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6 November 2026

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First Insights January 2016

First Insights, January 2016 – A quarterly publication from the Economic and Market Research team


Introduction
In this edition of First Insights, Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM) discusses key themes for the year ahead and reflect on the year that was.

Much of the year 2015 was dominated by the ongoing debate around the timing of the US Federal Reserve first rate hike. Coupled with financial market volatility, fears over a slowdown of the Chinese economy and the dramatic fall in the oil price, equity markets didn’t perform as well as expected throughout the year.

2016 will see a continuation of market concerns over Chinese growth, speculation over how often and by how much the US Fed will raise rates as well as geo-political tensions that have the potential to disrupt financial markets. CFSGAM explores key themes for 2016 and analyses the implications of these trends for major economies such as the US, China, Europe, Japan and Australia.

Given recent market volatility, a Q&A style format addresses common investor concerns regarding China, the fall in the oil price and general trends in the equity market amongst others.

In the revamped Market Watch, an updated chart pack is included on page 10, as well as updated forecasts for the major developed economies on page 18.

 

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