Global markets Here is the critical question of the year: can the Fed engineer a ‘soft landing’ for the U.S. economy? In other words, can it slow the economy by enough to take the pressure off red-hot wage and price inflation without causing the economy to tip …

Global markets It’s nice to be back from holiday.. what did I miss? One of the downsides of being a market analyst is that it’s often hard to switch off from markets even when on a break, especially when volatility spikes and there are big market-moving …

Global markets The all-important Fed meeting came and went last week with global markets largely taking the more hawkish than expected tilt in their stride. Global equities retreated modestly, but bond yields actually fell over the week – with the latter perhaps still more concerned with …

Global markets The theme of the past week is ‘old news’, in the sense that global equities managed to lift in the face of rising Omicron cases and the highest U.S. inflation numbers since 1982. But as the saying goes, markets are forward-looking: equities saw fit …

Global Markets Global equities suffered another set back last week, due to both lingering Omicron fears and a new risk factor on the horizon – a more hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve. Without doubt, last’s week’s comments by Fed chair Powell were ground shifting: he openly talked about …

Global markets Global equities were coasting along for much of last week before being hit on Friday by concerns over a new Covid variant – Omicron. While new COVID variants emerge regularly in a Darwinian fight for survival, what jolted markets was the World Health Organisation’s …

Global markets It was a mixed week for global equities with ongoing inflation and interest rate concerns countered somewhat by rising COVID cases in Europe and the United States. Wall Street was pleased to see a strong October U.S. retail sales report, but less happy with …

Global markets Global equities buckled last week following a higher than expected U.S. consumer inflation report, which also pushed up bond yields and the $US. The U.S. market is now convinced (according to futures pricing) that the Fed will have to raise rates by August next …

Global markets* Global equities continued their impressive rebound over the past week, helped by dovish news from several central banks which in turn lowered bond yields. The S&P 500 rose 2% over the week, with U.S. 10-year bond yields dropping 10 basis points to 1.45%. The …

Global markets Generally solid earnings results continued to support Wall Street over the past week, as did an easing back in long-term bond yields. Hopes that President Biden’s infrastructure package might get over remaining Congressional hurdles was also a positive. U.S. economic data was somewhat mixed, with …