Introduction It is interesting to look back 12 months to Rishi Sunak’s first Budget: it was followed by a year none of us could have predicted or imagined. The Conservatives had won a comfortable majority in the December 2019 General Election. As expected, Sajid Javid became Chancellor and, in January, announced that the Budget would […]
Overall Market Backdrop, January – For the second month running, the Emerging Markets and the Asia Pacific ex-Japan regions proved to be a beacon of light for equity investors as they led global equities and were the only regions showing positive returns. They did, however, trade places, with Asia Pacific ex-Japan knocking Emerging Markets off […]
Introduction It might be appropriate to start January 2021 by looking back at last year. At the start of January 2020, we were fairly sure what we would be writing about, which included the run-up to Brexit on the 31st and a gradual thawing of US/China relations with a long-awaited trade deal due to be signed. […]
The increasing numbers of coronavirus vaccines being administered across the UK is a major breakthrough in the fight against COVID and the gradual return to normalcy. It’s a great cause for relief and a real glimmer of hope. That being said, there are also reports of fraudsters taking advantage of the situation and exploiting those […]
On January 20th Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. One of his campaign pledges was a commitment to take the US back into the Paris Climate Agreement, which the country had left under his predecessor. Here in the UK, the Government is committed to a series of green initiatives, including […]
We all know that investments can rise and fall in value. That a prudent investor spreads their risk across different sectors and across different markets. And we all remember our very first financial adviser, our Grandma, who told us not to put all our eggs in one basket. But between Christmas and New Year there […]
Overall Market Backdrop, December – While not really achieving the customary fillip that constitutes the ‘Santa Claus Rally’, equities did manage to tack on additional gains in December, with the somewhat more muted performance in the developed markets pointing to a little consolidation, while emerging markets led the way. – Among the developed markets, the […]
Introduction 2020 has been a year like no other, and yet – as we will see below – the majority of world stock markets have enjoyed a good year. It was also a good year for Joe Biden, who defeated Donald Trump in November’s Presidential election, and for supporters of Brexit. Finally, some 4½ years […]
Home-owners with equity to speak of and would-be first time buyers are having particularly different experiences of the housing market at the moment. Cash-rich borrowers have access to mortgages seemingly getting cheaper by the day, whilst those who are trying to buy their first property with small deposits have very few options, if any at […]
It can be difficult for anyone to maintain good habits and easy to fall into less helpful ones at the best of times. Those challenges are only made more difficult by the added pressures we all feel while navigating our way through a pandemic, and particularly in lockdown. In fact, a study published in Frontiers […]