Contemporary alchemy

With an ageing population, rising debt and vulnerabilities in the property market, China risks following Japan’s path from runaway growth to financial crisis and stagnation. Can Xi’s government rebalance the economy and change course?

Will a warmer and less biodiverse world give pathogens new opportunities, and do we have the tools to confront disease? This report discusses the complex intersection of three planetary crises and calls for urgent action to slow resistance to antimicrobial drugs – an obvious public health emergency.

In this month’s instalment of our visual series on topical themes, we look at how political events have shaped markets in 2022 and further back in time.

Governments around the world would do well to heed the lessons of recent chaotic events in Britain that concluded with Liz Truss becoming the country’s shortest-lived prime minister.

Reflecting on ESG risks in the pharmaceutical industry, Sora Utzinger discusses supply chains and counterfeit medicines, access to painkillers, and the ethics of gene editing.

Our air, weather, food, the health of diverse marine life and millions of jobs all depend on the ocean. But we have not done well as custodians of marine ecosystems. Here, we set out ten ways where human actions threaten the health of an essential environment.

Surging inflation is leading to fears the world economy could be heading towards recession. While there are diverging views on whether we are entering a new era of stagflation, the medium-term growth-inflation trade off looks set to worsen with big implication for asset prices, argue Michael Grady and Peter Fitzgerald.

The impact of economic activity on the natural world has long been ignored. However, governments, companies and investors can all play a role in helping to protect nature.

In this month’s instalment of our visual series on topical themes, we look at the far-reaching human and economic consequences of the Ukraine-Russian war.

Asset managers must better explain how ESG can improve investment returns and make the world a better place. Clear guidance to help investors choose between funds is also required.

How will the surge in the prices of oil, gas and coal impact the transition to low or zero carbon sources of fuel? In the second part of our Q&A on the energy sector, experts from our credit, equities and ESG teams contemplate the challenges and opportunities in the pivot to green.

Mark Versey goes on the offensive to dispel recent criticisms against ESG investing.