Economic and market insight
Review of the week: Fortune-telling statistics
Review of the week: Tug-of-war
Investors grapple with change as inflation rides higher and economic growth bounces back. Central bankers must come to terms with the new environment as well or risk making bad decisions.
Review of the week: Bonds go bananas
Bondholders sell government debt aggressively as inflation concerns mount, but are investors overpaying for inflation protection?
Review of the week: Furlough’s end
Arguably the greatest welfare programme in UK history has come to an end. That should bring clarity to labour markets and free up workers for more resilient businesses.
Review of the week: The price of money
Higher inflation is starting to leak into central bankers’ plans for interest rate hikes and ‘tapering’ of QE. Meanwhile, the UK suffers an energy crisis as the COP26 climate summit approaches.
Review of the week: Breathing space
The children have returned to classes and the adults seem to be drifting back to the office. The pandemic still looms large though, affecting travel, spending and taxes.
Review of the week: Are labour markets working?
Labour markets are struggling to get to grips with new post-pandemic supply and demand dynamics. Meanwhile, tighter scrutiny is increasing tech companies’ costs of doing business.
Review of the week: Red dawn
China reminds everyone that communists like to meddle in markets. Meanwhile earnings are booming in the West as the recovery rolls on despite investor nervousness.
Review of the week: Reaching for the heavens
Virgin Galactic pushes the frontiers of tourism yet higher with a successful passenger shuttle flight into the mesosphere. Miles below, COVID-19 continues to spread.
Review of the week: Celebrations, American style
US markets make new records just in time for Independence Day. While Americans take a day off, it seems a good time to take a look at a tough corner of the UK labour market.
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Earnings are booming in the West as the recovery rolls on despite investor nervousness.
Recent inflation headlines have made for uncomfortable reading, and volatility picked up as investors remained sceptical of policymakers’ messaging. But we don’t think rising inflation is here to stay as there are too many other phenomena that will push it down.
America is opening up along with the spring blossoms, and a strong summer of spending seems to be on the way. The rebound in fortunes has helped the S&P 500 reach new highs which, as chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth notes, go hand in hand with rising yields.
Bond yields and a new season’s flowers both sprung up last month, heralding an end to the dark days of lockdown winter. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth ponders the big question on investors’ minds – does this also foreshadow a prolonged period of higher inflation?
After a busy start to the year there’s still a lot of uncertainty swirling around in markets. But economies tend to bounce back hard after sombre periods, and hope remains that our eventual return to ‘normal’ will be no different.
A roller-coaster of a year finished on a high note for the markets, and we start 2021 with a sense of relief that one of the most difficult years many of us have ever experienced is behind us.
With a clutch of vaccines on the way soon, equity markets were in a buoyant mood in November. But there are still a lot of things we don’t know – and even some things we don’t know that we don’t know…
Equities fell in October as investors came to terms with tighter lockdown restrictions, but hopes for a new round of US stimulus under President-elect Joe Biden have buoyed markets, and Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth reckons we should take heart.
With summer fading into memory, a long uncertain winter of social distancing lies ahead. It’s easy to feel gloomy, but as chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth argues, we should try not to buy into the doom.
As summer winds down and the pandemic persists, governments are finding it hard to taper their support measures.
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Good COP, bad COP?
The eyes of the world will be watching the COP26 global climate summit next week. Our stewardship director Matt Crossman asks: what will make it a good COP? And how will we know if it’s a bad one?
Demanding supply chains
Reopening economies have strained global networks of distribution and upended labour markets. Silver linings though: it’s saved our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs £85.
Green eating
Environmental impacts, health awareness and growing intolerances are rapidly changing people’s appetites. Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, has been gluten-free since before the kids started doing it, so he believes he has some wisdom to share.
Fuelish
The petrol crunch has caught out Will McIntosh-Whyte, our multi-asset portfolios fund manager, much to the glee of his electric car owning stepfather.
That old-time service
Hours-long queues for petrol focuses the mind on the importance of businesses that have been dismissed as ‘old-economy’. Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Carl Stick explains why he’s been adding to a few of them this year.
Stretching subscriptions
Subscription-driven cash flows have been the gold standard for many industries for decades now. Senior multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown takes pause at coffee-as-a-service.
Spicy stocks and birthday treats
Punchy valuations for high-growth stocks are at risk of getting upended by any rise in bond yields. Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, explains why he’s building up his cash.
China’s challenging consumer
Only comedians can insult their customers, notes head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. If change needs to come, stewards usually get better results.
Lego, bricks & mortar
Kids’ building blocks and workplaces both offer a chance to learn. Senior multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown makes a case for the office while tripping over his son’s toys.