Barclays said the S & P 500 implied volatility for the upcoming US election is 1.8 per cent, a level of risk that has been fully priced in by the market. Derivatives strategists such as Stefano Pascale said the VIX traded at about twice the S & P 500's actual volatility in a month, reflecting election-related price volatility. The VIX's ratio to the S & P 500's actual volatility is high compared with previous elections and is unlikely to rise further.
Barclays said the recent sharp rise in the yen showed that the currency was once again moving in sync with yield spreads, and that the yen would be boosted by its safe-haven status if global growth fears caused equities to fall. "The yen's rapid appreciation has been accompanied by a return to correlation with yields and equity prices," said Shinichiro Kadota, head of Japan FX and rates strategy at Barclays.
Barclays said we now expect the Federal Reserve's FOMC to cut rates three times this year by 25 basis points each in September, November and December. We assume the labour market will show continued resilience in the August report and the unemployment rate will stop rising. Based on this assumption, we currently believe a 50 basis point cut in September is unjustified. However, if the unemployment rate rises further, then it will raise concerns that the labour market is cooling faster than expec...