Economic and market insight
Review of the week
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
Review of the week: The cavalry (finally) arrives
The pandemic is spreading rapidly in the US, which is now following the rest of the West into self-isolation. Beware of leverage and expect dividend cuts, warns our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
5 mins
Review of the week: Throwing the kitchen sink
The UK government has unveiled a phenomenal package of support to try to stem layoffs and backstop society. Now people have to lend their support to each other, argues our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
7 mins
Review of the week: The fury of the storm
The pandemic has pounded global markets, spreading fear and upending commerce and people’s lives. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth plots a path through the chaos.
8 mins
Review of the week: Markets slip on oil
As Saudi Arabia fires the first shot in an oil price war, our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth considers the longer-term implications in light of the Covid-19 epidemic. He also looks at the surprising results of Super Tuesday and the narrowing Democratic race for the White House.
5 mins
Review of the week: A long shadow
As markets take a respite from their worst week of selling since the dark days of the Lehman’s collapse, our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth considers the longer-term implications for investors, and also looks at the narrowing Democratic primary race to take on Donald Trump.
5 mins
Review of the week: Fear spreads too
As economic fears spread along with the widening global outbreak of coronavirus, our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth considers the implications for investors. He also ponders whether the economy will continue to be a ‘Trump’ card for the US President as November elections approach.
5 mins
Review of the week: No love lost
This year Valentine’s Day was clouded by news of Chancellor Sajid Javid leaving Number 11 and the ongoing spread of coronavirus around the globe. But the markets took it all in their stride, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
5 mins
Review of the week: Fisheries and finance
Will the pull of the heart prevail against the mind in Brexit negotiations? Will a nasty outbreak of flu be the start of a beautiful friendship between Trump and Xi? Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth is dubious.
7 mins
Review of the week: The king of viruses?
An aggressive flu has disrupted the Chinese New Year and put the world on high alert. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth thinks it’s a bit early to panic, but that could soon be overtaken by a fast-moving virus.
6 mins
Review of the week: America first
China and the US have signed a one-sided trade deal that has got investors excited about the year ahead. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth notes recession concerns have been well and truly supplanted.
6 mins
Less signalling – more manoeuvring, please
Capitalism is one of the most powerful forces in society’s arsenal, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. It has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the past 200 years. Time for phase two.
4 mins
A bleary-eyed awakening
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.
3 mins
Eating for two?
We’re all craving the end of lockdown and a bit of freedom. But Craig Brown, our multi-asset investment specialist, wonders just how many of us will be in the position to spend up large.
2 mins
Fun and GameStop in the bedroom
It looks like we’ll all be staying in this Valentine’s Day. But multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte is looking forward to some quality time away from the screens.
4 mins
China: will it be a bullish Year of the Ox?
As China celebrates the Year of the Ox, our head of asset allocation research Edward Smith considers the health of the world’s second-largest economy – and the resulting implications for global trade and financial markets.
5 mins
Will the dollar lose its perch?
As you may have seen in your clients’ portfolios, the US dollar has been tottering a little lately. Head of asset allocation research, Ed Smith, asks if this is a short-term wobble or whether the dollar may lose its perch after decades of dominance?
4 mins
Recovery’s winners and losers
As investors look ahead to a time when the pandemic will be over, Ed Smith and Sanjiv Tumkur, our respective heads of asset allocation and equity research, question whether equity markets are in the midst of a great rotation from ‘growth’ to ‘value’.
4 mins
Bitcoin: bearer bonds for the 21st century
A lockdown-induced Christmas TV binge didn’t extend quite as far the Wizard of Oz for our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs. But “the Great and Terrible” did come up in a conversation about bitcoin.
5 mins
2021: the year ahead. Maybe?
Well, 2020 didn’t go the way we all expected. Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, has tossed out his old fortune-telling teacup and reached for the magic 8-ball this year.
2 mins
A ‘brand’ new world
Head of equity research, Sanjiv Tumkur, considers how a new generation of consumers are leading long-established brands - the bedrock of portfolios around the world - to adapt a more sustainable approach and help shape a ‘brand’ new world.
3 mins
Spread your wings and fly away
With vaccines in the offing, many investors argue that inflation is just around the corner. Fill your boots with airlines, they say. Yet our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs has had his head in the 1970s lately, and it’s helped him spot a flaw in the plan.
4 mins
MiFID II and the implications for ESG investing
In June 2020, rating agency Morningstar reported that global investments in environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds had reached a record high of $1.06 trillion, with capital inflows into sustainable funds up 72% in the second quarter alone.
4 mins