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Lending long-term whilst borrowing short-term is the typical dynamic of a commercial bank. It takes deposits from the public with the promise of keeping them safe and lends them out for a longer period in exchange for a return. Seems easy enough to understand. So, how do financial crises occur with these organisations at the centre of the action? 

As the old saying goes, you should not put all your eggs in one basket. This is a valuable metaphor for explaining how to manage your investment risk. Investing money over a wide range of assets is the key to lower risk without sacrificing the potential for higher returns.

Despite nuclears controversial past, it is currently poised as one of the most affordable low carbon energy options we have. The key takeaway for investors as nuclear becomes key to achieving net zero ambitions, is monitoring the demand for uranium. As demand exceeds supply, uranium stocks could see a skip in their step at the center of the transition.

Liability Driven Investments are a little known but very consequential part of the financial system. These are investments that attempt to generate cashflows matching long term liabilities and they are popular with pension funds who have long term predictable liabilities. The LDI market has just taken a bruising bump as a result of the previous government’s mini budget, with Schroders alone writing off £20bn in value.

Global ESG assets could surpass $41 trillion by 2022 and $50 trillion by 2025. This would represent a third of the projected total assets under management globally, which exemplifies the sheer scale of ESG forces within modern investing.

Investors viewed the UKs financial stability, and ultimately its ability to repay its debt as more precarious than before the mini budget. In their eyes, the UKs credit worthiness had diminished, and as a result demanded a higher rate of return for UK government bonds. Demand for bonds in circulation dropped, and so did their price, causing their yield to spike to 4.5%

In this digital era, semiconductors have become the key to survival and prosperity for every economy. And quite reasonably so, as semiconductors are the backbone of a digital economy. Semiconductors are essential to almost every technology, from smartphones to electric cars. 

The ability to implement robust investment strategies has evolved in line with modern technology; specifically the use of algorithms. Algorithmic trading can provide greater accuracy and speed with reduced costs for the investor. This provides a more systematic approach to active, and even passive, investing compared to traditional, manual methods.

If you boil it down, a recession is simply two consecutive quarters (so half a year) of negative economic growth. It’s a period where our economy is getting smaller, not bigger. Sure, recessions normally last longer but that’s the textbook definition of a recession.

Why are we seeing high inflation? There are a lot of moving parts here, so let’s break it down. Inflation levels rose significantly towards the close of 2021, where the UK recorded its highest rate of inflation in almost 3 decades, at 5.4%, and the US experienced its highest inflation rate in nearly 40 years, at nearly 7%.