SHOWS: HONG KONG, CHINA (April 17, 2013) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

PATRICK BENNETT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND FX STRATEGIST, CIBC

1. REPORTER OFF CAMERA SAYING:

'Gold and oil, along with equities, have fallen in recent days. In which currency crosses can investors find value now as they have become risk-averse? '

2. PATRICK BENNETT SAYING:

'Yes, it's a difficult market environment at the moment. In terms of currencies, we always come back to the U.S. dollar. We know that there's some data in the last couple of weeks has disappointed. But we like what the Fed has done over the last few years. And we think that the U.S. dollar remains cheap on a global comparative scale. And I think that's going to outperform. The other currency we like is the Chinese yuan even though the numbers this week were a little bit disappointing relative to expectations. Growth is still moving along. The PBOC continues to appreciate the currency each day in its daily fixes. So those two stand out to us.'

3. REPORTER OFF CAMERA SAYING:

'What is your top pick for a safe haven now in this risk-off environment?'

4. PATRICK BENNETT SAYING:

'Look, I think the dollar is still a safe haven. The dollar is a safe haven currency. It's a safe haven financial instrument given the underpinnings of the U.S. economy. I think if we had to look somewhere wider, perhaps in the commodities space, then we'd be looking at food commodities. We think New Zealand and dairy commodities have been very, very strong. They continue with demand which is not so elastic to the ups and downs of investment.'

5. REPORTER OFF CAMERA SAYING:

'Name two other top safe havens - would natural gas be one of them?'

6. PATRICK BENNETT SAYING:

'Yeah look, I'm not sure about natural gas. But certainly we could look at retail or consumer stocks in China. China is trying to rotate its economy away from fixed asset investment to consumer demand. We saw the numbers this week that retail sales are still very strong. So consumer staples in China, we think, should outperform over the medium to long term. And economies or currencies which are leveraged to that.'

7. REPORTER OFF CAMERA SAYING:

'How are you trading the yen now, as some traders are finding haven in the Japanese currency in current environment?'

8. PATRICK BENNETT SAYING:

'Yes look, it's quite difficult to trade the yen from this point. Clearly the yen has weakened on the back of expectation that the Bank of Japan's aggressive monetary policy will engender some inflation in the next couple of years. What we've seen then is the yen move to very weak levels but without any results as yet. So we still believe there's going to be room to be selling the yen. But it's now a case of selling the yen into strength that there's weakness in the yen beyond 100 is going to be very, very difficult to achieve from here. So we think it's going to remain on a 90 handle against the dollar for some time.'

9. REPORTER OFF CAMERA SAYING:

'Several companies have flagged profit warnings recently. What are you expecting from this round of earnings season in China?'

10. PATRICK BENNETT SAYING:

'Look, I think that's a global phenomenon as well that earnings are under pressure. We have an excess capacity in the global economy. Industrial companies are clearly finding it more difficult as China rotates away from this investment-heavy cycle into consumer demand. So I think for industrial companies, manufacturing companies, given global demand is very slow, given global excess of capacity, I think you're going to see a downside on those earnings reports.'