Financials
Outlook for 2018
Jonathan Eng This week’s article will focus on some market expectations and key themes to look out for in 2018. Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research predict a macro bullish year so much so that they are ultimately bearish as investors seek to rein in after a prolonged period of growth. Global economic growth…
Read MoreFederal Reserve Rate Hike and its Implications on the Global Economy
Jonathan Eng After the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes on the 22nd November, there has been a mixture of reactions to the signalling of an increase in the Federal Rate. The minutes reflect a more positive atmosphere in the US economy; with a strengthening labour market and a gradual increase in…
Read MoreGlobal Real Estate Concerns – The House Always Wins?
Benjamin Foster Global real estate markets are facing increased concerns as the fundamentals of previously booming markets begin to scare regulators and institutional investors. The main target of this disquiet is China, with Beijing and Shanghai both well known for ballooning house prices and witnessing double-digit gains last year. Whilst this has prompted a degree…
Read MoreEthical Investing: watching the triple bottom line has started to make real economic sense
Isabella Ferros Be it Corporate Social Responsibly, Corporate Accountability, or Creating Shared Value, a plethora of terms have emerged and somewhat inconsequentially circulated the ranks of financial institutions over the last half century. Only recently have investment patterns actually begun to mirror these sentiments. Recent analysis shows that funds which have integrated environmental, social, and…
Read MoreBasel, (aisle) III
Jonathan Eng With the start of 2018 mere weeks away, Basel III is set to be fully implemented across the EU and America. The roll-out has been gradual since its conception in 2010 to allow banks to restructure their balance sheets and capital structure. Basel III is a follow-up, voluntary, set of regulations from Basel…
Read MoreInnovative Payments in FI: Block by (Sort of) Blockchain
Benjamin Foster Financial innovation company R3 CEV and its 22 member banks have developed a new, blockchain-based platform to enable cost effective and near instantaneous cross-border payments, based upon Corda, a distributed ledger technology. At present, international transactions can take several days to be fully finalised, leading not only to delays, but the greater potential…
Read MoreStepping Up Scrutiny of Initial Coin Offerings
Isabella Ferros Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), a method of digitally raising funds from the public using cryptocurrencies, have become an increasing quandary amongst regulators in recent months. Functionally, an ICO can be considered as a ‘coin sale’, whereby issuers accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether in return for a proprietary ‘coin’ or ‘token’, which…
Read MoreTighter Regulatory Measures or Financial Panic?
Ąžuolas Ališauskas For those naïve enough to believe that European banks have resolved their problems, the Bank of England’s most recent stress tests serve as a perfect reminder not to rush to conclusions. Although only RBS failed the test and vulnerabilities were highlighted at Barclays and Standard Chartered, the aggregate Return on Equity (RoE)…
Read MoreState-controlled RBS and its failure in Bank of England’s stress tests
Alexander Baldwin In the Bank of England’s latest round of UK annual stress tests, RBS, Barclays, and Standard Chartered Bank all failed to meet the minimum standards in the stress scenarios, with the former emerging as the worst performer. BoE modelled their tests in the toughest scenarios ever set by the central bank.…
Read MoreWill Trump’s election widen the ECB’s shrinking action space?
Tamas Laszlo Babos Donald Trump’s election instantly impacted global markets. Although the vote’s exact effect on Europe’s trade, security, and political landscape remains unclear, it seems to be positive from the European Central Bank’s perspective. The European economy could enjoy a boost due to the reaction of markets, which would indeed widen the action space…
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