In early February I resumed travelling to the UK to meet fund managers and was surprised how quiet Dublin Airport was. On the morning of the 1st February, after 11am, there were only 14 Aer Lingus flights for the rest of the day, seven of these were to North America and three to the holiday destination of the Canaries. With less flights operating, getting in and out of Heathrow was much quicker, and the typical descent to the airport involved tracking the River Thames westward with, on this occasion outstanding views of the City of London Financial District with the Shard Hotel which opened in 2013 - the glass clad pyramidal tower has 72 bedrooms and an open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor with a height of 310m. Just behind it is the Fenchurch Building which opened in 2015, known as the ‘Walkie-Talkie’ as it resembles a two-way radio handset.
During the market discussion on the evening after the Fed Chair’s Senate confirmation hearing, Jay Powell described high inflation as a severe threat to the economy and stated that accommodative policies ‘were not needed or wanted’. He also emphasised the need for a long expansion and price stability to deliver full employment and increase the labour participation rate. The Fed have clearly significantly pivoted on interest rates from their thinking in late summer 2021. That week saw Goldman Sachs move to predict four rate hikes in 2022, a stance quickly followed by JP Morgan investment bank. Bond markets in the short term were pleased with the Fed’s determination to not allow runaway inflation and the 10 Year Treasury yield fell to 1.74% having touched around 1.80% earlier in the week. This rally in US Treasuries occurred even though there was an expectation of a 7% inflation number later in the week which proved to be accurate.
Asia was the first region into the pandemic and the first to come out and many countries benefitted from the strength of demand for manufactured goods in 2021. This was especially true of China, although the stock market was a major laggard for several reasons in 2021. The underperformance of this market as a non-recovery play might have been expected as China was not seen as a reopening beneficiary when it emerged from internal lockdowns earlier than most.
A dividend is the distribution of corporate profits to eligible shareholders at a level deemed appropriate by a company's board of directors. There are two types of payment date, depending on the dividend; final dividends paid annually, at the end of the financial year, and interim dividends paid throughout the year – monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. Why do companies pay dividends? To reward shareholders and to entice more investment with the aim of keeping their existing shareholder base loyal and bringing in new investors.
In the fast-moving world of IT, blockchain technology is old news, but having only been created in 2008, it’s a relatively recent invention. Has blockchain already had its day or is its real potential yet untapped?
When it comes to the forthcoming Chinese New Year, it’s out with the Ox and in with the Tiger. The festival marking the start of a new year according to the Chinese lunar calendar is celebrated across the country with dancing, decorations, fireworks, gifts, and family reunion dinners. An astronomical new moon represents the start of a new lunar cycle, and the second new moon of 2022 will bring in the year of the Tiger, the third of the 12-year cycle of animals in the Chinese zodiac. The celebrations are traditional, opulent, and last for fifteen days.
There's no shortage of knowledge and expertise at RSMR! Every fortnight we get our heads together and talk about events in the world and how investments are affected by them. Our Broadcast tackles a wide range of issues facing investors from climate change and green finance to the energy price explosion and monetary policy and interest rates. We like to think of it as cracking content for the financial adviser. Have a read & get clued up...
There's no shortage of knowledge and expertise at RSMR! Every fortnight we get our heads together and talk about events in the world and how investments are affected by them. Our Broadcast tackles a wide range of issues facing investors from climate change and green finance to the energy price explosion and monetary policy and interest rates. We like to think of it as cracking content for the financial adviser. Have a read & get clued up...
Portfolio Adviser interviews iron man & CEO of RSMR, Ken Rayner:
RSMR is not just in the number crunching game, its growing presence in the ratings market is due to the relationships the team has forged with the adviser community and its focus on qualitative not quantitative filters...
The FCA’s ESG & sustainable investment principles, announced on 19th July, put further ESG suitability pressure on advisers. It’s hard enough for advisers to conduct informed ESG suitability conversations with certain clients, but they also need a credible solution.
