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Blogs, News and Thought Pieces

May 2023 Mid Monthly update

Between a Bank and a Hard Place  The UK Bank Rate was raised by the Bank of England by 0.25% to 4.5% as expected in the face of recent inflation figures.  Despite expectations, the UK economy grew by 0.1% in Q1 2023. Although this might not sound like much, it confounded the doomsayers – although […]

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April 2023 Review

Dancing on the Ceiling Sadly, this article has nothing to do with Lionel Richie’s classic track of the above name.  What we’re actually referring to is the game of who blinks first in the process of raising the debt ceiling in the US so the budget can be financed. This authorisation has to go through […]

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Monthly Review – March 2023

Initial Volatility  SVB, CS, CDS, Etc  Before March, few people had heard of Silicon Valley Bank.  By the end of the month, many investors were overwhelmed by news items referring to its acronym, SVB.  By month-end, SVB had become part of First Citizen Bank, no doubt also known as FCB.  HSBC stepped into buy the […]

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March 2023 Mid-Monthly Update

SVB Takes Centre Stage A week ago, I was wondering what content I could deliver for this month’s mid-monthly update.  I came up with the title, ‘Dancing On The (Debt) Ceiling’, as it appeared that most investors had overlooked the political brinkmanship that has enveloped raising the debt ceiling in the US.  The emphasis on […]

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February 2023 Monthly Review

After a strong month for most financial assets in January, the final three weeks of February proved to be more of struggle.

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February 2023 Mid-Monthly Update

February started with anticipated rate increases from the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.  All three were keen to re-emphasise their inflation-fighting zeal.

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January 2023 Monthly Review

The start of 2023 was a positive one for most asset classes.  The rising tide rally in risk assets that commenced in mid-October 2022 stalled in December, but returned in January floating all boats.

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January 2023 Mid-Monthly Update

The good news is that inflation is falling in developed markets.  A warm winter in Europe will have a significant impact on lower inflation and be a boost for European businesses.  China’s re-opening should be good for other markets too.

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