Global Investing

Interesting juxtapositions at a Barclays Capital chat. On the day when oil prices were plunging below $106 a barrel — more than $40 below their July record peak — the investment bank held a lunch seminar to discuss trading strategies on inflation. ”It seems odd to have an inflation seminar when oil prices more or less collapsed,” said Tim Bond, head of global asset allocation. He added, however, that there is still structural upward pressure on inflation and this theme is further to run.

Rodrigo Valdes, Barclays’ chief Latin American economist and former head of research at Chile’s central bank, talked about the varying impact on inflation from food prices, as those gathered tucked into roasted sea trout with razor clams, carrot puree and sorrel velonte.

He said the surge in food and other resource prices hits emerging markets more than others, predicting Latin American inflation to peak in Q4 or Q1 with quite a lot of interest rate hikes to come. “If you buy a cup of coffee here, there’s not much coffee in it … In Brazil, it’s not the case,” he said.

Decidedly un-Brazilian coffee was served with chocolate mocha tart and creme Chantilly.