Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Here we go again
England will soon plunge back into lockdown. It shouldn’t be as economically painful as the first time around, says chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. But it won’t be good.
8 mins
Review of the week: The spooky season
Halloween is stuffed full of potential frights this year and a bit light on the fun. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth tiptoes around Brexit, US elections and earnings season.
6 mins
Review of the week: Sliced and diced
We all try to structure our financial affairs as efficiently as possible, so we have more money to do what we want with our lives. Yet sometimes our financial affairs start to affect the structure of our lives and our communities, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
8 mins
Review of the week: Predicting the unpredictable
Biden has taken the edge in the polls but previous experience begs the question: do polls really matter? Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, mulls the possible outcomes of the US election and the effectiveness of the UK government’s spending packages.
6 mins
Review of the week: Computer says no
The government started the fourth quarter with the political equivalent of a kitchen-sinking. Best to focus your attention elsewhere, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth, like better-than expected economic data and the potential for monetary stimulus.
5 mins
Review of the week: Time flies
There’s so much going on that it can seem like nothing in isolation makes any difference. That’s not true, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. Every decision matters.
6 mins
Review of the week: Post-holiday blues
As winter approaches, the news looks glum. Yet we should take heart from our ability to adapt, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
7 mins
Review of the week: Balancing act
The infectiousness of COVID-19 means economic growth is often bundled with new cases. Governments, people and businesses have to make hard choices, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth, and the conundrum isn’t going away soon.
6 mins
Review of the week: Otherwise fine
As summer winds down and the pandemic persists, governments are finding it hard to taper their support measures. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth is chipper enough, albeit with an umbrella under his arm.
7 mins
Review of the week: White House rescue
Congress failed to seal a benefit extension for unemployed Americans or figure out how to support cash-strapped states as the summer recess looms. It fell to the President to come up with a contested stopgap.
7 mins
Review of the week: Control the message
Corporate results fared well during lockdowns, yet they are still well below pre-pandemic levels. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth examines why gold has hit record highs and why ‘riskier’ banks have done better than vanilla ones.
7 mins
Review of the week: Foxes and storks
Investors have piled into gold as the reality of US-China diplomacy starts to resemble Aesop’s fabled fox and stork. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth also ponders whether US tech shares are priced for perfection as he looks ahead to some big earnings results this week.
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