Saying that the global economy continues to move in the right direction in spite of some U.S. gloom, Barclays Wealth issued recommendations on Wednesday that included buying equities, particularly in developed markets, and looking for Chinese stocks. It also suggested that now is the time to sell the Swiss franc and buy the Swedish krona.
In a report titled Barclays Wealth Compass, the company said that corporate profits would keep growing, making developed equities inexpensive, and that the global economic recovery should be able to withstand the rise in oil prices, with labor market improvements offsetting consumer distress over oil.
Its advice on Chinese equities stems from attractive equity valuations (according to the report, "the MSCI China's current price-to-earnings multiple of 11.6 times remains below its 5-year average of 13.5 times and below the MSCI Asia ex-Japan price-to-earnings multiple of 13.0 times").