Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Royal Bank of Scotland uber-bear issues fresh alert on global stock markets

I swung by the Telegraph to see why our old pal Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wasn't writing much. Turns out he has been, we just missed it.
From the Telegraph (August 12):
Three-month slide could hit record lows, Royal Bank of Scotland chief credit strategist Bob Janjuah predicts.

Britain's Uber-bear is growling again. After predicting a torrid "relief rally" over the early summer, Bob Janjuah at Royal Bank of Scotland is advising clients to take profits in global equity and commodity markets and prepare for another storm as winter nears.

"We are now in the middle of a parabolic spike up," he said in his latest confidential note to clients.

"I expect this risk rally to continue into – and maybe through – a large part of August. What happens after that? The next ugly leg of the bear market begins as we get into the July through September 'tipping zone', driven by the failure of the data to validate the V (shaped recovery) that is now fully priced into markets."

The key indicators to watch are business spending on equipment (Capex), incomes, jobs, and profits. Only a "surge higher" in these gauges can justify current asset prices. Results that are merely "less bad" will not suffice.

He expects global stock markets to test their March lows, and probably worse. The slide could last three months. "A move to new lows is highly likely," he said.

Mr Janjuah, RBS's chief credit strategist, has a loyal following in the City. He was one of the very few analysts to speak out early about the dangerous excesses of the credit bubble. He then made waves in the summer of 2008 by issuing a global crash alert, giving warning that a "very nasty period is soon to be upon us" as – indeed it was. Lehman Brothers and AIG imploded weeks later.

This time he expects the S&P 500 index of US equities to reach the "mid 500s", almost halving from current levels near 1000. Such a fall would take London's FTSE 100 to around 2,500. The iTraxx Crossover index measuring spreads on low-grade European debt will double to 1250.

Mr Janjuah advises investors to seek safety in 10-year German bonds in late August or early September....MORE

Also from Mr. Evans-Pritchard this month:

August 11- Credit tightening threatens China's 'giant Ponzi scheme'

August 15- There's no quick fix to the global economy's excess capacity

August 18- Morgan Stanley issues alert on corporate bonds after explosive rally

August 18- Germany braces for second wave of credit crunch

Such a cheery sort. If it wasn't for the fact that he's been more right than wrong for the last two years, I could barely stand to read him.