3 reasons why the world economy is slowing August 6, 2018 | City Talk Losing momentum Although near-term activity indicators remain stable, growth has been less synchronised in 2018 than it was in 2017 when major regions were all accelerating. Asia and Europe appear to be slowing, and Friday's jobs data in the US suggests that the world economy is entering a soft patch. We see three main factors [...]
Infrastructure Investment Trusts: are the complex risks worth taking? August 6, 2018 | City Talk Infrastructure assets such as roads, power networks, hospitals and schools are often backed by long-term revenue streams from local or central government. More conservative investors are drawn to them in their search for reliable income streams that rise with inflation. A motorway river bridge can, for instance, represent a near-monopoly route, and may have scope [...]
Stocks care about policy, not personalities August 6, 2018 | City Talk Chaos in the Trump White House! First, Gary Cohn resigned as Director of the National Economic Council. A couple days later, President Trump fired Foreign Minister Rex Tillerson. Then we saw Scott Pruitt also step down. Some claimed these losses would cause markets to lose confidence in the administration. Hogwash! These are examples of some [...]
Last Week in the City: Trade fears re-emerge August 3, 2018 | City Talk Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (30 July to 3 August 2018). Interest rates were raised in the UK for the second time since the financial crisis, but the move was widely expected. The earnings season continued. Growth in all regions was [...]
July’s top and bottom performing funds August 2, 2018 | City Talk The threat of global trade wars continued to weigh on sentiment towards Chinese equities during July. However, US stocks have remained resilient. President Trump has always said that America could withstand a trade war easier than most thought and the market, at least so far, appears to be in agreement. Mr Trump believes that because [...]
ICOs and Brand July 31, 2018 Last week we looked at Advisers. This week I want to talk about brand and why it’s important to an ICO. Do not underestimate how big an indication the quality of the brand and presentation of an ICO can give you on the quality of the project and it’s team. In a sense, it’s not [...]
All work colleagues have irritating office habits, but there are ways to make your co-workers bearable July 31, 2018 If an email titled “New research reveals” lands in your inbox, don’t open it. Most of this stuff is so bad that a glorious tweet comes to mind: “Jesus regrets dying for each of you”. Recently, however, I broke this rule and read a “study” on irritating office habits – the morbid appeal of this [...]
‘Thinking Fast and Slow’: Two big lessons for investors July 27, 2018 | City Talk On The Value Perspective blog, we aim to extol the merits of value investing, the art of buying shares that are unloved by the market for no good reason. The summer holidays – and this guest column on City AM – offer an opportunity for us to highlight investing books that can help keen students [...]
Eight retirement planning traps and how to avoid them July 26, 2018 | City Talk 1. Not reviewing your pensions It is important to review your pension situation regularly. If you find you have a shortfall, you may still be able to take steps to increase the chances that your pension pot will be able to achieve the income you want when you retire. The Money Advice Service has a [...]
We are not at the end of the cycle July 25, 2018 | City Talk The last few months have been characterised by a more elevated level of financial market volatility than we saw over the previous 12-18 months. Rising geopolitical risk had much to do with this development. Donald Trump has raised the prospect of trade wars and the election of a populist government in Italy has increased tensions [...]
