17 August 2017
Investing
What does the Amazon-WFM deal mean for the retail landscape in the US?
If it succeeds, Amazon’s pending USD 13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market (WFM), a leading US organic retailer with […]
17 August 2017
16 August 2017
Investing
Solid US economic data but tough rhetoric roils markets
After slowly easing into the summer lull, market volatility unexpectedly picked up in the week ending 11/08/17. The S&P 500 […]
09 August 2017
Markets and central banks
Equity market trends in July 2017
Equities continued to rally in July The MSCI AC World index rose by 2.7% in US dollar terms in July, […]
08 August 2017
Markets and central banks
US dollar – set to fall further or ready for a rebound?
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently released its updated global economic forecasts, contending that ‘the recovery in global growth is […]
04 August 2017
Markets and central banks
It is what happened after China’s Financial Work Conference that matters more
As the five-yearly National Financial Work Conference ended on 15 July 2017 and many observers focused on the announcements on […]
02 August 2017
Markets and central banks
Crude oil: starting to rebound?
Crude oil prices had a positive week (10/07/2017 – 16/07/2017) with supportive inventory figures on the back of sustained demand […]
01 August 2017
Markets and central banks
Seen as more dovish, Janet Yellen shifts focus back to below-target inflation
Fed Chair Yellen, delivering testimony to the US Congress, had been expected to stick to her guns with a hawkish […]
21 July 2017
Markets and central banks
Reflationary talk on the wane at the ECB’s monetary policy meeting
Overview At their monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt on 20/07/17 the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council announced that : […]
19 July 2017
Investing
When bad news becomes good news for Chinese bonds
China’s onshore bond yields have risen sharply since late 2016 when bond prices started dropping due to inflation fears fuelled […]
18 July 2017
Markets and central banks
US economic outlook: fortunately, there is more than Trumponomics
In the wake of the US presidential elections, the prospect of tax cuts, deregulation of the financial sector and infrastructure […]
18 July 2017
Investing
Eurozone economy: looks good, can hard economic data match the surveys?
Looking at leading indicators and the eurozone economic outlook, the scene is set for strong growth, in our views. Taken […]
18 July 2017
Markets and central banks
Implications of the glacial pace of unwinding non-conventional policies
In the immediate future, we do not necessarily see any risks arising from the current, very slow pace that central […]
18 July 2017
Investing
Again and again : political news in the US and Europe
Trumponomics in 2016 gives way to Trumpidation in 2017 The key worry for many in the markets following Donald Trump’s […]
18 July 2017
Investing
Low volatility, high valuations
Volatility of US equities is at historic lows The one thing we can say with certainty is that whenever the […]
18 July 2017
Investing
Structural reflections on the mid-year market outlook
Lessons to be learnt from the performance of Japan’s financial markets There are many reasons for the disappointing performance of […]
18 July 2017
Investing
Emerging markets: it all depends on China
Did you know that the technology sector now represents 25.6% of the MSCI emerging market equity index (relative to 23.2% […]
18 July 2017
Investing
Our asset class preferences at mid-year 2017
Which assets stand to benefit? The conundrum continuing to face investors is that valuations for most asset classes remain high […]
18 July 2017
Investing
Japan: a two-sided economy
In one aspect, Japan is somewhat comparable to the US: conditions in the labour market are tight, but wages are […]
