The major source of bond returns have come from coupons, not capital gains over the past seven years. ETF Securities expects a gradual flattening of the US Treasury yield curve, providing grounds for holding long duration bonds. Global yields are picking-upGlobal yields have bounced back from extremely low levels as… Read More »
A combination of weaker loan growth, sterling weakness, squeezed corporate margins and negative real wages are likely to push the UK into a period of very low growth in the coming year. UK corporates have seen a substantial deterioration in interest cover, and falling earnings caused by a weakening economy… Read More »
Today Saipem S.p.A. has launched the buy-back programme (the “Programme”) for Saipem ordinary shares approved by the Shareholders’ Meeting on April 28, 2017. The Programme regards the buy-back of the Company’s own shares to cover the 2017 allocation of the 2016-2018 Long Term Incentive Plan (the ‘Plan’), as approved by… Read More »
Amid fears of an overheated market and uncertainty around Trump’s presidency, Mark Sherlock, Lead Portfolio Manager of the Hermes US SMID Equity Fund, believes there are still great investment opportunities to be found in the US small and midcap space. A market driven by fundamentalsYear-to-date the Russell 2500 has returned… Read More »
Swissquote remains bullish on Bitcoin, and we target $2500 for one bitcoin in the short-run. The company considers a Bitcoin split into two currencies as unlikely. Bitcoin faces a big day on Tuesday, the 1st of August. Due to some technical complications, the digital currency’s computer-code will on that date be… Read More »
Investors need to seriously think about what will happen with monetary policy over the next couple of years. The final level of interest rates may not be that high compared to the past but at least one economic model suggests that they should be considerably higher than they are today.… Read More »
Central bank and government actions will come under increasing scrutiny in the second half of the year as fixed income investors look for further signs that the long era of ultra-accommodative monetary policy is coming to an end. Anticipation that the European Central Bank (ECB) will begin its path to… Read More »
Many equity markets have already seen double-digit returns this year whilst volatility, both implied and realised, has declined to very low levels in all asset classes bar commodities. One expected trend that has not emerged is US fiscal stimulus as optimism about Trump’s policies diminishes. Equity markets, however, keep grinding… Read More »
Investors are once again focusing on emerging markets credit risk given the recent high-profile ratings downgrades of China, Brazil, and South Africa. T he overall credit quality of the hard currency emerging markets debt market has declined significantly since 2013. More than 51% of the J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Diversified… Read More »
Although the situation in the bond market has become clearer, with the reduced political risk in Europe and the US Federal Reserve’s relative openness about its intentions, investors should not ignore interest-rate risk, because bond yields are still extremely low, particularly in Europe. In the circumstances, active management is vital… Read More »