Will pressure on Chinese tech firms spark renewed interest in value stocks? February 26, 2021 | City Talk The flotation of Ant Group in December last year was supposed to be a landmark event. The initial public offering (IPO) was set to raise $37 billion, valuing Ant at over $313 billion and making it the biggest IPO ever. It was due to list in Hong Kong and Shanghai, rather than having a US [...]
The truth about growth and value performance February 24, 2021 | City Talk A statement I have heard many times in recent years, last year especially, is that the “value” style of investing no longer makes sense. That the very idea of buying an unfashionable stock doesn’t make sense when the new hottest stock with the most epic growth forecasts is being dangled, tantalisingly, in front of you. [...]
Trust me, I’m a chief executive February 19, 2021 | City Talk Public trust in government is waning, as the 2021 Edelman Barometer of Trust revealed recently. Between January and May 2020, trust in government rose in almost all countries: people all over the world put faith in their leaders as the global pandemic took hold. But, interestingly, this trust has subsequently eroded, in some cases to below pre-pandemic [...]
Why I can stomach higher equity valuations – Schroders CIO February 17, 2021 | City Talk The rising involvement of retail investors has been an intriguing trend during the pandemic, culminating in the surge and slump of GameStop shares. As an industry, we worry about the disconnection of individual investors from financial markets, the hubs of wealth creation. Direct ownership of shares by individuals has been declining for decades. For that reason, [...]
Why lockdown winners are not vaccine losers February 15, 2021 | City Talk The past year has brought significant changes to all our lives and sped up the growth of a number of consumer and leisure trends. Online shopping is an obvious example and the same is true for some of the other “lockdown winners”: namely computer games and cook-at-home meal kits. Like online shopping, we think these [...]
On thin ice: the danger posed by thawing permafrost and how businesses need to prepare February 11, 2021 | City Talk Rapidly thawing Arctic permafrost is a prime example of how climate change is impacting natural ecosystems and, in turn, business operations. Permafrost is the name for ground that remains frozen for more than two years. It has existed in this region for millennia. Temperatures in Russia have increased by around two and a half times [...]
GameStop and the ethics of short sellers February 5, 2021 | City Talk The global media has recently been entranced by a battle between retail traders and hedge funds over the US computer game store, GameStop. It has also shone a light on a practice that makes many people feel uneasy: “short selling”. So much so that lots of members of the Reddit community which spearheaded the attack [...]
Why renewable energy could gain from the green hydrogen trend February 1, 2021 | City Talk What effect will net zero have? One of the most notable features of climate policy over the last couple of years has been the rise of national and supranational “net zero” targets. Countries and regions adopting these targets include Europe, the UK, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, South Africa and a handful of US states. [...]
What next for Biden’s climate and social agenda? January 29, 2021 | City Talk Joe Biden ran on one of the most progressive platforms the US has ever seen, with climate ambition at its heart. His victory will result in a sea-change in US climate ambition. That said, the narrow margin of victory will pose challenges for the more ambitious elements of his agenda. Below we assess the policy [...]
Taper Tantrum 2: is there a sequel in the making? January 26, 2021 | City Talk Sequels – occasionally they’re better (The Godfather Part II), but most of the time they’re worse. Often far worse (Jaws: The Revenge). As investors and economists look for the next market risks after the pandemic, some are now expecting a follow-up to 2013’s blockbusting Taper Tantrum. This sequel could even be coming to (trading) screens [...]