2008-2022: The end of an era, and the beginning of another

Worst year in two decades

clock • 4 min read

Markets have sustained significant losses in the past few weeks as a result of persisting inflation forcing central banks to hike interest rates sharply higher.

Global stocks are now 22% below their December highs and global investment-grade bonds are 19.6%. Volatility is significant and consistent with times of crisis. As a result, global portfolios are experiencing their worst year in at least two decades. Until one year ago, inflation had been absent for two decades. Then, in 2021 it unexpectedly rose. This was seen as mostly the result of Covid-19 lockdowns ending abruptly and disrupting supply chains. Leading it to be dismissed as transitory. A few months of high inflation could not, in theory, change the mindset of consumers who had forgot...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Economics

Tariffs drive record fall in UK exports to US

Tariffs drive record fall in UK exports to US

Imports fall by £400m

Linus Uhlig
clock 12 June 2025 • 2 min read
Partner Insight: What are the implications of policies of the Trump Administration on EMD?

Partner Insight: What are the implications of policies of the Trump Administration on EMD?

Matthew Murphy, Institutional Portfolio Manager of the Emerging Markets Team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), shared his view on the implications of the policies introduced by the Trump Administration for emerging market debt (EMD). Murphy then explained the firm’s approach to the EMD segment.

Matthew Murphy, Institutional Portfolio Manager of the Emerging Markets Team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM)
clock 12 June 2025 • 7 min read
US-China trade talks progress pending framework approval from Trump and Xi

US-China trade talks progress pending framework approval from Trump and Xi

Following London meetings

Linus Uhlig
clock 11 June 2025 • 1 min read
Trustpilot