At Aberdeen Standard Investments we are pleased to bring you this offer from Money Observer magazine – a vital read for anyone who is serious about investing. Money Observer is a monthly personal finance and…
Week in review: Fed up with fame
Long ago in the days of yore (well, pre-2016), investors looked to the sages of the central banking world to provide wisdom and guidance. Stock markets could plunge on the inscrutable utterances of Ben Bernanke,…
Week in review: the Trump bump
No, not the latest dance craze to clog up the internet, but rather the term some are employing to describe the effects of his election as US president on equity markets. While the trend seemed…
Week in review: Obama out
It’s the end of the Obama era, as the 44th president of the United States steps aside, making way for a successor whose views and ideals are significantly different to his own. In his final…
Week in Review: the Russia House
It could have come from a John le Carré novel. This week, a 35-page dossier emerged, alleging that Russia has damaging information about US President-elect Donald Trump’s business interests and extremely compromising material relating to…
A prescription for providing 21st century healthcare (video)
Global healthcare systems are reaching breaking point. In developed markets, rising costs, aging and growing populations, an increase of chronic and communicable diseases are the perpetual and metaphorical headache. In developing markets, systems and infrastructure…
Week in review: New Year, new me…
Try a new career: With each New Year’s Day comes the usual ritual of making New Year’s Resolutions. Getting healthier, saving more money, or trying a new career are among the top cited promises we…
Week in Review: goodbye Monte
Christmas is upon us but the end is nigh for Monte dei Paschi. Or at least it is as a privately owned bank. The various attempts to recapitalise the world’s oldest surviving bank through the…
Week in review: a creditable performance
The attention of European investors was again focused on Italy’s troubled banks. But for once there was some reason for cheer. Unicredit, Italy’s biggest bank, announced a radical restructuring plan to help shore up its…
Week in review: shock absorbers
After Brexit and Trump, investors have grown used to shocks – especially of the political variety. And in any case, it was widely accepted that Italian voters might use Sunday’s referendum to reject the constitutional…
Risk
“ Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden; its…
Week in review: Spending pledge boosts growth forecasts
It was a week where the world eagerly awaited further details of the incoming Trump administration. A slew of appointments from the world of high finance - including Goldman Sachs veteran Steven Mnuchin as treasury…
Week in review: JAM today
JAMs (and not of the fruity variety) have been in the UK news this week. The saccharine acronym stands for families who are “just about managing”, and were previously monikered by various politicians as the…
Solutions
Low yields, volatile markets, extreme events and pressing demographics are all driving attention towards solutions-based investment. Pension funds are under pressure, and there is a need to be able to find asset returns in a…
Week in review: Trump sinks his teeth in
‘Brexit’ and ‘Trump’ have continued to fill news headlines with the US president elect announcing the first high-profile appointments of his administration. Meanwhile, a leaked memo from Deloitte claimed the UK government has no overall…
Week in Review: Trump towers over America
As Wednesday morning broke, the news that few expected to hear resounded from TVs, radios and frenzied social media posts. Against all odds, Donald J Trump, billionaire businessman and political newcomer had beaten his rival…
Week in Review: order, order!
Fasten your seatbelt, folks. Despite the UK’s vote to leave the European Union back in June, the High Court has ruled that the Government does not have power to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval.…
Week in Review: More trick than treat
Technology companies have been getting into the Halloween spirit this reporting season. Tech giant Apple was flattered by some trickery in their third quarter results, having released the new iPhone seven days earlier than normal…
Market review: Back to the playground
Financial markets have been described as casinos, rollercoasters and merry-go-rounds. Recently, though, they’ve been more of a seesaw. The playground favourite was much in evidence this week. As the pound peaked on Wednesday, the FTSE…