Like the UK, Latin America has suffered greatly during the pandemic – perhaps even more so. The World Bank estimates that regional GDP may slip by as much as 8%, with more than four million…
Our Base Case Scenario
Our base case scenario remains unchanged. We think that the post Global Financial Crisis economic recovery is now in the late cycle stage. The US is the most mature, and naturally the Federal Reserve is…
Week in review: electric nightmares?
Global equity markets failed to light up this week as investors reacted to mixed economic data and corporate earnings news. At first, positive corporate trading reports were thin on the ground, and included a disappointing…
Still swimming in calm seas?
Alex Scott, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Seven Investment Management Markets are maintaining the state of dead calm that we wrote about last month. The clock ticks on, with little sign of equity volatility. The tally…
Martin Currie Asia Unconstrained Trust Half Year Results 2017
Martin Currie Asia Unconstrained Trust has announced positive results for the six-month period ending 30 September 2017. Download PDF: AUT Interim report 2017
Credit Market Wobbles Setup Potential Equity Market Test
After over a year without a more than 3% correction in the S&P 500, surely it is a matter of time before something wobbles and equity markets react. To be fair, the market has had…
Week in Review: “And now there came an Amazon …”
So ends one version of the Iliad, as the Amazon queen Penthesilea arrives to do battle with the Greeks. The Amazons of ancient myth were fearsome female warriors from Scythia. The modern incarnation is an e-commerce…
Foreword from Annabel-Brodie Smith
I’m thrilled that we have a new contributor to Compass this month, namely Ian Cowie. Ian is one of the most experienced investment journalists and has been an investor and supporter of investment companies for…
Day of the Dead for Mexico and Nafta?
The only real decision to come out of the fourth round of talks was to delay any eventual decision until 2018. For businesses and investors that means the uncertainty continues. Moreover with Mexico going to…
Securities Trust of Scotland Half Yearly Results 2017
Securities Trust of Scotland has announced positive results for the six-month period ending 30 September 2017. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. Download Securities Trust of Scotland Interim Report 2017 …
Why the interest in cryptocurrencies?
By Ben Kumar, Investment Manager When something is being touted as a new asset class, multi-asset managers should pay attention, and there is a real buzz going on about cryptocurrencies at the moment. Since April…
The Bank of England Does Something Only Previously Done in a World War
BUT DON'T PANIC. THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT… On November 2nd the Bank of England did something that it has only ever done before at the beginning of a World War. It doubled the Base Rate. The…
Week in Review: take a hike
The Bank of England increased interest rates for the first time in a decade in an effort to ward off inflation pressures. Its Monetary Policy Committee voted seven to two in favour of raising the…
Small is beautiful
It has become commonplace to say that the UK is facing uncertainty: from its borders, to its trading arrangements, to its political make-up, Brexit brings plenty of potential pitfalls. In theory, UK smaller companies should…
Bernanke’s latest monetary policy framework isn’t novel – it’s 90 years old For Professional Investors Only
Recently Ben Bernanke proposed a new framework for inflation targeting and monetary policy setting when interest rates are at the zero-lower bound (ZLB), exploring the idea that the Federal Reserve (Fed) should aim at price-level…
A Patchy Dollar Breakout
For the time being, we are struggling to find much to say about equity markets. Generically, they just go up. They go up when bond yields decline; they go up when bond yields rise. They…
Week in review: Tech stock shock on ‘Super Thursday’
“Big Tech” continues to smash analysts’ forecasts. Shares in Alphabet – Google’s parent company – Amazon, Microsoft and Twitter all moved sharply higher on Thursday. The S&P 500 technology index has now gained more than…
Patience is a virtue…
Though they have enjoyed a strong rebound over the course of 2017, uncertainty continues to dog UK smaller companies as a result of increasingly poor economic data and ongoing – and seemingly futile – Brexit…
A state of dead calm
Alex Scott, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Seven Investment Management As we write, stockmarkets are in the midst of an eerie calm. It’s worth understanding the historical context of just how extraordinary today’s conditions really are.…