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
Of robot overlords and paperclips
Artificial intelligence is invading our world one conversation at a time. True to form, head of multi-asset investments David Coombs is hedging his bets about how it will affect his portfolios – and his job.
7 mins
Peak China? It’s been and gone
Peak China? That’s the question raised in the latest edition of the Economist. Rathbones head of asset allocation Oliver Jones summarises why we think the days of super-charged Chinese growth are over.
3 mins
Artificial returns?
The resilience of stock markets in the face of a banking crisis and potential recession is perplexing many investors – Rathbone Global Opportunities fund manager James Thomson included. He wonders whether the promise of AI might have something to do with it.
2 mins
A step change for the UK?
It’s not just high-street shoppers who are getting more cost-conscious. Investors too are focusing more on how much value they’re getting for their money. Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Alan Dobbie asks whether this could signal a step-change for UK stocks.
4 mins
Olyniaeth – it’s Welsh for succession
The market to supply new-fangled electronics for tomorrow’s smarter, cleaner cars has captivated head of multi-asset investments David Coombs for several years. But in a costlier world, could there also be a resurgence in keeping older, dirtier, yet more economical, vehicles running for longer?
4 mins
Three reasons to stick with investment grade corporate bonds
Last month’s banking sector volatility rattled investor confidence in some bank bonds. But, as fixed income fund manager Stuart Chilvers argues, there’s still a compelling case for investing in higher-quality corporate bonds.
3 mins
The world has changed
Failing lenders bring back memories of the dark days of 2008 and 2009. Rathbones head of multi-asset investments David Coombs explains why he thinks a global financial crisis is unlikely, but notes how technology has made banking easier for customers and harder for bankers.
4 mins
21st Century rumour mill
Work intrudes on head of multi-asset investments David Coombs’s vacation time as Silicon Valley Bank collapses. He marvels at just how fast information – and misinformation – can spread and suggests social media may be a risk to financial stability.
5 mins
A tale of two wars
Decades of trade between the US and China boosted living standards considerably in both nations, but their relationship has been fraying for some time. Rathbones head of multi-asset investments David Coombs believes this unravelling is keeping inflation elevated.
4 mins
Sustaining sustainability
As the hard slog of winter drags on, sustainable multi-asset investment specialist Rahab Paracha considers whether ESG issues and sustainable investing can sustain their strong momentum this year.
5 mins
Back to the cycle
The era of virtually zero percent interest rates is over. Rathbones head of multi-asset investments David Coombs believes that means a return to boom and bust, and he outlines which businesses are most at risk.
4 mins
Guarding your assets
Watching the Super Bowl in the wee hours of the morning makes senior multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown misty eyed for his days playing guard somewhere deep in Essex and the past. It’s also a good reminder that not all gridiron players – or investments – are built for the same jobs.
5 mins