Three behavioural biases to watch out for during a crisis June 25, 2020 | City Talk Nick Kirrage walks us through the most common behavioural biases investors suffer from and how to overcome them. At the best of times, investors are at risk of succumbing to certain behavioural biases that can cloud judgment and impair decision-making. In highly stressful and unpredictable times like the Covid-19 crisis, there is a greater propensity [...]
Global stocks sink deep into red as second wave fears bite June 24, 2020 Global stocks plunged further into the red this afternoon as fears of a second wave of the pandemic mounted and investors worried about a slowdown in the global economic recovery. The FTSE 100 closed down 3.11 per cent as growing numbers of new infections compounded fears over a second wave of cases, sending jitters through [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall Street gain on signs of economic recovery June 23, 2020 The FTSE 100 closed up and Wall Street posted strong gains on Tuesday afternoon after new economic data signalled that business activity across the US, UK and the Eurozone was recovering faster than expected. Having risen steadily throughout the morning, the FTSE 100 pushed ahead in afternoon trading today as traders welcomed the most significant [...]
Which stock markets look ‘cheap’ after the rapid rebound? June 19, 2020 | City Talk We look at how five regional markets stack up on various valuation measures. Early last week, the short answer as to which markets looked cheap was: none. Despite everything that 2020 has thrown at it, at one stage the US stock market was up for the year overall. Other markets had also regained a lot [...]
Johanna Kyrklund: Is retail investor surge cause for caution? June 15, 2020 | City Talk With a combination of resurgent markets, seemingly ebullient retail investors and a bleak economic outlook, it may be prudent to tread carefully. It’s an old investment cliché that when your taxi driver starts giving you share tips, it’s time to sell. As someone who has been on the receiving end of cabbie investment advice during [...]
Q&A: Why do markets rise even when the outlook is bleak? June 9, 2020 | City Talk The global economy is on track for its worst recession in nearly 100 years, yet April was the market’s best monthly performance in three decades and the S&P 500 has just turned positive for 2020. Why? The first quarter of 2020 has been tough for the global economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 falters after last week’s rally as US stocks inch up June 8, 2020 The FTSE 100 faltered today after a strong rally last week, coming down from highs despite more countries moving to ease lockdown measures. The blue chip index dropped as much as 0.75 per cent following the open. The FTSE 100 later pared back losses to close down 0.085 per cent lower at 6,478. Meanwhile, US [...]
Slumping economy, surging stock market– what’s going on? May 18, 2020 | City Talk While tens of millions of Americans were losing their jobs, the stock market in April produced its best monthly return in over 30 years. We look at what’s behind this apparent disconnect. 36 million Americans filed for unemployment claims over the past eight weeks. US GDP plunged by 4.8 per cent in the first quarter [...]
Are we heading back towards single-use plastic because of coronavirus? May 7, 2020 | City Talk The battle against plastic pollution has rapidly gained momentum in recent years. Our 2018 report – Plastics phase-out: exposure through the value chain – analysed the challenges across sectors beyond the use of carrier bags, microbeads and straws. We concluded that the issue was not just a point of public concern but either an opportunity for forward-thinking [...]
How have sustainable companies performed during the Covid-19 crisis? May 5, 2020 | City Talk Rather than being a luxury or an optional extra, our analysis shows that a focus on sustainability would have helped relative performance during the recent market turbulence. Here at Schroders, our view of sustainable investing is that companies who treat their stakeholders fairly will see better share price performance than those who do not. There [...]