Markets Explained

Following a busy week for central banks, Hugh was joined by Iain Stealey, International CIO for Global Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities, to dissect the recent rate decisions and look at where global government bond markets are offering the best value. The pair also discussed last week’s US earnings reports, as well as why markets may be especially sensitive to this week’s US labour market data. 

It’s a big week for central banks, with the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan all meeting. Karen and Hugh expect policymakers to talk tough as they seek to reassure markets that rising oil prices will not lead to another inflationary spiral. They will also discuss the latest learnings from the US earnings season.

This week Hugh was joined by another special guest – Callum Abbot, UK equity portfolio manager and Head of Systematic Active Core Strategies – to discuss last week’s earnings results, which parts of the UK stock market could be most impacted by new political leadership, and whether the European Central Bank might surprise investors later this week. 

In this week’s podcast, Hugh welcomed a special guest – Sam Witherow, Head of Global Equity Income Strategies – to tackle re-escalating tensions in the Middle East, the most important things to watch as Q2 earnings season gets into full swing, and what a change of leadership in the UK might mean for UK equity valuations.

In this week’s podcast, Karen and Hugh discuss what the market likes about last week’s US payrolls report and delve into why the surge in the DAX is feeding Karen’s optimism about the prospect for European stock outperformance.

With the market having a bit of a tech wobble last week, we talk about how to make sure portfolios aren’t too vulnerable to AI bumps. We also look ahead to US payrolls and what this means for the Fed as well as to the challenges faced by the next UK prime minister.

Another busy week ahead as investors continue to digest the outlook for oil prices and broader markets following prospects of a deal between the US and Iran. New Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh ruffled US Treasury market feathers with his first meeting, and now the UK faces its seventh prime minister in 10 years. Tune in to hear what Karen and Hugh expect to dominate the market narrative this week. 

In this episode Karen is joined by Iain Stealey, International CIO, Global Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities, to discuss the deal between the US and Iran and explore why, despite the apparent resilience of markets in recent weeks, this development is still likely to generate significant moves.

In this podcast, Karen and Hugh outline why the US payrolls report was looking a bit too hot last week and why this week’s inflation print will be critical ahead of the Fed meeting next week. They also discuss why the upcoming US tech IPOs are unlikely to rattle markets short-term but that they will add a vital piece of information to help us assess how to invest in the companies bringing AI to the world.

While a concrete deal between the US and Iran remains elusive, the market is hopeful that the Strait will at least partially re-open while talks continue. Investors will also have to focus on ‘payrolls week’ with a flurry of information about the US labour market. Will the labour market heat up and put pressure on the Fed to hike this year or will the labour market stay relatively weak despite a booming economy? Is AI doing all the work? And will this week’s inflation data set the ECB up for making a policy error? These are some of the issues Karen and Hugh discuss this week.