Barclays Brief

Navigating the AI rotation in Asia

As investors reassess the AI trade, attention is shifting towards how the next phase of the cycle could play out across Asia. The region remains central to global AI inve

The US consumer won't quit

The US consumer has proved to be more resilient than expected, supported by a constructive employment backdrop, income growth and rising household wealth. But beneath tha

UK Budget: What markets may be missing

Ahead of the UK Autumn Budget, the consensus view is that higher borrowing costs and a weaker fiscal backdrop have left the Chancellor of the Exchequer with little room t

French bonds: OAT of control

French government bonds, or OATs, are under growing pressure. While rising yields reflect a broader sell-off across European markets, concerns over France’s fiscal trajec

Negative headlines, resilient markets

Markets have spent much of 2026 confronting higher bond yields, tighter central bank policy and elevated oil prices. By historical standards, that should have been enough

Trump-Xi: Stability without resolution

The recent summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping brought greater stability to US-China relations, but little substantive resolution. Continued dialogue an

Pacing the Frontier: What’s next for AI?

As AI models become increasingly capable, questions around safety and oversight are growing. Recent cybersecurity incidents have intensified the debate over whether front

US Rates: Higher for longer

Markets began 2026 expecting interest rate cuts. Instead, investors have faced a sharp repricing in bond markets, with the US 10-year Treasury yield reaching 5% and growi

The Multi-Trillion-Dollar Energy Race

Markets are fixating on the billions being invested in AI. But a second massive investment story related to energy is emerging and investors need to pay attention. In th

European equities heat up

European equities have been one of the standout market stories of the year. Despite trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty and persistent questions about growth, the re

Nuclear fusion: Tomorrow's solution to today's problem​

Nuclear fusion has long been viewed as a transformational energy breakthrough, capable of delivering abundant, zero-carbon at operation energy by recreating the same reac

Japan: Why the world is watching

Little more than a week ago, a rare, coordinated US-Japan intervention to support the yen caught investors’ attention. Coupled with rising expectations of another Bank of

US equities: Beyond the pullback

After a spring sell-off and renewed summer weakness in technology stocks, uncertainty has remained a defining feature of the investment landscape. During the market sell-

AI credit supply tests market capacity

The AI buildout is fuelling a wave of new credit supply, and the sheer volume of debt is starting to test the market's capacity to absorb it. Year-to-date, the AI ecosyst

Challenging market consensus

Markets can become crowded around consensus views. In this episode of the Barclays Brief, Patrick Coffey is joined by Brian Kuritzky from our Rates Sales team to explore

Cooling the AI buildout

Power constraints have dominated the conversation around AI infrastructure, but the buildout is facing a broader convergence of execution risks. Cooling, water use, permi

Opportunities in Asian Equities

Investor positioning across Asian equities is shifting, with opportunities increasingly driven by market-specific factors rather than a single regional or thematic narrat

Brexit, Burnham and Britain's Next Decade

Ten years after the Brexit referendum, many studies assess the effects on the UK economy as negative, pointing to weaker growth, lower investment and a tighter fiscal bac

Can football fever lift the economy?

The World Cup has kicked off across North America in its largest and most geographically dispersed format yet. This year, the tournament expands to 48 teams (up from 32 i

The rise of the consumer health economy

Consumer health is undergoing a structural shift, moving beyond traditional treatment and becoming embedded in everyday spending. Where consumers were once focused on cur