The Bid

The coronavirus has driven markets into turmoil over the past few weeks. And this uncertainty has created a lot of questions: What are the parallels between today and the financial crisis of 2008? Is today’s crisis worse? What signs are we looking for which suggest we are on the path to recovery? On this episode of The Bid, we answer these questions through a deep dive with Kate Moore, Head of The...

Factor investing has been years ahead in the sustainability conversation. Factors are characteristics that help explain stock returns – think buying cheap, trending, high-quality, or lower-risk stocks – and many factors have sustainable components to them as well. In the third episode of our mini-series, “Sustainability. Our new standard,” Andrew Ang, Head of Factor Investing, talks about why that...

The coronavirus is spreading to more and more countries, opening up a new global dimension to this epidemic and gripping markets with volatility and uncertainty. As a result, our BlackRock Investment Institute has downgraded our global growth outlook.  On this episode of The Bid, Global Chief Investment Strategist Mike Pyle discusses the effects we think coronavirus will have on global m...

What comes to mind when you hear of emerging markets? If portfolios are any indication, many investors shy away from emerging market (EM) stocks. EMs are often unfamiliar territory – and fear of the unknown can create cold feet. On this episode of The Bid, Gordon Fraser, portfolio manager for EM on BlackRock’s Fundamental Active Equity team, walks through the EM terrain around the world...

Geopolitics and trade tensions drove the market narrative in 2019. While we see trade tensions moving sideways this year, other risks still loom. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are elevated; technology competition between the U.S. and China shows no signs of easing; and the U.S. is heading for one of its most consequential elections in modern history. On this episode of The Bid, Tom Donilon, C...

In the second episode of our mini-series, “Sustainability. Our new standard,” Philipp Hildebrand, BlackRock’s Vice Chairman, and Rachel Lord, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, talk about why the public and private sector together must tackle climate change, how BlackRock will deliver on recent announcements regarding sustainability and the moments that changed their perspective on the climat...

Since the Global Financial Crisis, major central banks like the Federal Reserve in the United States and the European Central Bank in Europe have helped support record-long economic expansion. But central banks are starting to face limits – and the tools of the past, such as interest rates, may not be enough when the next downturn happens. The answer? Central banks and governments may need to part...

Climate change will have a lasting impact on global economic growth – fundamentally reshaping finance and investment management. BlackRock has announced a series of changes that make sustainability our new standard for investing, including exiting sectors that present high environmental, social and governance risks, such as thermal coal producers; launching new products that screen fossil fuels; a...

It’s the top of a new decade, and there’s a lot to look forward to in the markets. Will China trade tensions persist? Who will win the U.S. election? And will stock markets continue to hit new highs? On this episode of The Bid, Mike Pyle, BlackRock’s Global Chief Investment Strategist, talks about the three themes that he sees shaping markets in the year ahead, why the U.S. election may be a headw...

Fintech went mainstream this year, in large part as technology companies started to bridge the worlds of tech and finance. But there’s another, more established side to fintech: enterprise technology. More and more, large companies are starting to rethink the role that technology plays in their businesses. On this episode of The Bid, Sudhir Nair, Global Head of the Aladdin Business, talks about wh...

2019 is nearly over, and stock investors can breathe a sigh of relief. The year brought no economic recession, the consumer sector is strong and unemployment is low. Is this as good as it gets, and what does this mean heading into 2020? On this episode of The Bid, Tony DeSpirito, Portfolio Manager and Chief Investment Officer for BlackRock’s U.S. Fundamental Active Equity Group, talks about his ou...

Global growth looks set to rise in the first half of 2020. But rising income and wealth inequality and a surge in populism are testing limits across multiple dimensions. What does this mean for how we invest?  On this episode of The Bid, the second in a two-part series, we go behind the scenes at our Investment Forum to hear from thought leaders and investors on the path forward for global gr...

Rising inequality, environmental pressures, increased protectionism and the reduced effectiveness of monetary policy have put institutions globally under stress. But the tools and policies used in the past may not be effective in solving these challenges. As the world pushes up against its structural limit, what does this mean for geopolitics, economies and markets?   On this episode of The B...

This year, millennials surpassed baby boomers as the largest living adult generation in the U.S. And that’s not the only shift that’s underway. Millennials also make up the largest working cohort, and they’re the first generation to spend their early lives on the Internet.   Millennials are also driving megatrends – technology, demographics and social change, urbanization, climate change and...

In the wake of the financial crisis, there was an expectation that robo-advisors – digital platforms that manage money – would take over investing. Years later, that hasn't happened. But with hundreds of billions of dollars under management, robo-advisors have been successful at driving the adoption of investing among millennials. So how do you build a robo-advisor? On this episode of The Bid...

On September 14th, a series of airstrikes hit two Saudi Arabian energy facilities. It was the most significant attack on energy infrastructure in decades – but markets didn’t seem to think so. So why was the reaction so muted? On this episode of The Bid, Amer Bisat, Head of Emerging Market and Sovereign Alpha, sheds some light on the mystery: what happened, why it happened and what comes next. He...

For the past 10 years, investors have been riding a bull market – a stock market that’s on the rise – in the U.S. But ripples are showing beneath the surface, from trade and geopolitical tensions to changing demographics around the world. But according to Rick Rieder, Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income and Head of Global Allocation, there’s still a lot to be excited about. On this ep...

It was the bubble to rival all bubbles. In March of 2000, the tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index hit its dot-com era peak. But by the fall of 2002, it was nearly all gone, alongside many of tech’s unicorn companies.   It would take 15 years for the Nasdaq to reclaim its losses, and today tells a different story. Tech stocks are back in the headlines as the sector to keep an eye on. On this episode...

Nearly one in six people worldwide don’t have the physical documentation they need to access healthcare, housing or to vote. But what if our identities were completely digitized? It’d be just one of the many ways that blockchain could enter our daily lives. The hype for blockchain has simmered compared to past euphoria – but there’s still a lot to look forward to. On this episode of The Bid, Black...

From New York to new players like Denver and Seattle, cities are growing and developing by the second. Brick and mortar stores are being replaced by e-commerce, e-commerce companies are actually opening brick and mortar locations, and co-working and co-living spaces are becoming the norm.   On this episode of The Bid, Ben Young, Head of U.S. Real Estate, discusses the three biggest disruptors...

Movies can tell us a lot about how our society is changing and progressing. Since Jurassic Park came out, the cost of mapping a human genome has drop 99.9% from $14 million to just $1,000. And since The Terminator , robots have become a $15 trillion market worldwide. The topics of science fiction have now become science fact. Megatrends are changing the trajectory of the global economy by shifting...

A home goods store started selling a bread machine. When the bread machine first came out, sales were – perhaps unsurprisingly – slow. But then, they released a deluxe version that was 50% more expensive. Suddenly, the original started flying off the shelves. When it comes to money, our irrationalities – our biases – impact more than just our purchasing behavior. They also impact our investment de...

When was the last time you bought a shirt you didn’t need, just because it was on sale? Or you drank a $5 coffee when there was cheaper coffee across the street? People are irrational, despite our best efforts otherwise, particularly when it comes to money. On this episode of The Bid, Dan Ariely, behavioral economist, professor at Duke University, and co-founder of Common Cents Lab, speaks about w...

Markets appear poised for change. Global growth is slowing, we are late in the business cycle, and geopolitical tensions could potentially wind back decades of globalization. What will be the main drivers of markets for the rest of this year? On this episode of The Bid, we’ll hear views on our midyear outlook from strategists and portfolio managers such as Elga Bartsch, Head of Macro Research...

Markets are sending mixed signals. After a downturn at the end of 2018, we’ve seen the stock market rally in 2019 against a backdrop of geopolitical ups and downs. The whiplash looks set to continue, with trade disputes ongoing in almost every world region, 2020 U.S. elections in full swing and tensions building in the Gulf. Our measure of market chatter around geopolitics – the BlackRock Geopolit...