Following the unsteadiness of September, markets have further regained their composure and continue to drift upwards. This stands in stark contrast to the flow of bad news. The White House, centre of power for the mighty US, has become a COVID hotspot, similar to many regions across Europe and the UK. Meanwhile, the Brexit negotiation…
Throughout the middle of this year, we saw an impressive bounce back in economic activity. While the global economic shutdown had frozen business and manufacturing activity, the opening-up into the summer months suggested we may be on course for a sharp V-shaped recovery. Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMIs) – a survey-based measure of business confidence –…
Against all expectations, and despite considerable intramonth volatility, September turned out to be decidedly dull for investors. After a five-month rally had left global stock indices around or above their pre-pandemic highs, the turn of Autumn sent a chill through capital markets. Selling pressure built up early in the month, as COVID cases spiked around…
A US presidential debate that nobody would want to watch twice was followed by reports that COVID reality has finally caught up with a US president who insists that only he can determine what is real and what is fake has made for a dramatic October start. The UK’s domestic perspective was not much less…
As rain and wind flush out the heat of the last few months, there’s a noticeable chill in the air for capital markets. For investors, things looked bright between June and August. The economy was finding its feet again, lockdown restrictions continued to lift, and central bankers were committed to indefinite monetary accommodation. As such,…
Given the roller-coaster week it has been for markets, the economy and everything else, you would be forgiven for missing a story about bank reports. But this week’s release of the FinCEN files – so called after the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network – contained plenty of intrigue, from fraud and money laundering to Russian…
September continues to bite equity markets. Stocks everywhere wobbled again this week and even though they bounced back, the S&P500 is down around 8% in US Dollar terms for the month. UK investors might notice less of a fall, with global equities down just 1% in sterling terms. This is partly due to the fall…
Who does monetary policy work for? The simple answer is everyone, but given that one of the defining aims of a central bank is to ensure monetary and financial stability, perhaps a more historically accurate answer is savers (owners of financial assets). Through interest rates and other means, central banks hope to provide a stable…
Having spent most of 2020 hoping things can get back to normal, Britain’s political news over the last couple of weeks has left us thinking ‘be careful what you wish for’. Stalling Brexit talks, political disarray and the potential for a full-blown constitutional crisis all created that familiar feeling of prepandemic times. Indeed, as if…
Stock markets have stabilised and started trading sideways, in a sign of healthy consolidation following their extraordinary recovery rally since late March. Notably, the darlings of the recovery, namely US large cap tech and growth stocks, are no longer the leaders. This bodes well for a gradual sentiment shift among investors. Capital is no longer…