As the U.S. economy shows positive signs for growth, inflation, and interest rates in 2024, RBC Capital Markets’ RBC Capital Markets’ Michael Reid, Blake Gwinn, Vito Sperduto and Larry Grafstein analyze the challenges posed by consumer spending, political gridlock, and quantitative tightening.

Macro Rates Strategist Robert Thompson analyzes Australia’s challenges such as softening growth, persistent inflation, and a weaker labor market heading into 2024, as well as examining key swing factors to monitor and what this all means for the RBA, bond market and investors.

Growth is poor, labor is a concern, but inflation seems to have been punctured. Nathan Janzen, Assistant Chief Economist, Canada, examines what the economic signs herald for Canada’s future in 2024. 

There are widespread expectations that UK and EU inflation will hit target levels in 2024 – yet many obstacles remain. Peter Schaffrik, Chief European Macro Strategist and Cathal Kennedy, UK Senior Economist analyze the inflationary outlook, prospects for European growth, and how the effects of interest rate rises are still playing out across the continent

Going into the next election, US regulators are more likely to double down than back off their focus on big M&A deals and they’re looking most closely at consumer-facing businesses. Vito Sperduto, Head of Global M&A, sat down with Andrew Lipman, Partner at Morgan Lewis at RBC’s Global Technology, Internet, Media and Telecommunications (TIMT) Conference to discuss how antitrust will continue to affect US regulation in our current environment.

The equity capital market is technically open. Some big IPOs have been delivered. Yet many investors and issuers still prefer to wait rather than act. What’s holding them back, and what are the prospects for the market getting back into full swing in 2024?

From geopolitical volatility to a looming election year, there’s hardly been a more important time to examine strategic alternatives. With M&A levels below average, but IPO volumes high — what might the next stretch look like for transactional activity? And how quickly will markets recover from potential disruption? 

Corporate buyers currently have the edge when it comes to M&A opportunities in industrials. Yet customized deals may increasingly provide a way for private equity to bridge the bidding gap, suggests RBC Industrials specialist, Joshua Rosenbaum.

Recent deals in the industrial sector suggest an acclimatization to the new interest rate environment. What are the prospects for an unleashing of pent-up M&A demand, and how do labor and supply chain pressures skew that picture?

There’s a growing trend in joint ventures between sponsors and corporates as boardrooms seek out Private Equity expertise and funding to get complex deals done. In this episode, we examine how clients are finding innovative paths to dealmaking and bolstering their businesses through M&A. Listen now.