Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Inflation persists
The price level is yet to find a ceiling, so the value of stocks and bonds have no floor. Markets will swing between hope and despair until inflation is inarguably falling.
6 mins
Review of the week: Is hot wage growth cooling?
Financial markets remain volatile as they try to gauge whether the healthy jobs market could stoke too-high inflation. Meanwhile, tensions between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his party are escalating sharply.
5 mins
Review of the week: So bearish, it’s bullish
Ever been so happy it makes you sad? Ever been so distraught it makes you smile? Humanity is complicated, which makes markets tough to read as well.
5 mins
Review of the week: Outline of a bear market
Stocks are flirting with levels that delineate a depressed market. The mood is gloomy and the risk of recession is real, but are investors pricing in too much bad news?
7 mins
Review of the week: The balancing act is back
Central bankers have spent years focussing their efforts on fighting deflation. Now that long-dormant inflation is back, they have to stop it from bedding in while avoiding sending the economy into recession.
6 mins
Review of the week: The dollar ascendant
US monetary policy is tightening, sending the greenback higher. This should ease US inflation even as it squeezes the costs of living and doing business for foreign markets.
6 mins
Review of the week: Behind the times
Central banks, squarely behind the curve, are preparing to raise rates swiftly. Inflation should be peaking, yet a European oil embargo is becoming more likely.
8 mins
Review of the week: The money squeeze
People are starting to react to increases in the cost of living, cutting non-essentials and spending less. Central banks are soon to follow suit by increasing interest rates further.
5 mins
Review of the week: A muddled view
The war in Ukraine has dampened global growth as waves of COVID-19 continue to roll across the world. Meanwhile, politics is back to the fore in Europe and America.
8 mins
Review of the week: Tipping the scales
Western central banks are trying to rebalance the scales in bond markets without causing a panic. Meanwhile, COVID-19 and bog-standard politics are still influencing markets in Europe and Asia.
8 mins
Review of the week: A pinch and a punch
Cost of living fears seem to be peaking in the UK as a raft of important protections end. How will the economy hold up as households and companies tighten their belts?
5 mins
Review of the week: An economic rerun of the 1970s?
The 1970s suddenly seem relevant again given soaring oil prices, high inflation and rising interest rates. But we’re not expecting a rerun of 1970s-style spiralling prices, sputtering economic growth and weak equity market returns.
6 mins
No-deal panic in Purton
As Brexit uncertainty descends into the ridiculous, head of multi-asset investments David Coombs finds himself in the strange position of hoping for a no-deal to bring some clarity.
2 mins
Roadkill II
It can be hard to spot the time flowing by as the days roll into weeks and months into years, laments multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte. And you’d better be careful, he warns, because inflation works just the same way.
3 mins
Negative interest rates: a ’70s rerun?
Are we entering another era of stagflation? As Swiss banks start to bill their rich depositors, maybe we’re already there, notes our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs.
3 mins
Too little risk – a dangerous thing
So much emphasis on ensuring people don’t take on too much investment risk could be creating a different problem, argues David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. Case study: dear old dad.
4 mins
Brexit reset
What would a Martian think of the Brexit argument – or the Hammersmith & City line for that matter? David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments, explains his thinking as Boris Johnson takes power in the UK.
3 mins
Time to break up?
The honeymoon for US tech giants may be over, but is it time to break up? Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth discusses the intensifying antitrust scrutiny of America’s tech titans and how their future may rest on political machinations.
3 mins
In pursuit of green
Sustainable investing isn’t just about avoiding the risks of outdated businesses or environmental PR disasters, explains our Global Sustainability Fund manager, David Harrison. It’s also about spotting opportunities that can be captured if you keep your eyes on the future instead of the past.
3 mins
10 years ago, I dreamed a dream
They used to call David Coombs crazy. When he set up our multi-asset funds 10 years ago, many people didn’t get why we were setting targets for return and risk that investors could hold us to.
3 mins
A ray of sunshine
David Coombs gets his grump on about the state of global politics. But our head of multi-asset investments is refreshed by the approach of a pragmatic and thoughtful businessman.
3 mins
Lights will stay on
Rathbones equity analyst Camilla Ayling reflects on the disruption to traditional retail, something of concern for investment managers when looking to invest clients’ funds in the sector. But it isn’t all about online, and Camilla points to a light at the end of the tunnel for some store-based retailers.
3 mins
Cooling Britannia
Edward Smith, our head of asset allocation strategy, sheds some light on Britain’s future in the world at this significant moment in history.
3 mins
Winner takes all
Our asset allocation strategy team considers whether the field of outperforming stocks is narrowing, and comes to an unexpected conclusion worth considering when advising your clients on investments.
3 mins