Over the past few years, investors have tended to be richly rewarded for setting aside traditional determinants of market value and focusing on just one thing: plentiful and predictable liquidity injections into the marketplace. But this dynamic cannot last forever, and it may confront a moment of truth in the fourth quarter of 2020.
CAMBRIDGE – Having long been buttressed by ample liquidity, financial markets are entering the final quarter of 2020 amid an increasingly tentative global economic recovery, unusual political uncertainties, and lagging fiscal and structural policy responses. And these headwinds come on top of the COVID-19 crisis, which has left most countries struggling to strike a balance between protecting public health, achieving a return to a semi-normal level of economic activity, and limiting infringements on individual liberties.
In this context, the hope is that today’s generous liquidity conditions, enabled and supported by central banks, will continue to provide a bridge to a better 2021, not only reversing the economic and social damage, but also delivering further gains to investors. But will this bridging operation, already deployed for several years to compensate for other headwinds, be sufficient to overcome what is an increasingly complex pandemic cocktail?
Recent economic data indicate that, outside of China and few other countries, the economic recovery remains uneven and uncertain, and is falling short of what is both needed and possible, in my opinion. Travel, hospitality, and other service-sector activities continue to face considerable challenges, complicating the overall employment picture. Moreover, a growing number of companies in other sectors are pursuing “re-sizing” initiatives that will likely lead to less hiring or even a wave of layoffs.
CAMBRIDGE – Having long been buttressed by ample liquidity, financial markets are entering the final quarter of 2020 amid an increasingly tentative global economic recovery, unusual political uncertainties, and lagging fiscal and structural policy responses. And these headwinds come on top of the COVID-19 crisis, which has left most countries struggling to strike a balance between protecting public health, achieving a return to a semi-normal level of economic activity, and limiting infringements on individual liberties.
In this context, the hope is that today’s generous liquidity conditions, enabled and supported by central banks, will continue to provide a bridge to a better 2021, not only reversing the economic and social damage, but also delivering further gains to investors. But will this bridging operation, already deployed for several years to compensate for other headwinds, be sufficient to overcome what is an increasingly complex pandemic cocktail?
Recent economic data indicate that, outside of China and few other countries, the economic recovery remains uneven and uncertain, and is falling short of what is both needed and possible, in my opinion. Travel, hospitality, and other service-sector activities continue to face considerable challenges, complicating the overall employment picture. Moreover, a growing number of companies in other sectors are pursuing “re-sizing” initiatives that will likely lead to less hiring or even a wave of layoffs.