Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: The delicate web of trade
The strands of trade connecting markets are as important to our living standards as they are fragile. A stranded ship in the Suez highlights both points at once.
5 mins
Review of the week: Calm in the eye of the storm
As the fight against COVID-19 continues, economies are beginning to reopen. Are we about to experience a typhoon of activity to mirror the huge slumps of 2020?
6 mins
Review of the week: Cheques and balances
The average American family has received $11,400 of government cheques since the pandemic began. That’s a big windfall for people and a difficult economic puzzle for the US Federal Reserve to decipher.
7 mins
Review of the week: America rising
The US is about to turn on the spending taps once again to combat the effects of the pandemic. This time it coincides with the reopening, so expectations for GDP growth are soaring – taking yields with them.
6 mins
Review of the week: Bond vigilantes
When bond markets move, governments and stock markets take note. A swift rise in yields has rattled equities and focused attention on countries’ swollen debt piles.
7 mins
Review of the week: Sprouts of spring
Flowers, hopes and yields are rising as spring approaches. Still, the UK government is only very cautiously reopening as vaccinations continue apace.
7 mins
Review of the week: Profits are back
Company profits are bouncing back earlier than expected. How quickly will our economies come back to life once vaccinations are finished? And how different will they be?
5 mins
Review of the week: Ghosts of the past
Are we due a re-run of the Roaring Twenties? And if so, what does that mean? A look back at the world’s last post-pandemic recovery and a bit more besides.
8 mins
Review of the week: Like birds in the sky
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The GameStop upheaval on Wall Street is part of the ongoing democratisation of finance. Ignore its effects at your peril.
7 mins
Review of the week: Everything is up
Markets have had a stellar run, despite mixed news on inoculations. It’s in everyone’s interests for asset prices to remain high, but that’s no guarantee they will stay that way. As always, diversification is key.
6 mins
Review of the week: E pluribus unum
One President will be sworn in as his predecessor is set to be impeached. What matters for the US now is a united front from lawmakers to support the economy against the latest wave of COVID-19.
7 mins
Review of the week: A Christmas like no other
While we were all cooped up inside, everything was happening out there. Breakthroughs on Brexit and COVID-19 collided with political strife and big moves in bond yields.
7 mins
Platforms are back, but not stagflation
In the midst of an unfolding humanitarian crisis, our thoughts are first and foremost with the people of Ukraine. But with an eye to our duty to our clients, we explain our views on the impact of the war and other big uncertainties investors are facing.
5 mins
Geopolitics and energy
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggering sanctions and potentially cutting off supplies of fossil fuels, the transition to clean energy just got more complicated.
4 mins
ESG: three confusing letters
The ESG acronym is everywhere now. But these three letters can spell a lot of confusion. Our sustainable multi-asset investment specialist Rahab Paracha explains why the recent war in Ukraine has prompted a new debate on what belongs in ESG funds.
4 mins
Are all the geeks American?
US tech firms have played a dominant role in driving stock market returns for several years. Co-chief investment officer Ed Smith asks: will future innovation continue to be concentrated in America? And where should investors look to for the next wave of tech innovation?
4 mins
Dialling it down
The war in Ukraine has impacted virtually all commodity prices. Households and businesses are already feeling the effects, notes David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments.
3 mins
Avoiding the hot air
Hydrogen power should be a powerful fuel of the future, which is leading to a lot of hype today. Our sustainable multi-asset investment specialist Rahab Paracha explains why investing through larger energy companies seems the best course for now.
5 mins
Is it time for a financial Plan B?
It’s been many years since inflation has given investors something to worry about. Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Carl Stick believes UK equity income sector may be an attractive antidote.
3 mins
Crypto Bowl 2022
Our multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown is an old-school New Englander from the northern tip of Essex. His penchant for gridiron leads him into a blitz of crypto ads.
4 mins
Out of touch
UK policymakers are engineering a big squeeze on UK households this year, warns head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. Globally driven inflation should pass on its own, tightening policy risks making it worse.
3 mins
It’s the economy, Cupid!
Investor affections are proving fickle. But our multi-asset portfolios manager Will McIntosh-Whyte argues that in love and markets, it’s the things that last that really matter.
4 mins
Hydrogen – the fuel of our future?
Hydrogen is the simplest and most prevalent element in our universe. Yet turning it into clean energy is complicated indeed, notes our sustainable multi-asset investment specialist, Rahab Paracha.
5 mins
In process we trust
A strong investment process is what gets you through ragged markets without making hasty, terrible decisions. But have you actually got a process, or is it simply a bunch of preferences?
3 mins
