Global Reflation Fades
19th March 2019
2019 has so far been very positive for risk assets, despite a backdrop of slowing global growth. Much of this has been driven by heightened market expectations of a renewed global stimulus drive. We explain why we do not believe this will be forthcoming and examine some of the longer term factors impacting global growth. […] more
Macro Update – Global Reflation Fades
8th March 2019
For the full Global Reflation Fades update, please click the link below. Click here to read the full article For more information please contact Rubrics Asset Management. info@rubricsam.com. more
Year End Outlook – Beyond Post-Truth
11th January 2019
2018 was a turbulent period for asset prices as markets transitioned from a period of “synchronised” global growth to an environment of declining central bank liquidity and political unrest. While it remains to be seen if 2019 will bring more of the same, we do believe it will provide greater opportunities for active investors. Click […] more
Monetary Policy Update – November 2018
5th December 2018
What a difference a week can make. Having been some way off normalised rates only a few days ago, now (apparently) we are almost there. While some market participants may feel vindicated in their prediction of a change in pace from the Fed, there are still a number of questions to be answered before the […] more
Spikes in Volatility, Macroeconomic Divergence and Emerging Markets
13th November 2018
With the FED ready for its fourth rate hike in December and global growth concerns increasing and feeding into the global financial markets, Senior Portfolio Strategist Antonio Del Favero looks at the leading drivers of the sell-off in emerging markets and of the double spike in the volatility of risky assets. VIEW THE FULL PRESENTATION […] more
BAT long dated bonds – A far from defensive investment…
12th November 2018
British American Tobacco, the FTSE listed Tobacco company’s bonds and stocks have traded down today (12 Nov-18) due to a press article discussing a potential FDA ban on menthol cigarettes. Menthols last year represented 55% of BAT’s U.S. cigarette sales by volume (Source: WSJ), which makes any potential new regulation in this area a material […] more
A tale of two supermarkets
9th November 2018
We outline recent credit developments at Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación (“Dia”) and Tesco as well as the impact of the ECB on bond pricing. DIA is predominantly an Iberian supermarket, whose stocks and bonds have experienced something of a roller-coaster ride since October. Unfortunately for DIA and its key stakeholders, the ride is unlikely to […] more
EM – Not fixing the roof while the sun is shining…?
29th August 2018
EM – Not fixing the roof while the sun is shining…? On Friday (24 Aug), S&P downgraded Zambia to B- from B[1] and kept it on a stable outlook. At time of writing (28 Aug), all its USD bonds are trading at spreads of more than 1000bps[2], over the respective US Treasury Note. This is […] more
WPP Sterling Bond – A case study in the risks of benchmark investing
25th May 2018
Advertising giant WPP has been in the headlines for the past few weeks following the departure of its long term CEO, Martin Sorrell. Just this week, Ratings Agency Fitch downgraded the outlook on its bonds to negative, but kept its BBB+ (Investment Grade rating). Reasons Fitch gave for the change included: Pressures building both across […] more
Corporate Hybrids: An insight into recent LME activity
18th May 2018
Why are they issued? Corporate Hybrids are a maturing area of the global fixed income universe that have formed a key part of the Rubrics Global Credit strategy for over six years. These instruments enable corporates to issue tax deductible debt which also benefits from equity credit standing from the major rating agencies. As a […] more
