Founder

Olivier Desbarres

Exacting. Excellent. Exceeding. Exemplary.

4X Global Research

4X Global Research was founded in 2017 to provide institutional and corporate clients with the substantive research, high-quality analysis and thoughtful insight on Emerging and G20 economies and financial markets they need to make informed and timely decisions and gain an edge in their investments.

FX & Rates

<p><strong>The past week has seen a short-lived flurry of market price action, with daily volatility in the US Dollar and equities edging higher on 30<sup>th</sup> April and again on 4<sup>th</sup> May. However, volatility overall has remained subdued, particularly in the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield. </strong></p><p><strong>Moreover, the Dollar NEER and US 10-year yields – increasingly a bellwether for financial markets – remain firmly within their multi-week ranges while the S&amp;P 500 yesterday closed in the middle of a narrow 3-week range of just 1.8%. </strong></p><p><strong>US markets are seemingly sitting on the fence at this juncture, unwilling to take material directional positions given the uncertain outlook for US and global inflation and central banks’ reaction functions.  </strong></p><p><strong>However, the gradual 6bp fall in the US benchmark 10-year Treasury yield between 29<sup>th</sup> April and 5<sup>th</sup> May to about 1.58% and the flattening of the 2s5s and 2s10s yield curves alongside a 0.4% gain in the Dollar NEER is noteworthy.</strong></p><p><strong>Our take is that markets may have become marginally less worried that the Fed will have no choice but to tighten monetary policy sooner than it has indicated despite expectations that year-on-year US CPI-inflation will rise further in coming months. </strong></p><p><strong>Moreover, the inverse relationship between the “safe-haven” Dollar and riskier assets has remained strong. US macro data released in the past week have been strong enough to put a floor under the S&amp;P 500 but not strong enough to push it to new highs. </strong></p><p><strong>Finally we think that markets, in particular real-money funds, have once again been paying greater attention to valuations, including the relative cheapness of the Dollar.</strong></p><p><strong>Notably most of the other major NEERs have also traded in narrow ranges since early March and few have moved much in the past month. Central banks, particularly in Asia, have been willing and able to keep their currencies on a short leash in order to maintain export competitiveness and minimise inflationary or deflationary pressures.</strong></p><p><strong>Within Asia, the Taiwan Dollar is looking expensive relative to the Korean Won, in our view.</strong></p>

The past week has seen a short-lived flurry of market price action, with daily volatility in the US Dollar and equities edging higher on 30th April and again on 4th May. However, volatility overall has remained subdued, particularly in the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield. Moreover, the Dollar NEER and US 10-year yields – increasingly a bellwether for financial markets – remain firmly within their multi-week ranges while the S&amp;P 500 yesterday closed in the middle of a narrow 3-week range of just 1.8%. US markets are seemingly sitting on the fence at this juncture, unwilling to take material directional positions given the uncertain outlook for US and global inflation and central banks’ reaction functions.  However, the gradual 6bp fall in the US benchmark 10-year Treasury yield between 29th April and 5th May to about 1.58% and the flattening of the 2s5s and 2s10s yield curves alongside a 0.4% gain in the Dollar NEER is noteworthy.Our take is that markets may have become marginally less worried that the Fed will have no choice but to tighten monetary policy sooner than it has indicated despite expectations that year-on-year US CPI-inflation will rise further in coming months. Moreover, the inverse relationship between the “safe-haven” Dollar and riskier assets has remained strong. US macro data released in the past week have been strong enough to put a floor under the S&amp;P 500 but not strong enough to push it to new highs. Finally we think that markets, in particular real-money funds, have once again been paying greater attention to valuations, including the relative cheapness of the Dollar.Notably most of the other major NEERs have also traded in narrow ranges since early March and few have moved much in the past month. Central banks, particularly in Asia, have been willing and able to keep their currencies on a short leash in order to maintain export competitiveness and minimise inflationary or deflationary pressures.Within Asia, the Taiwan Dollar is looking expensive relative to the Korean Won, in our view.

Sitting on Range-Trade Fence: Complacent Comfort

Smartkarma Research Team, Smartkarma

Smartkarma Research

Smartkarma Research Team

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

<p>For our next webinar, we're excited to host Insight Provider <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/gautam-jain-phd-cfa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:16876" rel="noopener">Gautam Jain, PhD, CFA</a> , who will be going over the process with which he comes up with trade ideas in Emerging Markets FX and Rates. </p><div><h3>The webinar will be hosted on Wednesday, 28 April 2021, 11:00 SGT/HKT.</h3></div><div>
<div class="content-highlight"><h2><a href="https://share.hsforms.com/1H9pFZOB-RF2J00kbvMmxcw2c5gj?zoom_webinar_id=87206774217" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Register for the Webinar here</a></h2></div>
<div id="ember2586"><div><div>Gautam Jain has over 20 years of experience covering global emerging fixed income markets, both as a strategist and a portfolio manager. He has worked in buy-side and sell-side firms, including The Rohatyn Group (TRG Management), Barclays Capital, and Millennium Partners. He has helped manage emerging markets local-currency and hard-currency debt funds. The assets that he covers include currencies, interest rates, sovereign credits, and related derivatives. He specialises in portfolio construction, smart-beta index creation, and asset allocation. He holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Columbia University and is a CFA charter holder.</div></div></div>
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For our next webinar, we're excited to host Insight Provider Gautam Jain, PhD, CFA , who will be going over the process with which he comes up with trade ideas in Emerging Markets FX and Rates. The webinar will be hosted on Wednesday, 28 April 2021, 11:00 SGT/HKT.
Register for the Webinar here
Gautam Jain has over 20 years of experience covering global emerging fixed income markets, both as a strategist and a portfolio manager. He has worked in buy-side and sell-side firms, including The Rohatyn Group (TRG Management), Barclays Capital, and Millennium Partners. He has helped manage emerging markets local-currency and hard-currency debt funds. The assets that he covers include currencies, interest rates, sovereign credits, and related derivatives. He specialises in portfolio construction, smart-beta index creation, and asset allocation. He holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Columbia University and is a CFA charter holder.



Smartkarma Webinar | Alpha Bites: Trade Ideas in FX and Rates

Fixed Income and Currency Strategist

Gautam Jain, PhD, CFA

<p>In this note, we discuss the implications for the Taiwan dollar of last week's release of a report by the US Treasury on foreign exchange policies of its major trading partners.</p><p>Separately, the attached file is a snapshot of EM currency market, which we produce daily, and where we seek to identify the leaders and laggards among currencies by comparing the performance of each to its history as well as to other currencies based on their respective betas to the broad market.</p>

In this note, we discuss the implications for the Taiwan dollar of last week's release of a report by the US Treasury on foreign exchange policies of its major trading partners.Separately, the attached file is a snapshot of EM currency market, which we produce daily, and where we seek to identify the leaders and laggards among currencies by comparing the performance of each to its history as well as to other currencies based on their respective betas to the broad market.

FX Dashboard: US Treasury Holds Back Labeling Taiwan a Currency Manipulator

<p>We discuss the recent underperformance of the Taiwan dollar in the context of the possibility that the US Treasury may label the country a currency manipulator this month.</p><p>Separately, the attached file is a snapshot of EM currency market, which we produce daily, and where we seek to identify the leaders and laggards among currencies by comparing the performance of each to its history as well as to other currencies based on their respective betas to the broad market.</p>

We discuss the recent underperformance of the Taiwan dollar in the context of the possibility that the US Treasury may label the country a currency manipulator this month.Separately, the attached file is a snapshot of EM currency market, which we produce daily, and where we seek to identify the leaders and laggards among currencies by comparing the performance of each to its history as well as to other currencies based on their respective betas to the broad market.

FX Dashboard: Correlation of Taiwan Dollar with Rest of Asia Picks Up

<p>In this note, we evaluate whether hedging with the euro would have helped ameliorate losses from EM currencies over the past couple of months stemming from the spillover from rising US rates.</p><p>The attached file is a snapshot of EM currency market, which we produce daily, and where we seek to identify the leaders and laggards among currencies by comparing the performance of each to its history as well as to other currencies based on their respective betas to the broad market.</p>

In this note, we evaluate whether hedging with the euro would have helped ameliorate losses from EM currencies over the past couple of months stemming from the spillover from rising US rates.The attached file is a snapshot of EM currency market, which we produce daily, and where we seek to identify the leaders and laggards among currencies by comparing the performance of each to its history as well as to other currencies based on their respective betas to the broad market.

FX Dashboard: How Well Would a Euro Hedge Have Worked for EM?

South Korea

The South Korean won is the official currency of The Republic of Korea (South Korea). 

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KRW (USDKRW CURNCY)

Sitting on Range-Trade Fence: Complacent Comfort

Vol & directionality in Dollar, Treasuries and S&P 500 modest in past week and most EM currencies remain rangebound. Markets sitting on fence, but...

Olivier Desbarres

Smartkarma Webinar | Alpha Bites: Trade Ideas in FX and Rates

On 28 April, 11am SGT, join our webinar with Insight Provider Gautam Jain, who will be going over the process with which he comes up with trade...

Smartkarma Research

FX Dashboard: US Treasury Holds Back Labeling Taiwan a Currency Manipulator

In this note, we discuss the implications for the Taiwan dollar of last week's release of a report by the US Treasury on foreign exchange policies...

Gautam Jain, PhD, CFA

FX Dashboard: Correlation of Taiwan Dollar with Rest of Asia Picks Up

We discuss the recent underperformance of the Taiwan dollar in the context of the possibility that the US Treasury may label the country a currency...

Gautam Jain, PhD, CFA

FX Dashboard: How Well Would a Euro Hedge Have Worked for EM?

In this note, we evaluate whether hedging with the euro would have helped ameliorate losses from EM currencies over the past couple of months...

Gautam Jain, PhD, CFA

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)