The unstoppable trends shaping the world

The global financial crisis, and the related policy response, is drawing to a close. We are currently enjoying a short period of synchronised global growth and improving trade.

But a poorly timed end-of-cycle fiscal boost (via US tax cuts) will simply bring forward an end to extremely loose central bank policy. Quantitative easing is giving way to quantitative tightening and steadily rising interest rates, and we are left a legacy of even more debt and slower trend economic growth. Global markets will begin to reflect this reality in the coming year or so. Equity valuation multiples are unlikely to expand further, and corporate margins in much of the developed world are peaking. LGIM launches climate change tracker fund for retail investors There are t...