Investors should not expect everything to go ‘back to normal' in 2023, says Melda Mergen, Global Head of Equities, Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Higher inflation and a weaker economic environment will mean not all companies will thrive.

To understand the current volatility, it helps to get reacquainted with just how out of whack things were coming into 2022—in terms of both magnitude and timing.

The robust operating performance of Europe-based spirits producers Pernod Ricard S.A. (BBB+/Stable) and Diageo plc (A-/Stable), combined with the likely limited impact of input cost inflation on their profits in the fiscal year ending June 2022 (FY22), allows them to increase shareholder remuneration without endangering their ratings, Fitch Ratings says.

2021 was a year of booming markets which were in danger of overheating before the Omicron Covid-19 variant came along. A profit boom on both sides of the Atlantic has supported equity markets, with the US looking exceptionally strong in the fourth quarter.

While there is a shortage, demand for semiconductor technology increases in the light of a global 5G rollout, interconnectivity, and smarter consumer technology. Major Australian issuer ETF Securities now releases an ETF, the ETFS Semiconductor ETF. This fund is the first Australian passive investment product in that space.