All White papers articles – Page 168
-
White papers
5G Digitalization: Bringing the Back Office Forward
5G digitalization technology is streamlining small and mid-sized businesses’ (SMB) back office processes. What opportunities could this bring?
-
White papers
The Widening Appeal of Private Placements & Infrastructure Debt
Illiquid asset classes like private placements and infrastructure debt can offer investors incremental risk-adjusted returns, as well as a number of other compelling competitive advantages.
-
White papers
How the Ukraine crisis could affect global food sustainability
With the prices of various food staples off the charts, Robert-Alexandre Poujade explores the knock-on effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will likely have on global food security and broader sustainability.
-
White papers
A fireside chat about the Hong Kong dollar as it revisits 7.85
For the first time since 2019, the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) has fallen to the lower end of the Convertibility-Undertaking threshold, under which the Hong Kong Monetary Authority limits the currency’s trading range against the US dollar. Chi Lo, our senior market strategist in Hong Kong, explains what is happening and discusses the mechanism in place to sustain the Hong Kong dollar peg.
-
White papers
Credit: This Time Is Different?
With market volatility at the extreme, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions looks back at history to see what to expect from certain fixed income asset classes, noting that history may not repeat.
-
White papers
Climate Transition risk in Fixed Income Insurance Investment
For insurance portfolios, for reducing the carbon footprint given the limited turnover possibilities, we adopt a gradial asset rotation approach, exiting from poor ESG-rated assets gradually while pushing for change in activist approach via our engagement activities. From an insurance investment standpoint, the expectations in terms of transition risk will most probably result in heightened pressure on prices of high carbon footprint assets.
-
White papers
Staying Buoyant with Floating-Rate Securitized Products
Investors flock to floating-rate assets during periods of rising interest rates for two primary reasons: they stand to benefit from increasing coupon payments as policy rates rise, and the assets’ minimal duration risk provides insulation during periods of volatility in long-duration assets. Judging by the $53 billion of inflows since the start of 2021, investors are often steered towards leveraged loans when it comes to floating-rate assets.
-
White papers
On the Road Again: Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia
We visited Ghana to better understand the country’s fiscal outlook. Despite recent curbs to government spending, the picture that emerged was concerning. Most measures, such as cuts in ministers’ and top officials’ salaries, have not had a significant impact, nor will a ban on car imports by government ministries. Secondly, politically sensitive and non-discretionary expenditures, like wages for public-sector employees and interest payments, accounts for 53-55% of total expenditures.
-
White papers
Ukraine: the blackest of black swan events
When Russian tanks crossed Ukraine’s border early on February 24, it took the world by surprise. United States intelligence had been warning of the increasing dangers of an invasion, but few in the markets took the threat seriously, so when it happened, it was, in finance jargon, a black swan event. Mahdi Mokrane gives his view of the business impact.
-
White papers
Engagement theme: Biodiversity collapse
At AXA IM, we are committed to biodiversity protection. Throughout 2021, this commitment has been continually reaffirmed through a series of actions: Reinforcement of our biodiversity strategy and enhancement of our Deforestation and Ecosystems Protection Policy; further integration of biodiversity issues based on continuous engagement activities; and the consideration of new biodiversity dedicated data developed by our partner Iceberg Data Lab.
-
White papers
Engagement theme: Climate change
Climate change is one of the central pillars of AXA IM’s engagement with companies. While this theme is transversal and relevant to all firms from all sectors, we focus our efforts where materiality is greatest, notably energy (hence the relevance of UN SDG 7 and SDG 13), but also banks – through their lending policies as well as the building materials industry.
-
White papers
Asset Class Return Forecasts - Q2 2022
The continuing surging inflation due to the supply shocks and the Ukrainian conflict have dominated headlines compounding to the possible repercussions surrounding climate change, further affecting economic and financial indicators in the medium term and beyond.
-
White papers
Are We There Yet?
Regardless of whether we get a hard or soft landing, we likely face a steep approach to the runway in trying to “land this plane.” The question is, how well consumers and companies absorb the slowdown, and whether sentiment is already bearish enough to create long-term value.
-
White papers
Japan: Land of the Rising Prices?
Japan looks set to emerge from 30 years of near-zero inflation in 2022—but are its companies able to absorb higher costs, or even re-learn the art of passing price hikes on to their customers?
-
White papers
Russian Gas Flows Face New Obstacles
The risk-off tone and heightened volatility in markets continued this week. Disruptions in European gas supplies (see page 2) led the euro to depreciate against the U.S. dollar, approaching 2016 lows. Meanwhile, elevated inflation data in the U.S. buoyed stagflation fears and expectations of an aggressive Fed tightening path, leading equities and the U.S. 10-year yield lower.
-
White papers
Shanghai’s lockdown – What might it mean for global supply chains?
A prolonged Covid-lockdown of Shanghai could cause longer-than-expected disruption to global supply chains and raise inflationary pressure. As one of China’s largest hubs, Shanghai’s manufacturing and transport capacity is simply too big to be replaced elsewhere.
-
White papers
Relative value in EM local markets
Emerging market (EM) core inflation has risen by less than US inflation, in part due to weak economic conditions within EM and proactive EM central banks. The acceleration of interest rate hikes by EM central banks has driven up real interest rate differentials between EM and the US, making ...
-
White papers
Air travel is taking off again
After two years of relatively empty skies, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is an eyewitness to the incredible resurgence of demand for air travel. Faced with long security delays at Dublin Airport, he implored the Irish government to call up the army last month to help process eager travelers flooding the terminals.
-
White papers
The Great Wave of Yen Weakness
Templeton Global Equity Group highlight that the weaker Japanese Yen is thought of as positive for Japanese businesses with a high degree of exports, but it may not necessarily be as beneficial as many think.
-
White papers
Alternative Data: Workforce Recovery and the Great Resignation
More displaced workers seem ready to come back into the labor force, but employers may need to watch their highly compensated “stayers.”