5 September 2025 Yes, the first eight months of 2025 have been a wild ride. However, the financial market reaction has been quite predictable; collapsing after "Liberation Day", and rebounding once outcomes have proven to be less damaging than announced. As Autumn approaches, the policy horizon appears a little less eventful, although key trade talks … Continue reading Global Strategy Update: Feeling Liberated Yet?
24 January 2025 Remarkably, even though the US Federal Reserve has lowered the Fed funds rate by 100bp since last September, US bond yields have risen sharply (roughly 100bp). Market commentators have offered a wide range of explanations for this unusual development. As the incoming Administration has signalled a significant shift in economic strategy, investors … Continue reading Bond Yields Rising: Don’t Be Confused
12 December 2024 In my Strategy 2024 blog entitled "Powell Pivot: What Could Go Wrong or Right?", I suggested global financial markets had entered a cyclical sweet spot. Specifically, the combination of steady (if uneven) global growth, declining inflation, and easing monetary conditions pointed to higher equity market valuations. Indeed, even my bullish S&P 500 … Continue reading Strategy 2025: Pivoting from Trump 2.0 Trades?
14 January 2024 On December 13, just weeks after warning it was premature to think the Federal Reserve would begin lowering interest rates, the US central bank gave the green light to at least three cuts in 2024. To be sure, consistent communication has never been a strong point of Chairman Jerome Powell's premiership. Nonetheless, … Continue reading Powell Pivot: What Could Go Wrong or Right?