Goldman, GIC Differ on Whether Inflation Is Risk or Opportunity

Discussion in 'Wall St. News' started by ajacobson, Nov 8, 2023.

  1. ajacobson

    ajacobson

    • GIC’s Lim says 10-year US TIPs are “very attractive”
    • Templeton’s Johnson says path to 2% “more challenging”

    In this Article
    GOLDMAN SACHS GP
    324.56USD
    +0.19%

    By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Haslinda Amin
    November 7, 2023 at 9:52 PM CST

    Inflation is the biggest risk to the global economy and that’s providing opportunities for investors as policymakers grapple with their fight to rein in prices.

    That’s according to senior executives at banks and money managers speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. While John Waldron, president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said the key risk remains inflation, Lim Chow Kiat, CEO at GIC Pte, sees that as a chance to buy.
    Markets haven’t seen the current yield on 10-year Treasury inflation protected securities of around 2.5% for “a long time,” Lim said on a panel at the forum. “That’s very attractive I would say and that is actually great competition for other asset classes.”

    As markets bet US interest rates will need to start reducing next year, Federal Reserve policymakers continue to battle with balancing tightening conditions against economic growth and chair Jerome Powell has hinted his central bank may be finished hiking.


    “I would say inflation is still to me the single biggest risk,” Waldron said. “So I think inflation is far and away my biggest concern and I think the geopolitics that are now overlaid in a much more profound way.”

    Meantime, speaking on the same panel, Jennifer Johnson, Franklin Templeton CEO, said it only gets tougher for central banks from here.

    “The journey to 2% is going to be a lot more challenging,” she said.