Latest fixed income thinking
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How bond investors can influence companies and governments to change their behaviour for the better
17 Mar 2022
Bondholders are starting to use their power to influence corporate behaviour in areas such as climate change, social inequality and biodiversity loss.
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China, inflation and politics: Three reasons for EM turbulence
24 Feb 2022
Emerging market assets have underperformed developed market peers over the past decade. While this has led to valuation gaps, selectivity will be critical, argues David Nowakowski.
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Untapped potential: Harnessing the full power of bondholder engagement
31 Jan 2022
Investor influence has long been confined to that of equity shareholders. Yet bondholders wield a lot of power. Can they harness it for positive change?
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The future of pharma: Increased returns or the age of biotech?
8 Dec 2021
After decades of low returns on research and development (R&D), the healthcare sector is producing a slew of innovations, from drugs to diagnostics. But with many coming from new entrants, will big pharmaceutical companies manage to keep up with the times?
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The cost of climate change: A big threat to sovereign debt?
3 Dec 2021
Governments around the world are struggling to avert a climate catastrophe. Regardless of whether they succeed, climate change threatens adverse consequences for government bonds, although market impacts are likely to vary.
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Credit: The long and short of ESG investing
25 Nov 2021
Credit is an asymmetric asset class. The upside is a coupon payment and limited capital appreciation; the downside is a default to zero. For all maturities and bond types, ESG integration can play a crucial role in mitigating risk.
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The long decline: Why trend economic growth is set to go on falling
12 Nov 2021
Trend rates of economic growth, which have been on the decline for decades in the world’s leading economies, look set to fall further. That will have big implications for governments, companies, households and investors, argues Stewart Robertson.
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COVID, China and the Fed: Diverging EM debt fortunes
3 Nov 2021
Relatively low vaccination rates, slowing Chinese growth, and terms of trade gains that may have largely peaked mean emerging market economies face several headwinds in 2022. Varying degrees of resilience and vulnerability are likely to result, argue Nafez Zouk and Carmen Altenkirch.
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Six themes for emerging markets
28 Oct 2021
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings are always a chance to reflect on the key trends affecting emerging markets. This year was no different. Carmen Altenkirch and Nafez Zouk engaged with policymakers and delegates to ascertain the real impact of the COVID pandemic on growth, fiscal metrics, and debt burdens.
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Regulatory shifts in China: A new fork in the road?
12 Oct 2021
Investors in China should view recent interventions by the government in the context of its history and longer-term strategic ambitions, argues Amy Kam.
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The taming of the few
27 Aug 2021
Despite accusations Big Tech companies are too powerful, their stranglehold across sectors will be hard to loosen. However, while investors need to keep a watchful eye on developments, Big Tech’s stranglehold on numerous economic sectors will be hard to loosen.
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What does the data say? Climate change, real yields and live TV
27 Aug 2021
In the latest instalment of our visual series on topical data themes, we look at the latest IPCC report, the significant decline in US real yields and people’s live TV versus streaming habits.
Bond Voyage: A journey into fixed income
Each month, our freewheeling fixed-income newsletter gathers insights from our high-yield, investment-grade, emerging-market and global sovereign bond teams.
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