Category: Investment Outlook
Positive returns amidst negative sentiment
29 July 2022For a second consecutive quarter, the US economy shrank in real terms. Yet the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised interest rates by another 0.75% on Wednesday because the US economy is too strong. We write, in a separate article...
Europe remains in focus
22 July 2022Global investors tend to be quite US-focused, as the world’s largest economy has an outsized impact on trends across the world. This week though, attention was on the other side of the Atlantic. European economic data caught...
Too hot, too cold
15 July 2022Investors’ rough ride continued over the week. Markets are being buffeted by the ups and downs of economic data and the resultant changing expectations for central banks. We had unexpectedly positive UK economic growth during...
Markets not reflecting public fear
8 July 2022The murder of past Japanese Prime Minister Abe is a reminder of how much we should value our public servants and politicians. We should be grateful to all our politicians that they are prepared to do a job we need so much. Whether...
Energy price shock turns into central bank focal point
1 July 2022More than two years since the COVID virus hit Europe, it is clear that most peoples’ livelihoods have been affected more by the policy ‘medicine’ than the virus itself. Of course, without those interventions which were needed...
Public sentiment vs economic realities
24 June 2022Through much of this second quarter, the financial market narrative has been about inflation. This week the Office for National Statistics (ONS) informed us that inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose from...
Linchpin oil price
17 June 2022As central banks around the world were busy reasserting their authority and credibility as the guardians of monetary stability, last week’s stock market wobble turned into a fully-fledged rout this week. The growth concerns...
Rollercoaster for the Jubilee funfair
1 June 2022Party stalls are going up and libations are flowing for the Platinum Jubilee. But no fairground is complete without some thrilling rides. Over the last month, capital markets chipped in with a rollercoaster of their own: equity...
As recession talk subsides, inflation pressures increase
27 May 2022As we head towards the final days of May, markets appear to be calming down. Stock markets are heading for a positive week and credit spreads – the proverbial canary in the coalmine ahead of recessions – have come down sharply....
Talking recession to fight inflation
20 May 2022It has been another rocky ride week for capital markets, with inflation talk increasingly turning into chatter of an ‘inevitable’ recession, prompting the most recent cohort of DIY retail investors to throw in the towel. However,...