Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: A Lot Going On
There’s a veritable sea of moving parts out there in the global economy, which are keeping investors on edge. The big question is, how will they influence central bankers?
5 mins
Review of the week: Same World, Different Views
The US House of Representatives is struggling to agree on a new Speaker as the US ticks toward a shutdown of government. Strangely, stocks seem more perturbed by strong economic growth.
7 mins
Review of the week: A Cloudy Outlook
Big banks are reporting strong profits so far this quarter, but how will the rest of the market fare? And is higher-than-usual inflation making people glum?
6 mins
Review of the week: The Israeli-Hamas Conflict
This week has seen harrowing atrocities committed by the terrorist group Hamas against Israeli civilians. With so far more than 1,200 people reported to have been killed, this is the most serious cross-border attack Israel has faced in decades.
4 mins
Review of the week: Uncertainty spreads
Central bankers in the US and UK decided interest rates shouldn’t go higher in September; bond investors disagreed.
6 mins
Review of the week: Will interest rates plateau after peaking?
Will the big central banks making significant interest rate announcements this week follow the ECB’s lead and signal that rates have now peaked? And where might rates settle longer term?
6 mins
Review of the week: The good oil
Like virtually everything else, the cost of energy is much higher than it used to be. Combined with higher interest rates, it should keep squeezing economic growth in the coming months.
8 mins
Review of the week: Not the August planned
Hopes for a quiet summer were dashed by difficult-to-read economic data, swinging bond yields and holiday dramas.
5 mins
Review of the week: Soft landing?
Rather than a slow fade, the American economy produced a surprise surge. Yet with inflation within touching distance of the 2% target, US interest rates may still peak soon.
10 mins
Review of the week: Higher or Lower
Interest rate hikes for the US and Europe are almost certain this week. All major central banks are getting close to calling time on rate increases, but the UK is likely to be the last to do so.
9 mins
Review of the week: Running hot and cold
Inflation is falling nicely in the US, will British CPI follow suit this week? Meanwhile, China battles deflation as its economy stutters.
7 mins
Review of the week: Interesting times for bonds
Normally staid bond markets seem highly strung lately, but there are reasons to hope for some loosening up
5 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