Stock Take If the narrative since the start of 2023 was that Western inflation figures were in line for a comfortable fall over the course of the year, last week highlighted that challenges remain. In the US, released figures showed that core Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation fell by 0.1% to a new rate of…

Stock Take Some uncertainty and volatility returned to markets last week, but investors’ worries were put into stark perspective by the tragic earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria. Markets retreated early in the week as investors reflected on the surprisingly strong US jobs data released the previous Friday and what it meant for the future…

Stock Take Markets don’t like surprises. Fortunately, central banks stuck to the script last week and delivered the rate rises and messages that investors were expecting. The US Federal Reserve announced a 0.25% hike, marking a downshift from the pace of previous increases. Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank (ECB)…

Stock Take In Chinese legend, the Jade Emperor challenged all the animals in his kingdom to a “Great Race”. The rabbit got a head start and took an early lead, but after tiring and stopping for a nap, was overtaken and beaten. After last year’s disappointing returns, investors will be hoping that the legend does…

Stock Take Having clambered up the Wall of Worry since the start of the year, recession fears proved too much and halted the progress of global markets last week. Observers suggested that the market narrative may be shifting from a focus on central banks’ rate hiking cycle to the growth slowdown. After a three-year hiatus,…

Stock Take Good economic data helped shares from across the globe surge last week, with good news coming from China, the US and the UK. Starting with the UK, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the UK economy managed to grow by 0.1% in November. It was expected to shrink by 0.2%…

Stock Take After a tough 2022, markets greeted 2023 with a strong first week back, after positive data from Europe and the US encouraged an improved sentiment. European indices were the strongest performers among the major equity markets last week, with the French CAC 40 and German DAX 30 rising by 6.0% and 4.9% respectively….

Stock Take If English football fans thought the World Cup was going to provide a happy distraction to the current recession, high inflation, rising interest rates and a series of national strikes through December, Saturday’s defeat by France will have been a return to reality. Unfortunately, the coming week is likely to see further difficulty,…

Stock Take Many of us will have spent the weekend watching the World Cup with friends. Meanwhile, in China, the country’s zero-COVID policy has held much of its population under a form of lockdown. Last week saw widespread protests against the policy, which resulted in some restrictions being lifted. These included, in some regions, being…

Stock Take Equity markets trended higher last week, as investors were allowed a sliver of optimism around the future of the global economy. Recent data for factory gate prices and shipping rates have shown falls in prices from their COVID-19 related peaks. Constrained supply chains have been one of the key causes of high inflation…