Mobius: Blame The Internet For Deflation

Deflationary pressures have been at work in the US for some time now, part of why the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates so low. And Templeton Asset Management’s Mark Mobius says the Internet is to blame.

Speaking at Morningstar’s investment conference recently, Mobius said that Internet-based businesses like Uber and Amazon are creating disinflationary and/or deflationary pressures, according to ETF.com. “Central banks can’t find a reason to raise rates as inflation is going down. And my belief is prices are coming down because of the Internet, and communication,” he said. “I’m not sure interest rates will go up, and if they do, whether they will sail is the big question. And we have to be very cautious about that. If they do go up fast, it will be a disaster for markets.”

Mobius also said the Fed can’t let the dollar get much stronger or it will ‘kill’ exporters. He recommended having an above-average allocation to emerging and frontier markets, with 40 percent in emerging markets and 15 percent of that in frontier markets, with a five-year horizon, ETF.com reports.