Your Friday Update - 21st August
Wealth looks for a home
2 minutes to read
As markets pause, what does it mean?
As record-breaking stock markets take a breather, Flora Harley looks at the implications of recent gains for real estate and the wider economy.
The ongoing fiscal and monetary stimulus that is fuelling gains is also contributing to a growing mass of capital and wealth seeking returns, which is likely to make property look more attractive. That's particularly true for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, who have just under a quarter of their wealth in equities, according to The Wealth Report.
Some 30% of US investors expect the stock market to climb further over the next six months, up from 23% last week.
All eyes on jobs
British consumers turned more confident about their personal finances in August, but they were increasingly worried about the outlook for the economy and the jobs market, according to a closely-watched survey.
The conundrum as to how best to unwind jobs protection schemes scheduled to end during the autumn is being hotly debated among policy makers in the UK and overseas. European Central Bank minutes published yesterday revealed concerns over a possible rise in unemployment, but also outlined a range of upsides, including the possibility that households will start to spend the savings they built up during lockdown, and that the EU’s new €750bn recovery fund will accelerate the rebound.
Tracking the virus
German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday called on European leaders to work together to avoid reviving lockdowns. Her calls for a coordinated strategy come as New Zealand continues to grapple with a resurgence and Australia’s virus hot spot state of Victoria recorded its lowest number of new infections in five weeks.
Meanwhile Britain removed Portugal from its quarantine list, but said rising infections elsewhere meant travellers arriving from Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago would have to quarantine themselves for two weeks.
Logistics in Asia Pacific
For the second episode of our Asia Pacific Focus podcast series, we turn to logistics, including the implications for developers of the state of US-China relations, plus why some manufacturing and supply chains are moving out of China and into South East Asia. We also look at what lies ahead in 2021.
Anna Ward is joined by Peter Garrison, Head of Strategic Customers at LOGOS Group, one of the major APAC logistics developers and managers, with over six million sq ft of property from China to India and Vietnam down to Australasia. Listen on Spotify, Acast or Apple.
In other news...
The first Land Registry house price index since its suspension; Skyscrapers give way to sheds; Russia to start vaccine trials abroad; and finally, Brexit negotiations trudge onwards.