News

As the global pandemic continues to exert its stranglehold on the global economy, it seems absurd that equity and fixed-income markets are still finding new highs. We’re unlikely to be wealthier given the devastating economic impact of covid-19, so what is really going on, and how will it impact investors?

This week the UK death toll from Covid-19 exceeded 100,000. Boris Johnson said that he was “deeply sorry” for every death. Meanwhile AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, has insisted the UK will come first for vaccines as he rejected calls to divert doses to the European Union following a breakdown in supply. Rows are escalating over reduced supplies with whispers of vaccine protectionism on the horizon.

For the past few years, bitcoin – the original cryptocurrency launched in 2009 – has been on a roller-coaster ride of note. After dipping below US$5 000 in March last year, bitcoin peaked at over US$46 000 a few days ago following a tweet by Elon Musk that his car firm Tesla had bought around US$1.5 billion worth of the digital currency. Its current market capitalisation is around US$840 billion. For many investors, what exactly bitcoin is and how it works remain an enigma – here’s what you need to know.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to never use cash again? No more ATMs on our high streets, no loose change languishing down the back of the sofa, and no pennies under the pillow when the tooth fairy comes to visit. It may sound farfetched, but this could become a reality sooner than we think.

The US inflation result was good news this week. Investors are acutely aware that the colossal amounts of government stimulus financed by money printing are eventually going to spill over into inflation. When this happens, central banks will find themselves in the difficult position of choosing when to act, in the knowledge that any indication of a decision to slow down monetary support will throw economies into recession.

Commodity prices are soaring, some having increased to levels last seen almost a decade ago. The boom has prompted some observers to argue that the current cycle is now reaching its peak, especially against the backdrop of a still uncertain global economy following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Should investors be concerned? Is it perhaps time to sell out and run for the hills?

Rising government bond yields have dominated market noise this week with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries (US Government bonds) rising to its highest level in over a year. Equity indices wobbled in
response to these dynamics with fears that rising borrowing costs could derail the already fragile economic recovery.

Gone are the days when we could see our enemy coming and protect ourselves using military might. Today, the weapons threatening our national security are largely invisible and can be unleashed from any corner of the globe. Hostile actors can use our own data, influence and public perception against us in an increasingly alarming manner.

The stratification between the real economy and the stock market continued this week as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of thirty large US companies, reached a record high of 30,000 points. Donald Trump was quick to laud the stock market’s performance as being the result of his economic genius, a welcome break from claiming election fraud, no doubt.

The decision to reinstate a two-week quarantine on travellers returning to the UK from Spain was made this week as the infection rate in the region is running at three times the rate in the UK. As next week sees the start of discounted eating out throughout the country, it appears that holiday goers to the Canary Islands can also snap up the bargain of four weeks of holiday for the price of two! Or at least we think that’s how it works