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
Summer days
It’s been a hot and sleepy summer punctuated by a few small scares, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. With a bit of luck, the trade-related worries should fade away over the rest of the year.
3 mins
Vive le domestique
Tour de France glory for a Welshman gets head of multi-asset investments David Coombs pining for what could have been and also reminds him to be grateful for team players.
3 mins
Tariff tangle
Trade threats and tech troubles have made investors nervous, but economies around the world remain healthy and relatively vibrant. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, says markets are likely to remain rocky, but that should provide opportunities.
4 mins
Common wealth
Could a rejuvenated commonwealth be the basis for a wider post-Brexit trading bloc? It would need strong, far-sighted leaders to bring it about, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs.
3 mins
Disentangling the social media spider web
As social media giants are increasingly forced to reveal how they are using people’s private data, users may start to have second thoughts about the benefits of an interconnected world, argues our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs.
3 mins
Me, myself and iPhone...
Obliging people’s vanity is a good investment strategy argues multi-asset assistant fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte. But beware of fickle fashion.
4 mins
Murder in the middle
Be unassailable in what you do or be the cheapest in the joint, because if you’re neither you’re nothing, warns David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments.
3 mins
Putting up with some insurance
You never buy insurance hoping you’ll be able to claim on it, but you buy it all the same argues our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs.
3 mins
The other ‘Beast from the East’
With cold winds blowing in from the Arctic, and Brussels too, our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs notes that visibility on the UK outlook is getting worse.
2 mins
Volatility revisited
After a rocky start markets have since settled, but possibly not for long. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, looks ahead.
4 mins
What will the year of the dog bring?
As China celebrates the coming of the Year of the Dog, our head of asset allocation research Edward Smith explains why the pace of growth in China matters for investors everywhere. Happily, we don’t expect any nasty bites.
4 mins
When inflation gets personal
Fears of inflation have spooked markets, but should you be worried? Rathbones have created a personal inflation calculator to help you see how your personal experience compares with the headlines.
2 mins