Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Everything is up
Markets have had a stellar run, despite mixed news on inoculations. It’s in everyone’s interests for asset prices to remain high, but that’s no guarantee they will stay that way. As always, diversification is key.
6 mins
Review of the week: E pluribus unum
One President will be sworn in as his predecessor is set to be impeached. What matters for the US now is a united front from lawmakers to support the economy against the latest wave of COVID-19.
7 mins
Review of the week: A Christmas like no other
While we were all cooped up inside, everything was happening out there. Breakthroughs on Brexit and COVID-19 collided with political strife and big moves in bond yields.
7 mins
Review of the week: Playing fair by trade
Brexit was always going to be hard. The tortuous negotiation of a trade deal highlights the difficult compromise at its heart: the freedom of sovereignty or the prosperity that comes with smooth trade.
7 mins
Review of the week: Making sense of the numbers
Stock markets shot the lights out in November as news of promising vaccines hit the wires. The realities of distribution have lessened the glow a bit recently, leading investors to start reassessing their approach.
7 mins
Review of the week: Thanksgiving may be a super-spreader; will vaccine news bring holiday cheer?
Thanksgiving may be a super-spreader event this year, as governments around the world try to plan their way through the upcoming festive season. But investors have been given a boost from good vaccine news.
5 mins
Review of the week: The race to roll out a vaccine is on as markets soar
News of a potentially viable vaccine is welcome, yet markets have rocketed back extremely quickly considering it is yet to be approved. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly once again, time is of the essence.
7 mins
Review of the week: Telling stories
When it comes to grabbing headlines and stealing attention, reality is at a disadvantage to imagination. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, ponders what it means for politics and investments.
8 mins
Review of the week: Here we go again
England will soon plunge back into lockdown. It shouldn’t be as economically painful as the first time around, says chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. But it won’t be good.
8 mins
Review of the week: The spooky season
Halloween is stuffed full of potential frights this year and a bit light on the fun. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth tiptoes around Brexit, US elections and earnings season.
6 mins
Review of the week: Sliced and diced
We all try to structure our financial affairs as efficiently as possible, so we have more money to do what we want with our lives. Yet sometimes our financial affairs start to affect the structure of our lives and our communities, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
8 mins
Review of the week: Predicting the unpredictable
Biden has taken the edge in the polls but previous experience begs the question: do polls really matter? Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, mulls the possible outcomes of the US election and the effectiveness of the UK government’s spending packages.
6 mins
Summer days
It’s been a hot and sleepy summer punctuated by a few small scares, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. With a bit of luck, the trade-related worries should fade away over the rest of the year.
3 mins
Vive le domestique
Tour de France glory for a Welshman gets head of multi-asset investments David Coombs pining for what could have been and also reminds him to be grateful for team players.
3 mins
Tariff tangle
Trade threats and tech troubles have made investors nervous, but economies around the world remain healthy and relatively vibrant. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, says markets are likely to remain rocky, but that should provide opportunities.
4 mins
Common wealth
Could a rejuvenated commonwealth be the basis for a wider post-Brexit trading bloc? It would need strong, far-sighted leaders to bring it about, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs.
3 mins
Disentangling the social media spider web
As social media giants are increasingly forced to reveal how they are using people’s private data, users may start to have second thoughts about the benefits of an interconnected world, argues our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs.
3 mins
Me, myself and iPhone...
Obliging people’s vanity is a good investment strategy argues multi-asset assistant fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte. But beware of fickle fashion.
4 mins
Murder in the middle
Be unassailable in what you do or be the cheapest in the joint, because if you’re neither you’re nothing, warns David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments.
3 mins
Putting up with some insurance
You never buy insurance hoping you’ll be able to claim on it, but you buy it all the same argues our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs.
3 mins
The other ‘Beast from the East’
With cold winds blowing in from the Arctic, and Brussels too, our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs notes that visibility on the UK outlook is getting worse.
2 mins
Volatility revisited
After a rocky start markets have since settled, but possibly not for long. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, looks ahead.
4 mins
What will the year of the dog bring?
As China celebrates the coming of the Year of the Dog, our head of asset allocation research Edward Smith explains why the pace of growth in China matters for investors everywhere. Happily, we don’t expect any nasty bites.
4 mins
When inflation gets personal
Fears of inflation have spooked markets, but should you be worried? Rathbones have created a personal inflation calculator to help you see how your personal experience compares with the headlines.
2 mins