Ukraine crisis: what does it mean for asset allocation? February 28, 2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is having devastating human consequences, has increased the risk of a stagflation environment – one of slowing economic growth but high inflation. How should investors prepare for this possible scenario? Our analysis reveals which asset classes are likely to outperform if it comes to pass. Our live blog on the Ukraine crisis [...]
UK inflation to trend higher as firms hoist prices amid cost barrage February 28, 2022 Inflation will trend even higher in the coming months driven by UK businesses lifting prices to cope with intensifying wage pressures, reveals a fresh survey published today. Nearly half of firms are expecting to hike pay at least one per cent over the coming year, leading to them raising prices to protect margins, according to [...]
Week ahead: Russia-Ukraine conflict to drive market swings in City February 27, 2022 Wild market swings are expected to characterise the week ahead in the City as investors respond sharply to developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Last week, the FTSE 100 registered its worst day in 20 months on Thursday, the day Russian troops flooded into Ukraine, before staging a comeback on Friday to end the week down [...]
Saturday Sitdown: Mortgage guru Colin Bell on why Brits are ready for 50 year fixed rates February 26, 2022 Following the Bank of England’s recent interest rate rise and all the implications it has for the property and mortgage market, one firm is offering loans at a 30 year fixed rate, with plans to offer 40 and 50 year fixes in the near future. Sold as a massive lifestyle enabler and gives people much [...]
UK life insurers to have ‘tens of billions’ freed up by scrapping EU’s Solvency II regulation February 25, 2022 UK life insurers will be freed up to invest “tens of billions” of pounds more after the decision to scrap the EU’s Solvency II regulation post-Brexit, City minister John Glen has said. Glen, writing in City A.M., today said changes to the much-maligned EU regulation will unleash investment into “growth-supporting infrastructure like wind farms and [...]
Ukraine invasion: markets one step closer to “peak uncertainty” February 25, 2022 We’re all shocked and saddened by events in Ukraine. Although we are talking here about the impact on markets, we acknowledge first and foremost that this is a human crisis with potentially awful consequences for millions of people. However, at times like this our clients expect us to stay level headed, which is what we’re [...]
Energy prices spike after Russia invades Ukraine February 25, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a full-blown incursion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring raising fears the UK's living squeeze will tighten.
What’s behind value’s recent renaissance? February 24, 2022 The debate over the value and growth investment styles has been intense in the opening weeks of this year. Value’s relative outperformance has been eye-catching, with the MSCI World Value index returning -1.3% in January compared to -9.3% for MSCI World Growth. In some ways though, this is just a continuation of last year’s oscillations [...]
Bank of England Governor Bailey doubles down on pleas to go easy on pay demands February 23, 2022 The Governor of the Bank of England yesterday doubled down on his pleas to workers to temper pay demands despite households facing the worst cost of living squeeze in a generation. Andrew Bailey added to his previous comments when responding to a grilling by MPs, also calling on businesses to exercise restraint during price setting [...]
Preventing entrenched inflation will require inflicting economic self-harm, IMF warns February 23, 2022 Preventing inflation from spiralling out of control will require dealing a heavy blow to the UK’s economic health, the world’s economic watchdog warned today. Getting inflation back down to the Bank of England’s two per cent target will come with the trade off of squeezing households’ living standards and choking economic growth, the International Monetary [...]