Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: One-track mind
Inflation is all investors can think about right now, causing stock markets to wobble a bit. More focus should be on the steady march to recovery. There’s fun to be had.
5 mins
Review of the week: Power of positivity
Be the change you want to see in the market. When it comes to economics, sentiment is a heavy influence. That bodes well for the rest of the year.
6 mins
Review of the week: Getting there
An economic upswing is in force in the US and UK, even Europe is getting its act together. A full-blown boom may be on the cards for the rest of 2021, but that doesn’t necessarily mean smooth sailing for stock markets.
5 mins
Review of the week: Earning favour
Company profits are bouncing back fast in 2021, but we are not out of the COVID cavern yet. If the virus remains unchecked in South America and Asia, it may weigh on global growth.
7 mins
Review of the week: Fun, in a coat
The air is cold but the company is warm. England wraps up for the reopening of pubs and restaurants.
4 mins
Review of the week: A chill wind blows
A week of Fed watching cooled the recent rise in US Treasury yields, sending the dollar and sterling lower. Then British flags followed suit.
6 mins
Review of the week: Resurrection
The US economy is rocketing towards recovery, with jobs, confidence and output soaring amid a strong vaccination drive and stimulus. Next on the list, investment in clean energy.
6 mins
Review of the week: The delicate web of trade
The strands of trade connecting markets are as important to our living standards as they are fragile. A stranded ship in the Suez highlights both points at once.
5 mins
Review of the week: Calm in the eye of the storm
As the fight against COVID-19 continues, economies are beginning to reopen. Are we about to experience a typhoon of activity to mirror the huge slumps of 2020?
6 mins
Review of the week: Cheques and balances
The average American family has received $11,400 of government cheques since the pandemic began. That’s a big windfall for people and a difficult economic puzzle for the US Federal Reserve to decipher.
7 mins
Review of the week: America rising
The US is about to turn on the spending taps once again to combat the effects of the pandemic. This time it coincides with the reopening, so expectations for GDP growth are soaring – taking yields with them.
6 mins
Review of the week: Bond vigilantes
When bond markets move, governments and stock markets take note. A swift rise in yields has rattled equities and focused attention on countries’ swollen debt piles.
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