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Growth Team Weekly Investment Insights
1) Credit Card Data Suggests Consumer Weakness?
Like most things in this industry, looking at credit card data sends a nuanced message about the health of the consumer.
Growth Team Weekly Investment Insights
1) Inflation Progress Shows Signs of Slowing
Last week brought signs that progress towards the central bank’s inflation target may be slowing as both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) metrics were higher than expected.
US Treasury Reforms: The Crystal Ball for EM Traders
The SEC voted in December to require more US Treasury bonds to be centrally cleared in order to improve market resiliency, and it continues to propose major reforms to that market. These reforms are getting significant attention in the press and sparking a debate on financial news and social media platforms. Emerging markets investors might be forgiven for paying little attention to market structure developments in US Treasuries, but ignoring these developments is a mistake.
Growth Team Weekly Investment Insights
1) February Jobs Report
The big macro data point last week was the US employment report, which offered both upside and downside surprises.
Dare to be Different
The National Bank of Serbia opted to hold benchmark interest rates unchanged at 6.5% for the eighth consecutive meeting, citing global uncertainties and persistent inflationary pressures as the rationale. This restrictive policy is at odds with its Central European peers, some of which are already several rate cuts deep into their easing cycles, but we applaud this prudent approach for Serbia.
Serbian inflation fell to 5.6% year over year in February, but forecasts do not show inflation dropping into its target band of 3% +/- 1.5% for a few more months.
Growth Team Weekly Investment Insights
1) The Shift from EVs to Hybrids
A recent Financial Times article explains how Toyota has been hesitant to significantly invest in fully electric vehicles (EVs) over the past few years, favoring hybrids instead.
Smoke and Mirrors in South Africa
The South African government announced an unconventional strategy last week that involved tapping into its gold and foreign exchange reserves in an effort to temper its growing debt burden. While investors initially cheered this financial maneuver, we are more skeptical. Unfortunately the government announced this strategy without clearly outlining the governance of the framework. We break down the transaction and potential drawbacks below:
Growth Team Weekly Investment Insights
1) NVIDIA Delivers Again
Fueled by its H100 chip, which has become the industry standard for AI development, NVIDIAs’ earnings have risen more than 700% from a year ago.
What “Kenya” Do? What Kenya Did!
Kenya’s upcoming $2 billion Eurobond payment due in June 2024 had been a cause of concern for many investors as the maturity quickly approached. However, in mid-February, a pivot in the country’s approach to raise funds quickly alleviated investors’ anxieties: Kenya successfully issued $1.5 billion through an international bond sale that was well oversubscribed, and used the cash to buy back 96% of its 2024 obligation at par. In our eyes, the government’s decision to issue was a smart move and a crucial step towards alleviating short-term risks for the country. It greatly reduces the event risk surrounding the impending Eurobond maturity and creates room for policymakers to turn their attention to a policy agenda that puts the country on a better and more sustainable path moving forward.
Growth Team Weekly Investment Insights
1) One Company is Driving Most of the YTD Russell 2000 Growth Return
An interesting phenomenon happening within small caps this year is the dominance of Super Micro Computer.