Head of Macro Analysis
Summary: Our 'Macro Chartmania' series collects Macrobond data and focuses on a single chart chosen for its relevance.
Click here to download this week's full edition of Macro Chartmania, including new additions such as Saxo’s Misery Index which tracks the evolution of the four worst performing industries this year due to Covid-19.
The Chinese government’s attempts to re-engineer the economy after the lockdown has mostly consisted in an increase in public investment and cheap credit flows into the market with little incentives to directly support aggregate demand and consumption. It thus explains why household’s disposable income is not back to pre-COVID level yet, and why the labor market is not back fully.
The focus on public investment, which is not unusual in period of crisis in China in order to offset the decrease in private investment, has in turn made a positive impact on the housing market.
Completed investment in real estate – a key driver of economic growth- is back to expansion with a last print at 4.6% YTD Y/Y in August. However, it is still significantly below pre-COVID level when it was running around 10% YTD Y/Y. Other data confirm the ongoing housing market recovery: the average price of new homes in 70 cities monitored by the government rose 0.56% in August and property sales by floor area, which are considered as a reliable indicator to track the evolution of demand, rose 13.7% from a year earlier in August. Both indicators rose faster in August than July’s expansion. Despite, the strong public support to investment, the real estate sector is still not back to normal and is actually going through an imperfect V-shaped recovery. Much more stimulus is expected in the short- and medium-term to fuel the rebound in the housing market, which represents around 80% of Chinese people’s wealth, and is therefore crucial to support the economy as a whole. The new guidelines should be enacted at the upcoming Fifth Plenum of the Nineteenth Communist Party Congress that will be held from October 26 to 29 in Beijing. It will be a major market event for China watchers as it will lay out the blueprint for economic priorities and social development targets for the next five years.
The market is trying to get back to the pre-Covid and pre-war times, but that model is broken. A new dawn is here and the financial world needs to adapt.
Steen Jakobsen,
Chief Investment Officer
A political switch in China towards less tough control of its people and companies may kick things back into gear.
Redmond Wong,
Market Strategist
While the economic situation in Europe may not be as bad as feared, there's still a plethora of things to fix.
Chris Dembik,
Head of Macroeconomic Research
As the world turns increasingly bipolar, equity markets face harsh times as they transition into the new reality.
Peter Garnry,
Head of Equity Strategy
New alliances and collaborations outside of China may lead to prosperous times in Asia.
Charu Chanana,
Market Strategist
For years, it was thought that the balanced portfolio was a thing of the past. But recent developments may have changed that.
Peter Siks,
Investment Coach
Following a dramatic and volatile 2022 with good returns, a lot of this year's commodity performance may be driven by Chinese politics.
Ole S. Hansen,
Head of Commodity Strategy
2023 could be a tough year for currencies but EUR and JPY may have some upside.
John J. Hardy,
Head of FX Strategy
The commodity-heavy Australian market may have a good start to 2023, as the Chinese focus on growth signals demand for Aussie resources.
Jessica Amir,
Market Strategist
From a near-perfect environment for speculative assets before 2022 to the opposite, crypto faces fundamental challenges.
Mads Eberhardt,
Cryptocurrency Analyst
