Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: The king of viruses?
An aggressive flu has disrupted the Chinese New Year and put the world on high alert. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth thinks it’s a bit early to panic, but that could soon be overtaken by a fast-moving virus.
6 mins
Review of the week: America first
China and the US have signed a one-sided trade deal that has got investors excited about the year ahead. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth notes recession concerns have been well and truly supplanted.
6 mins
Review of the week: Sky rockets in flight
Stock markets went bananas last year as China and the US appeared to finally agree on trade. But then the killing of a top Iranian general set off geopolitical fireworks. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth mulls the consequences.
7 mins
Review of the week : A Christmas Carol
Boris Johnson has won a strong mandate to get on with his Brexit deal, sending sterling shooting higher. But there’s something unusual going on with UK stocks, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
5 mins
Crunch time (again)
We don’t know about you, but over the past year or so we got into the habit of buying our travel money extremely far in advance of holidays.
7 mins
Nightmare on Tottenham Court Road (Street)
There’s a creaking and a groaning in the night in Swindon. Head of multi-asset investments David Coombs is living with a ghost of retail past that not even store credit can bury.
5 mins
Why the recovery will be green
Rather than being a reason to press pause on the transformation of economies and societies, Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund manager Noelle Cazalis makes the case that COVID-19 could well be a catalyst for growth in sustainable solutions and the bonds that will fund them.
3 mins
Changing the planet
A growing number of people are questioning how their pensions and other savings are invested. Rathbones’ stewardship director Matt Crossman explains why he firmly believes we can make the world a better place through our investments, and how best to do it.
4 mins
A healthy recovery
Stewardship director Matt Crossman makes the case for a healthy and responsible recovery – building back better from COVID-19.
5 mins
Ch…Ch…Changes?
They say a change is as good as a holiday. Yet head of multi-asset investments David Coombs has just come back from a fortnight away and thinks the status quo will suit his investments just fine.
4 mins
Storm in a tech cup
After months cooped up inside, our multi-asset portfolios fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte headed away for a well-deserved Cornish holiday … where a brace of storms kept him cooped up inside.
3 mins
Destructive capitalism
The pandemic has radically changed how we work. That makes propping up struggling companies a dangerous pastime for the government, argues our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs.
4 mins
Biden his time
Former Vice President Joe Biden – well ahead in the US presidential election polls – is due to announce his running mate next week. Investors will be wary of any nod to the left wing of his party, but our head of asset allocation Ed Smith notes the large hurdles a progressive agenda would face even if Biden wins.
3 mins
The great property shakeout
COVID may be about to rock the property world to its foundations. Such dislocations tend to create opportunities for investors, notes head of multi-asset investments David Coombs, but they don’t come without risk.
5 mins
Where the wind blows
Rathbone Global Sustainability Fund manager David Harrison discusses the rise of renewable energy and how it is making a more sustainable world.
3 mins
Lost in translation
All this time at home has got head of fixed income Bryn Jones thinking back to a trip to Kerala, and how much their native language has in common with our economic recovery. Just don’t ask him to translate your doctor’s orders into German.
3 mins
Style versus substance
The UK is spending billions of pounds to make schools and hospitals more energy efficient. This is great news for people and the environment, yet head of fixed income Bryn Jones reckons we could be bolder – and smarter – in cutting our energy needs even further.
4 mins