What will investors be talking about in 2020? We explain how six key issues could shape the global economy and financial markets next year.

For investors, year-to-date gains have been impressive despite the challenging macro backdrop, leaving equity markets near all-time highs and sovereign bond yields at levels that historically would signal recession. However, while we believe recession risk has increased, it is not our base case.

Through April, global equity markets continued their upward march. While the Federal Reserve emphasized “patience” and other major central banks maintained accommodative stances, investor expectations of policy became increasingly dovish. Global growth decelerated, but showed signs of stabilizing. Rates remained low, even as US equity markets hit new highs.