Peter Brown: Stockmarket investors will have to watch inflation for years

Economic growth and corporate profits are decelerating as central banks become increasingly hawkish. 

Despite the horrible events unfolding in Ukraine many investors are surprised to learn that the markets are focused on inflation. The Ukraine war has exacerbated the inflation problem, but it wasn’t the cause of it because supply issues and labour shortages after the global lockdowns pushed up raw material prices. 

Alongside inflation, China is a concern as its tough lockdown strategy against Covid slows global growth. Also, we have an aggressive interest rate tightening policy in the US, with the Federal Reserve looking likely to raise rates again in May. All in all, the economic outlook has changed dramatically.