Bank failures add to a long list of concerns for investors in 2023 Varying expectations about when the Fed will likely reach its rate-hiking cycle’s peak have made for an exceptionally volatileRead More…
Biannual Commodities Update January 2023
It was a year of two halves for commodity markets. The Russia-Ukraine war dominated the markets during the year’s first half, and macroeconomic factors were the driving force in the second half.Read More…
Year End Market Review and Thoughts for 2023
Financial markets had their worst year since 2008, with equities and bonds ending deep in the red and shedding some $30 trillion in 2022. In the US, the S&P 500 ended almostRead More…
Avoid Speculation and Manage Risk for Investment Success
Central banks remain centre stage The fight against inflation continued in earnest during November, with little sign of inflation easing materially and sustainably. The developed market central banks that held rate-setting meetingsRead More…
Pessimistic Optimism Required to Survive Market Turmoil
Pessimistic Optimism is the Only Way to Survive: Although most of us are predisposed to being optimistic about financial markets and the economy, we are in an era of seismic change in interestRead More…
War, Climate, and Inflation Challenge Markets
The battle against inflation remains the global financial markets’ primary concern. Although there are some signs of inflation easing, namely in commodity and food prices, core inflation remains high, and there’s evidenceRead More…
Biannual Commodities Update First Half June 2022
Russia’s war with the Ukraine saw the onset of a commodity price crisis during the first half of the year, with prices of oil, gas, and agricultural goods, in particular, soaring andRead More…
Central Banks Face Challenging Fight Against Inflation
Financial markets have sold off dramatically in the face of so-called “monster” rate hikes, with the US Federal Reserve responding to a higher than expected May inflation rate with a 75-basis pointRead More…
Persistent Inflation Clouding Economic and Financial Market Outlook
First Quarter 2022 Market Update: As 2022 rolled in we were all focused on inflation and what policy makers were going to do about consumer price inflation reaching multi-decade highs. Central banksRead More…
Biannual Commodities Update January 2022
Surging demand, supply logjams, and adverse, or unusual, climate conditions in certain regions saw commodity prices put in their best performance since they bounced back from the 2008 financial crisis. The surprisingRead More…