Stock markets in the developed world have delivered returns of around 17%, with the cyclical, recovery-sensitive parts of the market leading the way. China has held back from the kind of stimulus that boosted markets in the recovery from the financial crisis. The outliers in performance terms this year have, strangely, both been assets that […]
Three of the most important central banks show their hands this week. The Bank of England said it was ready to push the button, but then Omicron came along. Here in the UK, tomorrow brings jobs data, Wednesday is inflation day and then on Friday we get the latest retail sales numbers. Companies, too, are […]
What’s different about this new strain is the large number of mutations, particularly to the spike proteins that allow viruses to latch onto our cells. Wall Street was off more than 2%, although Black Friday was a curtailed trading day and most decision makers were on holiday so the real impact will only unfold today. […]
Many people are reprising Alan Greenspan’s comments about ‘irrational exuberance’ from the mid-1990s but others point out that the sharp rise in corporate earnings over the last 18 months justifies the surge. Richard Clarida, the Fed’s number two, warned this week that the pace at which bond purchases are due to be tapered down this […]
Many people are reprising Alan Greenspan’s comments about ‘irrational exuberance’ from the mid-1990s but others point out that the sharp rise in corporate earnings over the last 18 months justifies the surge. Richard Clarida, the Fed’s number two, warned this week that the pace at which bond purchases are due to be tapered down this […]
With markets almost twice their level at the pandemic low last March and Wall Street enjoying its longest run of record highs since the 1960s, there’s lots of talk of FOMO right now. Twenty years ago, during the dot.com bubble, we learned that the last few months of a bull market are the most profitable […]