The Cambridge Weekly –17th June 2024

Still mostly sticking to the plan After a cacophony of political noise, central bankers were again the ones to really strike a chord with capital markets last week. Britain’s  political parties unveiled their manifestos and French President Macron shocked everyone...

The Cambridge Weekly –10th June 2024

ECB’s Lagard makes rate cut history Rate cuts at last. In a heavily anticipated decision, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates for the first time in five years last Thursday. Perhaps more poignantly, it was the very first time in its 25 years existence...

The Cambridge Weekly –3rd June 2024

Consolidation Capital markets were in a dreary mood again last week, with global stocks generally ending the week down between 0.5 and 1%. That almost exactly tracks US stocks, with the S&P 500 losing just under 0.3% through the week. UK equities fared a little...

The Cambridge Weekly –28th May 2024

Nvidia versus the Fed Following the strong upwards surge in stocks and bonds at the beginning of May, capital markets have recently moderated and were mostly flat, to slightly down, overall last week. Britons were preoccupied with Rishi Sunak’s surprise election call...

The Cambridge Weekly –20th May 2024

Pluses and minuses It has been a decent week for investors, with global stocks up around 1% from last Monday. British and European equities finished virtually flat, with the US and China slightly up. The gain for US stocks was not outsized, but it was enough to take...

The Cambridge Weekly –13th May 2024

A blooming May for the UK Stocks and bonds have had a good week again, revelling in the after-effects of the previous week’s US Federal Reserve meeting, and signals of a tepid US jobs market in the April employment report. Hong Kong stocks did particularly well, after...

The Cambridge Weekly –7th May 2024

Still sticking to the plan Equity and bond markets have had a reasonably good week, with policy makers helping to calm nerves. Geopolitical concerns retreated further; the US and Saudi Arabia are close to a bilateral agreement which may well include the formal...

The Cambridge Weekly –22nd April 2024

Market quiet on the Middle Eastern front The Middle East is dominating world news again, as the awful moment has come when Israel and Iran have engaged in open and direct conflict, albeit at great distance. That the warfare is across considerable distances makes it...

The Cambridge Weekly –2nd April 2024

Everyone is an optimist now For the UK and Europe, last Thursday was the last working day of the first quarter. We will bring you a more detailed round up of asset market performance for March (and the quarter) in the next Cambridge Weekly. Asset price volatility...

The Cambridge Weekly –25th March 2024

Stick to the plan The northern hemisphere has now entered the brighter half of the year, the days getting longer, lighter and warmer. Financial markets are also brightening. The past week has been good across the global board for equities and bonds. The most obvious...

The Cambridge Weekly –4th March 2024

Winners and losers of stabilising yields We ended February and started March with a week of positive price action in equities, although the US mega-caps did less well generally, while bond markets were rather stable. Indeed, we think stable bond markets – pretty much...

The Cambridge Weekly –26th February 2024

M&A activity sets growth against value Equities have moved higher again this past week, with gains made across global markets. Even China put in another week of positive returns, following the largest ever cut to the five-year housing loan prime rate (admittedly...