Is this market losing its marbles? July 4, 2019 | City Talk The chart that caught the eye of the Schroders Multi-Asset Investment team this month shows that the relationship between the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) and the S&P 500 index has broken down. The PMI is based on a survey of purchasing managers from more than 300 manufacturing firms. It is a widely followed [...]
Is the financials sector priced for disruption? June 26, 2019 | City Talk We think all industries are likely to be vulnerable to disruption in the coming years. We’ve seen it already in retail and media, for example, and this is likely to be a growing theme in markets for the long term. Financials, and banks in particular, are currently facing disruption to their business models. We can [...]
Chance to buy one of the world’s largest retailers cheaply June 20, 2019 | City Talk By Rodney Hobson from interactive investor. After a temporary technical hitch, this highly resilient company should soon shake off the blip. Rodney Hobson is an experienced financial writer and commentator who has held senior editorial positions on publications and websites in the UK and Asia, including Business News Editor on The Times and Editor of Shares magazine. He [...]
Stiglitz’s 2020 vision: Left-wing economist makes a pitch for the soul of the Democrats June 17, 2019 Who will take on Donald Trump in next year’s battle for the White House? At the time of writing, an absurdly long list of Democratic hopefuls is dominated by Joe Biden, the septuagenarian former vice president who currently enjoys a huge lead in the opinion polls. Read more: President Trump endorses Boris Johnson as next PM [...]
‘Return of the CDO’ – how scary could that sequel prove? June 3, 2019 | City Talk CDOs 2 (complete, of course, with the tagline ‘Just when you thought it was safe to go back into collateral debt obligations’) is unlikely to have filmgoers queuing round the block – and yet ‘Overconfident group reckon they can do better than previous set of unfortunates in the face of all warnings and evidence to [...]
Three reasons why the UK stock market looks compelling May 31, 2019 | City Talk Whatever the opposite of a sweet spot is, many investors think UK equities are currently in one. With Brexit still unresolved, some have put the market in the “too difficult” basket. While it is understandable to fear uncertainty, as stock pickers we embrace the mis-priced opportunities created by it. The global nature of the market [...]
Markets brace as Trump threatens Mexico with 25 per cent tariffs over immigrants May 31, 2019 US President Donald Trump is set to slap fresh tariffs on all Mexican imports next month, in a shock move that could threaten a recently-agreed major trade deal between the two sides. Read more: Mueller says 'not an option' to charge Trump over Russia inquiry The White House warned late last night that the US [...]
Investors given second chance to buy a piece of Star Wars May 30, 2019 | City Talk By Rodney Hobson from interactive investor. This iconic brand has rewarded shareholders handsomely, and could do again, argues our overseas expert. Investors could be forgiven for thinking they had missed their chance to buy into The Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) when the shares shot up 10% one April day, and then went on to set new [...]
London takes second place in Schroders Global Cities 30 index despite Brexit uncertainty May 28, 2019 | City Talk London has overtaken Hong Kong to be ranked second in the latest Schroders Global Cities 30 index, despite economic and political uncertainty in the UK. The ranking reinforces London’s position as a significant contributor of the UK economy and highlights the UK capital’s attraction as a location for real asset investing. London remains the highest-positioned [...]
Economists are united about Trump’s trade folly May 14, 2019 In George Bernard Shaw’s words, if all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion. Scour the pool of practitioners of the dismal science, and you will find supporters and detractors for almost every economic theory, from free markets to socialism. The one exception, however, is protectionism. Whether from the left [...]