Fiorino: Can Europe’s banks withstand high-pressure energy disruption?
As Europe grapples with a gas crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, investors are facing up to a fundamental truth: energy is everything. Russia’s efforts to restrict, or cut off, the flow of natural gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, has […]
Markets on edge despite Bank of England intervention
market snapshot
Animal farming and ESG: a sector where some are more equal than others
The animal farming industry entered the pandemic widely regarded as an ESG laggard: a sector noted for its high greenhouse gas emissions, unethical treatment of livestock, and intensive land and water use, and a leading global cause of deforestation. The Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (FAIRR) initiative found the industry has done ‘too little […]
The spoils of the pandemic: in this together?
The annual publication of the Forbes rich list has become a much-followed media ritual, however, in 2022, the unveiling of the list served as a stark reminder – for those who cared to see it – of the asymmetrical impact of the pandemic. The world’s 10 richest men more than doubled their fortunes during the […]
Goodbye share buybacks, hello bond buybacks
As investors consider surging corporate debt costs since the beginning of the year, equity as a funding tool is now starting to look comparatively cheap. In fact, the relative cost of equity for shareholders (as defined by the dividend yield) over the cost of debt is the cheapest it has been since 2012 (see figure […]
The biodiversity domino effect
The common goods of nature There is growing awareness in the financial sector of the interlinked climate and biodiversity emergencies, and the potential impacts on economies and markets. Research suggests over 50% of global GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature¹. Failure to act on these issues could result in collapsing food systems and […]
A turning tide? Why contrarians are turning to China
After a shaky 12 months, foreign investors are beginning to return to China. Faced by a wall of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty – a zero-Covid policy, an increase in tensions with the US, tightening regulatory scrutiny and the weakness of the Real Estate sector – investors in the world’s second largest economy have spent much […]
Despite headwinds, ESG continues to perform
Fast reading: Despite market volatility and the energy crunch, ESG continues to be an effective performance indicator, with ‘E’ joining ‘S’ and ‘G’ as a driver of outperformance. The Real Estate and Energy sectors are troubling exceptions to the rule, with companies displaying the worst or worsening environmental practices relative to peers tending to outperform. […]
Seven reasons why the time is right to buy EMD
There are two sides to every sell-off. With emerging market debt (EMD) posting its weakest H1 return since the height of the global financial crisis, investors must decide whether to approach this sell-off as a setback or a shopping spree. On the one hand, EMD is down 21.76% year to date¹, having borne the brunt […]
My bandwidth brings all the users to the yard
Over the past 20 years, in line with the proliferation of the internet, net neutrality has been a hot topic of conversation within the telecoms sector. Of late, we have found the debate has resurfaced given the growing importance of the internet to our daily lives, coupled with the ever-increasing levels of investment required for […]
