Skip to main content

Brexit: Why the Market Got it Wrong



Dear Speculators,

After 40 years of being in the European Union, the United Kingdom will no longer be a member nation of the EU after the exit plans have been finalized. The gloomy market prediction by top notch investors and analysts has now become a reality. The British pound has been "pounded" in the foreign exchange market, falling significantly against virtually every currency on earth. Pound sterling currently sits at a 30 year low against the dollar after shedding a record 11% in just one day. The equity market is a mess all over UK and Europe, banks have suffered the heaviest beating. $2 trillion has been wiped off global equities. At this point it will take a miracle and much more than $345b promised by the Central Bank to save the economy from entering a financial  recession by 2017.

Several market players were positioned for a stay in accordance with the opinion polls on Brexit even when the polls showed that a vote to remain wasn't significantly higher than a vote to exit the EU. Smart money became stupid money after Britain opted out. In a bid to re-position their bets, it sparked a sell off. Some investors made a profit windfall by betting against the herd. Since Britain to stay was already priced into most assets, it was only common sense to bet otherwise as only little profit will be made by following the market if Brexit failed.

We believe that current market volatility reflects only the best guess of speculators since the terms of the exit process have not being stated. Time to look into Article 50 of EU laws. UK has 2 years to negotiate an exit plan with Europe. We believe changes in the trade laws may not be as significant as most fear. While we anticipate minimal downgrade of revenue growth forecast for European firms in the short term, real portfolio adjustments will be made to reflect the prevailing economic conditions after the exit has been finalized. In the mean time, let the speculation begin!

PS: This is nothing like Black Wednesday of 92, currency devaluation is way different from abandoning an economic union.


Emeka Ucheaga,
Managing Partner,
Emeka Ucheaga Advisory
+2348137532722
emekaucheaga@gmail.com 
 

Comments

  1. Nice!!! What can you say about the future of the EU, with the eurozone crisis not fully solved, with an added Brexit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice!!! What can you say about the future of the EU, with the eurozone crisis not fully solved, with an added Brexit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you. The future of the EU is currently uncertain. The imploding debt level of several member nations, slow economic growth and all the negativity of zero interest rate sends only negative signals about the future of the European economy. When you mix all these problems with a Brexit, it is anybody's guess how bad the future will be for the EU. We all have to wait for terms of the Brexit negotiation to shape our thoughts on the economic future of Britain and the rest of Europe.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CBN Floats the Naira and the Interbank FX Rate Takes a Dive

Dear Speculators, It is no longer news that CBN has liberalized the interbank foreign exchange market in Nigeria. This new fx policy will allow exchange rate for bank to bank transactions to be determined freely by market forces as against the previous fixed rate of N199. The CBN has also permitted foreign currency deposits in deposit money banks and discontinued the sale of foreign currencies to Bureau de Change in Nigeria. CBN has also promised to intervene periodically and in unpredictable fashion to clear up backlogs of foreign exchange demands whenever the need arises. Since Nigeria has still not devalued her currency, CBN intervention in this market may present an arbitrage opportunity for the primary dealers. In other words, any day could be Christmas for the banks. Obviously, the Central Bank now believes that the amount of dollars and other foreign currencies in circulation can provide much needed liquidity to satisfy the country's fx demands, thereby bring

Ten Surprises of 2018

Dear Speculators, Let's face it, 2017 was a bad year. The only things that went the right way in '17 were crude oil, equities and the decelerating pace of inflation. From fuel scarcity to periodic power outages, rising unemployment to terrorism perpetrated by herdsmen, Nigeria looked more or less worse of the same. As usual, the new year has started with a lot of hope but the long queues at filling stations is enough to beat out the optimism out of most realists. To help in putting the most important things into perspectives so we do not dwell less on minor things rather than channelling all our attention to major possibilities this year, we have put together 10 of the biggest surprises this year you should pay attention to. Ten Surprises of 2018 1. The stock market ASI crosses 65,000 2. Banks post record annual profits for 2017 3. 1-year TBills rates fall below 13% 4. Inflation falls below 12.5% 5. Nigeria's economy expands by more than 4% 6. Crude oil price exceeds $