Newsroom

August 21, 2014

Saudi Arabia Drafts Foreign Limits for $580 Billion Bourse

“The opportunity set for foreign investors is too significant to pass up given the quality of the corporations and market breadth relative to other frontier markets in the Middle East that come with a higher risk premium attached,” Neil Azous, founder of Stamford, Connecticut-based research firm Rareview Macro LLC, said in an e-mail. “Also, this will likely lead to a multi-percentage point weighting increase in the MSCI benchmark.”

July 25, 2014

Dollar Rises to Highest in Month as U.S. Outperforms

“The U.S. dollar doesn’t necessarily move first off of data,” Neil Azous, founder of Stamford, Connecticut-based research firm Rareview Macro LLC, said in a phone interview. “It’s certainly becoming part of the equation because if the data is weaker in Europe and it’s stronger in the U.S., the euro deteriorates. And that matters to the interest-rate differential story.”

“There’s isn’t anybody who’s really outright expressing their view of long U.S. dollar in any material way,” Rareview Macro’s Azous said. “If they’re expressing a view as it relates to interest rates, everybody is very much in fixed-income instead.”

July 17, 2014

Sudden Shock for Semiconductor ETFs

“If it were not for Russian equities falling on account of the new round of sanctions the Taiwan Taiex would be showing the largest negative risk-adjusted return in equities for the second day running. Taiwan Semiconductor closed down 4.6% last night. Taiwan Semiconductor holds a ~12% weight in the Taiex. This is a dramatic fall as it is not considered a high beta stock,” said Azous.

June 24, 2014

Neil Azous interview on CNBC with Jackie DeAngelis “Now is Not the Time to Buy Gold”

On June 24, Neil Azous returned to CNBC and joined Futures Now host Jackie DeAngelis and guests to discuss the outlook for Gold. As a follow on to Neil’s April 24th CNBC appearance, during which guests discussed the outlook for equities markets and Neil presciently opined “Don’t Sell In May and Go Away”,  today’s segment has Neil unabashed on the topic of the yellow metal.

June 16, 2014

China ETF Hedging Costs at Record Low on Stimulus Wagers

“Investors are becoming receptive to adding equity exposure to China in a measured way,” Neil Azous, founder of Stamford, Connecticut-based macro-strategy research firm Rareview Macro LLC, said in an interview on June 13. “China is being looked at closely and the iShares China large-cap ETF is an efficient and liquid proxy to express that view.”

May 28, 2014

Dollar ETFs Ready to Deliver Green

“The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) chart is close to showing two technically significant developments. Firstly, a “Golden Cross”on a monthly basis where the 50-month crosses up and through the 100-month moving average is close to completion. That is something that has only happened once in the last 25 years. The last time a Golden Cross formed the DXY appreciated over the next five years significantly on a total return basis. Secondly, if the DXY can close above ~80.599 (vs. last ~80.495) by Friday than it will have concluded an outside bullish monthly reversal,” said Rareview Macro founder Neil Azous in a research note.

May 19, 2014

Australian Dollar Options Reveal Limit to Rally Disrupting RBA: Currencies

“The professional or hedge-fund universe still has a negative bias on the Australian dollar as a result of being closely linked to China,” Neil Azous, the founder of Stamford, Connecticut-based research firm Rareview Macro LLC, said May 15 in a phone interview. That analysis “of the options market suggests there’s a downside bias to Aussie dollar.”

May 19, 2014

Pound To Australian Dollar Exchange Rate Forecast Higher As GBP AUD Pair Gains On Sterling Pressure

As stated by industry expert Neil Azous; ‘The professional or hedge-fund universe still has a negative bias on the Australian Dollar as a result of being closely linked to China. [Analysis] of the options market suggests there’s a downside bias to Aussie Dollar’.

May 15, 2014

MNI: US CORPORATES: US CDS: Investment-Grade Corporate Credit Spreads are Wider

“..At first glance the widening in the Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index is likely professionals hedging their credit positions on concern about S&P 500 losses and Euro-Yen selling, said Neil Azous, Founder of Rareview Macro LLC, a Stamford, Connecticut-based advisory and research firm. “This activity is likely signalling a decline in risk appetite,” he added. The IG.22 was last about 2.0 bps wider on the day at 65.00 bps after reaching an intraday wide of 65.32 bps.

May 9, 2014

Euro Falls to 1-Month Low on ECB Outlook

“..While a refinance or deposit rate cut will slow the euro’s rally, it won’t offset the financial sector’s recycling of Europe’s growing current account surpluses into foreign assets,” Neil Azous, the founder of Stamford, Connecticut-based macro-strategy advisory firm Rareview Macro LLC, said today in a report. “Only higher interest rates in the U.S. can lead to real under-performance by the euro,” he said.