Asking the Right Questions
Everlasting Monetary Policy and Rising Equity Markets
The major US equity indices closed at new record highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 1.75% over the week. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite breached the dotcom bubble peak reached in 2000.
Weekly Market Recap: April 20th 2015
Market Recap After stellar performance the previous week, most of the major global equity indices closed in the red last week. European equities were hardest hit with the German DAX index falling 5.54%. There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy to explain the decline, other than…
Weekly Market Recap: April 13th 2015
Market Recap Global equity markets surged higher last week, as we were reminded once again that nothing really matters other than the actions of those benevolent central banks. The weaker than expected US jobs report the previous Friday provided the initial springboard for equities,…
Paying for Negative Externalities
It is not every day you come across an article entitled “Warren Buffett is Everything That’s Wrong With America”. It is a thought provoking piece that I would highly recommend you read, forcing you to think more philosophically about the mass produced, advertising driven…
Weekly Market Recap: April 6th 2015
Market Recap Global equity markets edged slightly higher despite mixed economic data, in what was a shortened trading week as US and European equity markets were closed for Good Friday. In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed up 0.6% while in the US, the…
Weekly Market Recap: 2nd March 2015
Stellar month for equities…. Most of the major equity indices moved higher last week despite mixed economic data and speculation that the US Federal Reserve could move on rate hikes this summer. Last week capped a stellar month for equity markets, with gains of…
Irish 30 Year Bond Issue & Record Low Long Term Eurozone Bond Yields
Irish Government get €4bn 30 year interest only loan at 2% The Irish government came to the market last week with their first ever 30-year bond for sale, maturing in February 2045 and with a coupon payment of 2%. In the lead-up to the auction it was…
Adding a dynamic allocation that can adapt to the changing environment
As I think about the outlook for the global economy and financial markets in the year ahead I can’t help but bring it back to a sporting context, in my case football. In preparation for every football match a manager sets out his team…
The Year Ahead: Key Considerations
As I consider the outlook for the year ahead I am certain that once again the predominant theme is central bank policy. The investment world is a dynamic place and each week in my weekly musings I try to touch on the most relevant developments. Therefore, I have…
Market Review of 2014: a time for reflection
“Past events will always look less random than they were” Nassim Taleb Another year behind us and for the most part investors have enjoyed stellar returns, as the influence of the world’s major central banks outweighed the lower than expected global GDP growth, geopolitical…
