This is one of the most intriguing charts on my desk at the moment, it shows our composite global PMI backlogs indicator falling to the lowest level in almost 2 years… meanwhile inventories are surging to record levels.

Energy commodity prices (the index in this chart includes crude oil, natural gas, and other petroleum products) have pulled back from the highs, but it could just be the start of a deeper correction if the price action in industrial metal commodities is anything to go by.

While much of the rest of the world is increasingly entrenched into bear market mode, Chinese equities are looking more and more interesting as China continues zigging while the rest of the world is zagging.

One of the most interesting aspects of the past decade has been the divergence in valuations between the USA and the rest of the world.

This is one of my favorite charts, and one that helped get us onto the right side of the global policy pivot that has rippled across markets this year.

This commentary provides a look at what we covered in the latest Weekly Insights report. The Weekly Insights Report is part of our entry-level service: presenting some of the key findings from our institutional research service.

This article talks through a selection of charts and indicators that will be key to watch to understand the risk and opportunity set for globally focused active asset allocators in 2018. The charts cover inflation, monetary policy, bond yields, gold, emerging markets, high yield credit, global equities, and China.