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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 recognition of Israel. Meanwhile,...

Is it all about returns? ESG investing has been criticised for detracting from portfolio performance. But for some clients, performance isn’t the only thing that matters. Who are investment managers to tell them otherwise?  ESG investment funds have had a rough time...

Inflation, a common side effect of growth Volatility is back, but it’s not all bad. UK stocks fared well, thanks to BHP’s takeover bid for Anglo American, and China is recovering from January blues. On the other end is Japan, whose equities...

Intraday equity market volatility is back, as this roller coaster week showed. Still, we yet again seem to be ending flattish after a busy end to the week. UK markets were strong, helped by the bid for Anglo-American from BHP. Anglo American’s...

Market quiet on the Middle Eastern front Israel and Iran’s escalating conflict presents huge risks for the world, but at the moment we can take comfort that the respective aerial bombardments seem to be more about showing force than hurting each other....

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 different to close conflicts...

Once Wed, Now Divided: Why M&A Deals and the ACWI Are Decoupling The relationship between the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity is well known. A rising ACWI, reflecting a bullish stock market, often coincides with...

What the return of volatility tells us Equities were fairly stable in the US and UK last week, despite bond yields moving higher. Europe was the opposite: stocks fell despite falling yields. We might have thought bond volatility would hurt risk assets...

The week has seen quite large price movements in asset markets even though, overall, equities are relatively stable. The UK’s main market index, the FTSE 100, is higher and among the better index performers globally. It came very close to closing Friday...

Bumpy start to the quarter Last week saw 2024’s first real bout of volatility. The S&P 500 had its biggest one-day percentage range in over a year on Thursday. This came after two extremely strong quarters for investors. Indeed, we suspect it...

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, on Thursday, the American leading stock...

Everyone is an optimist now The first quarter of 2024 was another strong one for stocks. That’s a pleasant surprise, given the massive rally that came before. The MSCI World Index has only had one down week since the end of October,...

Asset price volatility continues to decrease, much like it has done across the quarter, so we can be reasonably sure that Q1 2024 will finish strongly positive for equity markets across the world. This week (so far) has been another reasonable one,...

Cocoa Prices Skyrocket on Supply Crunch The cocoa market is experiencing a historic surge, with prices surpassing £8,000 per metric ton for the first time ever. Cocoa futures have more than doubled in price this year, driven by a severe supply crunch...

Stick to the Plan Brighter days for markets; returns were strong across the board last week, thanks to central bank messaging. The Bank of England (BoE) “has done its job” according to Governor Bailey, and “we are not seeing a lot of...

The northern hemisphere has now entered the brighter half of the year, the days getting longer, lighter and warmer. Financial markets are also brightening. This week has been good across the global board for equities and bonds. The most obvious reason for...

ESG: No such thing as bad press? ESG investing provokes some strong reactions, to put it lightly. A quick search for “ESG controversy” reveals more articles about why the style of investing itself is controversial than it does about investments which are...

Overview: Rates up, down, and going sideways Bond prices slid last week while consolidation continued in the global equity markets. Notably, Japan was weaker and US large caps largely unchanged. There was a sense of disappointment, that left investors wondering if optimism...

Consolidation continued in most equity markets this week, although bond prices did actually drop somewhat. UK and European equity markets are stronger, Japan is weaker and US large caps are largely unchanged, although there is a sense of mild disappointment as investors...

Overview: At least currency markets noticed the budget Markets gained again last week, with the S&P 500 hitting another all-time high. But thanks to sterling gaining 1.5% against the US dollar, our table shows negative index returns. Sterling strength may be partly...