Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: The price of money
Higher inflation is starting to leak into central bankers’ plans for interest rate hikes and ‘tapering’ of QE. Meanwhile, the UK suffers an energy crisis as the COP26 climate summit approaches.
8 mins
Review of the week: Breathing space
The children have returned to classes and the adults seem to be drifting back to the office. The pandemic still looms large though, affecting travel, spending and taxes.
7 mins
Review of the week: Are labour markets working?
Labour markets are struggling to get to grips with new post-pandemic supply and demand dynamics. Meanwhile, tighter scrutiny is increasing tech companies’ costs of doing business.
4 mins
Review of the week: Red dawn
China reminds everyone that communists like to meddle in markets. Meanwhile earnings are booming in the West as the recovery rolls on despite investor nervousness.
6 mins
Review of the week: Reaching for the heavens
Virgin Galactic pushes the frontiers of tourism yet higher with a successful passenger shuttle flight into the mesosphere. Miles below, COVID-19 continues to spread.
5 mins
Review of the week: Celebrations, American style
US markets make new records just in time for Independence Day. While Americans take a day off, it seems a good time to take a look at a tough corner of the UK labour market.
7 mins
Review of the week: Midsummer mojo?
Stock markets have regained their positive momentum, but don’t expect a balmy and tranquil summer ahead.
4 mins
Review of the week: Federal foresight
The US central bank’s nod to the surging American recovery frightened markets last week. These wobbly moments could become a longer-term fixture of the global recovery.
6 mins
Review of the week: Laborious statistics
Jobs are the key to true recovery and the best clue to the path of longer-term inflation. Meanwhile, the great vaccination rolls on.
7 mins
Review of the week: A changing tune
After an austere run for many years, the mood music for global companies seems to have stepped up a beat. Businesses are splashing the cash and investing for a new future.
5 mins
Review of the week: Making a change
Breaking the inertia of old habits can be revitalising. Brits are up for a change and that could spark a regional economic revival.
5 mins
Review of the week: Stuck in inflation fixation?
Inflation concerns aren’t receding despite policymakers’ best efforts. Expect more inflation scares to trigger further stock and bond market volatility.
6 mins
FIT FOR LONGER WORKING LIVES?
As the holiday season winds down and we get back to our desks, we may have mixed feelings about recognising that longer lifespans will probably keep us working for longer. Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Carl Stick looks at some of the innovations that might help us stay in fine fettle.
4 mins
Taxes, beaches and bonds
A flurry of new UK government spending raises concerns that Labour will return to its tax and spend habits. Multi-Asset Portfolios Fund Manager David Coombs mulls whether current trends will put interest rate cuts on pause.
3 mins
Guess who’s back?
Former President Donald Trump is the odds-on favourite to win the US election in November, despite the Democrats’ decision to bring on a last-minute substitute. Flashbacks to the bad old days of the pandemic help Multi-Asset Fund Manager David Coombs remember the playbook of dealing with him.
5 mins
Record rotations in stocks and English Euros hopes
Multi-asset fund manager David Coombs channels some empathy for Gareth Southgate, as he looks to put together a portfolio that can achieve optimal performance over the long haul, but may look out of touch during periods when market momentum is against you.
6 mins
Things can only get better for UK equities
Labour will form the next government in the UK. While it may take time, new ideas could help solve the nation’s long-standing lack of investment and help boost the stock market from its doldrums, argues Rathbone Income Fund Manager Alan Dobbie.
4 mins
The end of a long winter for UK stocks?
Could fortunes be turning for British stocks, asks Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund Manager Alexandra Jackson. As the UK prepares to vote in the sunshine, investors seem more optimistic than they’ve been for years.
3 mins
An electric future
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone – or gets super expensive, notes equity investment specialist Michael Cumberlidge. Demands on our electricity grids are going to grow rapidly in coming years, so we need to invest in them now.
5 mins
Can less be more?
Rathbone Income Fund Manager Carl Stick argues that relentlessly busy bees aren’t always as productive as they seem. Might the answer be to do fewer things better?
4 mins
AI: just what the doctor ordered
Since joining our Multi-Asset Team earlier this year as a fixed income analyst, Sally Hoang has really enjoyed the cross-asset lens that’s used when analysing investments. Combined with her background as a pharmacist, it helps her understand the potential for AI in healthcare.
4 mins
Can sustainable bonds offer shelter from the storm?
Sticky inflation and wild swings in rate-cut expectations have tested investors’ mettle over the last few months. Assistant Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond Fund Manager Christie Goncalves explains why she believes sustainable bonds could be one corner of the fixed income market offering welcome resilience.
4 mins
Are govvies as exciting as murder in the Mediterranean?
Government bonds have given investors whiplash as their yields bounce around the place like a psychopath in 1950s Italy. Yet multi-asset portfolios fund manager David Coombs explains why he’s holding on tight.
5 mins
Challenger comebacks
Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund equity analyst Robbie Carr marvels at the speed of an FA Cup comeback. It makes him wonder if UK small and mid-sized companies could soon post a rapid recovery of their own.
2 mins