Measure for measure

Global equities experienced a mixed month in September with the US market reaching new highs, despite escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, and the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates for the third time this year.

Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports are stoking market volatility, but there are also longer-term implications for economic growth in the US and beyond.

The idea unconscious biases influence decision-making in financial markets is nothing new. But behavioural finance has taken on new relevance in the age of Big Data and artificial intelligence.

As tech titans such as Google and Amazon attempt to conquer new markets and conglomerates continue to dominate in emerging economies, we look at the ingredients that determine whether diversification succeeds – or fails.

The data economy is evolving rapidly, bringing investment opportunities in network infrastructure, memory, storage and cybersecurity, as Jason Bohnet explains.

From Russian hackers interfering in foreign elections to high-profile corporate breaches, people are waking up to some harsh realities around data. We look at what the European call for a ‘Magna Carta’ for data has led to, and explore the investment implications of the growing scrutiny over data privacy.

While interest rates appear to be on a gradual upward trajectory in much of the world, UK financial markets were forced to scale back expectations of tighter monetary policy as softer domestic economic data appeared to give the Bank of England pause for thought.

An improvement in relations between the US and North Korea is good news for investors, writes Ed Wiltshire.

James Balfour considers the implications of a tie-up between Sainsbury’s and Asda on the grocery retailing sector.

Global stock markets fell for a second month in a row in March, placing them in negative territory year to date, as worries over rising trade tensions between the US and China unnerved investors.

With sentiment towards equities having taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, we consider where markets may be heading and what action, if any, investors should take.

Global shares suffered their first monthly decline in over a year as the prospect of looser US fiscal policy weighed on bond markets amid concern US interest rates will rise faster as inflation creeps up.