Economic Insights

The Franklin Templeton Fixed Income team believe that issuers that think critically about the environment in which they operate could outperform throughout the full market cycle compared with those who are slower to adapt.

Whatever stories Americans are told about the strength of the economy under President Joe Biden, they are not going to be persuaded to look past the issue of their own living standards. For most Americans, these have declined somewhat as price increases have outpaced wage growth.

Banks have reemerged as a potential pain point for the investment community, as rating agencies recently embarked on a downgrade cycle in the sector.

Industrial securities are unloved by financial advisors. However, it is the backbone of a relatively popular sector ETF and two relatively new thematic ETFs positioned to benefit from transformational changes. Perhaps they want to dive deeper into the fundamentals with us during the VettaFi Equity Symposium on September 21.

For new investors, the world of finance can appear daunting. But among the sea of investment options, Treasury bonds (often just called “Treasuries”) are a pillar of stability and reliability.

Given the uncertainty over a recession, there are other incremental steps that investors may want to consider instead. These include making adjustments to a portfolio’s market beta and credit exposure.

A return to the Great Moderation Era looks unlikely, which might lead to an increasingly volatile—and somewhat unfamiliar—inflationary, economic, and geopolitical landscape.

Celebrating an exciting milestone: Franklin Income Fund turns 75. Learn more about this flagship strategy and read some fun facts from back in 1948.

The term “Bond Vigilantes” is a nostalgic twist on an old-west theme. In the nineteenth century, the American West formed self-appointed groups, or committees, to seize the duties of law enforcement and judicial authority in situations when citizens found law enforcement lacking or inadequate.

When markets are in a rising tide, all boats (aka stocks) can benefit. When the waters are choppier, active equity selection aims to identify the sounder vessels. Tony DeSpirito reviews five reasons why he believes the new environment is setting up to favor an active approach.

The FOMC will make some close calls and tough decisions.

Confidence is returning to the bond markets and one sign is corporations’ willingness to start taking on debt again with new issuance.

Markets are convinced that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is going to pause its interest rate campaign after it finalizes its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday, September 20.

Despite substantial growth and huge advancements in public policy support, clean energy has had an abysmal stretch in the stock market the last two and a half years.

The University of Colorado Buffaloes are undefeated and suck up a lot of oxygen in the college football world.

Okay, I took a little poetic license, but the point is that while we try, predictions of the future are difficult at best and impossible at worst.

Forced deleveraging to be chaotic, causing a new Fed and banking panic.

In a significant turnaround for its aviation sector, Mexico’s air safety rating was upgraded from Category 2 back to Category 1 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The upgrade could be a game-changer, offering opportunities for both Mexican airlines and their U.S. joint venture partners.

Competing narratives have emerged to describe the state of the U.S. economy.

Soft consumer confidence and property-market woes are playing a large role in the slowdown of China’s economy.

The Northern Trust Economics team shares its outlook for U.S. growth, employment, interest rates and inflation.

Now, is it an oversimplification to say that the upgrade to GDP growth is just down to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé? It is, to a degree, no matter how popular they are—and they are very popular indeed.

Bearish China traders have had the upper hand for most of the year. Still, easing deflation could give bulls a glimmer of hope.

The Energizer Bunny! That’s the term that best describes the U.S. economy.

Hear from Jeff Schulze, Head of Economic and Market Strategy at ClearBridge Investments, about the state of the US economy. Get his perspective on the Federal Reserve’s next potential moves.

Although US bond yields are well above their lows of the past decade, it’s always a good idea to think globally.

In February this year we wrote an article entitled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Recession. Fast forward to the current situation, where opinion has shifted away from recession in favor of a soft-landing scenario. Does that same contrary analysis mean a recession is now more likely? The simple answer is no, not yet anyway!

Inflation averaged 1.8% in the ten years pre-COVID. Don’t expect inflation to average that low in the decade ahead. Not until the US finds a way to repeat the 1980s policy mix.

The 10-year Treasury yield has climbed steadily over the past two years. But we believe fixed-income investors should be prepared for lower yields ahead.

Measuring, anticipating and controlling the cost of healthcare are all difficult.

How long will the Federal Reserve continue quantitative tightening (QT)? How large will its balance sheet be when QT ends? These important questions impact financial market liquidity, the anchor of asset values. We assess the likely path of QT in the years ahead.

That’s a bold prediction in the title. I believe it will come true.

In this first episode, Franklin Templeton Institute’s Tony Davidow discusses the democratization of alternative investments and related topics with CAIA’s John Bowman.