Luxembourg
16 Boulevard Royal – L-2449 Luxembourg
 
Monday to Friday
8 am to 5 pm

GDP growth figures for the second quarter confirm the historic scale of the collapse of the global economy. In the United States, GDP fell by 9.5% year-on-year and by 32.9% on an annualised basis compared to the first quarter, which is the biggest slump since the Great Depression in the 1930s, conclude Guy Wagner, Chief Investment Officer at BLI - Banque de Luxembourg Investments, and his team, in their monthly analysis, ‘Highlights’.

In the eurozone, the decline in activity was even greater, with GDP for the euro area as a whole contracting at an annualised rate of 12.1%. The European country most severely affected by the pandemic was Spain, where GDP fell by 18.5% year-on-year. In Germany, Italy and France, the decline in activity was 10.1%, 12.4% and 13.8% respectively. In Japan, second-quarter GDP has not yet been published, but the very slender rebound in the purchasing managers' index in May and June does not suggest that the statistics will be any more resilient. In China, GDP grew by 3.2% in the second quarter, ahead of the rest of the world, having reached the peak of the crisis in the first three months of the year.

Economic situation remains highly uncertain

“Although, to a greater or lesser degree, most countries have shown signs of improvement since April, the global economic situation remains highly uncertain, with the development of a major second wave of infections being the most feared risk at present”, says Guy Wagner, Chief Investment Officer and managing director of the asset management company BLI - Banque de Luxembourg Investments.

Fed and ECB leave its monetary policy unchanged

Apart from extending the credit facilities that were introduced in March at the outbreak of the pandemic to at least the end of the year, the US Federal Reserve left its monetary policy unchanged for the second time in a row. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the health of the economy will continue to be tied to whether the coronavirus can be kept in check and that continued strong fiscal and monetary support remained absolutely essential. In Europe, the ECB left its monetary policy unchanged in light of recent signs of economic improvement, “offering hope that the worst of the crisis is over”, thinks the Luxembourgish economist.

Equity markets: tech giants are the big winners

After their spectacular rebound in the second quarter, equity markets flatlined in July. “On a sector basis, the majority of the tech giants were the big winners yet again after publishing breathtaking second-quarter results. In contrast, the energy and financial sectors suffered another difficult month on the equity markets”, concludes Guy Wagner.

Guy Wagner, Chief Investment Officer

Originally from a family of entrepreneurs in Luxembourg and with a degree in Economics from the Université Libre of Brussels, Guy joined Banque de Luxembourg in 1986, where he was successively responsible for the Financial Analysis and Asset Management departments, then became Managing Director of BLI - Banque de Luxembourg Investments, an asset management company newly created in 2005.

From July 2022 on, he devotes himself exclusively to his role as Chief Investment Officer, to the management of the portfolios and to the management of the team in charge management of the various funds.

Follow me on LinkedIn

Subscribe to
our newsletter
email