Overall Market Backdrop, December Equities had a bumpy ride in December, spearheaded by a multitude of factors driving markets, from monetary and fiscal policy transition to pandemic uncertainty. Even with there being an abundance of reasons for market volatility, markets came out reasonably well and even yields continued to rise; the US 10-Year treasury increased […]
November was a month when supplies of both oil and gas – or the lack of them – dominated the news. You will read several comments below about the threat of inflation. In many countries, it is reaching levels not seen for two or three decades, and the escalating price of oil and gas – […]
In the middle of November, US President Joe Biden signed his $1.2tn (£894bn) infrastructure bill into law. Biden has described the bill as a ‘once in a generation’ infrastructure measure. “America is moving again,” he said as he signed the bill, telling the American people that “your life is going to change for the better”. […]
As the world’s economies recover from the pandemic, there seems to be one spectre that is haunting them all: the threat of inflation. In China, factory gate prices are at their highest level for 26 years. Early in November, it was reported that US inflation had risen to 6.2%, rising at its fastest rate for […]
Overall Market Backdrop, November Equities once again fell victim to a new Covid variant; Omicron caused increased fears in investors and many of the gains made by equity markets at the beginning of the month were wiped out. As anticipated, investor fears dripped over to the bond sector and many of the yields decreased as […]
October was the month which brought us Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s second Budget of the year. Normally that would make the headlines, but October was also a month when the world gave us plenty to worry about. With factors such as rising energy prices and supply chain issues impacting economies worldwide, the UK’s economic outlook may […]
In September Germany went to the polls to elect a new government – and a successor to Angela Merkel, who had decided not to seek a fifth term as Chancellor. The result was inconclusive. The Social Democrats (SPD) topped the poll with 25.7% of the vote and a provisional 206 seats in the Reichstag, with […]
“Get Brexit done,” Boris Johnson famously said in his party political spoof of Love Actually just before the last General Election. Well, Brexit got done and – with International Trade Secretary (now Foreign Secretary) Liz Truss leading the way – the UK embarked on a series of deals with other countries, most notably applying to […]
Overall Market Backdrop, October Strong performance was the order of the day for October for US equities, while other global developed equity markets posted positive returns with many equity indices hitting new highs during the course of the month. While it was all smooth sailing for equity markets, fixed-income had a slightly bumpy ride […]
Introduction The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, presented his first Budget of 2021 on Wednesday March 3rd. Now, a little under eight months later, he was back, rising to speak after Prime Minister’s Questions as he once again tried to chart the UK economy’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic – and find a way […]