The global vaccination effort is resulting in the daily administration of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses and a decline in virus cases. Though progress is likely to move in fits and starts, we expect a boost to global activity as nations increase the pace of inoculations, reduce virus-related social distancing measures, and move to reopen their economies.
Economic growth is picking up as the vaccine rollout gains speed, commodity prices are heading higher, the government is proposing another large fiscal aid package, and the Federal Reserve is pledging to keep its very easy monetary policy intact for the foreseeable future. Not surprisingly, inflation expectations are rising. Given these factors, how concerned should investors be about inflation? Here’s our take on the current situation, and what investors can consider doing now.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated key global trends, most notably the adoption of digital technologies and the expanding role of government in the economy. Our top trends for 2021 look at how these themes are likely to evolve, reshaping prospects for inflation, easy money, the dollar and emerging markets, and recasting the profile of global market winners and losers.
Here are five themes William Blair expects will gain the attention of investors in the decade to come.
The past five weeks have brought an array of conflicting news on the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting our estimates about when the coronavirus pandemic will end.
As we reflect on 2020, here are nine of the good news stories that might have slipped your attention in the past 12 months.
As striking as behavior shifts were in 2020, we may one day look back at 2021 as a major turning point not only for the economy but for public health, politics and the way we live in the digital age. “The longer we live in an environment where we have to be careful about our health, the more persistent behavior change will be,” Romo says. “We just hit the fast-forward button to the future, and I don’t think we’re going back.”
It is puzzling to many why U.S. equity markets continue to set record highs. Following are some thoughts on why this is happening.
The world is smaller and people are poorer as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, from which it will take five to six years to recover, according to Martin Wolf.
There’s some massive news out about COVID-19 — and it’s good for a change. Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine is reportedly successful in preventing over 90% of infections according to early data from its Phase 3 study.