Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Like a stone
The mini-budget will drastically reduce taxation and increase borrowing. It has rattled everyone, from the backbenches to bond markets. Will the gamble pay off?
6 mins
Review of the week: The Queen’s people
Hundreds of thousands of people queued for hours to pay their respects to the late Queen ahead of her funeral on Monday.
4 mins
Review of the week: A platinum reign
A long and honourable reign has ended. We are deeply saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and our thoughts are with the Royal Family.
7 mins
Review of the week: Now what, Prime Minister?
After a lengthy political vacuum over the summer, incoming prime minister Liz Truss must move fast to get to grips with a daunting set of challenges. An energy price cap (costing billions) seems inevitable.
8 mins
Review of the week: Bailey’s warning
The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street is putting off a ghoulish vibe, giving people the chills despite the summer drought.
6 mins
Review of the week: England’s pride
A faultless tournament from the English women’s football team lands a team of dreamers a top-shelf prize, offering a welcome ray of good news in a tough year.
7 mins
Review of the week: All eyes on the US
The eyes of the world’s markets are firmly on the US as it gears up for a critical week of economic data releases and corporate earnings announcements.
5 mins
Review of the week: Hotting up
The central banks’ fight against inflation blazes on, now joined by boiling weather all over the Northern Hemisphere. Why does Europe have the toughest path ahead of it?
6 mins
Review of the week: No, Prime Minister
It’s bye bye for Boris after one scandal too many, yet it shouldn’t affect UK markets much if at all. Meanwhile, the Bank of England is making sure British banks are as safe as houses.
7 mins
Review of the week: A tale of halves
It was the worst six months in 50 years for US stocks, yet the market is still comfortably higher than before the pandemic struck. Risks have risen, but there’s also room for optimism.
6 mins
Review of the week: Back to the future
A solid drop in bond yields helped boost stocks and reminds us of the earlier days of ultra-modern monetary policy. Meanwhile, gas prices see-saw on the Atlantic fulcrum.
6 mins
Review of the week: Growth fears rise
With inflation running hot, central bankers are gearing up to hike interest rates fast. But this is worrying investors who think the economy may not be able to take it.
6 mins
The vicar of drawdown
Too much lockdown TV is getting to David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. But he may have a point about the varied performance of risk-rated funds and models during the corona crisis.
4 mins
Do your homework
Toiling in the shadows is the lot of investment managers and analysts, argues our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. For all the client meetings and webcasts, the most important job is finding quality investments. Which is why he had to travel to sunny California last year…
2 mins
Bond life
From his kitchen table our head of fixed income Bryn Jones gives his perspective on the bond life, where emergency stimulus has brought signs of life, but credit remains in a critical condition.
3 mins
No fooling this April
The traditional day of jest seems too bizarre to be true this year. Putting jokes to one side, our multi-asset portfolios fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte explains what he’s doing about income.
4 mins
All hail the awe-zoom tech
With most people in the UK bundled into lockdown, technology has once again proven itself. Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, gives thanks to his team’s saviour.
3 mins
A sustainable stimulus
As Vladimir Lenin said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”. Our stewardship director Matt Crossman tries to grasp what the current pandemic means for the planet and our plans to save it.
3 mins
Working perfectly from home
With markets roiling round the world, the London office has decamped to their ranches on government orders. Rathbone Multi-Asset Portfolios fund manager David Coombs marvels at today’s technology.
3 mins
Sold out
With lots of things getting mispriced in the midst of the coronavirus panic, our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth extols the virtues of keeping calm and looking beyond the current disruptions.
3 mins
Just paying lip service?
David Harrison, manager of the Rathbone Global Sustainability Fund, having seen first-hand the growing trend of responsible capitalism in America, makes the case for getting up close to see whether companies are really serving all their stakeholders, or just paying lip service.
3 mins
Escaping the ivory towers
The latest ‘tech innovation’ may seem compelling, until you leave the group think echo chambers of London’s ivory towers. Head of multi-asset investments David Coombs considers how looking beyond the M25 can help us see what’s going on in the real world.
3 mins
Valentine’s stay
The novel coronavirus epidemic is threatening thousands of lives as well as the global economy. Multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte explains how the multi-asset portfolio funds are impacted by this humanitarian crisis.
5 mins
Sun, sea and … S&P 500 put options
You should be fixing your roof when the sun is shining, as the saying goes. Our multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown has been booking his holidays when the rain is pouring. His golden rule: don’t gamble, take the insurance.
3 mins