Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Sprouts of spring
Flowers, hopes and yields are rising as spring approaches. Still, the UK government is only very cautiously reopening as vaccinations continue apace.
7 mins
Review of the week: Profits are back
Company profits are bouncing back earlier than expected. How quickly will our economies come back to life once vaccinations are finished? And how different will they be?
5 mins
Review of the week: Ghosts of the past
Are we due a re-run of the Roaring Twenties? And if so, what does that mean? A look back at the world’s last post-pandemic recovery and a bit more besides.
8 mins
Review of the week: Like birds in the sky
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The GameStop upheaval on Wall Street is part of the ongoing democratisation of finance. Ignore its effects at your peril.
7 mins
Review of the week: Everything is up
Markets have had a stellar run, despite mixed news on inoculations. It’s in everyone’s interests for asset prices to remain high, but that’s no guarantee they will stay that way. As always, diversification is key.
6 mins
Review of the week: E pluribus unum
One President will be sworn in as his predecessor is set to be impeached. What matters for the US now is a united front from lawmakers to support the economy against the latest wave of COVID-19.
7 mins
Review of the week: A Christmas like no other
While we were all cooped up inside, everything was happening out there. Breakthroughs on Brexit and COVID-19 collided with political strife and big moves in bond yields.
7 mins
Review of the week: Playing fair by trade
Brexit was always going to be hard. The tortuous negotiation of a trade deal highlights the difficult compromise at its heart: the freedom of sovereignty or the prosperity that comes with smooth trade.
7 mins
Review of the week: Making sense of the numbers
Stock markets shot the lights out in November as news of promising vaccines hit the wires. The realities of distribution have lessened the glow a bit recently, leading investors to start reassessing their approach.
7 mins
Review of the week: Thanksgiving may be a super-spreader; will vaccine news bring holiday cheer?
Thanksgiving may be a super-spreader event this year, as governments around the world try to plan their way through the upcoming festive season. But investors have been given a boost from good vaccine news.
5 mins
Review of the week: The race to roll out a vaccine is on as markets soar
News of a potentially viable vaccine is welcome, yet markets have rocketed back extremely quickly considering it is yet to be approved. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly once again, time is of the essence.
7 mins
Review of the week: Telling stories
When it comes to grabbing headlines and stealing attention, reality is at a disadvantage to imagination. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, ponders what it means for politics and investments.
8 mins
Safety first
The UK is facing a triple crisis: a pandemic, poor leadership and crippling risk aversion that’s spreading throughout everyday life. Multi-asset portfolio funds lead manager David Coombs argues that we are pushing risk into the future.
4 mins
The horror of anomalies
Some companies are starting to let wishful thinking take over their reporting. Head of fixed income Bryn Jones takes a dim view of EBITDAC.
3 mins
Lego Man helps himself
After one month of lockdown, multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown’s hair was unkempt. After two months, it was totally out of control. It’s time for self-help.
4 mins
Have a little faith
Bad news is feeding many pessimists at the moment. Head of fixed income Bryn Jones sees a different, more optimistic, picture – and he’s investing in it.
3 mins
Maradona monetary policy is over
Lack of live football has our head of fixed income, Bryn Jones, looking back over past classics. That got him thinking about an old theory of monetary policy that may now be outmoded.
4 mins
Responsible recession
With the world in lockdown and experiencing the worst recession in living memory Matt Crossman, our stewardship director, ponders whether the recent trend toward ESG was a luxury afforded by the longest bull market in living memory.
3 mins
Fallen angels
‘Fallen angels’ of the bond world are getting a better reception than the disgraced seraphim in Paradise Lost. Pondering the power of the Fed, our head of fixed income Bryn Jones is reminded of John Milton’s epic poem.
4 mins
Sofa, self-isolation and … S&P 500 put options
Instead of reclining poolside on a June holiday abroad, our multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown is resigned to a staycation. But there will no doubt be plenty of work to keep him and the multi-asset team very busy this year.
4 mins
A dog’s not just for lockdown
Credit markets have been a crazy place for the past couple of months. But our head of fixed income, Bryn Jones, has got a new friend to keep him (halfway) sane.
3 mins
Uncharted territory
During times of crisis, the way companies respond can have a major impact on society as a whole, not just their balance sheets. Rathbone Global Sustainability Fund manager David Harrison discusses why he believes companies with strong sustainability principles have a greater potential to weather the pandemic.
3 mins
The vicar of drawdown
Too much lockdown TV is getting to David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. But he may have a point about the varied performance of risk-rated funds and models during the corona crisis.
4 mins
Do your homework
Toiling in the shadows is the lot of investment managers and analysts, argues our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. For all the client meetings and webcasts, the most important job is finding quality investments. Which is why he had to travel to sunny California last year…
2 mins