UK government bonds lag behind the US and Europe

Opinions on UK government bonds this year remain mixed, as a slowdown in the US economy weighs against domestic factors such as rising house prices and the possibility of interest rate rises. Philip Laing, head of UK government bonds at Standard Life Investments, says while he is reasonably positive on bonds generally, he favours the US and Europe to the UK. He says if other bond markets rally this year, gilts may go with them but he expects they will lag. He adds: "Gilts run into a difficult category for us. It is pretty hard for interest rate policy to be completely removed from domes...