Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Bourses bounce back
This year has been grim so far, yet equities recovered much of their losses last week. Meanwhile, oil prices are all over the place and COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in the East.
7 mins
Review of the week: Changing point
Commodity markets are fuelling further inflation and putting global growth at risk. Central banks have shown they want to unwind years of emergency monetary policy regardless, sending bond yields higher.
7 mins
Review of the week: The tie that binds
The war in Ukraine has united typically quarrelsome European states against Russian aggression. Meanwhile, unity in President Vladimir Putin’s nation has been enforced through the strength of an authoritarian regime.
7 mins
Review of the week: Defiance
Russia’s invasion at first wrong-footed both Ukraine and the West, but the defenders’ resolve has been tougher than expected. Now, financial sanctions are hitting Russians hard.
8 mins
Review of the week: Back to the shops
UK retail sales bounced back after a COVID-crushed Christmas. Yet the longest income squeeze since Sir Robert Peel was Prime Minister is set to intensify in the coming months.
6 mins
Review of the week: War looms
Talks to ward off conflict over Ukraine are failing and a Russian invasion is reportedly imminent. Is it brinkmanship or a real risk?
5 mins
Review of the week: Bank on a tough year
The Bank of England seems poised to raise interest rates aggressively to combat inflation, yet its explanations don’t square with its own forecasts and analysis. Expect fewer hikes than the market currently implies.
7 mins
Review of the week: Tighter money
The years of loose money are coming to an end. That will cause some short-term upheaval in markets, but if economies remain strong stocks should soon bounce back.
7 mins
Review of the week: Getting ahead of the Fed
Bond yields have been climbing almost as much as investors’ worry levels. Pausing to remind ourselves what central bankers are trying to achieve – and how stocks typically react – is helpful.
6 mins
Review of the week: Just like the old days
With COVID cases starting to roll over – in the UK at least – and investors settling down for some old-fashioned Fed watching, everyone is hoping 2022 will be a bit more like pre-pandemic times.
6 mins
Review of the week: A strange and profitable year
Another COVID-blighted year has passed. Yet, for all the turmoil, 2021 was a great one for markets.
5 mins
Review of the week: Christmas at risk
Déjà vu in the UK. With COVID cases mounting once again and restrictions piling up, everyone is wondering whether Christmas will be cancelled once again.
5 mins
Peak prices
The Bank of England (BoE) raised rates in early November from 0.25% to 0.5%. A decent boost from the services sector helped third-quarter GDP grow by a faster than expected 0.4%, a solid enough justification for the hike.
5 mins
Counting currency
British investors may get a shock when they look at their returns this month. For those investing in sterling, overseas stock market performances were downright dismal
4 mins
In the eye of the storm
A North Korean missile, potentially capable of carrying a nuclear payload, soared over Japan in late August and sunk into the Sea of Japan. In response, 10-year Japanese government bond (JGBs) yields sunk too, from 0.009% to -0.009%.
5 mins
All at sea
Currencies bounced around last month as investors debated the strength of the UK’s Brexit negotiating position, whether the Federal Reserve (Fed) will slow its rate hikes, and if the European Central Bank will soon cut the number of bonds it buys each month as part of its quantitative easing programme.
4 mins
The price is right
Inflation has flared up again in the UK, but that doesn’t mean the globe is awash with soaring prices.
4 mins