

The Barings Investment Institute conducts proprietary research to help our teams make the most of the firm’s unique expertise in public and private markets around the world, while exploring the forces that shape long-term investment and capital decisions.

Housing Trembles But The Foundation's Still Strong
U.S. housing demand is cooling as the 30-year mortgage rate reaches a 13-year high, though housing starts and permits remain above pre-COVID levels. Economic data shows strong but normalizing growth, and recession risks remain as PMIs, housing data, and China’s economy all slow.

The Inflation Playbook
How does today's inflation compare to history and how are higher CPI numbers impacting economic growth? What can central bankers do to combat inflation? And how can investors navigate this environment? Dr. Christopher Smart weighs in on these questions and more.

Shoppers Keep Spending, But For How Long?
A risk-off tone was prominent this week in markets amid rising worries of stagflation, given aggressive monetary policy. Despite the solid U.S. retail sales data, retailers led a sharp decline in equities mid-week, which pushed U.S. Treasury yields lower.

Russian Gas Flows Face New Obstacles
European gas disruptions led the euro to depreciate against the dollar, while U.S. inflation data buoyed stagflation fears and expectations of aggressive Fed tightening. In China, renminbi weakness continues, given more hints of policy easing.

Rising Inflation is Not All Bad News for Profit Margins
Concerns over companies’ profit margins continue to mount as the U.S. economy faces the highest inflation since the 1980s. However, we find that some sectors’ margins actually increase in high inflation.

How Ukraine Mission Creep Will Fuel the Next Inflation Wave
And that’s on top of the other risks from war aims that are turning ever more resolute, expansive, and vague.

50 Is The New 25
The FOMC raised the Fed funds rate by 50bps and announced the beginning of quantitative tightening. Chairman Powell signaled that 50bps hikes will be the new normal for the next couple of meetings, as inflation fears remain. The BoE and ECB also contemplate their paths ahead.

Will Inflation Kill Growth?
Inflation is outpacing wages in both Europe and the U.S., households are becoming poorer. How long before they start cutting spending and growth sputters?

An Aging Workforce Hunts for New Global Investment Opportunities
Richer, older, developed countries face slowing population growth, while poorer, younger, developing countries face faster growth. Successful investments could boost standards of living in these developing countries, aiding demand for goods, housing, transportation, and more.