LaSalle’s February 2021 Macro Indicators

Year of the Ox, Year of the Vax


Narrated by: Dominic Silman, Data Strategist and Brian Klinksiek,
Head of European Research and Global Portfolio Strategies





February 12th marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox in the
Lunar Calendar. In Chinese culture, Oxen are known for diligence,
dependability, and determination. These are traits we will all
need to rely on in the coming months while vaccine deployment
proceeds at an ox-like pace. As we enter February, the depths of
winter in the northern hemisphere, the pandemic shadow is once
again darkening much of Europe and North America, and a weary
populace may be forgiven a dream of spring.


In economics, dreams like this are referred to as “rational
expectations” since current views of future conditions underpin
human behaviour in markets and society at large. Rational
expectations theory plays an important role in understanding many
macro-economic situations. How might this approach apply to the
pandemic and epidemiological data? Although we are not experts in
virology, we would like to share our analysis of pandemic data
that points toward connections to economies and property markets.