Introduction As we noted in our final publication of 2017, the year 2017 was characterized by very low volatility and stable positive returns on the majority of stock markets. This took place even despite the start of stimulus withdrawal by major central banks which was seen in the gradual increase Read more…
Introduction The low-interest rate environment which has characterised the markets since the breakout of the financial crisis left fixed-income investors with one way to continue to benefit from high yields: emerging markets. In addition to this, China started a credit expansion in order to keep the levels of GDP growth Read more…
Over the last couple of months Turkey has been greatly divided over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s proposal to augment the executive powers of his position. Ultimately, Erdoğan claimed victory by the slimmest of margins last Sunday as 51% of Turks stood by his side in a vote whose integrity is Read more…
The sharp increase in UK property prices-predominantly but not limited to the London area- over the last year has led many to believe such a trend has become unsustainable. According to Nationwide Building Society, Real estate prices registered an 18% annual change in London since 2013, while the average UK Read more…
The Emerging Markets sell-off of late January highlighted the importance of the Chinese economy in the global markets and the instability of its financial sector. China has pulled global growth in the last decade, attracting investments, exporting goods all over the world and financing businesses and governments, especially the US. Read more…
US This week has been really quiet for the US. Two main issues arise: the initial jobless claims surprise on the downside (actual 316K vs expected 330K), and the decline in the durable goods orders. (-2%) in October. With regard to the first data, although it is clearly good for Read more…
Panel 22|11|2013 US This week Bernanke surprised the markets outlining the chance of early tapering of QE (December meeting). For us this is quite surprising, as we still believe the US economy is not performing as well as it was believed this spring. Three main reasons have worsened our outlook Read more…