Monday Macro - a look back at January, bond and equity correlations have flipped again, and the march of the US optimists

I bang the drum again for thinking about diversification. Plus, the current earnings season looks pretty solid. And why we might be stuck in a low-volatility regime.

It's been a mixed start to the year. The global equity markets finished January up 1.1% according to SocGen analysts, with Japan leading the way (+8.4%), and with the laggards China (-6.3%), Hong Kong (-9.2%) and US Smallcaps (-3.9%).  In index terms, the S&P Global BMI gains stopped as the consolidated market posted a slight gain of 0.13%, after Decemb…