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...

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...

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...

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...

Inflation, a common side effect of growth Intraday equity market volatility is back, as the past roller coaster week showed. Still, we yet again seemed to end flattish after a busy end to last week. UK markets were strong, helped by the bid for Anglo-American from...

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...

What the return of volatility tells us The past week has seen quite large price movements in asset markets even though, overall, equities are relatively stable. The UK’s main market index, the UK Large-Cap index, is higher and among the better index performers...

Bumpy start to the quarter Following on from two very strong quarters for investors in risk assets, the start of the second quarter has seen a sudden change of mood, and the first distinct bout of equity volatility this year. Indeed, last Thursday, the American...