Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Painting a picture
The wait for US interest rate cuts is over. Everyone expects the US Federal Reserve to move this week, the question is how far will it go?
1 min
Review of the week: The comfort blanket of lower interest rates
Stocks are down on underwhelming US economic numbers, but the central bank is likely to ride to the rescue.
1 min
Review of the week: Sudden market jolt gives way to tentative calm
Markets started wild as recession fears rose, yet became more orderly as last week progressed. Will the calm remain?
7 mins
Review of the week: A seismograph for US economic tremors
Stock markets around the world are being rocked as investors take fright about whether America is headed for recession in the coming months. Yet why is Japan the epicentre?
8 mins
Review of the week: Time to cut?
After months of waiting, there’s a strong chance that interest rates may fall in the UK this week. Across the Atlantic, the longed-for cuts won’t be till the autumn, if markets are correct.
6 mins
Review of the week: Biden bows out
After weeks of pressure, President Joe Biden has abandoned his bid for re-election. Will there be a battle for the Democratic nomination at next month’s party convention in Chicago, or will his successor be coronated quickly?
7 mins
Review of the week: Is the door opening to us rate cuts?
Political violence in the US is overshadowing last week’s big moves in the biggest US stocks, and widespread gains for smaller stocks too.
6 mins
Review of the week: Labour waltzes to victory
Sometimes polls are right and sometimes polls are wrong. Last week, we saw classic examples of both.
5 mins
Review of the week: The wave
The right-wing Rassemblement National was the big winner in the first round of French elections, but the most conclusive vote comes this weekend. Before then, the UK votes on its own Parliament.
7 mins
Review of the week: Political football
France goes to the polls for the first round of voting, the two candidates for the White House spar and the Euro knockout phase begins.
6 mins
Review of the week: Getting ahead of the Fed
The US Federal Reserve rows back on the potential for interest rate cuts even as inflation improves. Meanwhile, the French election also reverberates through bond markets.
7 mins
Review of the week: The year of the election heats up
The Year of the Election is already providing warning signs to expect the unexpected. Even when outcomes aren’t a huge surprise, painful (if temporary) pitfalls may lie ahead.
7 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
No bongs but no tears – it could be okay
Big Ben may not be bonging when the UK leaves the EU, but our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs reckons there’s room for some quiet confidence.
3 mins
Johnny-come-Januaries
The new year always drives well-intentioned yet poorly sustained get-fit-quick schemes. That leads multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte to wonder about the durability of subscription service customers in a downturn.
3 mins