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

Media coverage of Emerging Market currencies tends to oscillate between the very bearish and very bullish, with little differentiation between low and high-yielding currencies or between regional blocks let alone between the dozens of currencies still referred to, rightly or wrongly, as “emerging”. Price action in 2019 only partially vindicates this approach.News articles about the November EM currency rally and the long list of factors supporting further outperformance next year have been rife.EM currencies, particularly high-yielders, materially outperformed in the fortnight following the US elections thanks in part to a pick-up in portfolio inflows. The prevailing view was/is that a less conflictual Biden presidency will be a net positive for global trade and commodity prices. EM currencies appreciated further following news on 23rd November that the more affordable Astra Zeneca vaccine was up to 90% effective and Trump’s announcement that he would allow the transition of power to President-elect Biden.However, in the past two weeks a GDP-weighted basket of EM currencies (excluding the Chinese Renminbi) has appreciated only 0.9% versus the Dollar and underperformed a basket of developed market currencies (+1.3%). Moreover, high yielding EM currencies (+1.1%) have only marginally outperformed low-yielding EM currencies (+0.7%). Domestic and regional factors over-and-above “global risk appetite” have arguably contributed to the outperformance of Central European and Latam currencies and the more mixed (read subdued) performance of high-yielding EM and Asian currencies. One explanation is that some of these EM currencies are already pricing in a lot of “good” news.The consensus forecast is seemingly that EM currencies will outperform both the Dollar and developed market currencies going forward. The long list of supporting factors includes i) cheap EM valuations, ii) EM currencies’ yield advantage, iii) the benefits to EM of further Dollar depreciation and iv) a rebound in global economic growth. We sympathise with this view, albeit with some important caveats. One is that more interventionist Asian central banks may stop their currencies from fully joining any EM currency party in 2021. Moreover, we would split the next 13 months into three timelines.

Media coverage of Emerging Market currencies tends to oscillate between the very bearish and very bullish, with little differentiation between low and high-yielding currencies or between regional blocks let alone between the dozens of currencies still referred to, rightly or wrongly, as “emerging”. Price action in 2019 only partially vindicates this approach.News articles about the November EM currency rally and the long list of factors supporting further outperformance next year have been rife.EM currencies, particularly high-yielders, materially outperformed in the fortnight following the US elections thanks in part to a pick-up in portfolio inflows. The prevailing view was/is that a less conflictual Biden presidency will be a net positive for global trade and commodity prices. EM currencies appreciated further following news on 23rd November that the more affordable Astra Zeneca vaccine was up to 90% effective and Trump’s announcement that he would allow the transition of power to President-elect Biden.However, in the past two weeks a GDP-weighted basket of EM currencies (excluding the Chinese Renminbi) has appreciated only 0.9% versus the Dollar and underperformed a basket of developed market currencies (+1.3%). Moreover, high yielding EM currencies (+1.1%) have only marginally outperformed low-yielding EM currencies (+0.7%). Domestic and regional factors over-and-above “global risk appetite” have arguably contributed to the outperformance of Central European and Latam currencies and the more mixed (read subdued) performance of high-yielding EM and Asian currencies. One explanation is that some of these EM currencies are already pricing in a lot of “good” news.The consensus forecast is seemingly that EM currencies will outperform both the Dollar and developed market currencies going forward. The long list of supporting factors includes i) cheap EM valuations, ii) EM currencies’ yield advantage, iii) the benefits to EM of further Dollar depreciation and iv) a rebound in global economic growth. We sympathise with this view, albeit with some important caveats. One is that more interventionist Asian central banks may stop their currencies from fully joining any EM currency party in 2021. Moreover, we would split the next 13 months into three timelines.

Emerging Market Currencies: Hopes and Realities

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Event-Driven

Hang Seng China Enterprises Index / Event-Driven

After staying negative on the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-china-enterprises-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22900:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX)</a> dividend futures expiring in 2021 for most of the year, we finally think a near term bottom has been formed. The dividend futures are 28% lower over the period, and adjusted for a strengthening <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cny" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22820:1" rel="noopener">CNY (USDCNY CURNCY)</a> are around 35% lower.Most of the drop has come about as a result of the changes (and upcoming changes) to the constituents of the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-china-enterprises-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22900:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX)</a>, with the damage done by COVID-19 adding to the selloff.Post the inclusion of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-financial-services-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Group (6688 HK)</a> in the HSCEI and the changes in the upcoming review to be announced on 13 November (and implemented at the close on 4 December), we do not see any major changes to the index.The company Q3 results announced over the last couple of weeks do not provide any major catalysts, and the future direction of the 2021 dividend futures will be driven by news flow, expectations around the dividends to be paid out by the megabanks, and expectations around further changes to the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-china-enterprises-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22900:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX)</a> capping on WVR securities.With the market trading near our estimated fair value of 271.825 index points, we take a look at some catalysts that could cause our estimates to move higher/ lower. Spoiler: there are a lot more catalysts for the dividend futures to move lower than higher.

After staying negative on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX) dividend futures expiring in 2021 for most of the year, we finally think a near term bottom has been formed. The dividend futures are 28% lower over the period, and adjusted for a strengthening CNY (USDCNY CURNCY) are around 35% lower.Most of the drop has come about as a result of the changes (and upcoming changes) to the constituents of the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX), with the damage done by COVID-19 adding to the selloff.Post the inclusion of Ant Group (6688 HK) in the HSCEI and the changes in the upcoming review to be announced on 13 November (and implemented at the close on 4 December), we do not see any major changes to the index.The company Q3 results announced over the last couple of weeks do not provide any major catalysts, and the future direction of the 2021 dividend futures will be driven by news flow, expectations around the dividends to be paid out by the megabanks, and expectations around further changes to the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX) capping on WVR securities.With the market trading near our estimated fair value of 271.825 index points, we take a look at some catalysts that could cause our estimates to move higher/ lower. Spoiler: there are a lot more catalysts for the dividend futures to move lower than higher.

HSCEI Dividends: Finely Poised; Negative Catalysts Overwhelm the Positive

The Dollar has treaded water in the past three months, in line with our benign view that “forecasts of the Dollar’s demise as the world’s number one reserve currency are at best extremely premature, at worst unfounded”.Our fundamental perspective is that a structural shift out of Dollars remains unlikely near-term, regardless of the outcome of the Presidential and Senate elections on 3rd November. One reason is that other major reserve currencies such as the Euro, Sterling and Canadian Dollar – which account for a large share of the Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) – face a number of headwinds unlikely to dissipate materially any time soon.Moreover, in the past week the Chinese Renminbi NEER has been broadly unchanged, in line with our forecast that “the People’s Bank of China” is more likely in a first instance to […] ultimately arrest the currency’s climb”.   We acknowledge, however, that the outlook for the Dollar and equities in the days (and potentially weeks) following the US elections is shrouded in multiple levels of uncertainty, which has translated into lower not higher realized volatility. Since February the Dollar’s underlying performance has largely reflected its “safe-haven” status, in our view, with the Dollar NEER inversely correlated with the S&amp;P 500. However, this inverse correlation briefly broke down in June, September and mid-October.Our view is that an over-whelming victory for either candidate on 3rd November is more likely to buoy global risk appetite and thus weigh on the Dollar. Conversely, if the election result remains open-ended for a few days (or longer), uncertainty could weigh on market sentiment and perversely see the Dollar appreciate and market volatility tick up.The Dollar NEER has on average in the past decade been strongest in the month of November (+1.1%), but this is partly skewed by the Dollar’s 2.6% gain in November 2016. Moreover, monthly seasonality has, somewhat unsurprisingly, broken down this year and historical patterns are of little help in ascertaining how the Dollar may trade next month.

The Dollar has treaded water in the past three months, in line with our benign view that “forecasts of the Dollar’s demise as the world’s number one reserve currency are at best extremely premature, at worst unfounded”.Our fundamental perspective is that a structural shift out of Dollars remains unlikely near-term, regardless of the outcome of the Presidential and Senate elections on 3rd November. One reason is that other major reserve currencies such as the Euro, Sterling and Canadian Dollar – which account for a large share of the Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) – face a number of headwinds unlikely to dissipate materially any time soon.Moreover, in the past week the Chinese Renminbi NEER has been broadly unchanged, in line with our forecast that “the People’s Bank of China” is more likely in a first instance to […] ultimately arrest the currency’s climb”.   We acknowledge, however, that the outlook for the Dollar and equities in the days (and potentially weeks) following the US elections is shrouded in multiple levels of uncertainty, which has translated into lower not higher realized volatility. Since February the Dollar’s underlying performance has largely reflected its “safe-haven” status, in our view, with the Dollar NEER inversely correlated with the S&amp;P 500. However, this inverse correlation briefly broke down in June, September and mid-October.Our view is that an over-whelming victory for either candidate on 3rd November is more likely to buoy global risk appetite and thus weigh on the Dollar. Conversely, if the election result remains open-ended for a few days (or longer), uncertainty could weigh on market sentiment and perversely see the Dollar appreciate and market volatility tick up.The Dollar NEER has on average in the past decade been strongest in the month of November (+1.1%), but this is partly skewed by the Dollar’s 2.6% gain in November 2016. Moreover, monthly seasonality has, somewhat unsurprisingly, broken down this year and historical patterns are of little help in ascertaining how the Dollar may trade next month.

Managing Director

Elan Gore

TMI Data Science

TMI Data Science utilizes Natural Language Processing to build custom leading indicators using unstructured data sourced from the global financial, trade & traditional media.  Our proprietary software, TMI Machine, is a text-mining platform designed with the buy-side & capital markets professional in mind, text-mining the global media to discern and quantify nuanced qualitative shifts in press coverage as they apply to macroeconomics, equity indexes/ETFs, commodities, currencies, fixed income & individual equities.  TMI provides custom leading indicators and systematic trading strategies, operating at the nexus of linguistics & statistics drawing on vast experience in investment banking and hedge fund settings in senior quantitative and fundamental roles.  

TMI Data Science was founded by Elan Gore, an award-winning Senior Global Basic Materials Equity Analyst & China Economist with 15 years of experience in North American hedge funds & institutional managers; and Alessandro Porrino, Ph.D., an Algorithmic Trading Analyst and Programmer with 10 years of front-office experience ranging from complex FX option pricing to auto-hedging strategies at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Standard Chartered.  Mr. Gore holds an MBA in Finance from New York University Stern School of Business, and Mr. Porrino holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Brunel University London.

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Our text-mined CNY diffusion index, which measures the relative momentum of Yuan-positive vs. Yuan-negative expressions in the global financial media, is showing signs of peaking</li>
<li>News attribution suggests this is a result of the debate over Chinese FX intervention given the backdrop of tightening domestic financial conditions (and concerns over property sector leverage)</li>
<li>When optimizing a trading strategy based on the CNY diffusion index, the signal has now turned neutral on CNY; conversely, the levels of momentum on the indicator seen in September have been previously associated with negative returns on FXI and A-Shares</li>
<li>In the US, our indicators suggest the recent spike in inflation breakevens is mostly a function of surging Biden victory expectations, less so due to persistent stimulus chatter, and unlikely a function of a particularly buoyant earnings season</li>
</ul>


Our text-mined CNY diffusion index, which measures the relative momentum of Yuan-positive vs. Yuan-negative expressions in the global financial media, is showing signs of peaking
News attribution suggests this is a result of the debate over Chinese FX intervention given the backdrop of tightening domestic financial conditions (and concerns over property sector leverage)
When optimizing a trading strategy based on the CNY diffusion index, the signal has now turned neutral on CNY; conversely, the levels of momentum on the indicator seen in September have been previously associated with negative returns on FXI and A-Shares
In the US, our indicators suggest the recent spike in inflation breakevens is mostly a function of surging Biden victory expectations, less so due to persistent stimulus chatter, and unlikely a function of a particularly buoyant earnings season


TMI Thematics:  CNY Momentum Peaking? / Blue Wave Drives US Inflation Expectations, Not Earnings

Only four currencies have appreciated by more than 4% versus US Dollar since end-July: the high-yielding South African Rand (4.6%) and Mexican Peso (5.8%), the Chinese Renminbi (4.4%) and Korean Won (5.2%).The Renminbi’s steady pace of appreciation will, all other things equal, put further downward pressure on Chinese headline CPI-inflation (1.7% yoy in September) and dent export competitiveness. This has led to growing speculation that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) could take (potent) measures to reverse the Renminbi’s climb. We have greater sympathy with the more benign near-term view that the PBoC is more likely in a first instance to slow the pace of Renminbi appreciation and ultimately arrest the currency’s climb. For starters the more relevant Renminbi Nominal Effective Exchange Rate has only appreciated 4.1% in the past three months, with its current monthly pace of increase (about 1.5%) commensurate with its historical pattern.Moreover, the PBoC is after all facing considerable speculative FX inflows and foreign direct investment into China, attracted by China’s economic outperformance, and a rising merchandise trade surplus spurred by a surge in export growth.Beyond the 3rd November the Renminbi’s path is clouded by the outcome of the (still uncertain?) US Presidential elections but precedent suggests that the PBoC will want to keep its currency on a tight leash.

Only four currencies have appreciated by more than 4% versus US Dollar since end-July: the high-yielding South African Rand (4.6%) and Mexican Peso (5.8%), the Chinese Renminbi (4.4%) and Korean Won (5.2%).The Renminbi’s steady pace of appreciation will, all other things equal, put further downward pressure on Chinese headline CPI-inflation (1.7% yoy in September) and dent export competitiveness. This has led to growing speculation that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) could take (potent) measures to reverse the Renminbi’s climb. We have greater sympathy with the more benign near-term view that the PBoC is more likely in a first instance to slow the pace of Renminbi appreciation and ultimately arrest the currency’s climb. For starters the more relevant Renminbi Nominal Effective Exchange Rate has only appreciated 4.1% in the past three months, with its current monthly pace of increase (about 1.5%) commensurate with its historical pattern.Moreover, the PBoC is after all facing considerable speculative FX inflows and foreign direct investment into China, attracted by China’s economic outperformance, and a rising merchandise trade surplus spurred by a surge in export growth.Beyond the 3rd November the Renminbi’s path is clouded by the outcome of the (still uncertain?) US Presidential elections but precedent suggests that the PBoC will want to keep its currency on a tight leash.

PBoC Likely to Keep Renminbi on Tight Leash

China

The Chinese renminbi (yuan) is the official currency of The People's Republic of China. 

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CNY (USDCNY CURNCY)

Emerging Market Currencies: Hopes and Realities

EM currencies appreciated vs USD and outperformed in fortnight following US elections but since then performance more differentiated. Consensus is...

Olivier Desbarres

HSCEI Dividends: Finely Poised; Negative Catalysts Overwhelm the Positive

The HSCEI dividend futures expiring in 2021 are trading near our estimated fair value, but there are a lot more catalysts that could take the...

Brian Freitas

US Dollar – Calm Before the Storm

Sleepy Dollar has done little in the past three months, beating to the inverse tune of US equities. But US presidential and senate elections on 3...

Olivier Desbarres

TMI Thematics: CNY Momentum Peaking? / Blue Wave Drives US Inflation Expectations, Not Earnings

Our indicators see signs of peaking in CNY momentum, and attribute the recent spike in US breakevens to increased conviction on a Biden victory...

Elan Gore

PBoC Likely to Keep Renminbi on Tight Leash

Sizeable speculative FX inflows and FDI into China and rising trade surplus have pushed CNY 4.4% higher vs USD since end-july. PBoC now more likely...

Olivier Desbarres

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