Corporate activity in The Monday Briefing
Who made money in 2019?
2019 was a good year for financial markets and investors, with global equities up 27% over the course of the year. All major asset classes ended 2019 up on the year and risk assets were clear outperformers.
Global stocks rallied through most of last year, punctuated by short-lived sell-offs driven by rising trade tensions in May and worries about US growth in August. Risk assets largely shrugged off geopolitical concerns around the Middle East, Russian interference in foreign elections and growing US-China discord.
Equities were supported by unexpected monetary easing by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) designed to bolster growth. At the end of 2018, financial markets had expected the Fed to raise interest rates and the ECB to end its programme of quantitative easing in 2019. Instead, the Fed made three 25bps rate cuts and the ECB reduced interest rates and eased monetary conditions.
Thoughts on the UK general election
Boris Johnson’s 80-seat parliamentary majority has transformed the UK political scene. What does it mean for business and the economy? As always what follows is a personal view.
A China-US trade deal won’t end protectionism
Last week US equities hit new highs on hopes that China and the US would reach an agreement in their 18-month trade dispute. Financial markets think a deal would reduce uncertainty, boosting investment and growth.
Crunching the credit signals
This time last year central banks in the rich world were poised to tighten monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve was expected to continue raising interest rates and the European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi had announced the end of its programme of quantitative easing.
Weaponising global networks
Globalisation has been one of the defining features of the modern era. It has been marked by the movement of goods, services, ideas, capital and people through a plethora of cross-border networks.
Corporate caution, financial market optimism
Today we are launching our quarterly “UK corporate environment” chart book, which is available here: https://blogs.deloitte.co.uk/mondaybriefing/
2019/07/uk-corporate-environment.html. The report aims to provide a graphical summary of the key trends and themes shaping the UK corporate sector, setting the context to the CFO survey. We will be developing and refining the chart book and welcome your feedback. Do feel free to use any of the charts in your own presentations and drop my colleague Tom Simmons a line at tsimmons@deloitte.co.uk with ideas and comments.
UK corporate environment
Deloitte CFO Survey: The dash for cash
Today’s Briefing summarises the findings of the latest Deloitte Survey of Chief Financial Officers which was released overnight. The full report is available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/finance/articles/deloitte-cfo-survey.html
Brexit worries dominate latest CFO Survey
The third quarter Deloitte survey of UK Chief Financial Officers released today shows concerns about Brexit weighing heavily on business sentiment.