Perspectives Pictet

An upcoming referendum would change the SNB's monetary policy and the business model of commercial banks.SWITZERLAND: A TEST BED FOR RADICAL IDEASThe ‘Sovereign money’ initiative, to be voted on in June, aims at a fundamental reform of the Swiss monetary system. In a nutshell, the initiative asks that the creation of money and the granting of loans be separated by barring commercial banks from creating deposits through lending. According to the initiative’s promoters the “Swiss National Bank...

Recent dollar strength coupled with rising US rates have weighed on gold and silver. The latter looks attractive but there are few obvious catalysts for gold.The recent strength of the US dollar coupled with the rise of the US 10-year Treasury yield has weighed on the price of gold and silver. Since 19 April, gold has lost roughly 2.3%, while silver lost almost 4.5% in USD terms.At the start of the year, these two drivers were sending conflicting signals: higher US real rates were weighing...

The likelihood of tariffs has increased. Although there is still room for negotiation, the process could be long and bumpy.A US delegation of Trump’s top economic advisors, led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, had a two-day meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing on 3-4 May to discuss the trade issues between the two nations. It appears that the meeting has led to little progress in solving the trade disputes between the two, meaning the trade tensions may persist for quite...

Since the beginning of the year, many asset classes have recorded negative or only marginally positive returns. Where do we go from here?Christophe Donay, Chief Strategist, Head of Asset Allocation & Macro Research, Pictet Wealth ManagementSince the beginning of the year, depending on currency, many asset classes have recorded negative or only marginally positive returns. In US dollar terms, US and global equity indices (MSCI World) have produced total returns of below 0.5% since 1...

There was little in the April non-farm payroll report to divert the Fed from its gradualist approach to rate hikes.The US labour market continues on a familiar pattern: employment momentum remains robust, but wage growth is still disturbingly lacklustre.In April, 164,000 payrolls were added and the three-month average was a solid 208,000/month. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, the lowest since December 2000 (although this was partly due to a drop in the labour-force participation...

The ECB is adjusting its corporate bond purchases to take account of market conditions, including the recent fall in issuance.Next week’s detailed breakdown of ECB QE monthly data will reveal a marked slowdown in the pace of corporate bond purchases in April (Corporate Sector Purchase Programme, or CSPP). Indeed, weekly holdings data have been consistent with gross purchases of around EUR3bn in April, down from EUR5.8bn on average in Q1. There are several possible explanations for the drop...

Pictet Wealth Management's latest positioning across asset classes and investment themes.Asset AllocationIn spite of a certain loss of momentum in positive surprises, a strong Q1 earnings season continues to justify our bullish stance on equities in most regions. We reiterate our negative view on core government bonds and remain short duration.Volatility is still higher than last year, and has increased noticeably in the bond market once again. We have been taking measures to calibrate our...

At its latest meeting, the Fed showed it remained cool-headed about inflation risks. It should not deviate from its gradualist approach of one rate hike per quarter.The Federal Reserve meeting of 1-2 May 2018 brought no surprises. As the Fed kept rates unchanged (i.e., the Fed’s interest rate on excess reserves still at 1.75%), as widely expected, the focus was on the post-meeting statement for possible signals on future rate hikes. There was no press conference.The question was how the Fed...

Taking stock of recent dovish shifts in European central banks’ communication and reaffirming our broadly constructive macro outlook.The European Central Bank (ECB) does not seem overly concerned about the soft patch in the economy in Q1 and appears willing to collect more data before they start discussing the timing and modalities of the next policy steps. We expect the ECB to hint at an imminent end to asset purchases at its June meeting, but to wait until July to announce the modalities...

US residential construction is growing solidly, but the apartment sub-segment is showing signs of softening.US construction is doing broadly fine, echoing the solidity of the US business cycle. On a y-o-y basis, construction was up 3.9% in March and 5.5% y-o-y in Q1 2018. Construction outperformed nominal GDP, which was up 4.8% y-o-y in Q1.The main engine is the residential market, up 7.8% y-o-y in Q1. Nonresidential construction is growing less rapidly (+3.8% y-o-y in Q1), dampened...