Tilney Bestinvest's Lewis: The growing discrediting of central banks

Equities have continued to perform well in recent weeks, with emerging markets and commodity sectors leading the way, as oil and basic materials have continued to rally, writes Gareth Lewis, CIO of Tilney Bestinvest.

In credit, high yield corporate bonds also benefitted from the move in oil prices, while the forthcoming European Central Bank bond purchase programme has offered support for quality corporates against a weaker backdrop for Western sovereign bonds. Yet despite the recent buoyancy in risk assets, we believe a more cautious stance remains appropriate as there are many challenges facing the global economy at a time when asset prices remain inflated by too much leverage. In particular, while recent data out of China has been more upbeat, this has also been accompanied by a further expansi...