Wilmington Trust’s Capital Considerations

It was hardly a coincidence that Russia’s President Putin waited until after the Beijing Olympics to invade Ukraine—a move that was clearly a courtesy to China’s President Xi Jinping. Under his leadership, the Chinese Communist Party exerts nearly unfettered control and instant ability to implement, leaving markets to simultaneously understand what’s happened and anticipate what’s next. What do investors need to know? Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth is joined by Chinese domestic and foreign policy expert Dr. Elizabeth Economy, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and author of The World According to China.

“Global resource disorder.” It’s a term the team coined to convey the severe labor market shortage which—more than any other economic factor—has brought about a massive breakdown in the normally well-oiled global supply chain. Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth and Head of Investment Strategy Meghan Shue explore how companies are pivoting in the face of these challenges by deploying a broad spectrum of technological solutions, and how we are managing client portfolios in light of our expectations for 2022.

The health crisis of the past two years has resulted in acute dislocations among key pockets of the economy, leading to a cycle that is unprecedented. We face inflation that’s at its highest in nearly four decades and the tightest-ever labor market. Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth and Chief Economist Luke Tilley discuss the disconnects within the economy, the anticipated trajectory for inflation, and much more.

Employees and job-seekers are very much in the driver’s seat in today’s high-demand low-supply labor market—a severe issue punctuated by the November jobs report. And the labor participation rate remains a critical factor in trying to dimension the long-term trajectory of markets and inflation. What will it take to get people back to work? How is business innovating to attract talent and leveraging technology to close labor gaps? Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth discusses the widespread impacts of the tightest-ever labor market with ZipRecruiter’s Chief Economist, Julia Pollak.

Blockchain, the brains behind cryptocurrencies, is a concept that once seemed like the stuff of science fiction. But there is much more that blockchain can do beyond supporting digital currency. It is the building block (pun intended) of programmable ledgers that will define the way forward for complex digital financial transactions. CIO Tony Roth explores blockchain’s vast potential with Paul Brody, EY Global Blockchain Leader.

When the Colonial Pipeline was hacked last spring, it forced the company’s only complete operational shutdown in 57 years, ceasing its normal daily transport of 2.5 million barrels of fuel for five days. This is just one instance of widespread cybercrime in the past 12 months. Online attackers are getting increasingly sophisticated, finding new ways to outsmart our defenses. Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth sits down with cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright to discuss what businesses and individuals can do to stay safe from ongoing cyberthreats.

B.C.—before COVID—children bemoaned the end of summer while parents waited with bated breath for a return to school, work and well, the normal routine of life. That was then. Today, the Delta variant has pushed up case rates, while vaccination rates in certain states remain anemic. Are mandates the needed shot in the arm to get us up and running on the road to normalcy? And what is our obligation to make vaccine rate inroads globally? Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth and New York University Langone Medical Center’s Dr. Arthur Caplan discuss these matters and much more.

Investors remain infatuated with bitcoin, the digital diva of cash systems, despite its extraordinary volatility. But is the love misplaced? Stillmark Venture Capital Founder and Managing Partner Alyse Killeen joins Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth to break down the currency into its essential building blockchain elements and explore its practical applications.