Asking the Right Questions
Central bank liquidity keeps everyone dancing
While the Bank of England (BOE) surprised markets by holding interest rates steady in July, the Bank announced an aggressive package of measures at their meeting on Thursday that had financial markets salivating once again. This package, intended to lower the cost of borrowing…
Weekly Market Update: May 3rd 2016
Market Recap Global equity markets were back in the red last week, after ending on a sour note Friday. Concerns over the global economy have not gone away, while earnings season has so far been mixed, most notably for some of the high profile…
US Fed Policy: A Much More ‘Gradual’ Path
Global equity markets sold off sharply last week, as weak economic data outweighed the recent positivity generated by the prospect of more easing from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the European Central Bank (ECB). Much of the focus was on the US, as…
Weekly Market Update: February 1st 2016
Market Recap Global equity markets enjoyed another positive week, buoyed by further support from the major Central Banks, this time the Bank of Japan (BOJ) with the introduction of negative interest rates. As well, speculation of a possible production cut by OPEC pushed oil…
Weekly Market Update: January 25th 2016
Market Recap After a difficult start to the week, most of the major equity indices ended the week in positive territory. As expected, ‘Super Mario’ Draghi came to the rescue for markets with reassuring comments that fuelled hope of more aggressive monetary policy from…
Has the world gone mad, or is it me?
These words from Ben Howard, the immensely talented singer-songwriter, ring in my head when I think about how much financial markets have been conditioned to respond to monetary stimulus. While central banks have engineered risk free rates on cash to zero (or negative in…
Equity Markets: Valuation is in the Eye of the Beholder
With many of the major equity indices at or near record highs it is natural to ask whether equity markets are overvalued. First of all valuations differ dramatically by geographical region and second, one’s estimate of fair valuation is to a large degree subjective….
Central Bank Policy and Portfolio Construction
CFA Institute Magazine May/June 2013 Issue CFA Institute Magazine – Central Bank Policy and Portfolio Construction
