Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: The Federal Reserve riddle
Fading strength in the labour market and services businesses have increased hopes that interest rates can still be cut this year. Everybody is watching the Fed watch the data.
5 mins
Review of the week: Taking stock of GDP
The great uncertainty over whether and when US interest rates will fall took a twist with first-quarter GDP. Much slower growth, offsetting dynamics and higher inflation are creating a puzzle.
6 mins
Review of the week: Spending the big bucks
The mean-average American family is worth $1 million after years of soaring growth, wealth and income. This matters for inflation, future interest rates and the strength of the dollar.
6 mins
Review of the week: Middle-Eastern tensions rise further
An Iranian missile attack on Israel was thwarted over the weekend. While markets are calm, risks of escalation linger.
6 mins
Review of the week: Is the door slamming on early rate cuts?
A blowout jobs report is tipping bets towards fewer US interest rate cuts this year. What happens if inflation continues to bounce higher this week?
4 mins
Review of the week: This rally is broadening...
A resilient economy is giving investors increased confidence to move beyond the Magnificent Seven and into corners of the market that have lagged. This broadening trend is very encouraging.
4 mins
Review of the week: Downward bound
After the flurry of central bank decisions last week, what did we learn about when (and how much) the big hitters plan to cut rates?
5 mins
Review of the week: Land of the rising prices
In a wave of central bank meetings this week, one of them is truly different. While all other developed world policymakers are pondering rate cuts, only Japan is considering rate hikes.
5 mins
Review of the week: Hazy data
Problems with UK labour surveys are making it hard to know the true rate of unemployment. Meanwhile, the Chancellor releases a tax-cutting Budget that leaves the next government with tough choices.
5 mins
Review of the week: Tax cuts or a conservative Budget?
The Chancellor hopes to narrow Labour’s yawning lead in opinion polls with a tax-cutting Budget. Giveaways may be stymied by a poor economy and higher costs of public services.
6 mins
Review of the week: Planning to fail
Obstructive planning laws are curtailing the supply of homes in the UK, the regulator says. Meanwhile, the quality of building is slipping, suggesting we’re wrapped up in the wrong red tape.
4 mins
Review of the week: Downcast, but out (spending)
The UK slumps into recession even as people’s spirits and retail sales rise. Meanwhile, trouble may be brewing in American inflation.
5 mins
The benefit or harm of AI is in its use
AI, like all technologies, is neither good nor evil. It’s a tool with the potential for both great benefit and great harm. Whether the good outweighs the bad will depend on how people use it.
4 mins
The risk in doing good
Diversity, equity and inclusion is important to ensure businesses get the best skills, avoid group-think and better understand their customers, argues our Multi-Asset Portfolios lead fund manager, David Coombs. But – as with anything – risks remain.
4 mins
Hoarding Cash
Why take risk when you can be paid 5% or more to leave your cash at the bank? Because you’re forgetting about tomorrow, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs.
5 mins
Squaring the dividend triangle
Striking the balance between delivering a tasty income today while sowing the seeds for higher dividends in years to come is the artful science at the heart of equity income investing. Rathbone Income Fund manager Alan Dobbie explains how he approaches the task.
4 mins
Barbenheimer, renewables and the power of hype
Rahab Paracha, sustainable multi-asset investment specialist, finds lessons for sustainable investors in Hollywood hoopla.
5 mins
What’s in a name?
Industry veteran David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments, gets cranky about lazy labelling and job name inflation as he dispenses 40 years’ wisdom to budding finance acolytes.
5 mins
The lights are still on for the US economy
Rathbone Global Opportunities fund manager James Thomson explains why he thinks the US economy may turn out to be brighter this year than feared. And can US stocks keep climbing if the economy slows, but doesn’t shrink?
4 mins
Nothing to fear but fear itself?
After braving Italian traffic, Head of Multi-Asset Investments David Coombs is in no mood to sit on the sidelines. But he worries that the fear-driven race to avoid missing the stock market’s few biggest winners could screech to a sudden halt.
3 mins
Time for a change
Much of the world’s water infrastructure has suffered from years of neglect and lack of investment. Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund manager David Harrison looks at the solutions.
4 mins
A far-sighted perspective on near-term bond market moves
Tilting towards shorter-term bonds has made sense as interest rates have marched higher. But Head of Fixed Income Bryn Jones explains why he’s now panning out to longer-perspectives and adding more interest rate risk (duration) to his funds.
5 mins
Live long and prosper?
We tend to view the ageing of our society as a worrying thing. Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Carl Stick favours a more positive spin that recognises that greater longevity gives us longer futures, widening our options to work, spend and save.
4 mins
Sustainability is about people, not just the environment
The planet and its climate get most of the attention with sustainable investors. Rathbones sustainable multi-asset investment specialist Rahab Paracha explains why improving people’s lives is perhaps more important and how that may even help solve our environmental problems.
4 mins