UBS On-Air: Market Moves

Bond and equity markets have weakened in Asian trading. There seems to be no single cause, rather a general sense of increasing risk. Economically, the drop in equities is not that significant—in theory, there might be negative wealth effects, but this is too small a move and most consumers have been relying on lowering savings rates, not equity liquidation to finance their consumption.

Health care has not seen the same stock market traction as AI and power and resources over the past year, but continues to serve as a key ingredient to a diversified portfolio and a source of stability. This episode explores how the sector is not just a defensive play, with the pharma industry moving toward innovation-driven growth led by GLP-1 drugs. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence and genomics are transforming how drugs are discovered, while an aging global population provides a powerful structural tailwind for demand.

Shane drops by to recap this week’s primary election outcomes, and shares thoughts on potential outcome scenarios for the November mid-term elections. Plus, a review of Congressional legislative priorities over the next few months, and an update on where negotiations stand to end the US-Iran war. Featured is Shane Lieberman, Senior Governmental Affairs Advisor, Governmental Affairs US. Host: Daniel Cassidy

Andrew Dubinsky, Senior US Economist from the UBS Chief Investment Office, drops by on this jobs Friday to reflect on the May employment report and the overall health of the US labor market. Plus, a preview of next week’s May inflation data, and thoughts on what the inflationary environment could look like in the second half of the year. Host: Daniel Cassidy

The US employment report adds a rather unreliable narrative to the US labor market data. Expectations are for a dull report, with an unchanged unemployment rate and a sub-100,000 non-farm payrolls number. However, the range of estimates is particularly scattered. When job creation is this weak, the composition of the workforce may distort the average hourly earnings data without saying anything about wage growth.