About

Ahead of the Curve provides analysis and insight into today's global financial markets. The latest news and views from global stock, bond, commodity, and FOREX markets are discussed. Rajveer Rawlin is a PhD and received his MBA in finance from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales, UK. He is an avid market watcher, having followed capital markets in the US and India since 1993. His research interests include capital markets, banking, investment analysis, and portfolio management, and he has over 20 years of experience in the above areas, covering the US and Indian markets. He has several publications in the above areas. He currently teaches business and management students at CHRIST University. The views expressed here are his own and should not be construed as advice to buy or sell securities.

Thursday, 8 September 2016

Daily Forex Insight

Here are some insights from the currency strategists at dailyfx. They cover the fundamentals and technicals of key Forex pairs and other key markets along with some of the key economic news of the day. Today's commentary looks at the Euro and oil:

Daily Market Insight

Here are some insights from the strategists at FXStreet. They cover the fundamentals and technicals of key Forex pairs and other key markets along with some of the key economic news of the day. Here is a review of the ECB decision and the outlook for some key commodity markets:

Chart of the Week - Libor Spikes Vs S & P 500

The chart of the week is courtesy Bob Hoye via SafeHaven and looks at spikes in the 3 month LIBOR rate vs S and P 500 performance. Any sustained spikes in LIBOR in excess of 25 basis points in the last year has often resulted in significant stock market pull backs as seen in August 2015 and February 2016. There is usually a lag of about 2 months for the sell off to occur. We had a recent LIBOR spike about 2 months ago and should see a stock market pull back soon. More importantly LIBOR has entered a clear uptrend this past year and that is problematic for risk assets long term:

Libor 2015-2016

My Asset Allocation Strategy (Indian Market)

Cash - 40%
Bonds - 20%
Fixed deposit - 20%
Gold - 5%
Stocks - 10% ( Majority of this in dividend funds)
Other Asset Classes - 5%

My belief is that stocks are relatively overvalued compared to bonds and attractive buying opportunities can come along after 1-2 years. In a deflationary scenario no asset class does well other than U.S bonds, the U.S dollar and the Japanese yen, so better to be safe than sorry with high quality government bonds and fixed deposits. Cash is the king always. Of course this varies with the person's age.