Stock Take Politics have become strong drivers of markets in the last month, with the hung parliament in France, as well as mounting pressure on Joe Biden leading to his departure from the US presidential race are among the issues weighing on investors’ minds. Prior to that, in the aftermath of Donald Trumps attempted assassination,…

Stock Take Speculation over the timing of interest rate cuts has been dominating global markets this year. Last week was no different, as investors continued to guess when policymakers will feel they’ve brought inflation under control. So, all eyes were on US Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, as he gave his two-day testimony to Congress….

Stock Take While the French National Football Team might be due to play Belgium later today as part of Euro 2024, so far is has been the political landscape which has provided the arguably more exciting competition. The French football team limped to second place in their group, scoring just two goals in three games….

Stock Take  Markets don’t like surprises. So, the shock decision by French President, Emmanuel Macron, to call a snap election, just a few weeks before the Paris Olympics and a few days after the commemoration of the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches, triggered an inevitable reaction from investors who already had plenty of news…

Stock Take In a week that commemorated the beginning of its liberation by Allied forces 80 years ago, Europe was also the focus for markets, as investors geared up for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) latest interest rate decision. Earlier in the week, in emerging markets, investors were rattled when early voting showed that Indian…

Stock Take “Having a little inflation is like being a little pregnant”, observed Leon Henderson, economic adviser to US President Franklin Roosevelt. Markets drifted at the start of the week following holidays in the UK and US, as investors awaited Friday’s news on whether consumer prices in the US and eurozone were now going up…

Stock Take Last week, Rishi Sunak caught a number of commentators off guard by calling a General Election for 4 July. Although a month is a long time in politics, current opinion polls suggest the incumbent Prime Minister faces a steep, uphill battle to remain in his post. Instead, it is Sir Keir Starmer and…

Stock Take  Stock markets continued to grow last week, as improving inflationary data in the US encouraged continued optimism from investors. In particular, the US Index, the Dow Jones, broke the 40,000 mark for the first time ever. This Index is sometimes overshadowed by the NASDAQ and S&P 500, which are home to most of…

Stock Take The tradition of May festivities dates to Roman times and the celebration of Flora, the goddess of flowers. The UK has got Michael Foot to thank for the May Day bank holiday, which he introduced in 1978 when he was the Labour Employment Secretary. With Japan also on a public holiday, it was…

Stock Take  May kicked off with an action-packed week, in which high profile earnings results vied with crucial economic data as the catalyst for the broader market. Heading the list of economic clues was the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day interest rate-setting meeting. Japan’s authorities were in the spotlight at the beginning and…