Report
Michael Howell
EUR 422.25 For Business Accounts Only

Global View GFC2 And Why The Latest Liquidity Crisis Means QE5 QE6 - March 2020

GFC2, And Why The Latest Liquidity Crisis Means QE5 & QE6

Main Points
* This is a liquidity crisis, where fungibility disappears and Central Banks are compelled to act
* Expect QE5 (we just had QE4), QE6 and probably others. US Fed balance sheet is set to break US$6 trillion. Cutting interest rates is a bad move which could even destroy short-term liquidity
* Next round of coronavirus crisis will strain US$ forex swap and funding markets as supply-chain payments fall

* Expect near-term firm US dollar, and later much stronger gold price and steeper yield curves. Pattern of crisis has similarities with 9/11, which had economic effects lasting over 4 months. The coronavirus crisis may be shorter, but it will be both more extensive and more severe
Provider
CrossBorder Capital
CrossBorder Capital

​​CrossBorder Capital Ltd (CrossBorder) is a London based, FCA registered, independent investment firm founded in 1996. It is owned by its partners and has no affiliations with banks, stockbrokers or other financial institutions.

CrossBorder's core competence is the measurement and analysis of global liquidity flows. Liquidity is a source of funds, in contrast to money which is a use of funds. It is defined as the flow of cash plus credit, or more explicitly as savings plus the change in base money plus the change in bank credit. Liquidity is therefore a more comprehensive measurement of fund flows than the monetary aggregates used traditionally. Liquidity research is applied to determining the outlook for a range of asset classes including equities, fixed income, currencies and hedge fund styles over varying time horizons.

Central to this analysis is the monthly collection and analysis of balance sheet data from over seventy of the world's central banks to quantify the level and direction of liquidity in each country. This data is publicly available, aggregate as opposed to sample, and rarely significantly revised. It is also little used by investors, and CrossBorder's prime utility is bringing this set of data to investors in a timely and user-friendly way.

CrossBorder's insights rest on two philosophical assertions: first, there is a regular cycle of liquidity, and asset class price movements tend to move sequentially over the cycle. By measuring where we are on it, we can significantly reduce 'fat tail' outcomes in our predictions for asset price movements. Secondly, weightings of asset classes held by investors in aggregate tend to revert to the long term mean. By measuring the variance from this mean, we can understand whether a particular trade is 'crowded' or the reverse.

CrossBorder offers these insights both as the Liquidity Research research service, and in the form of systematically allocated in-house funds. Clients of the Liquidity Research service include leading banks, fund managers (both traditional and hedge) and insurance companies located worldwide. CrossBorder additionally manages and advises on tactical asset allocation products for third parties.

Analysts
Michael Howell

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