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CIO Market Update with Will Bartleet
CIO and multi-asset portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management

US crude oil plunged below zero for the first time in history to minus 37.64 a barrel, reflecting the surplus of West Texas crude and the lack of availability (and hence higher cost) of storage.  

With the Pacific G10 Macro Rates Team 

Global Macro Overview
Although financial markets are gradually paying more attention to economic data the actions taken by fiscal and monetary authorities remain the major drivers. Governments across the world are still committed to supporting local economies for as long as lockdown measures are in place.  

CIO Market Update with Will Bartleet
CIO and multi-asset portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management

China released its first quarter GDP which covered the worst of the economic impact of the lockdown in the country and showed that growth fell by 6.8% compared with the same quarter last year. This marked the largest contraction of economic growth since the China began releasing quarterly data in 1992. After the release of the data, the Chinese authorities committed to provide further stimulus to the economy. 

CIO Market Update with Will Bartleet
CIO and multi-asset portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management

A further 5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total jobs lost over the last four weeks to 22 million. This means that all the jobs created in the US since 2009 have been lost in just a month. 

CIO Market Update with Will Bartleet
CIO and multi-asset portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management

Global cases of COVID-19 passed the 2 million mark with more than 600,000 cases in the US. 

CIO Market Update with Will Bartleet
CIO and multi-asset portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management

President Trump declared that “We’re very close to completing a plan to open our country. Hopefully, even ahead of schedule”. Dr Anthony Fauci who leads the Trump Administration’s White House Coronavirus Task Force tempered this by saying that “we have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet”.  

Emerging Markets Webinar with North of South Capital

As the COVID-19 situation continues to develop, Pacific Asset Management recently hosted a Live Webinar with Matt Linsey and Kamil Dimmich, Co-managers & Partners from North of South Capital, the highly experienced investment managers of the Pacific North of South EM All Cap Equity fund. 

CIO Market Update with Will Bartleet
CIO and multi-asset portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management

This week’s initial jobless claims revealed that another 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits, taking the three-week toll to 16.8 million. The Federal Reserve doubled down on its fiscal stimulus with a $2.3 trillion aid package. This will provide loans to small and medium sized businesses as well as state and local governments. In addition, the Fed will purchase high yield bonds, collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) and commercial mortgage-backed securities. 

Pacific G10 Macro Rates Live Webinar | Video Replay

Due to the ongoing concerns around the coronavirus, the Pacific G10 Macro Rates Event in London was replaced by a Live Interactive Webinar on Wednesday 8th April 2020 at 10:00 UK time.

The event allowed participants the opportunity to hear from the team, ask questions and find out more about their unique approach. 

CIO Market Update with Will Bartleet
CIO and multi-asset portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management

Global cases of COVID-19 exceeded 1.5 million as Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that although the Trump administration is discussing how to reopen the economy “that doesn’t mean we’ll do it right now”.