Macro and Credit - The recurrence theorem

"Some things never change - there will be another crisis, and its impact will be felt by the financial markets." - Jamie Dimon

Looking at the elevated volatility in Emerging Markets in conjunction with continued outflows and pressure on the asset class, on the back of rising US yields and a strengthening US dollar marking the return of "Mack the Knife", with losses not limited to the currencies but with Emerging Markets Yields continuing surging throughout, when it came to selecting our title analogy we reacquainted ourselves with French mathematician Henri Poincaré's 1890 recurrence theorem building on the previous work of fellow mathematician Simeon Poisson. In mechanics, Poincaré recurrence theorem states that an initial state or configuration of a mechanical system, subjected to conserved forces, will reoccur again in the course of the time evolution of the system. The commonly used example to explain the theorem is that if one inserts a partition in a box, pumps out all the air molecules on one side, then opens the partition, the recurrence theorem states that if one waits long enough that all of the molecules will eventually recongregate in their original half of the box. The theorem is often found mixed up with the second law of thermodynamics to the effect that some will loosely argue that there exists a very small probability that an isolated system will reconfigure to a more ordered state (thus effecting an entropy decrease).The theorem is commonly discussed in the context of dynamical systems and statistical mechanics. When it comes to pressure and outflows, as we mused in our last conversation, one would argue that continued capital outflows pressure is contained until it isn't. 

In this week's conversation, we would like to look at the return of "Mack the Knife" in conjunction with rising oil prices and what it entails. 

Synopsis:

• Macro and Credit - US yields - It's getting real!
• Final chart - US core CPI tends to rise in the two years leading up to a recession

• Macro and Credit - US yields - It's getting real!

While US 10yr Real Yields are a key macro driver, the US dollar so far in 2018 has dramatically diverge from yields. "Mack the Knife" aka the King Dollar also known as the Greenback in conjunction with US real interest rates swinging in positive territory has recently put some pressure on gold prices marking the return of the Gibson paradox which we mused about in our October 2013 conversation:

"When real interest rates are below 2%, then you get bull market in gold, but when you get positive real interest rates, which has been the case with the rally we saw in the 10 year US government bond getting close to 3% before receding, then of course, gold prices went down as a consequence of the interest rate impact." - Macronomics

With the start of an unwind in global carry trade,  "Mack the Knife" aka King Dollar is making a murderous ballad on the EM tourists and carry players alike. Back in July 2015 in our conversation "Mack the Knife" we indicated the following as well:

"More liquidity = greater economic instability once QE ends for Emerging Markets. If our theory is right and osmosis continues and becomes excessive the cell will eventually burst, in our case defaults for some over-exposed dollar debt corporates and sovereigns alike will spike." - source Macronomics, July 2015

The question for continued pressure on Emerging Markets when it comes to "Mack the Knife" is are we beginning to see a reconnect between the US dollar and yields? The jury is still out there. Rising Breakevens tend to be negative for the US dollar. Also what matters for US equities given they have remained relatively spared so far would be a meaningful widening in credit spreads. This would be accompanied of course by higher volatility.

Right now, as we pointed out last week, dispersion is the name of the game in both credit and Emerging Markets with the usual suspects and weaker players getting the proverbial trouncing as of late such as Turkey and Argentina. We also indicated recently that the continuous rise of volatility in Emerging Markets would lead to additional outflows given the Hedge Funds were the first to reduce their beta exposure. Some investors might follow suit and follow a similar pattern of "derisking" it seems. On the subject of continuous volatility on EM assets we read with interest Barclays take from their Emerging Markets Weekly note from the 17th of May entitled "Shaken and stirred":

"Volatility in EM assets remains elevated. As 10y UST yields have moved further above 3% and the USD has resumed its strengthening trend, total returns in EM assets have taken a further hit – which in turn continues to weigh on flows: YTD returns in EM credit and EM local markets now stand at -3.7% and -2.4%, respectively (Bloomberg Barclays USD EM Agg and EM local-ccy government bond indices), while EM dedicated bond and equity funds had their worst week of outflows last week since the volatility spike in February (see EM flows: Outflows materialize, 11 May 2018). Economic data has hardly helped to improve sentiment, with weaker European and Chinese activity data feeding concerns about weakening global growth momentum.

The market’s focus remains firmly on those countries with external vulnerabilities and financing needs, especially Turkey and Argentina. Even though current account balances can only provide a partial reflection of external positions and vulnerabilities, there has been an interestingly clear correlation between current account dynamics (changes, rather than levels) and asset performance both in EM credit (Figure 1) and local markets (Figure 2).

Although we have argued in the past that aggregate vulnerabilities have improved in EMs since the 2013 ‘taper tantrum’, they have deteriorated over the past year (see the EM Quarterly Outlook: The going gets tougher, 27 March 2018). Furthermore, the confluence of Fed balance sheet reduction, increased UST issuance, effect of US tax law changes on the repatriation of offshore USDs alongside a wider US CA deficit has implied a potentially more challenging capital flow environment for EM.

As the flow environment for financing in international markets has become more difficult, countries’ plans (or necessity) to tap primary markets have also been in the spotlight. While EM sovereign Eurobond supply has run at a record pace in January to April, recent issuance volumes have fallen short of expectations (including the recent Ghana and South Africa bond issues). We would interpret the latter point as a market positive, however. Given the frontloading of issuance in Q1, there are few countries with sizeable issuance needs for the remainder of 2018. Based on our updated supply expectations for individual countries shown in Figure 4, we now expect an additional USD 41bn of supply in 2018.

Given that c.USD104bn has been issued YTD already, this would result in 2018 full-year supply of USD155bn. In this context, we think there is an interesting divergence between Turkey and Argentina: Argentinean authorities have indicated that they do not want to issue any more in international markets in 2018. Remaining financing needs for this year are c.USD5bn on our estimates, which could potentially be covered by an initial disbursement of the requested IMF programme, or by local currency issuance. In contrast, Turkey’s fiscal measures (including this week’s announcement to reduce the special consumption tax on fuel products) will likely keep incentives to raise financing in international markets in place, even in a less receptive market.

Supply-redemption dynamics in EM credit are not the only silver lining for markets. While recent China data has been weak, we see signs of a shift in priorities towards growth, with deleveraging de-emphasised (see China: Softer FAI and retail sales; signs of pro-growth priority and trade tension de-escalation, 15 May 2018). This should in turn support commodities and while well-supported oil and commodity prices have not been able to prevent the sell-off in EM assets, they should at least provide some fertile ground for differentiation.

With regard to oil prices, Venezuela’s election on Sunday 20 May may be of particular importance (see The ship is taking on water, 15 May 2018). Even if President Maduro is reelected, against a backdrop of the main opposition parties boycotting the process and the government’s control over the electoral system, the vote could still be a catalyst for fractures within the regime. Meanwhile, Venezuela oil exports have been disrupted, amid legal action against PDVSA and a broader decline of oil production – one of the likely drivers of the recent increase in oil prices, in addition to US sanctions on Iran.

EM oil exporters naturally benefit from the surge in oil prices. In Iraq, however, this is overshadowed by uncertainties following last week’s legislative elections (and we recommend switching out of Iraq and into Angola and Gabon in our top trade recommendations this week). Full results are yet to be announced but the partial count indicates a clear defeat of current PM al-Abadi favouring cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who has called for the end of corruption and opposed both the US and Iran. The emergence of the Saeroun and Fateh coalition as winners would complicate political negotiations to form a coalition government and it is still unclear whether PM Abadi will be able to secure a second mandate. Ultimately, we believe coalition talks may be protracted, adding uncertainty to the outlook, also with respect to the IMF talks to finalise the third review under the three-year Stand-By Arrangement. The 2018 budget and transfers to the semi-independent region have represented contentious issues which could be exacerbated by negotiations between Kurdish political parties and Baghdad over government formation." - source Barclays

When it comes to "dispersion" we continue to view favorably Russian local bonds in that context, thanks to the support of oil prices on the ruble and central bank easing that will continue.  On the subject of "dispersion" and weaker players in the EM space, we read with interest UBS take from their EM Equity Strategy note from the 18th of May 2018 entitled "This is not a 'Crisis': It is Rising Yields + a Strong $":

"The central story here, in our view, is that the recent 'less friendly' global market environment has allowed investors to 'pick away' at some of the weaker EM stories, especially via FX (Figure 5 below), as the dollar has continued to rebound. These are the EMs that typically do well when the dollar is weak, as the 'carry trade' holds sway. In the face of recent dollar strength, the result has been significant localized EM FX weakness (Figure 6).

Further, several of these so-called 'weaker' markets have also faced idiosyncratic domestic concerns:

• Turkey (-25% in USD, year-to-date): fears over central bank independence, concerns around monetary policy, widening current account deficit;
• Brazil (+1.7%): weaker than expected economic recovery, uncertainty ahead of the October elections;
• India (-6.8%): higher oil prices and higher inflation with residual concerns over whether Prime Minister Modi's BJP will be re-elected in 2019;
• Indonesia (-16.7%): current account worries and a slow policy response by the Bank of Indonesia;
• The Philippines (-12.6%): domestic overheating.

To this list, we could add South Africa (-6.3% year-to-date, on a minor hangover from the euphoria of Ramaphosa's elevation to the presidency as the market begins to understand the substantial policy challenges ahead) and Mexico (also - 6.3%, as the July 1st 'first-past-the-post' Presidential election approaches with a shift to the left seeming almost inevitable now).

Further, the dramatic weakness of financial markets in Argentina in recent weeks has added to the sense of 'crisis' in emerging markets, even though technically (from an equity perspective) the country is still, for now anyway, in the MSCI Frontier index. MSCI Argentina is down just over 25% so far this year, almost entirely due to the plunge in the peso (from ARS/USD18.35 to 24.40), which has forced a double-digit rise in interest rates to 40%.

However, the major theme of this report is that, in our view, this is far from being an EM 'crisis'. Several EM equity markets continue to do well such as China, by far the biggest EM with a weight of over 31% in the EM benchmark (+5.1% year-to-date, aided by a resilient CNY, even as other EM currencies have fallen sharply), Taiwan (+2.2%), Russia (+4.1%, which has become a relative 'safe haven' again recently as Brent oil prices hover close to $80/bbl) and parts of the ASEAN and Andean regions, notably Colombia (+10.8%) and Peru (+7.7%).

As with the equity markets, the dramatic differences in currency performance across EM so far this year are very clear from Figure 6.

By de-composing the drivers of 2018 total returns in individual markets in Figure 7 below, we partly combine the results from the two previous charts. The blue bars below show the contributions of currency movements to total returns; these are significantly negative for many markets, especially Turkey, Brazil, Russia, India, Poland and the Philippines.

It is also notable how, for most markets, there has been a negative contribution to returns from the P/E ratio, showing the breadth of the de-rating of EM equities so far this year; Peru (given very strong earnings expansion) is a small but truly remarkable example. In the other direction, sharply lower earnings in Greece and Egypt have translated into a significant re-rating in both this year. For EM as a whole, decent earnings growth (+6%) has been fully offset by currency weakness and a lower P/E ratio to leave the 2018 total return close to zero.

'Correction Counter' Update: The Dollar Rears its Head

With the recent minor break of the early-February post-correction low for MSCI GEMs, we update our 'correction counter' from earlier in the year (Figure 8).

The interpretation of this data is more important than the actual figures themselves. In our February report, we noted that the fall in the EM Currency Proxy accounted for a smaller share (14%) of the early 2018 correction in EM equities than its average share (22%) in previous bull market corrections back to 2003. Therefore, one reason, in our view, why the early 2018 correction (-10.2%) was less severe than the average of previous 'bull market corrections' (-17.2%) was the lack of a major USD rally or, alternatively, the resilient behaviour of EM currencies.

This is no longer true, given that the recent action involves more FX weakness in EM, compared to the initial correction. The updated table shows that this FX factor now accounts for much more (28%) of the newly-defined correction (-10.8% to May 5th). Even more tellingly, after EM rallied to an interim peak in mid-March, MSCI GEMs is down 5.6% since then and, with the EM Currency Proxy down by 2.8% over this period, FX weakness has accounted for exactly half of the EM pullback over the past two months. The US dollar has 'reared its ugly head' for EM equities in recent weeks." - source UBS

There goes the murderous propensity of "Mack the Knife" on EM equities. In similar fashion to the recurrence theorem, the US dollar has indeed "reared its ugly" head and reoccurred again in the course of the time evolution of the "financial system" or, to some effect our macro reverse osmosis theory once again playing out as discussed in our recent ramblings. Add to the mix rising oil prices, and if oil stays above $80/bbl (Brent) this will clearly hurt growth in all major net oil importing countries. That's a given.

Moving back to the subject of US yields and real rates, we think they matter a lot for the direction of the US dollar. On this subject Nomura published a very interesting Rates Weekly note on the 18th of May entitled "Did UST sell-off awaken bond vigilantes?":

"10yr Treasuries break 3% with conviction

The 3% level on 10s has been frustrating to break through of late, having failed once in late April and again last week. However, as with all things related to three, the third time is usually a charm as 10yr USTs are now clearly on the other side of 3%.

All along through this process to higher rates we have sensed a great level of investor skepticism about how high rates could go and how long they would stay at higher levels. This is one reason why we are not overly concerned that spec accounts have a historical short in place. For once, as far as we can recall, specs are being proven right; so why cover now unless the economy and/or financial conditions unravel? The bigger risk we think is that those under-hedged and exposed to convexity start paying rates now.

Overall the market seems too dismissive of how high rates could go in this cycle. We think the Fed has conviction and may continue with its quarterly hikes until “something breaks.” Even then, the Fed might have a hard time throttling back if the real economy is doing well but the financial economy suffers a blow that results in lower valuations. Meanwhile, the perfect storm of more UST debt and less foreign buyers may lie ahead.

We explore some drivers that may impact our overall US rates views. Overall we expect duration dynamics to matter more now than the curve; meanwhile spreads and vols will likely have stronger correlations to higher rates and real rates could hold the key ahead.

Even if this sell-off takes a pause, we continue to see 10s moving towards our 3.25% target and are positioned paid on 5y5y US-IRS and in similar conditional expressions.

US rates views update: Still bearish but now real rates hold the directional key

Duration: 3%, besides being a nice round number, has been a hard nut to crack as the last time we crossed this level was during 2013, a year made famous by taper tantrum. For us, a move beyond 3% was always the next logical step as the Fed is hiking rates and shrinking the B/S during a period of decent growth and more UST supply.

The 3% nominal level seems to be all the focus, but in actuality the next big step for US rates is what happens with real rates. Fig. 1 highlights a few regimes for the 10yr real rate vs the real Fed Funds rate (see note for calculation).

Real rates were in a tight range during the last cycle as well, it was only once the Fed was mid-way through its hiking campaign that market real rates began to rise. The past ten years of financial repression (driven by the Fed’s QE and then Global QE) has kept 10yr real rates in a tight range. Just like the 10yr UST was held captive by the taper-tantrum high of 3%, 10yr TIPS have been unable to break and stay above 0.90-1.00% levels. We believe the Fed is on track to deliver many multiple hikes (which could drive real rates higher in the process too).

3%, well specifically the 3.05%, has been a technical level on which markets seem to have been obsessed with. The market cleared that level for the first time on Tuesday this past week and intra-week the 10yr hit an intra-day high of 3.12% before settling into the end of the week around 3.07%. We usually refrain from being super technical, with both what these levels mean and we do not like to be handicapped by chart formations; however markets often pay attention to these wrinkles. Fig. 2 shows that 10s once again broke out of the range and this time term premia is also rising with the move too.

Net net, we believe it will take a serious breakdown in all the trade talks, geopolitical tensions and/or economic data to weaken (where instead our economists are projecting stronger growth and higher inflation ahead) for 10s to start a massive rally now. It is also interesting to see that stocks, although down on the day 10s broke 3%, took it in stride. In Fig. 3 we list the top 3 two-day yield changes in 2018 vs the S&P500 reaction. If stocks do not correct meaningfully, the full UST yield curve should rise as Fed hikes.

Curve: Earlier in the year we opportunistically traded the curve before going neutral on curve spreads in late Q1 (after the last micro-steepening). Recently the sell-off has also coincided with some bear-steepening. We think this is a healthy development that serves as a reminder that the curve is not pre-destined to fully flatten in this cycle, at least not at these yield levels. The Fed is raising rates but also shrinking its bond holdings, at a time when US fiscal stimulus is resulting in a spike in govie issuance. The curve never fully flattened in Japan during its low rate experience (Fig 4).

We argue that we need a higher overall level of rates (and many more Fed hikes) before we go fully flat too.

Spreads: 10yr swap spreads have begun to see a stronger correlation with the level of 10yr USTs in the current cycle, especially since last September (Fig. 5).

In past hiking cycles, 10yr spreads tended to have a positive slope relative to 10yr UST yields. We expect this correlation to be maintained, similar to the dynamics at the end of the ’04-06 cycle. Also with higher yields, 10yr spreads are more likely to widen due to convexity hedging activities from mortgages portfolios. Less need for corporate issuance due to overseas dollar repatriation would also reduce the tightening pressure on belly spreads." - source Nomura

The continued pressure on EMs can only abate if the US dollar finally mark a pause in its recent surge. A toned down trade war rhetoric would obviously continue to be supportive of a rising dollar and support stronger US growth in the process. The trajectory of the US dollar when it comes to the recurrence theorem for EM is essential. Morgan Stanley in their EM Mid-Year Outlook published on the 18th of May reminded us in the below four graphs what to look for when assessing the US dollar in terms of being bearish (their take) or bullish:

"Why USD Is in a Long-Term Bear Market

 - source Haver Analytics, Bloomberg, Macrobond, Morgan Stanley Research

With mid-term elections coming soon in the US, it is clear to US that the administration would not like to rock the boat and therefore would favor "boosting" the US growth narrative. This would entail further gain on both US yields and the US dollar in the near term we think. 

Also of interest when it comes to growth outlook, UBS made an important point in their EM Economic Perspectives note of the 17th of May entitled "EM by the Numbers: Where is EM's growth premium over DM?":

"EM growth spread over DM has fallen close to its lowest decile since 2001

Strong Chinese growth and low US inflation strongly supported EM asset markets over the last two years. But the growth levers have slowly been shifting in the background. Having registered a cycle high in early 2017, EM growth has moderated sequentially since, while DM growth has picked up. The levels were strong enough in both to keep the market uninterested as to how far EM growth was above DM growth. Now, however, sequential EM growth has slowed to 20th percentile of its distribution since 2001, and, more importantly, the premium of EM growth over DM has shrunk to the bottom decile of its historical distribution.

The spread between EM and DM is an important input in the call of relative stock market returns in the two regions. In y/y terms, this spread is now at 15th percentile of its distribution since 2001. In q/q terms this spread has shrunk to the sixth percentile of its historical distribution." - source UBS

Whereas EM equities clearly outperformed DM in 2017, it might be that 2018 could make the reverse with DM outperforming. Reduced carry has obviously been a headwind for EM equities as discussed above. If the US dollar strength can persist then indeed, US equities will continue to outperform EM equities on a relative basis we think.

For our final chart, as we posited in numerous conversation, we have often repeated that for a bear market to materialize, you would need an "inflation" spike as a trigger. 

• Final chart - US core CPI tends to rise in the two years leading up to a recession

Positive shock to inflation would coincide with a negative shock to growth, leading to higher bond yields and lower equities. Moreover, higher inflation will coincide with lower growth, therefore bonds will not be a good hedge for an equity portfolio. As we pointed out in our conversation "Bracket creep" that bear markets for US equities generally coincide with a significant tick up in core inflation, this the biggest near term concern of markets right now we think. Our final chart comes from CITI Emerging Markets Strategy Weekly note from the 17th of May entitled "Fragile 5 now down to Fragile 2" and shows that US core CPI tends to rise in the two years leading up to a recession:

"US rates with more upside. 

After US CPI release last week we had wondered whether or not the EUR was in a bottoming process. While it had been trading better for a few days, the move higher in US rates has led to renewed USD strength. To be clear, we have been expecting higher US rates based on our belief in late-cycle behavior. Figure 4 shows that core inflation typically rises by 50bp in the last two years of an expansion.

Over the same two-year period, 10-year US Treasury yields tend to go up in the first year before retreating as rate cuts get priced by the market. Higher yields are therefore not surprising to us." - source CITI

If indeed a rising US Core CPI is a leading US recession indicator then again, we would have another demonstration of the recurrence theorem one could argue...

"Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out." -  Anton Chekhov

Stay tuned!