A Santa rally is in full swing for stocks and bonds, capping off a year of large swells for investors. While returns flow, climate policy is ebbing at COP28 in Dubai.

A bout of runaway inflation could persuade some people that no inflation would be better than any at all. That’s a dangerous path to take.

After a miserable year for living standards, Brits are feeling much better about their lives and their futures. But how much will that move the dial for retail spending and economic growth?

Updates on inflation and unemployment arrive this week. Will they give investors more clarity about the paths of interest rates?

Central bankers have sat on their hands for another month, sending the prices of stocks and bonds soaring. While interest rates seem to have peaked, the full effects of previous increases are yet to be felt by households and businesses.

There’s a veritable sea of moving parts out there in the global economy, which are keeping investors on edge. The big question is, how will they influence central bankers?

The US House of Representatives is struggling to agree on a new Speaker as the US ticks toward a shutdown of government. Strangely, stocks seem more perturbed by strong economic growth.

Big banks are reporting strong profits so far this quarter, but how will the rest of the market fare? And is higher-than-usual inflation making people glum?

This week has seen harrowing atrocities committed by the terrorist group Hamas against Israeli civilians. With so far more than 1,200 people reported to have been killed, this is the most serious cross-border attack Israel has faced in decades.

Central bankers in the US and UK decided interest rates shouldn’t go higher in September; bond investors disagreed.

Will the big central banks making significant interest rate announcements this week follow the ECB’s lead and signal that rates have now peaked? And where might rates settle longer term?

Like virtually everything else, the cost of energy is much higher than it used to be. Combined with higher interest rates, it should keep squeezing economic growth in the coming months.