Elections, rates, AI and China

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.

How do unconscious biases influence our behaviour? Learn more in this video.

Gross domestic product is our chief measurement of economic health. But GDP is failing to account for the dynamics of modern economies – and some experts are calling for reform.

Changes of governments in Italy and Spain have prompted warnings of fresh political turbulence in Europe. Yet neither event is likely to pose a near-term challenge to the integrity of the euro zone or the EU.

In a new column, AIQ imagines how hypothetical scenarios in finance and economics would play out. In this issue, we explore how the world would look if China had never joined the World Trade Organization.

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.

Shinzo Abe’s policy programme has started to lift Japan out of its long deflationary slump. But the road ahead is still a long one and political scandals could prevent him from finishing the job.

Government debt-to-GDP ratios in many advanced countries are approaching post-World War II highs, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to a worsening in economic conditions and demographic forces, argues Stewart Robertson, senior economist for the UK & Europe at Aviva Investors.

The global economic architecture built from the ruins of World War II is under threat, with profound implications for investment.

Emmanuel Macron has implemented a swathe of reforms since his election as President of France in May 2017, but further challenges lie ahead to revitalise the economy.

Greg Davies, head of behavioural science at Oxford Risk, explains how a combination of behavioural science and data-driven risk-profiling tools is reshaping the financial advice industry.