Asian/European Markets

A new normal is the norm. Changes are inevitable and therefore imaginable, even during this era of ever-growing technological breakthroughs such as cryptocurrencies, blockchain, robo-everything, 5G, EVs, AVs, AI, VR, AR, and IoT.1 We remember when ecosystem referred to a Costa Rican rain forest.

Today I’m going to blend a few thoughts about The Great Reset with some other historical analysis I recently discovered. It adds up to a disturbing outlook, even if (as seems likely, given the latest vaccine news) we’re past the pandemic by late next year. We’ll find different challenges on the other side.

Global investors have been watching US President-Elect Joe Biden closely for clues as to how his administration intends to conduct relations with China.

In our view, inflation-fighting asset classes look considerably cheaper and offer higher long-term estimated returns than mainstream stocks and bonds.

Trading over the holidays? You’ll want to check this list—errr, article—twice.

In calling the current market the third “Real McCoy” bubble of recent decades, Jeremy Grantham described, in his own words, what I call the Iron Law of Valuation: a security is nothing more than a claim on some set of future cash flows that investors expect to be delivered into their hands over time. The higher the price an investor pays today for some amount of cash in the future, the lower the long-term return the investor can expect on that investment.

By now you may have heard that President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning Americans from investing in a select number of Chinese firms that have ties to China’s military.

Ten-year Treasury bond yields may rise as high as 1.6% in 2021, reflecting prospects for faster economic growth.

Sinology explores how U.S.–China relations can develop under President-elect Biden administration in three key phases.

With yields near zero, many investors may question the value of fixed income within a portfolio. Western Asset’s Head of Product Management, Doug Hulsey, joins our Head of Equities, Stephen Dover, to discuss fixed income investing with an active-management lens. He makes a case for the asset class for investors in light of market uncertainties and outlines where he sees opportunities today.

The Northern Trust Economics team reviews the outlook for developed markets facing COVID-19.

The US elections have implications for emerging markets in the area of global trade relations in particular, but for investors, it’s important to look at countries and companies individually within the asset class, according to Portfolio Manager Andrew Ness. He joins our Head of Equities Stephen Dover to discuss how emerging markets are navigating today’s challenges—including the COVID-19 pandemic—and note they are home to some of the most innovative and resilient companies in the world.

He is not sure when it will happen, but David Rosenberg is confident investors will face another big correction in the stock market.

The blue shift in the White House may signal added trouble for Big Tech companies.

A multilateral framework is needed to reverse the effects of secular stagnation and should be the primary focus of President-elect Biden’s administration, according to Larry Summers.

Banks have begun to voluntarily disclose their exposure to climate change risks. The information is critical to bank management teams and investors, both of whom need to understand the challenges ahead.

Washington will likely focus on fiscal stimulus immediately – but given the realities of governing and the pandemic, economic recovery will take time.

America, and the world, received a huge shot of hope this week. The $210 billion drugmaker Pfizer announced on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine is 90% effective at preventing COVID-19.

Today we’ll talk about the political changes, what they mean for the economy, and then how the latest vaccine news may affect the outlook.

Actual third-quarter earnings may be less important than what business leaders say about their expectations.

Election results (a divided Washington) and good news on a potential vaccine boosted share prices, although there were some concerns about surging COVID-19 cases (163,402 reported on November 12) and possible difficulties in distributing the vaccine.

Before the coronavirus, a decades-long aviation boom spawned a network of nearly 50,000 air routes that traversed the world. In less than a year, the pandemic has wiped almost a third of them off the map.

The new political landscape offers opportunities for investors who adapt their strategy.

As investors look for signs of a return to normalcy from the coronavirus crisis, they have a dizzying array of indicators to choose from. We’ve assembled a group of signals, with the help of big data, that may point the way.

The world is smaller and people are poorer as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, from which it will take five to six years to recover, according to Martin Wolf.

We’ve seen aggressive government and central bank support to stimulate economies sickened from COVID-19 slowdowns, but will the global economy right itself in 2021?

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging markets have shown a continued appetite for structural reforms that could lay the foundation for lasting economic recoveries, according to our Emerging Markets Equity team.

Lael Brainard may face scrutiny over her dovish comments about China as a top Obama administration official if President-elect Joe Biden chooses her to be Treasury Secretary, but people familiar with her work said she took a more aggressive approach in private.

Stock market performance during the transition period between outgoing and incoming U.S. presidents tends to be more dependent on the economic cycle than the election results.

Global equity markets rallied on Monday after major networks declared Joe Biden the winner of the US presidential election, and early analysis of a COVID-19 vaccine from a large US drugmaker showed promising results.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we believe that investing in private markets may offer a raft of potential opportunities. Here's why.

Core dollar exchange rates have so far been surprisingly stable during the pandemic, most likely because major central banks’ policy interest rates are effectively frozen at or near zero. But although the current stasis could last awhile, it will not last forever.

A Joe Biden presidency, checked by a Republican-controlled Senate, may be just what emerging-market investors are looking for.

While the election is still not certified, and court battles will drag on, it appears that we can draw two firm conclusions from the 2020 election. First, the pollsters were horribly wrong again. Secondly, American voters do not want a radical shift in economic policy.

Advisor Perspectives, a leading publisher serving financial advisors and the financial advisory community, has announced its Venerated Voices™ awards for commentaries published in Q3 2020.

The profession has a diversity and inclusion problem. Look at the speakers pictured on the advertisements for financial planning conferences, and you see white men in business suits with occasional white women.

Recent data reports have been consistent with a further rebound in economic activity, but we still have a long way to get back to where we were before the pandemic and the pace of improvement has moderated.

Businesses love Congressional gridlock. Tech stocks had been trending down for days before the election as they faced antitrust scrutiny, but now that it appears certain Congress will remain divided, they’ve recovered most of their losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped close to 10% for the week.

The 2020 election dims the outlook for major legislation and aid to local governments, while central banks face the risk of a liquidity trap.

Global equity markets remain enamored with technology giants despite seismic disruptions from the coronavirus. So far this year, market valuations for some industry titans have soared, albeit with some recent volatility. The same holds for a select few of Asia’s e-commerce and tech giants.

Reflecting on the post-election landscape, Jeffrey Gundlach expects a split government to emerge, with a Biden presidency, Democratic House and Republican Senate. That outcome explains the gains in U.S. equities this week, but stocks are now “really overvalued.”

Investors likely have many questions about the 2020 election. Votes were still being counted late Wednesday, but here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we’re hearing.

Almost nothing has felt certain in 2020. The presidential and congressional election results are two more things to add to the list. Markets had largely expected a blue wave, which has not materialized.

Volatility swept across US markets over the last several days as fear and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus as well as the US presidential election continue to take hold, causing the Nasdaq Composite to post its worst week since March.

History does not repeat, but it rhymes, as Mark Twain observed. As such, we are struck by the eerie and dangerous parallels between today’s markets and the markets back in 1999. Back then, Value investing and Value managers were under the gun for having underperformed their Growth brethren for too long.

At dinner tables throughout emerging markets, middle-class families tuck into comfort food, share details about their day and toast each other's successes. Languages and cuisines may differ, but many elements of everyday life are often quite similar.

A fresh round of lockdowns means a difficult winter lies ahead for the euro area. But three factors caution against excessive pessimism.

In our latest Election Pulse, our Head of Equities Stephen Dover is joined by Franklin Templeton Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai and Gallup’s Jonathan Rothwell to discuss survey findings on COVID-19 and its impact on the consumer. They discuss attitudes about vaccines, mask-wearing, and where they think the research may lead them post-election.

Key takeaways for investors amid the tightening race for the White House and control of the Senate.

Late in the afternoon on a recent weekday, workers at an aquaculture farm near Shanghai used long pincers to move 300-gram crabs from muddy ponds into small pools of freshwater.

The market through October continued to make the case for a steady approach to investing, especially as this is a historically volatile time – the months surrounding a U.S. presidential election – amid a historic, complicated year.

Within emerging markets, we find companies at the forefront of important global developments, including the health care and technology sectors.

Want to hear something really scary? Inflation, the scourge of the modern economy, may be running much faster than we’re led to believe.

Head of Equities Stephen Dover joined Templeton Global Macro’s Katie Klingensmith and Fiduciary Trust Company International’s Gene Todd for a discussion about what they are keeping an eye on as investors.

Jeffrey Gundlach, who famously predicted Trump’s victory in 2016, says the president will secure another term. David Rosenberg acknowledged that possibility, but is not so sure of the outcome. Both offered their predictions for the post-election economy and markets.

Americans with money discovered in the Depression of 1837-1842 how large the spread could become between the cash in their pockets and the values of their bank accounts and property.

Our election 2020 coverage concludes with a look at the nation’s physical and human capital.

China Macro Analyst Julia Zhu returned to Mainland China in August to visit her parents, giving her a first-hand look at one aspect of the incredibly intensive program for controlling the coronavirus.

There appears to be an increased willingness to engage in deficit spending on both sides of the aisle in Washington, DC. This could lead to a more “middle of the road” outlook for fiscal decision making.

In a new piece – “Covid-19, Climate Change, And The Need For A New Marshall Plan” – GMO’s Jeremy Grantham discusses the impact of Covid-19 on the economy of the developed world, arguing great strides are necessary in order for the U.S. and the world to accelerate growth.

Want to hear something really scary? Inflation, the scourge of the modern economy, may be running much faster than we’re led to believe.

Today I want to look at what will not change. And though I will make a few comments on the election below, I want us to think today about what we can look forward to with an optimistic and realistic vision.

Investors often think of emerging markets as taking cues from their developed counterparts—for example, by aiming to boost consumption and to achieve productivity gains. It may come as a surprise that some emerging economies have made an earlier start in adopting environmental, social and governance...

Our Head of Equities, Stephen Dover, and Western Asset’s CIO, Ken Leech, believe global stimulus and the likely longer availability of zero or negative interest rates will support the path to growth in 2021. And China will continue its growth path to becoming a bigger part of the global financial community.

Stocks tumbled again on Wednesday, as worries about rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations sent investors toward the safe havens of U.S. Treasuries and the dollar.

Equity price gains in Japan may be driven by innovation over the long term. Portfolio manager Shuntaro Takeuchi discusses the opportunity set.

Most companies’ earnings—and creditworthiness—took a hit from pandemic containment measures like lockdowns. But with initial credit market adjustments to COVID-19 behind us, what challenges are still evolving and where does Vanguard’s fixed income team see opportunities?

The latest on how equity managers across the globe fared during the third quarter, plus how the upcoming U.S. election is impacting manager viewpoints.

The U.S. strategy to rely on vaccines and treatments, rather than emphasizing social distancing, masks and testing nationwide, threatens to delay the return to normal life for Americans.

The “end of globalization” is a phrase that has come up a lot lately. Stories written about deglobalization have soared this year with the pandemic.

The African continent is warming quickly, and climate change is expected to disproportionally affect every aspect of life there, from human health to food security and economic growth, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s first-ever State of the Climate in Africa report.

Fostering immigration, encouraging family expansion, and stopping COVID-19 are tough problems with no easy solutions.

There are a number of uncertainties heading into the November 4 election and many more as we look ahead into 2021. There’s a long held belief that the stock market abhors uncertainty. There’s also an old adage that says the market often climbs a wall of worry.

Across emerging markets, growth in e-commerce accelerates as the pandemic reshapes consumers' shopping patterns.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. admitted its role in the biggest foreign bribery case in U.S. enforcement history, reaching multiple international settlements to end probes into its fundraising for the scandal-plagued Malaysian fund known as 1MDB.