News flash Concerns shift from inflation to growth

Concerns shift from inflation to growth

The IMF has revised its global growth outlook for 2022 and 2023 downwards to 3.6% for both years. This is despite inflation risks falling. The question is whether we are now facing a recessionary environment. According to UBS research, there are three factors that can mitigate this risk: First, European spending firepower should limit the…

News flash The bullwhip effect

The bullwhip effect

The “bullwhip effect” was coined in 1997 and refers to a phenomenon within supply chain management whereby shifts in consumer demand cause greatly exaggerated changes further up the supply chain. Inventory swings act in bigger and bigger “waves” in response to consumer demand, with the largest “waves” impacting the suppliers of raw materials – either…

News flash Will Russia go nuclear?

Will Russia go nuclear?

Last weekend, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces into a higher state of alert, the first time the Kremlin has done so since the Russian Federation was established in 1991. According to Daryl Kimball, executive director of Washington-based Arms Control Association, “This is the first time in the post-Cold War era that a US…

News flash Sanguine outlooks

Sanguine outlooks

Just how different this year is proving to investors! Most analysts expected some action on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve in 2022, but perhaps not the five rate hikes they’re now pricing in. Inflation was clearly driving upwards, but we’re seeing much higher, more consistent price increases. Since early January, many global institutional…