A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web
The Financial Times offered an excellent graphic summary of the U.S. market sectors that will benefit most from the passage of U.S. tax legislation. The biggest winners, in order, are mining, holding companies, waste management and hotels and food services. Losers include utilities, arts and entertainment, and health care.
"Which sectors win and which lose from US tax reform bill?" – Financial Times
"@SBarlow_ROB From the FT: Winning and losing sectors from U.S. tax changes" – (full graphic) Twitter
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Bloomberg collected a series of 11 charts they believe are the most important to watch for 2018. Concerns about U.S. corporate bond markets (which I share, for what it's worth), top the list,
"Credit investors polled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch for a survey published in December named a bubble as the biggest risk to the asset class, followed by higher inflation and rising yields. Flows reflect some of that unease. Investors pulled money out of exchange-traded funds that track corporate credit for the first time in 14 months in December, data compiled by Bloomberg show."
Other charts include the U.S. yield curve, the aging business cycle, U.S. mid-term elections, and the return of volatility.
"Everything You Need to Know About Global Markets in 2018" – Bloomberg
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Also from Bloomberg, a survey of oil experts on where crude prices are headed next year,
"Brent crude is expected to average $60 a barrel in 2018, while its U.S. counterpart is seen at about $55 a barrel, according to the median estimate of 27 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That's below where oil prices sit now -- currently near $64 a barrel for Brent and close to $58 for West Texas Intermediate… "A lot of the divergence that you'll find between the analysts that do their balances really pertains to this U.S. production growth figure," said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London, who forecasts Brent will average $55 a barrel in 2018. "We are very optimistic on U.S. shale supply growth next year."
"Oil Prices in 2018: Once Again Its All About U.S. Shale Output" – Bloomberg
"Goldman Says 'Stellar' Demand May Fast-Forward OPEC's Exit" – Bloomberg
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Another great graphic, this time on auto company targets for electric vehicles, comes from Gadfly in the pessimistically titled feature, "Electric Cars' Race to Nowhere,"
"A strange dichotomy has grown up between automakers' bold words about the future and their more cautious actions in the present … 'Currently, the reality is that the market uptake of electrically chargeable vehicles is low, and this is not due to lack of availability and choice,' Automotive News Europe quoted Daimler's Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche as saying in September in relation to the EU targets."
"@tbiesheuvel Superb graphic on the race for EVs bloomberg.com/gadfly/article… " – Twitter
"Electric Cars' Race to Nowhere" – Gadfly
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Tweet of the Day: "@BV Renewable energy now accounts for the majority of growth in global electricity output bloom.bg/2kMVHbH " – Twitter
Diversion: "The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2017: You Sweet, Misguided Fools" – Gizmodo
Scott Barlow