"Where are we in the business cycle?" is a question macroeconomists often are asked by investors. On the face of it, it is a reasonable question. The macroeconomic backdrop is an important input variable for key asset allocation decisions such as whether to be over- or underweight stocks relative to bonds, sector rotation, not to mention FX and credit positions. The question invites the idea that economic expansions are on the clock. They are in the sense that their average length is a question of a relatively simple empirical exercise. But a classic truism still remains. "Economic expansions don't die of old age, they're killed by economic policy", a phrase I have adapted from the U.S. version ending with the idea that economic expansions usually are killed by the Fed.
Read MoreThe sharp fall in oil prices was the most interesting market news last week. It sends a signal that investors are waking up the fact that the brittle OPEC output deal always was going to be challenged by U.S. producers restarting their drills as prices rose. I am no expert, but this does not come as a surprise to me. OPEC is an unstable alliance, and U.S. producers are governed by one thing and one thing only, price. Whatever detente exists in the global oil market, I am pretty sure that it is a fragile one. A significant leg lower in oil could be significant for a number of reasons. It could herald the speedy end of the "reflation trade," which would suit me well. But if it morphs into something more dramatic, we're back to the story of stress in energy high yield debt, default risks, and perhaps liquidity/fund closure risk in the broader corporate bond market. I am not sure that would suit the portfolio one bit.
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