14 years of returns: history’s lesson for investors June 20, 2017 The temptation among investors is to stick to what you know. That is no bad thing. It is a strategy championed by pioneers of investment such as Warren Buffett. It can work when the market is rising and you have picked the right asset. However, it is also important for investors to also consider the [...]
Managing market volatility June 19, 2017 Volatility is an important measure in financial markets. At times of stress or uncertainty, volatility rises. In contrast, low volatility is usually associated with stable or predictable conditions. In recent months, volatility has been relatively low. A good indicator of this is the VIX index. Although this measures volatility implied by derivatives on US stock [...]
What a minority government means for the UK economy June 19, 2017 After the shock of the general election, resulting in a hung Parliament and minority Conservative Government, what are the implications for the economy and investors? In terms of the political outlook, three scenarios strike me as likely. First, and most likely, the Conservatives remain in power, with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) [...]
Managing stock market volatility June 19, 2017 Volatility is an important measure in financial markets. At times of stress or uncertainty, volatility rises. In contrast, low volatility is usually associated with stable or predictable conditions. In recent months, volatility has been relatively low. A good indicator of this is the VIX index. Although this measures volatility implied by derivatives on US stock [...]
Russia World Cup 2018: Clouds still hanging over Fifa and its tournament host with just over a year to go June 15, 2017 The Confederations Cup is normally a moment for football fans’ excitement to begin in earnest. Kicking off in Russia on Saturday, the competition marks a year until the country stages the next World Cup and offers a chance both for supporters to gauge the quality of potential contenders and for governing body Fifa to test [...]
FTSE 250 is on track for its worst day of 2017 after disappointing retail results June 15, 2017 Admittedly, it has been a good year for the FTSE 250, which has set several records as weak sterling encouraged investors. But today is not one of those days: the index was on the way to its worst showing of 2017 in morning trading, falling 1.36 per cent to 19,702 points as investors showed their [...]
Sterling mostly unmoved against the US dollar (GBPUSD) as inflation jumps to hit four-year high of 2.9 per cent June 13, 2017 Inflation rose faster than expected in May to reach its joint highest level since April 2012, with the consumer price index (CPI) rising by 2.9 per cent over the past year. Economists had predicted inflation would stay steady at the 2.7 per cent rate recorded last month, but rising prices of recreational and cultural goods [...]
Goldman Sachs boss Lloyd Blankfein joins Mark Carney and Jes Staley on list of bankers hoodwinked by the email prankster June 11, 2017 Goldman Sachs boss Lloyd Blankfein has been duped by the email prankster that has already embarrassed Bank of England governor Mark Carney and Barclays chief executive Jes Staley, it was claimed tonight. The “Email Prankster” revealed on Twitter an exchange between Blankfein and alias Harvey Schwarz, who is actually Goldman Sachs’ president and co-chief operating [...]
Is it worth investing in European stock markets? June 9, 2017 Eurozone equities have made strong gains in 2017. The eurozone stock market, as measured by the MSCI EMU index, has returned 11.9% in the year to 31 May. Reduced political risk A large part of the reason for Europe’s recent gains is that investors are less worried about political risk. At the start of the [...]
UK general election: what a hung parliament means for markets June 9, 2017 The UK general election has resulted in a hung parliament, with no party commanding an overall majority. The Conservatives have emerged as the largest party and will likely seek to form a minority government. The result is unexpected. Polls during the election campaign had generally pointed towards a comfortable Conservative majority. Our panel of investment [...]