Elections, rates, AI and China

In the latest of our editorial series, Link, AIQ brings members of Aviva Investors’ investment strategy, equity and debt teams together to discuss the prospects for financial markets and the world economy in the face of the coronavirus epidemic.

In the first of a new editorial series, Link, AIQ brings together people from across Aviva Investors to debate topical themes. Mirza Baig and Stephanie Niven consider whether CEO claims about running businesses for multiple stakeholders rather than shareholders alone is a grand idea or just plain grandstanding.

The former Aviva CEO talks to AIQ about how the insurance industry is working to assess and manage the catastrophic risks of climate change.

Ken Alex, former adviser to Californian governor Jerry Brown, discusses US policy, carbon capture and storage and the need for regulation to combat the effects of climate change.

The Harvard academic and bestselling author talks to AIQ about the power of social conformity and what behavioural economics can teach us about tackling climate change.

The inversion of the yield curve has prompted concerns the US economy is on the brink of a recession. But investors should be more worried about the potential lasting effects from a continued deterioration of the country’s public finances over the next decade, says James McAlevey.

A lot has been said about how blockchain may spark a technological revolution across every corner of the economy – not only in finance, but also areas such as medicine, marketing and supply chain management. What is less clear is how it could pose a hefty social challenge as well.

With the US and China locking horns, we take a deeper look at the tangled and complex web of multinational relationships in the global economic ecosystem.

The evolution of wireless technology has fuelled a host of new mobile applications and helped propel companies such as Netflix. 5G, its next iteration, promises speeds up to 20 times faster than the current 4G. But to think only in terms of speed severely underestimates 5G’s potential to fundamentally transform the business landscape – though not without tremendous risk.

AIQ speaks to Oxford economist Carl Benedikt Frey about his pioneering research into labour markets and automation.

A new wave of tech-driven automation promises improved productivity and economic growth. But as humans are replaced by robots, a political backlash is building.

Extraordinary monetary easing was essential a decade ago to reboot the global economy, but continuing to apply emergency measures has placed a huge burden on the private sector and could prove deflationary the longer it goes on. Different remedies are urgently needed, argues Euan Munro.