The gravitational pull of globalisation

Tom Walker, manager of the Martin Currie Portfolio Investment Trust, discusses how the tragedy in Japan demonstrates just how small the world has become.

Globalisation is perhaps the most dominant force in today’s world and is a vital consideration for investors. If there were ever any doubt on the matter, the first three months of 2011 have provided ample illustration of just how interdependent the world’s economies and stock markets have become. The turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has helped drive up the oil price, prompting a surge in oil-related stocks worldwide. The higher fuel costs that the soaring oil price entails have exacerbated the inflationary pressures in the developing world, where food prices were already risin...