Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Downcast, but out (spending)
The UK slumps into recession even as people’s spirits and retail sales rise. Meanwhile, trouble may be brewing in American inflation.
5 mins
Review of the week: American stocks pop
The US S&P 500 stock market index broke through 5,000 for the first time, hitting a record high last week as investors shrugged off worries that interest rates may not fall as fast as many had hoped.
6 mins
Review of the week: Don’t tread on me
US jobs strength pushes back interest rate cut forecasts yet further. Meanwhile, higher rates and changing business needs keeps squeezing commercial property.
8 mins
Review of the week: The oracle of Threadneedle Street
No change to monetary policy is expected this week, but investors will be eager for any clue about the Bank of England’s thoughts on inflation and interest rate cuts.
6 mins
Review of the week: Shoppers on strike?
UK retail sales slumped in December while inflation went in the other direction. Is the UK now in recession, albeit the mildest of the mild?
6 mins
Review of the week: Gimme shelter
Housing costs make up a big part of people’s spending, yet they can often obscure what’s going on with inflation.
7 mins
Review of the week: An old-fashioned Santa rally
A gruelling year for investors actually delivered decent returns. But how much of that strong performance is in anticipation of 2024?
6 mins
Review of the week: Rolling Returns
A Santa rally is in full swing for stocks and bonds, capping off a year of large swells for investors. While returns flow, climate policy is ebbing at COP28 in Dubai.
8 mins
Review of the week: Why not deflation?
A bout of runaway inflation could persuade some people that no inflation would be better than any at all. That’s a dangerous path to take.
7 mins
Review of the week: Happiness is Relative
After a miserable year for living standards, Brits are feeling much better about their lives and their futures. But how much will that move the dial for retail spending and economic growth?
6 mins
Review of the week: Which path are we on?
Updates on inflation and unemployment arrive this week. Will they give investors more clarity about the paths of interest rates?
5 mins
Review of the week: Up like a balloon
Central bankers have sat on their hands for another month, sending the prices of stocks and bonds soaring. While interest rates seem to have peaked, the full effects of previous increases are yet to be felt by households and businesses.
6 mins
The vicar of drawdown
Too much lockdown TV is getting to David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. But he may have a point about the varied performance of risk-rated funds and models during the corona crisis.
4 mins
Do your homework
Toiling in the shadows is the lot of investment managers and analysts, argues our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. For all the client meetings and webcasts, the most important job is finding quality investments. Which is why he had to travel to sunny California last year…
2 mins
Bond life
From his kitchen table our head of fixed income Bryn Jones gives his perspective on the bond life, where emergency stimulus has brought signs of life, but credit remains in a critical condition.
3 mins
No fooling this April
The traditional day of jest seems too bizarre to be true this year. Putting jokes to one side, our multi-asset portfolios fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte explains what he’s doing about income.
4 mins
All hail the awe-zoom tech
With most people in the UK bundled into lockdown, technology has once again proven itself. Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, gives thanks to his team’s saviour.
3 mins
A sustainable stimulus
As Vladimir Lenin said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”. Our stewardship director Matt Crossman tries to grasp what the current pandemic means for the planet and our plans to save it.
3 mins
Working perfectly from home
With markets roiling round the world, the London office has decamped to their ranches on government orders. Rathbone Multi-Asset Portfolios fund manager David Coombs marvels at today’s technology.
3 mins
Sold out
With lots of things getting mispriced in the midst of the coronavirus panic, our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth extols the virtues of keeping calm and looking beyond the current disruptions.
3 mins
Just paying lip service?
David Harrison, manager of the Rathbone Global Sustainability Fund, having seen first-hand the growing trend of responsible capitalism in America, makes the case for getting up close to see whether companies are really serving all their stakeholders, or just paying lip service.
3 mins
Escaping the ivory towers
The latest ‘tech innovation’ may seem compelling, until you leave the group think echo chambers of London’s ivory towers. Head of multi-asset investments David Coombs considers how looking beyond the M25 can help us see what’s going on in the real world.
3 mins
Valentine’s stay
The novel coronavirus epidemic is threatening thousands of lives as well as the global economy. Multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte explains how the multi-asset portfolio funds are impacted by this humanitarian crisis.
5 mins
Sun, sea and … S&P 500 put options
You should be fixing your roof when the sun is shining, as the saying goes. Our multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown has been booking his holidays when the rain is pouring. His golden rule: don’t gamble, take the insurance.
3 mins