Professor Mary Pieterse Bloem in the Economists’ Panel

Quarterly figures

According to Pieterse Bloem, the sentiment on the market is attenuated and expectations are low. Hence, it was positively surprising to see that the banks published positive figures. She notes that banks can profit from the higher interest rate, which works especially well for their business models. Nevertheless, the figures that still have to be published may prove to be more interesting. These figures stem from industries such as big tech and China.

Faltering global economy but booming stocks

The Professor remarks the paradoxical situation we are currently noticing: a faltering global economy with booming stocks. This may be explained by high confidence of stock investors in central banks’ approach to tackling the high inflation, and by the fact that a relatively large share of the rise in stock prices can be explained by the rise in AI companies.

Invest in raw materials

There are several drawbacks to investing in raw materials needed for the energy transition, according to Pieterse Bloem. Firstly, it is very hard to link raw material prices to its fundamental value in the economy, whereas this is easier for companies that pay out dividends or interest. This gives investing in raw materials a speculative character which makes it volatile. Secondly, this volatility may not benefit the energy transition. A volatile price offers companies that mine the raw materials little assurance in what profits they may expect after they extracted the materials. Additionally, investing in raw materials has an upward driving effect on demand and thereby leads to higher prices. Too high commodity prices may ultimately disincentive the transition for some companies.