FLZA News and Press, Franklin FTSE South Africa From 08/19/22

Jackson Hole has been heavily discussed since the Fed’s supposed “dovish pivot” last month when it adopted a more data-dependent stance. While policymakers have pushed back against the idea of a pivot, markets have continued to price in a slower path of tightening...

Despite a solid fundamental outlook, headwinds have been present. The commodity run-up has clearly benefited Latin American fiscal and external accounts. Given the political currents in the region, concerns surrounding the political outlook will likely remain at the forefront. ...

Last week was action-packed and it’s not likely to ease up with attention now shifting from the Fed and the “technical recession” in the US to the labour market. Various officials have highlighted the strength of the labour market when explaining why the US isn&#x...

As inflation raged, central banks accelerated the pace of monetary policy tightening, aiming to slow the growth of aggregate demand and calm price pressures. In response to persistently high inflation and an upward drift in long-run inflation expectations, central banks are accelerati...

Europe took centre stage last week as leaders waited nervously to see if gas would start flowing through Nord Stream 1 again following scheduled maintenance. Next week the focus switches back to the US which has a big interest rate decision of its own and a number of major earnings re...

There have been winners and losers. Some net commodity exporters, like Brazil and South Africa, have seen current accounts improve as commodity prices and revenues have surged. However, for many emerging markets, food security is a growing concern, and net importers are particularly a...

Rising input costs and weaker exchange rates of local currencies are primarily responsible for the rapid price increases in recent months. The spike in global oil prices has increased the demand for refined fuel imports in sub-Saharan Africa given the lack of sufficient local refinery...

During the fourth quarter, our base case for emerging markets (EM) was the following: we saw favorable economics, questionable politics, and an exciting digital disruption theme that swept across emerging markets countries around the world. Emerging markets have traditionally underper...

The consensus sees EM benefitting from the U.S. "Blue Wave". Local developments are the main drivers in Brazil and South Africa, causing the respective currencies to underperform peers by a wide margin. China's decision to extend the favored loan policy for small and medium-size c...

Tech stocks have easily beaten high yield stocks over the past few years. We expect the opposite to happen going forward. Invest in tech, but invest more in high yield. For further details see: Why High Yield Should Pummel Tech