How coronavirus could change our working lives (and the climate) March 24, 2020 | City Talk financial markets. The epicentre of the shock is clearly being felt in travel related industries, as people cancel or put holiday plans on hold, and businesses cancel conferences and move to remote working. Remote working tools widely available As an investor looking at climate change trends, these changes in working practices are interesting in an [...]
Coronavirus to spark “severe” global recession March 20, 2020 | City Talk The coronavirus is having a severe effect on global economic activity and amidst considerable uncertainty we have attempted to gauge the impact and updated our forecasts. We now expect to see the world economy contract this year by 3.1%, before rebounding by 7.2% in 2021. The forecast incorporates a severe recession in the first half [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: Are opportunities beginning to emerge? March 18, 2020 | City Talk After the dramatic market falls of the last few weeks, valuations are looking more appealing. But the risk of a prolonged recession means investors should remain cautious. Last week I said valuations are still not cheap enough to warrant taking more risk. After the large falls we’ve seen this week, is this starting to change? Part of [...]
Keith Wade: Is the world now heading for recession? March 13, 2020 | City Talk As I returned to the UK last weekend, my taxi driver talked of panic-buying and impending food shortages. Having wondered if I had stepped off at the wrong airport, it subsequently became clear that his thinking was very close to that of the markets. On Monday (9 March), equities sold off and credit spreads widened [...]
How should investors act in a crisis? March 11, 2020 | City Talk With markets reeling from the effects of coronavirus, Schroders’ Group CIO, Johanna Kyrklund, highlights what investors should focus on. Coronavirus is the latest threat to market harmony that once again poses a timeless question: how should investors act in a crisis? Whether you’re a fund manager, responsible for billions of pounds of other people’s money, [...]
How stock markets perform after heavy falls March 10, 2020 | City Talk Coronavirus concerns have swept through financial markets. Globally, stocks have endured some of their worst performances since the days of the financial crisis. For instance, the US stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, fell 7.6% in one day on 9 March 2020, its fifth worst trading day since 1988. On the same day, [...]
How does the stock market perform when the VIX fear gauge surges? March 3, 2020 | City Talk The spread of the coronavirus has sent shock waves through global stock markets. Alongside plummeting share prices, the VIX index, the market’s so-called fear gauge, has shot up. At the time of writing, on 28 February, it stands at over 40. This is very high compared to long-term norms. Since 1990, it has averaged 19 [...]
Does the January effect really exist? February 12, 2020 | City Talk January 2020 was either a good month or a bad month for investing. While 10 of the 23 countries in the MSCI World index of global developed markets generated a positive return, more than half lost money. Returns varied between +6.1% (Portugal) and -5.0% (Austria). Past Performance is not a guide to future performance and [...]
What the return of Middle East tensions could mean for markets January 8, 2020 | City Talk Last week’s assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas forces, has reignited tensions in the Middle East and sent tremors through asset markets. The oil price has risen sharply to over $70 a barrel at the time of writing, amid concerns that tensions in the region will impact supply. Meanwhile, [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown recruits Schroders veteran to board December 16, 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown has recruited Schroders’ global head of distribution, John Troiano, to join its board as an independent non-executive director. Troiano will join the board when he retires from Schroders at the end of 2019, after 38 years at the firm. He will also join the board of Hargreaves’ subsidiary asset managers, Hargreaves Lansdown Fund [...]