There are few things one can be definitive about at the moment, especially within financial markets. That journalists (and most likely the public) are going to be heartily sick of talking about Brexit in four months, is perhaps one of the few things everyone can agree on.
Volatility is a word that seems to have strongly negative connotations whether you are talking about markets or somebody’s personality.
‘Extraordinary’ was how a number of commentators described the scenes in the House of Commons on Monday during the debate about whether or not Britain should remain in the European Union.
The past week has left investors a little breathless. The FTSE 100 started the week well and held up more than many expected to spike through 6,000, but worries over Brexit, wages and oil saw it slip back below that mark, later in the week.
The United States accounts for around half of the global equities index so whether you like the asset class or not you can never ignore it, or eliminate it from a portfolio.
The highest employment rate since records began and an unemployment rate languishing at a decade low should be a reason for economic optimism – and, theoretically, inflation.
Even by the very nature of its name, HSBC has always been the most Asian-facing of the multinational super banks, so why does it want to extend its stay in London?
What was viewed as a sign of desperation by many when the Bank of Japan cut rates well into negative territory at the end of January has been followed by a poor economic growth number.
A flee from risk assets has investors fearing a prolonged bear market, but could we be entering a repeat of the ‘risk-on, risk-off’ concerns that bamboozled us a few years back?
Unlike most asset classes, which have started 2016 in much the same way they left off in 2015, gold has seen a significant reversal.
Woodford Investment Management, Standard Life Investments and BlackRock led the way in terms of retail sales in 2015, but altered market conditions this year threaten to shake things up considerably.
Prime Minister David Cameron has proclaimed victory in his battle to agree reforms for the United Kingdom’s European Union membership terms.
