Formulated for resilience

Emerging market debt investors need to keep a watchful eye on food price inflation as a potential key driver of monetary policy, especially as this has not coincided with a weaker US dollar, argues Nafez Zouk.

Like Washington and Brussels, Beijing is worried about the growing power of large technology companies. But China’s regulators are taking swifter, more radical action than their peers in the West.

Regulatory authorities around the world are targeting the big US tech giants. However, while investors need to keep a watchful eye on developments, Big Tech’s stranglehold and influence on numerous economic sectors will be hard to loosen.

The advent of tougher regulations after the global financial crisis led investors to think banks were safe. Was the Archegos scandal a wake-up call or much ado about nothing?

Deciding when to tighten the purse strings and hike taxes is complex at any time, and even more so when the economic fallout from COVID-19 remains unclear. Getting deficits – the gap between government spending and income – under control will need to happen eventually, but it would be a brave government that pursued such a goal now.

The market for sustainable bonds to fund activities that have a positive impact on the environment or society is booming. But there are many factors to consider before investing. Not least among them is a crucial question: is your money really being used to fund the activities promised?

Debate over the short- and longer-term consequences of COVID-19 dominated the Spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, with our emerging-market debt team among those following discussions closely.

Deciding when to tighten the purse strings and hike taxes is complex at any time, even more so when the economic fallout from COVID-19 remains unclear. Getting deficits under control will need to happen eventually, but it would be a brave government to pursue that goal in the short term.

Massive intervention by central banks and governments in recent years has left investors struggling to value financial assets.

China’s economic rise threatens US supremacy and the global economic and financial order built up since 1945.

The inexorable rise in asset prices caused by the seemingly never-ending era of monetary easing is calling into question long-held investment beliefs, as members of our multi-asset & macro and equities teams explain.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance and fragility of the natural balance. As governments, companies and investors aim for a just transition, sustainable bonds are being issued at pace in different formats. Is it a fad, and do markets really need so many varieties?

Big challenges bring us the opportunity to think differently. Our investment teams reveal what they have learnt from COVID-19, and how they are preparing to face whatever ‘normal’ emerges in a post-pandemic world.

In these data visualisations, we look at whether COVID-19 will achieve something that millions spent on public health campaigning has failed to do.

Despite a torrid few months, frontier bond markets still have an important role to play in investors' portfolios.

Countries in receipt of IMF support often see rapid economic improvements. But local knowledge is crucial for bond investors chasing the ‘IMF trade’, says Carmen Altenkirch.