Why are markets so calm? Raised tensions in the Middle East dominated the headlines last week. Capital markets are obviously not the most humanly important consideration in this situation, but our job as investment managers is to think about how they might react....

Nervous markets ahead of second pivot Capital markets have started September rather despondently. It feels similar to (though not nearly as bad as) the sell-off that started August, after which stock values quickly recovered. There were risks and headwinds back then,...

Balancing acts Last week was a flat week for global stock values, but with a fair amount of dispersion. US returns were once again weighed down by tech, but the UK and Europe were up over 1% on Friday. The overall sluggish picture seems a strange reaction to...

Late Summer heatwave Global stocks continued their climb higher until the latter part of last week. The rise up until last Wednesday had shown remarkably steady gains in daily terms. When you put that together with gains over the last few weeks, equity returns have...

Tornado rather than hurricane After stocks sank in early August, we warned that volatility could ripple on, and the market storm turn into a full-blown hurricane. But last week saw a remarkable dying-down of the volatility, like a whirlwind that passes in an hour:...

Central bank week It’s been another nervy week for investors. Month-end positioning may have had a part to play in creating ups and downs, but most markets were more focused on interest rate decisions. The Bank of England (BoE) cut, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked, and...

Don’t fear the rebalance The rough patch for global stocks continues. Equities had a fairly dramatic fall last Wednesday, led yet again by the US large-caps. Wednesday saw both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq experiencing their worst single day losses since 2022, and...

Lower inflation, less profits? Last week has been an interesting one in capital markets. Global stocks are a nudge above where they were at the end of the previous week in aggregate, but this hides a great deal of variation. There was a steady climb early in last...

 The business of politics, politics without policy Last Friday marked the end of the second quarter and the day after the first, and for Biden disastrous, televised debate of the 2024 US Presidential election - yet markets have been reasonably calm. Large...