Bond markets give central bankers a telling off Last week was generally positive for capital markets, although with one notable difference – this time bond investors were allowed to join in. Just as energy prices started stabilising, corporate earnings results proved...

Confused or determined central bankers? Capital markets continued over the past week to recover just as gradually from the September/early October downdraft as they declined then. Many commentators put it down to the continued strong Q3 corporate earnings...

Have we passed the peak of supply disruption? Last week we noted that October had picked up for investors where September had left off, namely equities slowly climbing down from the heights gained over the summer. As petrol availability returned even to London’s...



Economy hits an air pocket October has carried on where September left off, with quite a bit of daily up and down for markets, but with a slight downwards trend. We deliver our end-of-month review of September in this week’s second article. For UK readers, the lack of...

Rising yields are back The energy bottlenecks we wrote about recently became rather more personal for the large proportion of the UK population that are motorists. In fairness, the UK’s petrol station forecourt crisis has little to do with rising energy prices around...

Wall of worry time The UK received worrying economic news on multiple fronts last week, with several utility companies going under and the prospect of steep rises in winter heating costs, petrol stations running out of fuel, gaps on supermarket shelves, and the Bank...



End of the re‐opening honeymoon We are halfway through September and investors have not experienced a continuation of the positive returns picture of the summer months. This is despite COVID restrictions gradually lifting (not only in the UK) and an on‐track economic...

Paying for it - the major economies ponder their balance sheets Recently we noted the increasing importance of fiscal policy, and sure enough last week the UK kicked-off the new school year with a big fiscal bang. National Insurance contributions are on the rise,...

Politics and policy sit at the head of the table Last week felt a bit like the whole month of August. Equity markets (North America and Europe) were in the green, and then last Friday expressed their disappointment over the weak US jobs report. Market participants...

  

Fed tapering: the ‘how’ matters more than ‘when’ Questions over when and how the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would begin tapering its monthly securities purchases has been much talked about over the last few months. But ahead of last Friday’s keynote speech at the...

Climbing the Wall of Worry - Again August continues to be what one would expect from the middle of the summer: quiet. Yet for investors, it is also pleasing that stock markets around the world are gradually nudging upwards, allowing them to remain relaxed wherever...

Mega Techs Under the Cosh After an unexciting July in terms of investment returns, August has made a strong start, with US job markets figures delivering a much-appreciated positive surprise on Friday, while corporate earnings reports continue to support elevated...

Summer lull as markets go through the motions We wrote last week that fortunes could be changing on the COVID front, with UK case numbers showing a decline from their (possibly temporary) peak. Since then, the 7-day average for daily cases has fallen for the first...

Markets wake up to living with the virus It has been a week of ups and downs. Last Monday saw sunshine and relaxation as so-called ‘Freedom Day’ COVID restrictions were lifted in England. Investors did not join in the party, though, as major equity indices sold off...

Earnings vs Delta It has been a quiet week in equity markets. The world’s major stock indices mostly continued their recent holding pattern, awaiting news on where things will go from here. As we have written before, the global transition phase we find ourselves in –...

Don’t look down Global equities have been on a pretty rapid ascent since the start of the year. Last week the world’s investors had a bout of looking down, and a mild attack of vertigo. This dizziness has been prompted by some reasonable worries. Do we have enough...