Santa is a hawk
- 20 December 2021 (5 min read)
We want to thank our readers for their attention and feedback throughout 2021 and wish you the best possible festive season and a great year 2022. The next Macrocast will come out on Monday 10 January.
Key points
- More sanitary restrictions emerging as Omicron spreads.
- The Federal Reserve (Fed)’s resolve to tighten quickly in 2022 looks strong. The European Central Bank (ECB) has pushed the debate on its rate lift-off to very late in 2022 or more likely to 2023.
- Three issues on our radar for January: escalation in Ukraine, the risk of severe supply-side disruption in China because of the “zero Covid” policy, possibilities of political upset in Italy around the presidential elections.
Unfortunately, we cannot close this year without taking a hard look at the pandemic again. Confirming our concerns from last week, although more indications emerged that Omicron triggers less severe infections, in many advanced countries the speed of propagation coupled with the presence of a significant minority of unvaccinated individuals create such a threat to healthcare capacity that more severe sanitary measures are being implemented. This could make for a mediocre Q1 2022 in terms of economic activity.
Also in line with our expectations, central banks across the Atlantic reacted differently to the new threat. The Fed has been even more hawkish than we thought, penciling in three rate hikes next year. Yet, the market still believes this early tightening would “nip inflation in the bud” without having to go far into restrictive territory, and the Fed itself signals that throughout its forecasting horizon running until 2024 the actual policy rate could remain below the equilibrium level. Still, an “overkill risk”, where the economy would slow down so much that inflation would in the medium run return to its below-target pace from before the pandemic, is clearly priced in by markets. We find evidence of this not just in inflation-indexed bonds but also in the relative performance of cyclical equities. The ECB is not in such a hurry and with its new “soft open-ended” quantitative easing (QE) has pushed the debate on its rate lift-off to very late in 2022 and more likely to 2023. We notice that their GDP forecasts are consistent with a positive output gap in 2023 and 2024, while they expect inflation to be below 2% by then. That reflects a strong belief at the central bank that, at least in Europe, the bar to exit from the pre-pandemic low inflation regime is high, for all the hawks’ increasingly public concerns.
Ahead of the Christmas break, we sketch out the issues which will be on our radar in January: the possibility of an escalation in Ukraine, the risk that China’s zero Covid policy triggers a significant disruption in supply over there if Omicron takes hold, which would add to the global bottlenecks, and finally scenarios for a political upset in Italy around the presidential elections.
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This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment research or financial analysis relating to transactions in financial instruments, nor does it constitute on the part of AXA Investment Managers or its affiliated companies an offer to buy or sell any investments, products or services, and should not be considered as solicitation or investment, legal or tax advice, a recommendation for an investment strategy or a personalized recommendation to buy or sell securities.
Due to its simplification, this document is partial and opinions, estimates and forecasts herein are subjective and subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee forecasts made will come to pass. Data, figures, declarations, analysis, predictions and other information in this document is provided based on our state of knowledge at the time of creation of this document. Whilst every care is taken, no representation or warranty (including liability towards third parties), express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained herein. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the recipient. This material does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision.
All investment involves risk , including the loss of capital. The value of investments and the income from them can fluctuate and investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
Disclaimer
This website is published by AXA Investment Managers Australia Ltd (ABN 47 107 346 841 AFSL 273320) (“AXA IM Australia”) and is intended only for professional investors, sophisticated investors and wholesale clients as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
This publication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment research or financial analysis relating to transactions in financial instruments, nor does it constitute on the part of AXA Investment Managers or its affiliated companies an offer to buy or sell any investments, products or services, and should not be considered as solicitation or investment, legal or tax advice, a recommendation for an investment strategy or a personalized recommendation to buy or sell securities.
Market commentary on the website has been prepared for general informational purposes by the authors, who are part of AXA Investment Managers. This market commentary reflects the views of the authors, and statements in it may differ from the views of others in AXA Investment Managers.
Due to its simplification, this publication is partial and opinions, estimates and forecasts herein are subjective and subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee forecasts made will come to pass. Data, figures, declarations, analysis, predictions and other information in this publication is provided based on our state of knowledge at the time of creation of this publication. Whilst every care is taken, no representation or warranty (including liability towards third parties), express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained herein. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the recipient. This material does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision.
All investment involves risk , including the loss of capital. The value of investments and the income from them can fluctuate and investors may not get back the amount originally invested.