The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is coming close to finalising a free-trade deal with India, according to multiple sources. Made up of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, EFTA is set to sign a deal that may see it invest up to $100bn (€93bn) into India. Such a move, wrote euronews, would be unprecedented in…
European equities enjoyed their third-best month on record in January, according to the latest data from Calastone. The company reported in its Fund Flow Index that the sector saw inflows of £471m in the month, following December in which the second-highest inflows were recorded. It also reported that inflows to emerging market equity funds slowed…
Are there longer-term risks to the seemingly benign inflation picture? If 2024 is to be the ‘year of the bond’, inflation has to fall. The assumptions around inflation have had a wobble since the start of the year, as the US CPI reading for December came in ahead of expectations, and economic growth continues to…
Uncertainty remains the dominant theme for professional fund selectors over the coming year, according to analysis undertaken by Natixis Investment Managers. The firm attributed this anxiety to escalating global tensions, low expectations for economic growth and a higher interest rate environment weighing on sentiment. The research canvassed the views of 500 investment professionals in 26…
EU firms have boosted investment in digitalisation, energy efficiency and supply chain diversification, according to a report from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The organisation’s Investment Report 2023/2024: Transforming for Competitiveness was released alongside the second edition of the EIB Group Forum, being held this week in Luxembourg. According to the EIB, the European economy…
Healthcare is a sector with a lot going on, writes Cherry Reynard, and some of its potential appears unappreciated by investors If AI was the dominant theme in 2023, healthcare might snap at its heels in 2024. Healthcare has often been characterised as dull and defensive, but breakthroughs on obesity drugs, on Alzheimer’s treatment and…
The European Central Bank opted to keep interest rates unchanged in an expected decision on Thursday. The rates will remain at 4.5% for main refinancing operations, 4.75% for the marginal lending facility and 4% for the deposit facility, where they have sat since September. In the monetary policy statement, the European Central Bank reiterated its…
Solid issuer fundamentals today and tighter bank regulations to come should combine to provide a credit tailwind High-quality preferred securities, primarily issued by investment-grade-rated companies, currently offer 7% to 9% yields – considerably greater than what is available from investment-grade corporate bonds. As Chart 1 shows below, yields on over-the-counter (OTC) and contingent capital (CoCo)…
Europe is set to experience “weak development” across many of its equity sectors this year, according to forecasts from ING. In What to expect from European sectors in 2024, the financial services giant indicated the manufacturing, staffing and construction sectors were likely to witness declines, even as transport and retail are set to see a…
Investors should be looking to target real estate for the potential to “secure prime assets at discounts”, Savills has argued. In European Property Themes 2024, the firm said investors would be “rewarded” if they choose to “ride the wave of yield compression” in the second half of the year. It also laid out its top…
Europe must recover its competitiveness if it is to maintain its status as a global leader on sustainability and inclusion, analysis by McKinsey has concluded. According to Accelerating Europe: Competitiveness for a New Era, unless growth is re-energised, the standard of living across the continent could end up eroded. The report argued that Europe’s competitive…
It is tough to pick the resulting market outcome from any election, writes Cherry Reynard 2024’s calendar of elections kicked off with the Taiwanese election, which immediately careered into controversy. Yet markets appear to be untroubled by any potential escalation in geopolitical tensions it may bring about. Is this a sign of things to come,…
