Specials

Apr 26, 2023

Unpacking returns on equity

In a context of higher inflation and financial instability on the one hand, and a just transition and deglobalization on the other, the drivers of Return on Equity (RoE) across geographies help identify risks and opportunities in equity markets.

Apr 21, 2023

Commercial real estate concerns for US banks

Some US banks remain under pressure, especially those with large exposure to commercial real estate (CRE). The office sector in particular has come under market stress.

Apr 19, 2023

Allianz Pension Report 2023: Reforming against the demographic clock

Pension systems worldwide resemble a large construction site with no prospect of completion – although only a few countries are prepared for the coming demographic changes.

Apr 14, 2023

European food inflation – hungry for profits?

Food prices in Europe remain high and will only decline later this year. In March, headline inflation in the Eurozone declined to 6.9% y/y (down from 8.5% y/y in February) due to a large drop in energy inflation to -0.9% (down from 13.7% y/y in February) as we mark the one-year anniversary of the jump in oil and gas prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Apr 11, 2023

Insolvency report: No rest for the leveraged

The rebound in business insolvencies is picking up speed: Our Global Insolvency Index is set to jump by +21% in 2023 and +4% in 2024. Half of the countries we analyzed are likely to exceed their pre-pandemic levels of insolvencies in 2023, and three out of five in 2024.

Apr 06, 2023

US: Credit crunch in the making?

The US economy has been remarkably resilient to the sharpest monetary tightening in decades. While the housing market started feeling the pinch as early as summer 2022, GDP in the first quarter of 2023 is expected to show robust underlying domestic demand, buoyed by robust consumer spending.

Apr 05, 2023

The green industrial revolution – Investment pathways to decarbonize the industrial sector in Europe

The industrial sector is responsible for roughly one quarter of global greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. A mix of measures, including energy-efficiency improvements, using hydrogen and biomass as feedstock or fuel, producing heat through electric means and adopting carbon-capture technologies, can reduce the sector’s carbon dioxide emissions to almost zero.

Mar 29, 2023

Everything everywhere all at once

Negative confidence effects from the near-death experience in the US banking sector and the unresolved energy situation in Europe will shape the rest of the year. We maintain our call for a sizable recession in the US at the end of the year due to a slowdown in housing, manufacturing and construction, while economic momentum stalls in the Eurozone as fiscal stimulus is gradually pared back.

Mar 24, 2023

Swiss shotgun wedding – What’s next?

Last Sunday, UBS agreed to buy domestic competitor Credit Suisse in a government-brokered all-share deal for USD3.25bn – the largest bank merger since the global financial crisis. The combined entity will have a balance sheet of USD1.7trn, making it one of the top 10 global banks (and comparable in size to Santander (Spain), Wells Fargo (US) or Barclays (UK)).

People Fact Book 2022