Asking the Right Questions
Two important lessons from the SNB decision
“Words fail me” Nick Hayek, CEO of Swatch The real story from last week was the surprise announcement from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to abandon their currency peg with the Euro,
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…
US Federal Reserve: One Statement, Two Words!
With recent US data picking up, investors will be gin to once again focus more on the timing of interest rate hikes and the implications for financial markets. While no change to monetary policy is expected investors will eye the wording of the Fed’s…
Environment set for Mario Draghi to get full-blown QE over the line…..
Global equity markets moved sharply lower last week, core government bonds were in demand and volatility jumped. Government bond yields in the Eurozone moved to new record lows. The German 10-Year government bond yield closed the week at 0.64%, while the yields on German bonds with…
Draghi keeps the dream alive, “expected” is now “intended” but “not yet a target”
ECB President Mario Draghi kept the dream alive for the quantitative easing enthusiasts who believe that when all else fails, buy government bonds! The only real change in the ECB’s statement was the use of the word “intended” rather than “expected” in relation to…
Mario Draghi: “Following through with the consequences”
ECB President Mario Draghi gave a speech last week at the University of Helsinki entitled “Stability and Prosperity in Monetary Union”, that to me almost had a Mafioso tone to it. Draghi is steadfast in his belief that the Euro is here to stay…
China’s central bank joins the easing party…
Adding to the euphoria in equity markets on Friday was the surprise cut in interest rates from China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China. The one-year benchmark lending has been cut 40bps to 5.6% while the equivalent deposit rate was cut 25bps to…
Draghi talks markets up after weakest Eurozone PMI since July 2013…
The flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index, a measure of business activity in manufacturing and services, showed “the pace of economic activity fell to a 16-month low in November. The index fell from 52.1 in October to 51.4, the lowest level since July 2013….
Bank of England Inflation Report: Halloween Theme
In his latest inflation report press conference, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England (BOE), struck a Halloween theme in his opening remarks. Since the last meeting he confirmed that “indicators across much of the advanced and emerging world have been moribund”, adding…
