2024 July Economic Review

Macro Backdrop In Q2 2024, inflation trends aligned closer to central bank targets, prompting the European Central Bank to cut its base rate by 0.25%, a signal of a strategic shift in monetary policy. However, challenges such as persistent wage inflation and job growth remain, despite a 4% unemployment rate in both the US and […]

2024 April Economic Review

An Overview of the Global Economic Landscape As we reflect on the initial quarter of 2024, we observe a complex global scenario characterised by robust economic indicators amidst rising geopolitical tensions. In the United States, the economy continued its surprising strength from previous quarters, with GDP growth estimated at around 3%. This growth is supported […]

2024 January Economic Review

An Overview of the Economic Landscape As we reflect on the past year, there is some solace that despite fears of recession, high interest rates, US and European bank collapses and an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East , we’ve managed to avoid a significant economic downturn. Importantly,  the US , as the world’s […]

2023 October Economic Review

Macro Backdrop As it stands today one of the most anticipated recessions ever has yet to materialise. Economic growth, with the exceptions of Germany and Italy, has generally been positive, although outside the US the gains have been more modest. The Western world has undergone one of the fastest monetary tightening phases in history, as […]

2023 July Economic Review

Macro Backdrop Markets remain keenly attentive to inflation and its implications for interest rates. US headline inflation dropped to 4% in May, predominantly due to lower energy prices. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, declined to 5.3%, a low not seen since November 2021. UK inflation decreased in April to 8.7% (surpassing expectations) but […]

2023 April Economic Review

The global economy proved to be in better shape than expected, with the UK, the US and Europe showing more resilient growth against a difficult backdrop. Global stock markets delivered positive returns despite a period of volatility in March. Inflation rates around the world began to fall as energy prices receded, although it remained stubbornly […]

2023 January Economic Review

Global stock markets delivered a largely flat performance over the past three months, with the positive momentum seen at the end of 2022 being offset by renewed concerns about further interest rate hikes. The UK inflation rate continued to fall, but remained close to 40-year highs Unseasonably warm weather in the UK and Europe caused […]

2022 October Economic Review

Global stock markets were negative once again as investors became increasingly worried about the energy crisis, high inflation and slower economic growth. Liz Truss was elected leader of the Conservative Party and succeeded Boris Johnson as UK prime minister, but resigned 45 days into her tenure following a disastrous fiscal plan. Stock and bond markets […]

2022 July Economic Review

Global stock markets fell over the past three months as investors became worried about high inflation and the possibility of a recession Inflation continued to be elevated, reaching multi-decade highs in the UK, Europe and the US Fixed-interest securities were also negatively impacted as the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve continued to […]

2022 April Economic Review

Inflation continued to be elevated, prompting interest rate hikes from major central banks Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a humanitarian crisis and caused stock market volatility The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prompted lockdowns in Asia and disrupted supply chains It was a challenging quarter for investors as high inflation, rising interest rates and Russia’s invasion of […]

2022 January Economic Review

Global stock markets struggled over the past three months as rising inflation became a major concern. COVID-19 continued to affect markets and economies, with the Omicron causing some volatility towards the end of 2021. The Bank of England raised interest rates to reel in higher inflation Over the past three months, higher inflation and the […]

2021 October Economic Review

Global stock markets produced good returns for investors over the past three months, but were somewhat volatile. Covid-19 infection rates around the world began to increase once again with the onset of autumn. Inflation rates began to rise as high demand for goods and supply chain disruptions pushed up prices. Throughout the past three months, […]