HomeArticles

Turkey’s crisis in six charts

15 August 2018Articles, EconomicsEmerging markets, TurkeyNick Dunbar

Turkey faces an economic crisis as its dispute with the US escalates. We highlight Turkey’s financial vulnerabilities with six charts.

Italy’s populists throw down gauntlet to Draghi

25 May 2018Articles, EconomicsECB, European Central Bank, Italy, quantitative easingNick Dunbar

Italy’s new populist government is on a collision course with the ECB, which is mulling the tapering of QE purchases. But inflation divergence suggests a way out for the central bank.

Hefty swap bets fail to lift Total Return Fund

24 May 2018Fundsexchange-traded funds, PimcoNick Dunbar

In a time of rising bond yields, active bond funds can use derivatives to manage duration risk. But as the experience of Pimco shows, attempts to generate alpha this way do not justify the risks or management costs.

Is Pimco’s Ivascyn hooked on credit default swaps?

3 May 2018Fundscredit default swaps, PimcoNick Dunbar

Pimco’s star manager uses credit default swaps to boost returns and increase inflows to his fund. How transparent are the risks?

Steinhoff, the banks and the bezzle

2 March 2018Articles, BanksNick Dunbar

A scandal at South African group Steinhoff has hit the large banks that lent $1.6bn to the company’s largest shareholder. Differences in the way banks treated the exposure highlight hidden risks in the financial system.