End of globally synchronised growth upswing

At the end of weeks like this, I tend to struggle with the prospect of writing about the economy and global investment opportunities. However, it is not the purpose of these pages to pass comment on what may have made our world as divisive and lacking in moral restraint as the past week’s event so painfully demonstrated again. My heart and thoughts go out to all affected, and I sincerely hope that the community cohesion Manchester so powerfully demonstrated this past week will become a more effective antidote to the divisive aims of the terrorists than all other counterterrorist measures.

Why does China matter?

By Tatton’s head of investment, Jim Kean: In the MSCI All Country World Index, which is as good or bad a representative for global equity markets as the FTSE100 is for the UK, China, as of the end of March 2017, accounts for just 3.3% of total global stock markets.

US update: Rate rises while economic growth is slowing?

Most of the time, the financial press is measured in its commentary on the political economy. Not this week. President Trump’s budget proposals sparked a series of extremely critical reviews in the FT (and elsewhere), with one commentator describing the proposals as an “epic betrayal of the American middle class”, and another calling them implausible and wishful thinking.

Brazil back in Crisis: Pitfalls of EM Investing

Brazil is back in the news, as a political crisis surrounding President Michel Temer threatens to destabilise the government once more. For the second time in less than a year, a corruption scandal has engulfed Brazil’s head office, leading to an increased probability that Temer will follow his predecessor Dilma Rousseff out the door.

Oil: Can OPEC contain US shale but keep prices stable?

One of the biggest questions facing oil market watchers at the moment is: Can OPEC contain the rapid growth of US shale oil production, at the same time as keeping prices high enough to avoid budgetary and social issues in Saudi Arabia (the bloc’s biggest member by oil output).

Please click here to read the full Tatton commentary.