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Oil market outlook: Striking a delicate balance

After a period of stagnation, oil markets have begun to recover and prices are rising again. This development is mostly due to production cuts by the OPEC+ group. However, oil demand is not expected to reach pre-Covid levels before 2022, and the transport sector, which will play a determining role, may struggle to return to the status quo ante, at least in the near future.

Scenarios for investment managers’ exploitation of ESG
“ESG” is the new buzzword in finance and investment. The initials stand for “environmental, social and governance” – three criteria deemed necessary for sustainable business. The new focus on such goals, however, has given agents like investment managers leverage over their clients and a new excuse for underperformance. Righting the ...


COVID-19 and the future of central banking
As the coronavirus pandemic freezes large swaths of the economy, the world’s three most important central banks find themselves under tremendous political pressure to flood the markets with easy money again. Their approaches may prove significantly different.


The promises and risks of the EU’s single safe asset project
The launch of a Sovereign Bond-Backed Security (SBBS) is advocated by EU leaders as the best way to overcome the flaws inherent in the monetary union, which became notably obvious after the euro debt crisis of 2009. The SBBS is supposed to offer European investors new reliable stores of value, ...


The political corruption of monetary policy
The 2008 U.S. housing crash and the European debt crisis led many politicians to question the importance of independent central banks. However, this approach is not without consequences. There are now several patterns of influence on central banks, ranging from direct political meddling to more subtle institutional pressure. Left unchecked, ...

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