi Invest, Paris . Airlines, Royce, World Tourism Organization, China, Traders, Paris Olympics, UEFA European Football, Ryanair, Europe's, Prime Partners, Visa, Air, Thomson Locations: Paris, Europe, Germany, Geneva, Air France, Lemanik, London

☆ Céline Boutier dominates Evian Championship to become first Frenchwoman to win a major on home soil
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Evian-les-Bains CNN —Céline Boutier realized a long-held dream for herself and her country on Sunday, cruising to her first major title at the Evian Championship to become the first Frenchwoman to win the tournament. “It honestly has been my biggest dream ever since I started watching golf,” Boutier said during her winner’s interview. Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Norway’s Celine Borge carded final round 68’s to register their best major finishes in tied-third. The final women’s major of the year, the Women’s Open, tees off at Walton Heath in Surrey, England on August 9. Stuart Franklin/Getty ImagesHomecomingEven as her driver kept landing her in trouble, Boutier continuously rebounded to keep the door firmly closed.

Persons: Bains CNN — Céline Boutier, Brooke Henderson, Catherine Lacoste –, Patricia Meunier, Boutier, ” Boutier, Stuart Franklin, Canada’s Henderson, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, Norway’s Celine Borge, Lim Kim, Yuka Saso, Hataoka, Rose Zhang, Brooke M, Henderson, France –, soundtracked, Hataoka bogeyed, parring, –, snuffed Organizations: Evian, les, Bains CNN, Evian Championship, Golf Club, US, Chevron, Getty, South, Nasa, Walton Heath, Solheim, Europe, BAINS, Golf, CNN Locations: Evian, –, France, Surrey, England, Andalucia, Spain, EVIAN, FRANCE, Canada, Bains

PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) - Amundi (AMUN.PA), Europe's biggest fund manager, posted better-than-expected quarterly net inflows on Friday as investors' appetite for risk-averse products underpinned a 1.9% yearly growth in assets under management. This beat the analyst consensus compiled by the company, which predicted a decrease of 1.1 billion euros in three-month period ending in June. Baudson also said that the reopening of China's economy started to have a positive effect on net inflows stemming from its joint venture with Bank of China, leading to "very slightly positive" net inflows in the second quarter. Amundi's second-quarter earnings also beat expectations, with adjusted net income totaling 320 million euros, up 19% from a year earlier. ($1 = 0.9098 euros)Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Valerie Baudson, Baudson, Amundi's, Mathieu Rosemain, Conor Humphries Organizations: Europe's, Bank of, Thomson Locations: Bank of China

☆ Preparing for the Evian Championship
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Paul Sullivan | More About Paul Sullivan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Brooke Henderson, who has won 20 times since turning professional in 2014, rolled in a putt on the final hole of last year’s Amundi Evian Championship to win the women’s major by one shot over the rookie Sophia Schubert. It was Henderson’s seventh time playing the championship, which starts on Thursday and is the only major played in continental Europe. It is also the only women’s major played on the same course every year, the Evian Resort Golf Club in France, which has hosted the tournament for nearly 30 years. It’s been called quirky and unfair, and one player, Stacy Lewis, who is a major champion, skipped it for two years. It also stands in contrast to courses for the other majors, which have moved to be hosted at the same venues where the men have won.

Persons: Brooke Henderson, Amundi, Sophia Schubert, It’s, Stacy Lewis Organizations: Amundi Evian, Evian, Golf Locations: Europe, France

☆ Tumbling US dollar a boon to risk assets across the globe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - Cooling U.S. inflation is accelerating a decline in the dollar, and risk assets around the world stand to benefit. Because the dollar is a linchpin of the global financial system, a wide range of assets stand to benefit if it continues falling. Raw materials, which are priced in dollars, become more affordable to foreign buyers when the dollar declines. "For markets, the weaker dollar and its underlying driver, weaker inflation, is a balm for everything, especially for assets outside the U.S.," said Alvise Marino, foreign exchange strategist at Credit Suisse. Reuters GraphicsIn the world of monetary policy, the dollar's decline may be a relief to some countries, as it removes the urgency for them to support their falling currencies.

Persons: Russell, Alvise Marino, Karl Schamotta, Paresh Upadhyaya, Upadhyaya, Kenneth Broux, Helen, pare, it's, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Dhara Ranasinghe, Ira Iosebashvili, Leslie Adler Organizations: YORK, U.S, Federal Reserve, Investment, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Treasury, Fed, Colombian, Kazakhstan tenge, Uruguayan, Reuters Graphics, Traders, Generale, stoke, Monex USA, Thomson Locations: U.S, Polish, Corpay, Kazakhstan, Japan, Swedish

Data suggests recession risks remain high, but wages and U.S. and European interest rates are also still rising - so stick or twist? Here are five big calls investors are now making. Principal Global Investors chief global strategist Seema Shah said she maintained her view that government bonds would do well with recession still likely by year-end. Reuters Graphics4/ FRAGILE CHINASpluttering data, property market woes and meek economic stimulus have also busted new year bets of a Chinese mini-boom. Principal Global Investors' Shah said she still expected commodities to continue to struggle "because a combination of U.S. slowdown plus China slowdown should mean weak demand."

Persons: Bonds, Francesco Sandrini, Seema Shah, JP Morgan, Trevor Greetham, Florian Ielpo, Athanasios Vamvakidis, Morgan Stanley, Shah, Naomi Rovnick, Marc Jones, Alun John, Dhara Ranasinghe, Mark Potter Organizations: Treasury, Investors, Reuters, Global Investors, Royal London Asset Management, Lombard, Swiss, Bank of America, Fed, FX, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: bitcoin, Europe's, British, tatters, Japan, CHINA

"We first need to see Zambia's updated macroeconomic package, which is in part why we have to get restricted," one of the sources said. There will be a restriction period of two weeks, with the option to extend it if both sides agree, two sources added. Amia Capital, Amundi, BlueBay Asset Management, Farallon Capital Management, Greylock Capital and T. Rowe Price comprise the steering committee. Besides net present value (NPV) reductions, talks will focus on how to incorporate the impact of a potential improvement of Zambia's debt carrying capacity, or its ability to handle debt payments. Including in the overhaul a mechanism that would allow for higher payments through coupon payments, debt maturities or a combination of both if Zambia's debt capacity improves was "sacrosanct", one of the sources said.

Persons: Weil, Rowe Price, Jorgelina, Rodrigo Campos, Karin Strohecker Organizations: Paris Club, Newstate Partners, BlueBay Asset Management, Farallon Capital Management, Greylock, Monetary Fund, Bank, IMF, World Bank, Thomson Locations: China, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Zambia, U.S, Amia, Rosario, London, New York, Lincoln

McKinsey says generative AI could add $7.3 trillion in value to the world economy each year and believes half of today's work activities could be automated between 2030 and 2060. The latest Bank of America survey in June showed 29% of global investors don't expect AI to increase profits or jobs. "There's a lot of focus on the risks that generative AI can bring. He sounded confident over the capacity of some professional information and data providers, which own proprietary data, to integrate generative AI into their products. Cristina Matti, small and midcaps portfolio manager at Amundi, said indiscriminate investing was not an option for investors seeking AI exposure.

Persons: Gilles Guibout, UK's Pearson, Chegg, Pearson, Thomas McGarrity, Andrea Scauri, Scauri, Capgemini, Cristina Matti, Danilo Masoni, Lucy Raitano, Chizu Organizations: Nvidia, McKinsey, AXA Investment, Bank of America, Microsoft, RBC Wealth Management, Accenture, Thomson Locations: MILAN, Europe, United States, Paris, Lemanik, Amundi

☆ European equity investors hunt for big returns in small places
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Lucy Raitano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The MSCI Europe SMID index of European small to mid-cap firms (.MIEU000D0PEU) is trading near 2008 lows versus the wider market in terms of valuations, including both price/earnings and price-to-book ratios. The bank's small cap basket is invested across sectors, or 'sector neutral', to make it "less prone to the ups and downs of cyclical acceleration and deceleration." But M&A remains a supportive theme, said Amundi's Matti, as big players seeking external growth can look to the small cap sector for niche expertise to add to their portfolios. "When people are trying to find alpha to add to their portfolio, small caps tend to be the place to look at," said Matti. "Ultimately, they (small caps) are a rich hunting ground for long-term investors."

Persons: Dash, Emmanuel Cau, Amundi, Cristina Matti, Amundi's Matti, Matti, Graham Secker, Morgan Stanley, ”, Bernie Ahkong, Morgan Stanley's Secker, Thomas McGarrity, Lucy Raitano, Susan Fenton Organizations: Barclays, Energy, Reuters Graphics, O’Connor, Alpha, UBS Asset Management, Data, RBC Wealth Management, Thomson Locations: Europe, Amundi

But investors, burned by previous reforms that ultimately proved hollow, say it will take time to build trust and listed myriad questions over the final shape of the economy. Tinubu is from the same party as predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, dubbed "Baba Go-slow" for his pottering pace - taking six months to appoint cabinet members. Nigeria's international dollar bonds and the country's stock market have been boosted by the speedy reforms. Reuters GraphicsInvestors also worry about low tax receipts and falling oil output - structural reforms that will take far longer to sort. Meanwhile interest rates, which Tinubu has said he would like to see fall, were hiked by 50 bps last month to 18.5%.

Persons: Bola, Temilade, Bola Tinubu's, Tunde Ajileye, Muhammadu Buhari, Godwin Emefiele, Goldman Sachs, Andrew Matheny, John Mumo, Joe Delvaux, Amundi, Delvaux, Tinubu, Patrick Curran, Rachel Savage, Libby George, Karin Strohecker, Nick Macfie Organizations: Nigeria's, REUTERS, Central Bank, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Tellimer, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, JOHANNESBURG, LONDON, Lagos, Blakeney, Africa

For some, the answer to exuberant markets lies in the ample cash still sloshing around the financial system. Total global liquidity, a measure of cash and credit in the world economy, has risen to almost $170 trillion in June, Crossborder calculates, from $158 trillion in October. Central banks have added a net $1.7 trillion into money markets since November, it also estimates, a move that correlates with a risk-taking trend. But an alternative scenario is that U.S. money market funds, stuffed with cash after depositors fled regional banks in March, buy enough newly issued Treasuries to keep rates stable. "Liquidity is not a force that reverberates immediately into financial markets," said JPMorgan global market strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.

Persons: Michael Howell, Crossborder, Richard Clarida, Georgina Taylor, Ken Taubes, reverberates, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Morgan Stanley, Luca Paolini, Paolini, Naomi Rovnick, Harry Robertson, Dhara Ranasinghe, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: U.S . Treasury, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Crossborder Capital, U.S, Reuters, BNP, JPMorgan, Apple, Thomson Locations: Japan, U.S

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