Economics

UBS, the world’s leading global wealth manager, is expecting a year of discovery that will reveal what a new “normal” looks like, after two years marked by lockdown and reopening. 2022 is expected to be ‘a year of two halves’, with high rates of economic growth and inflation in the first half, giving way to lower growth and inflation in the second...

The ECB sees inflation pressures as temporary and is unlikely to raise interest rates. The eurozone economy has outperformed consensus estimates as it grew by 2.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q3, matching the previous quarter. This leaves the level of economic activity just 0.5% below its pre-pandemic peak, meaning that the recovery in GDP should be complete this quarter (Q4).

The Federal Reserve is very likely heading for a tapering of its bond purchases in November, but the longer-term outlook depends on how transitory the current bout of inflation is. If we are correct, i.e. it will fade more quickly than expected, then we should see the expectation of rate hikes delayed, supporting a further upward move in North American equities.

CPR AM managers continue to think that the US bond market should correct on the triple effect of the slowdown in future asset purchases, more lasting inflationary pressures than initially expected and the resumption of treasury bill issuance to finance the stimulus plans ...

While the idea that accommodative monetary policies imply an increase in inequalities, a research paper presented at the Jackson Hole central bankers conference reverses the causality and tends to suggest that it is the rise in inequalities that causes the decline in equilibrium interest rates.