Could Wall Street contagion spread?
A “triple tightening” of financial policy is roiling the financial economy. Whether or not these ructions transmit to the real economy will determine if we are near the end of this downturn, or merely at the end of the first leg down. Financial policy interventions have loomed large over the past decade. The ultimate intended…
Can the way we invest help the planet?
It can feel like there are endless ways that businesses’ or countries’ activities can harm the planet. But can our investments also make a positive difference? Can they not only avoid harm but also contribute to solutions to challenges like climate change? Here’s what some of Schroders’ experts have to say on the different ways…
Investing – Backing the ugly duckling
As an active value manager, we like investing in companies where we believe there are hidden assets not being properly valued by the market. And sometimes it takes a demerger for parts of a business to really show their worth. Portfolio manager Anthony Aboud and Deputy Portfolio Manager Sean Roger look at some recent demergers,…
Commentary: The Dark Horse Cometh
Natural Catastrophes. A pandemic. War. What will the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse bring next? ‘Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. When the Lamb opened the third…
Water and waste investing
In 2015, the United Nations launched its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) as a blueprint for a more sustainable future. Along with heightened awareness of the risks presented by climate change,1 the UNSDGs elevated the importance of ESG issues within the global and economic agenda. Water and waste are now a direct focus for five…
Australia’s unemployment rate now begins with a ‘3’
Early in the election campaign, on April 14, we learned that Australia’s unemployment rate had slipped below 4% in March, to 3.95% – the lowest rate in 48 years. But the Coalition was denied the bragging rights that would flow from an unemployment rate beginning with “3” because of a Bureau of Statistics convention of…
Tiny houses can help ease rental affordability
Rental housing in Australia is less affordable than ever before. It is no exaggeration to call the situation a crisis, with vacancy rates at record lows. But there are some relatively simple, easy-to-implement and cost-effective things that can be done to ease rental affordability pressures. These include relaxing planning restrictions on small and non-traditional houses,…
The great recalibration continues
Fixed income has cheapened dramatically, however with uncertainty elevated we expect additional risk premia to be built in before bonds become really appealing. As a result, we’re continuing to run cautious portfolio positions, monitoring (elusive as yet) signs of stability. Recalibration continues The dramatic recalibration of expectations regarding the future level of interest rates continues….
Superbugs are outsmarting antibiotics
A market failure means pharmaceutical companies are failing to address the threat. In 1938, Ernst Chain, a German-born biochemist working at Oxford University, found an article on penicillin written nine years earlier by UK bacteriologist Alexander Fleming. In 1928, by fluke, Fleming noticed a zone around an invading fungus on an agar plate in which…
What higher inflation means for Australians
Inflation in the US, UK and elsewhere has not been this high for decades. What does that mean for investors? American consumers are paying 8.5% more today for everyday goods than a year ago. That’s the highest rate of price increases in more than 40 years. In the UK, the year-on-year increase in prices is…
