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
Another can gets kicked
Some optimism has helped to bolster markets which have rebounded from the dog box they were in. Julian Chillingworth, Rathbones chief investment officer, explains why we are cautiously confident but still mindful of the looming threats to global growth.
4 mins
Detachment from market mood swings
With markets lurching from greed to fear and back again, Rathbones head of multi-asset investments discusses the importance of having good shock absorbers in your portfolio.
3 mins
Actions speak louder than tick boxes
Mass reporting on ESG factors could backfire, warns David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. Better to have active engagement and a deeper understanding of the companies you invest in.
3 mins
Mixed signals
Equity markets are in a happy mood, climbing through a fog of uncertainty with omens of recession tolling from the bond market. Julian Chillingworth, Rathbones chief investment officer, explains why we think it still makes sense to stay invested, but with vigilance.
3 mins
Thinking for yourself
Don’t let robots blindly guide you, warns David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. Algorithms are great investors right up to the point when things change – which is more often than programmers would like.
3 mins
How smart is ’smart beta’?
Should you expect to get what you pay for when it comes to managing your clients’ investments? Julianne Smith poses the question - how smart is ‘smart beta’?
3 mins
Don’t bet the house on it
Rathbones’ head of asset allocation research Ed Smith explains why advisers should encourage their younger clients not to rely on property wealth when it comes to funding their retirements.
4 mins
Staggered
Theresa May has had almost as rough a week as our multi-asset funds assistant manager Will McIntosh-Whyte. Recuperating from a stag party, he wishes Brexit was as simple as his friend’s send-off to married life.
3 mins
Reality cheque required
Ed Smith, our head of asset allocation, looks at the savings shortfall younger generations are likely to face when they reach retirement, and what advisers and their clients can do about it.
3 mins
Beats me
Nothing hurts more than expecting a cheque yet receiving a bill. Unfortunately, this is happening to millions of Americans right now, explains chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
4 mins
Don’t blame the young
Ed Smith, our head of asset allocation research, debunks the myth that millennials have themselves to blame for the challenging financial futures they face, and provides a dose of reality for advisers and their clients of all generations to consider.
4 mins
Bad excuses for bad businesses
Almost two hours late and on his third pair of trousers, our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, isn’t in the mood for half-baked equivocations by UK company managers.
3 mins