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The Japanese yen (JPY) has recently experienced pronounced depreciation, a trend largely attributed to the sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields following a robust U.S. jobs report released in early October.
Pedro Sanchez is facing the biggest corruption scandal in his six years as Spanish prime minister, raising questions about how long he’ll be able to maintain his grip on power.
At the centre of his problems is a report by Spain’s most important security force, the Civil Guard, that alleges a criminal network was operating inside the transportation ministry in 2020 and 2021, when it was run by one of Sanchez’s closest allies, Jose Luis Abalos. Abalos was a top party official and then transport minister under Sanchez, but he was kicked out of the party caucus earlier this year as a result of the probe.
The alleged racket funnelled cash from public coffers into different businesses, according to an 87-page report by the Civil Guard that was seen by Bloomberg News. The probe was first made public by newspaper El Mundo last week.
The Spanish press has also reported that public money was used to pay a stipend to a woman who had a relationship with Abalos — although he has said no money was involved in the relationship. Abalos himself has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He did not respond to text and voice messages seeking comment.
The graft allegations touching Sanchez’s inner circle have put the prime minister up against the ropes, with the opposition People’s Party, the largest group in parliament, filing a criminal complaint against his party on Monday (Oct 14).
Sanchez was already on the backfoot over his wife’s business dealings. Begona Gomez is being investigated for possible influence peddling over her relationship with two universities. Sanchez has said his wife has done nothing wrong and the probe is politically motivated.
In April, the pressure on his wife prompted Sanchez to step back from his duties for five days to consider his future before ultimately deciding to continue.
Corruption is a particularly sensitive issue for Sanchez because he came to power in 2018 by denouncing the graft in the PP government under his predecessor Mariano Rajoy.
The 52-year-old Socialist has survived in power since then at the head of a series of increasingly perilous coalitions and currently needs the backing of at least eight different parties to pass legislation.
Despite consistently polling behind the PP for the past two years, Sanchez has become a master of navigating the ideological divisions driven by Catalonia’s failed push for independence in 2017.
For example, the five lawmakers from the Basque Nationalist group PNV are sympathetic to the PP’s pro-business agenda and could topple Sanchez if they chose to align with the opposition. But any alternative majority would have to include the far-right group Vox and that would be extremely uncomfortable for the PNV because of Vox’s vehemently nationalist agenda.
What’s more, Sanchez’s Socialists have cut deals to help the PNV govern in the Basque region and several major cities, so pulling its support for Sanchez would put its own power base at risk. The Catalan separatists of Junts are also closer to the PP in terms of their economic philosophy but would also struggle to line up alongside Vox.
Meanwhile, among the plethora of small left-wing groups that support Sanchez — which include the government’s junior coalition partner Sumar — concerns over the premier’s future are limited, according to two people familiar with the situation. At this stage, no charges have been filed and it seems limited to a specific ministry, said one person. Left-wing voters are far more focused on issues such as affordable housing and are paying little attention to corruption, said another.
The UK unemployment rate fell to 4.0% in August, the lowest since January, and went down from a peak of 4.4% in April and May. The data beat expectations and supported Sterling buying from intraday lows below 1.3040. Employment figures have been gaining momentum in recent months, with 373K more jobs created in July and August than in the previous three months.
However, the situation is not so rosy when looking at the figures in a broader context. Firstly, the ONS publishes its preliminary estimates for September, which show a fall of 15k in the number of people in work. Second, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose by 27.9K in September, bringing the total over the past six months to almost 225K. Thirdly, job vacancies fell by 34K in the three months to September, confirming the cooling of the labour market.
The continued slowdown in wage growth is also worrying. They were 3.8% higher in the three months to August than in the same period a year earlier. Excluding bonuses, the increase was 4.9%. This is above the 2.2% inflation rate but builds on a slowing trend that has been in place since the middle of last year.
The markets seem to have used the new data to take profits from the previous decline in the GBPUSD. The pair has gained 0.2% since the start of the day and has climbed to the 1.3080 level, last Thursday’s high. Technically, there are no significant obstacles to the upside until the 1.3115 area, which is the 50-day moving average and the area of the previous consolidation in early October.
In a more bullish scenario for the Pound, a full-blown corrective bounce could develop into the 1.3120-1.3180 area, but further gains will require more than a portfolio shake-up—a more global shift in sentiment is needed..
Banks have performed better than anticipated so far in the third quarter, and that includes Bank of America (NYSE:BAC).
The nation’s second largest bank topped revenue estimates in the quarter, bringing in $25.3 billion in income. That was up less slightly from $25.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago. It also beat consensus estimates of $25.2 billion.
Net income fell 11% year over year to $6.9 billion, or 81 cents per share, but it was a bit better than the 76 cents per share median estimates.
It wasn’t blowout quarter by any stretch, but the stock was moving about 2% higher on the day, trading at around $42.75 per share. Should investors view Bank of America stock as a buy after Q3 earnings?
Typically, rising interest rates are good for banks, because the higher the rates, the more revenue the banks can generate in interest income.
But this cycle has been different, because rates increased so high, so fast, that banks had to rapidly increase their deposit rates too, particularly after the 2023 banking crisis. The banking crisis caused several banks to go under, in part, due to runs on deposits. Thus, to avoid losing deposits, banks had to raise deposit rates, perhaps higher than they wanted to. This, in turn, has eaten into interest income, and profits.
We saw that again in Q3 as Bank of America experienced a 3% decline in net interest income (NII) to $14 billion. As NII represents about 55% of Bank of America’s total revenue, that’s a significant hit.
However, Bank of America has been able to overcome that in other areas through its diversity of revenue streams. Its Global Markets business, which encompasses institutional trading, saw revenue climb 14% to $5.6 billion. Further, revenue jumped 8% to $5.8 billion in its wealth and investment management arm, which includes the Merrill Lynch brokerage business. These two businesses lines were boosted by the bull market, which has raised asset levels and inflows.
And while the Global Banking segment saw revenue drop 6% to $5.8 billion, investment banking revenue soared. Bank of America generated $1.4 billion in investment banking fees, ranking third among all banks in the quarter. That represents an 18% increase over Q3 of 2023. However, the gains in investment banking were offset by revenue declines in commercial banking, due, in part, to a drop in NII.
“We believe our diverse business is a source of strength, helping us deepen existing client relationships and develop new ones, over time,” said Bank of America CFO Alastair Borthwick.
Bank of America has had a good bounce back year, with its stock price up about 26% year-to-date. Investors who jumped on the bank stock at the end of 2023 when its P/E ratio fell below 10 were rewarded with solid returns.
However, is Bank of America still a good buy at this slightly higher valuation, trading at almost 15 times earnings?
I think it still has some challenging times ahead. While interest rates are falling, it may take awhile before it can right size deposit rates and maximize its NII. However, lower rates should lead to more borrowing, so the increased loan activity will help.
The bank also faces the prospect of a slower growing economy, which could lead to weakening credit quality and higher provisions for credit losses. In addition, market growth is expected to be muted, which could impact wealth and investment management. However, a better market for investment banking should offset any potential losses elsewhere.
I certainly don’t think Bank of America is a bad investment right now. Its valuation is still decent, and the stock could see limited growth. But don’t expect the type of returns it has seen this year.
Analysts have downgraded estimates for European corporate earnings at the fastest pace in seven months this week, setting a lower bar for beats, while more optimism over the global outlook might spare shares from severe punishment for misses.
Third-quarter earnings are expected on average to have increased 3.7% from a year ago, according to data from LSEG I/B/E/S, driven by growth in materials, financials, and utilities.
However, the ratio of downgrades to upgrades of analysts' European earnings estimates has reached its highest since February as the region's economy struggles to generate meaningful growth.
"Expectations have come down quite a bit, particularly with the economy weakening," said Frederique Carrier, head of investment strategy at RBC Wealth Management.
"If numbers are better than expected, I would expect the market to react quite positively," Carrier said.
As third-quarter earnings season kicks into high gear, this theory is facing a tough test. Shares in French luxury group dropped on Wednesday by the most in a year, down 6%, after reporting weak quarterly sales.
And late on Tuesday, Dutch tech company ASML's results showed earnings beat expectations, but a downbeat outlook triggered the largest one-day sell-off in its shares since 1998.
In the second quarter, earnings misses were punished more than they had been historically. However, some analysts believe this quarter might be different, as investors turn more optimistic about the global growth outlook.
"Investors are happy to look through the China weakness," said Georges Debbas, head of European equity & derivatives strategy at BNP Paribas.
China is a critical market for many European sectors and Beijing's recent announcements of large-scale stimulus measures, although light on details, have offered some hope that the world's second-largest economy can again drive global growth.
Finance Minister Lan Foan pledged over the weekend that Beijing would do more to stimulate economic growth, which data due on Friday is expected to confirm remained subdued in the third quarter.
The health of China's economy matters more for European companies that depend more on exports than their U.S. rivals, which generate most of their revenue in their vast home market.
But many investors say they remain cautious until they see further details about China's stimulus plans, including the size of the proposed package.
"There will be hope that the stimulus package can be positive for companies that have suffered from weak consumption in China," said Josephine Cetti, chief strategist at Nordea.
"(But) I don't think companies will change estimates based on what we've seen, because we haven't seen anything concrete yet."
Among consumer-facing industries hit especially hard by weakness in China are luxury retailers, such as LVMH and Kering and automakers.
Investors have been shunning Europe's auto sector because of softening volume growth and heightened competition from China, particularly in electric vehicles, despite valuations close to record lows compared to the benchmark STOXX 600 index.
"The auto sector for us has been uninvestable for years," said Eddie Kennedy, head of bespoke discretionary fund management at Marlborough, citing high capex spending, low margins and increased competition.
More broadly, though, cheap valuations and light positioning offer opportunities for investors.
While the STOXX 600 is within 1.5% of record highs, European companies trade close to a record discount against their U.S. counterparts at about 37%, based on the price-to-earnings ratio.
"Valuations are relatively attractive," said Ben Ritchie, head of developed markets equities at abrdn.
"I don't think we'll see anything in the third quarter that will change that picture."
Investor positioning in Europe is also broadly neutral according to most metrics. Citi strategists highlight that investors are slightly net short Eurostoxx futures, one of just three indexes from a number that they track that has a net short position against the backdrop of mostly bullish equity positioning.
"It's not like S&P 500, which is trading at extremely high valuations, extremely high positioning, extremely high overcrowdedness that if a big AI scare happens, you could see a large correction," BNP Paribas's Debbas said about the STOXX 600.
"In Europe, I don't think that's going to be the case."
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