Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Money showers
After the pandemic response, outstanding UK government debt is now as big as the whole economy. But that’s not necessarily an alarm bell, says chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth, as long as it’s spent on the right things.
6 mins
Review of the week: KA-boom
Stock markets are soaring higher as the developed world starts to relax lockdowns. Yet the virus is spreading rapidly in the emerging world, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth, and there’s still a chance of a second wave in the West.
6 mins
Review of the week: Injustice burns
America seems chaotic from the top down. Yet, if you look hard at the bottom – main street – you can get a better idea of how the US is faring, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
6 mins
Review of the week: A matter of perception
While we’re all theorising about whether looking at a castle is the best form of optometry, really important issues are going unaddressed. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth stays focused on what matters.
7 mins
Review of the week: The most important resource
7 mins
Review of the week: Influencing behaviour
The government has unveiled its lockdown exit plan to mixed reception. Our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth thinks attention is best paid elsewhere.
7 mins
Victory is coming
This Friday we remember the victory of an older generation. They won peace and reshaped the world, becoming a timeless example for humanity, argues our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
7 mins
Review of the week: Too much oil
Crazy phenomena like negative oil prices will keep popping up over the coming months, warns our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. Investors will ignore most of it, but when they do panic, stocks could return to their March lows.
7 mins
Review of the week: Peak sadness
Stocks have shot higher even as people are laid off in droves and the virus continues to spread. Investors aren’t cheering misery, our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth explains, they are trying to predict the future.
6 mins
Review of the week: The Bramble Bush
With the virus outbreak still in full swing, some Western nations are already mulling a relaxation of lockdown. In the US, that has led to a showdown between the layers of government. These are tough decisions to make, notes our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
6 mins
Review of the week: The Eye of the Storm
Europe’s COVID-19 cases seem to be peaking, the UK has at least another fortnight to go and America’s problems seem to be only beginning. The world is now in a race against the clock, notes our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
7 mins
Stopping the Exodus to Uncle Sam
What’s needed to stem the flow of UK companies rushing to list abroad? Head of multi-asset investments David Coombs has some suggestions.
3 mins
Locking in bond income for longer
Bond fund manager Stuart Chilvers explains why lower interest rates won’t sap corporate bonds’ juicy income yields straightaway.
4 mins
Power to the people
Making our economies cleaner requires a complete overhaul of how we produce energy. Yet how we transmit, store and conserve that power is equally important, argues sustainable multi-asset investment specialist Rahab Paracha.
4 mins
Are you concentrating?
Ten huge stocks account for almost a third of the US S&P 500. But concentration risk is even more pronounced in the UK market. Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund manager Alexandra Jackson explains that UK smaller and mid-sized stocks offer much better breadth.
3 mins
Mending fences
With his chickens scattered and fence repairs added to the list of weekend activities, Multi Asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte ponders whether previously traumatised investors in Japan’s stock market will finally feel safe returning to the coop.
5 mins
Building the UK’s future?
A home of one’s own seems like just a dream for an increasing number of property-obsessed Brits. Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Alan Dobbie considers whether a growing political consensus could help increase the supply of homes, bringing this dream to fruition for many – and more sustainable returns for homebuilders.
4 mins
The demographic challenge
The UK is ageing steadily as the large Baby Boomer generation arcs towards retirement and birth rates among younger people continue to fall. Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Carl Stick argues these shifts are already exerting immense pressure on so many aspects of life and the economy: pensions, taxation, vital services like healthcare, the jobs market, you name it…
5 mins
Close encounters of the bond kind
Think you might have missed the boat on bonds after a sharp rebound in markets? Head of fixed income Bryn Jones outlines three reasons why bonds are a still compelling investment choice for 2024 – particularly if you’ve got money parked in cash.
4 mins
Nvidia: from pastime to new paradigm
A business created to make computer game graphics more beautiful stumbled into driving AI, one of the most important technologies of the 21st century. Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund manager David Harrison explains what all the fuss is about.
5 mins
New frontiers
Bingeing on Apple TV’s counterfactual space race saga For All Mankind, senior multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown is reminded of the technological advances that come from defence industries.
5 mins
Business bedfellows
In love as in investment, the dependable day-to-day stalwart is always better than the mercurial surprise artist. So argues our in-house ‘Romeo’, multi-asset portfolios fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte.
5 mins
The post-Christmas appetite for bonds
The taste of turkey has faded in January, but corporate bonds have not. Rathbone Ethical Bond fund manager Stuart Chilvers explains how investors are still gobbling up bond issuance.
3 mins