Economic and market insight
Review of the week
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
Review of the week: Christmas at risk
Déjà vu in the UK. With COVID cases mounting once again and restrictions piling up, everyone is wondering whether Christmas will be cancelled once again.
5 mins
Review of the week: Still plenty of punch in the bowl
Market sentiment has been swinging wildly lately, but in this week’s review chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth explains why he thinks the supply of festive spirits won’t run dry.
7 mins
Review of the week: It’s all Greek now
A worrying new strain of COVID-19 has upended confidence in economic recovery, the path of interest rates and potentially the arrival of Father Christmas.
6 mins
Review of the week: COVID season
It’s shaping up to be another winter tarnished by the virus. As if central bankers needed more complexity on top of huge government spending, upended supply chains and confused labour markets.
4 mins
Review of the week: A different climate
The outcome of COP26 has left many people feeling blue about our fight to stop global warming. But that disappointment actually shows how much has changed in a few short years.
6 mins
Review of the week: Big ambitions, bigger uncertainties?
The eyes of the world are watching COP26 for bold action on climate change. Meanwhile, the UK chancellor envisages a ‘new age of optimism’.
4 mins
Review of the week: Fortune-telling statistics
Official statistics are in flux as UK policymakers ponder their plans for the future. Meanwhile, third-quarter US company reporting is off to a great start.
6 mins
Review of the week: Tug-of-war
Investors grapple with change as inflation rides higher and economic growth bounces back. Central bankers must come to terms with the new environment as well or risk making bad decisions.
6 mins
Review of the week: Bonds go bananas
Bondholders sell government debt aggressively as inflation concerns mount, but are investors overpaying for inflation protection?
6 mins
Review of the week: Furlough’s end
Arguably the greatest welfare programme in UK history has come to an end. That should bring clarity to labour markets and free up workers for more resilient businesses.
5 mins
America blooms
America is opening up along with the spring blossoms, and a strong summer of spending seems to be on the way. The rebound in fortunes has helped the S&P 500 reach new highs which, as chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth notes, go hand in hand with rising yields.
4 mins
Just a passing fad?
Is sustainable investing here to stay, or will it fade during the next big downturn? After months of trying out a trendy new exercise bike, our fixed income manager Noelle Cazalis thinks sustainable investing is here to stay.
3 mins
Looking for canaries
Several big scandals over the past year have got our veteran head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, reminiscing again. But is that a canary he hears or tinnitus?
4 mins
Saving the world, one degree at a time
After a long and wet winter, our head of fixed income is resisting the urge to turn up the thermostat. Bryn Jones discusses how human activity has contributed to climate change.
4 mins
A drop in the ocean or start of a movement?
The UK government has announced one of the most ambitious green bond programmes in Europe. But is it enough? Fund manager Noelle Cazalis argues this is just the beginning.
3 mins
Sort by lowest price
Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Our multi-asset investment specialist, Craig Brown, is looking for a new car and is wary about the risks hiding under the bonnet.
4 mins
No tears for Boohoo?
It’s accepted as truth that no one can predict the unpredictable, but what about when companies behave badly? Rathbone Greenbank deputy head of research Kate Elliot says there are often signs that something might be amiss.
4 mins
A day in the life of a year at home
A year already? Our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs gives a flavour of his latter-day lockdown days and ponders an omnichannel working life.
4 mins
ESG: A package deal
From the outside looking in, sustainable investment analysis may seem like information overload. Amid all of the data, is it possible to see both the forest and the trees? Rathbone Greenbank deputy head of research Kate Elliot says yes.
4 mins
Businesses must power sustainability
Paying extra for basics is a luxury for most people, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. That’s why we must invest in companies whose technologies are driving down the cost of renewable options, paving the way for widespread change.
4 mins
Less signalling – more manoeuvring, please
Capitalism is one of the most powerful forces in society’s arsenal, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. It has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the past 200 years. Time for phase two.
4 mins
A bleary-eyed awakening
After a busy start to the year there’s still a lot of uncertainty swirling around in markets. But economies tend to bounce back hard after sombre periods, and hope remains that our eventual return to ‘normal’ will be no different.
3 mins