Link to document :{http://bit.ly/1xDvddz}
- Global central bank assets (including FX reserves) now stand at $22.6 trillion (a sum larger than the combined GDP of US & Japan)
- 83% of world equity market cap is currently supported by zero interest rate policies; and 50% of all government bonds in the world currently yield 1% or less
- Government bond yields fell to all-time lows in 2014 in Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Korea, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland……..
- And yet the total return from global government bond markets in 2013 & 2014 combined is on course to fall 4.0%, the worse 2-year return since the early-80s
- 2014’s best performing asset…the US Dollar (11% annualized) besting global Equities (6%), Fixed Income (2%) and Commodities (-17%)
- Copper is down 11% (annualized), silver -22%, the price of Brent crude oil on course for a 31% slump…Deflation the theme of 2014
- AAA-rated US corporate bonds (9% annualized) outperforming CCC-rated bonds (2%)…“flight to quality” theme
- US equities (14% annualized) stunningly outperforming European equities (-6%) by the widest margin in 40 years (1976)… “flight to growth” theme
- US large-cap beating US small-cap by 950bps, widest margin since 1998…“flight to liquid assets” theme
- Best performing global equity market is reforming India (36% annualized); worst are non-reforming Greece (-39%), Portugal (-35%). Russia (-28%)
- Only double-digit yields left: Venezuela (22.6%), Ukraine (15.6%) in $-denominated debt; Egypt (14.1%), Nigeria (12.6%), Brazil (12.3%) & Russia (10.0%) in local currency debt
- Finally, Apple’s market cap ($662bn) is now $170bn bigger than market cap of all the Eurozone banks combined; and just shy of MSCI market cap of both Latin America ($695bn) & EMEA ($704bn).