Core Viewpoint - The global asset performance in July shows that the US dollar leads with a return of 3.19%, followed by commodities at 2.00%, global stocks at 1.30%, and the Chinese yuan at -0.50%, with global bonds declining by 1.49% [2] Group 1: Global Asset Trends - The liquidity of Japanese government bonds has deteriorated beyond the levels seen during the 2008 financial crisis, with the Bloomberg Japan Government Bond Liquidity Index surpassing the post-Lehman Brothers bankruptcy levels [4][10] - There is a divergence in the performance of cyclical stocks versus defensive stocks in the US market, closely linked to forward swap rates tied to interest rates, indicating optimism among investors regarding sustained high interest rates [12] - The relative performance of MSCI Japan bank stocks is highly correlated with the 10-year Japanese government bond yield, benefiting from rising inflation expectations [5][15] Group 2: Fund Manager Allocations - Global fund managers have increased their allocation to technology to the highest level since March 2009, while reducing positions in cash, consumer staples, banks, emerging markets, and commodities [18] - Emerging market sovereign debt has seen its yield spread over US Treasuries narrow to a 15-year low, reducing the attractiveness of this strategy despite strong performance earlier in the year [24][21] Group 3: Economic Indicators - The relative performance of European consumer staples has diverged from the gold-to-copper ratio since 2024, indicating a weakening relationship between macroeconomic conditions and defensive sectors [28] - The relative price-to-earnings ratio of European and US stock indices is closely related to the uncertainty of economic policies in both regions, with European valuations rising as US policy uncertainty increases [31] Group 4: Interest Rate Dynamics - The interest rate swap spread between China's 5-year and 1-year rates has turned positive for the first time in seven months, reflecting confidence in long-term inflation due to domestic policies and infrastructure projects [35] - The South African stock index has closely followed gold prices, with a cumulative increase of approximately 19% since 2025, outperforming other emerging market indices [38] Group 5: Market Sentiment - The volume of bullish options on the SPDR US Dollar ETF has been declining, suggesting a potential softening of the dollar, as indicated by the falling risk reversal options [41]