Economic and market insight
Review of the week
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
Review of the week: Bourses bounce back
This year has been grim so far, yet equities recovered much of their losses last week. Meanwhile, oil prices are all over the place and COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in the East.
7 mins
Review of the week: Changing point
Commodity markets are fuelling further inflation and putting global growth at risk. Central banks have shown they want to unwind years of emergency monetary policy regardless, sending bond yields higher.
7 mins
Review of the week: The tie that binds
The war in Ukraine has united typically quarrelsome European states against Russian aggression. Meanwhile, unity in President Vladimir Putin’s nation has been enforced through the strength of an authoritarian regime.
7 mins
Review of the week: Defiance
Russia’s invasion at first wrong-footed both Ukraine and the West, but the defenders’ resolve has been tougher than expected. Now, financial sanctions are hitting Russians hard.
8 mins
Review of the week: Back to the shops
UK retail sales bounced back after a COVID-crushed Christmas. Yet the longest income squeeze since Sir Robert Peel was Prime Minister is set to intensify in the coming months.
6 mins
Review of the week: War looms
Talks to ward off conflict over Ukraine are failing and a Russian invasion is reportedly imminent. Is it brinkmanship or a real risk?
5 mins
Review of the week: Bank on a tough year
The Bank of England seems poised to raise interest rates aggressively to combat inflation, yet its explanations don’t square with its own forecasts and analysis. Expect fewer hikes than the market currently implies.
7 mins
Review of the week: Tighter money
The years of loose money are coming to an end. That will cause some short-term upheaval in markets, but if economies remain strong stocks should soon bounce back.
7 mins
Review of the week: Getting ahead of the Fed
Bond yields have been climbing almost as much as investors’ worry levels. Pausing to remind ourselves what central bankers are trying to achieve – and how stocks typically react – is helpful.
6 mins
Review of the week: Just like the old days
With COVID cases starting to roll over – in the UK at least – and investors settling down for some old-fashioned Fed watching, everyone is hoping 2022 will be a bit more like pre-pandemic times.
6 mins
Review of the week: A strange and profitable year
Another COVID-blighted year has passed. Yet, for all the turmoil, 2021 was a great one for markets.
5 mins
Zoltar Speaks
Strolling round the south coast on a half-term excursion, head of fixed income Bryn Jones’ kids stumble on a bit of advice for politicians wrangling over Brexit.
2 mins
In context
Investors seem to be flitting between fear and optimism in an increasingly erratic manner. Hopes for a soft-touch Federal Reserve seem to be driving most of the optimism, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
4 mins
Heart of cold
This Valentine’s Day our star-crossed multi-asset funds assistant manager, Will McIntosh-Whyte, re-examines a stock that threatens to 'be the one'.
3 mins
Year of the pig – the capitalist pig
In this new Year of the Pig, head of multi asset investments David Coombs celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit spreading across China and concludes that, despite communist roots, it may actually be doing capitalism better than the capitalists.
2 mins
Wrestling with hedges
After weeks of touring both the UK and the Continent to set out his team’s thinking for the year ahead, David Coombs has ended his journeys with a bang. Find out why our head of multi-asset investments was weirdly comforted to find himself in a hedge a few hundred metres from the M4.
3 mins
Ditch the models, on the road
In the first of his dispatches from the regions, our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, explains why he looks forward to the banter with IFAs. He also shares some of the pain that goes into getting out to see them.
3 mins
Losing control
Markets took a dive in December, but we think panicked investors may have got ahead of themselves. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth explains why things are relatively ok for global growth, but perhaps not so much for the UK.
4 mins
Don’t let 10% letters blow you off course
It was a brutal year filled with ups and a whole lot of downs. Multi-asset portfolio funds manager David Coombs explains how the team is facing 2019.
3 mins
2019: the year ahead. Maybe?
Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, gazes into his crystal ball as he prepares for 2019.
1 min
Sterling – where do we go from here?
From the Caribbean to Costa, multi-asset investments head David Coombs arrived back from holiday in time for another lurch downward for the pound. He explains why currency moves will be crucial to returns in January.
3 mins
Five things to consider on Boxing Day
As you tuck into some left-over turkey on Boxing Day, desperate to keep the conversation from drifting to Brexit, here’s our suggestion for five things to consider that we hope will help you and your loved ones have many prosperous new years to come.
5 mins
How to survive in the ‘brand’ new world
We’ve seen in our first two blogs in our series on brands how millennials are driving big changes in the consumer landscape, and some of the challenges posed to global branded goods – challenges faced by smaller and more personalised businesses like advisers too. In this final instalment, we explore how established businesses can thrive in this ‘brand new world’.
4 mins