Author: John

Strong quarter for global equities  After the disastrous December 2018 quarter (when the all country world index fell by over 13%), the March 2019 quarter staged an impressive comeback, rising by 11.6%. This was the second strongest quarter on record for the global index. The beaten-down Chinese...

A year to forget The past year has been one of the worst for global markets. The world index suffered its heaviest decline since the great recession: down over 11% (but 17% from its January high!). The robust earnings growth went largely unrewarded on concerns that the...

Current Environment As September marked the 10th anniversary of Lehman’s collapse, there was widespread commentary on the likely source of the next crisis. While opinions varied significantly, the consensus view was that it was impossible to predict: like the ‘sucker punch’ in boxing, it’s the one...

Global economy The global expansion is now entering its 10th year, one of the longest on record. And yet it appears that it still has further to go. Although the synchronised upturn among global economies appears to be losing some of its cohesion, conditions remain robust. However,...

Backdrop Despite solid economic and earnings growth globally, the past quarter has been characterised by massive volatility and weak equity markets worldwide. From the January market peak, the world market index collapsed by 9%, then rebounded by over 5%, before declining again by a further 6%....

2017 has been a significant year for global equity markets Riding the wave of low interest rates, abundant liquidity and solid global growth, the MSCI global index advanced by almost 25% to new highs. [CHART 1] Remarkably, this has been achieved with an almost unprecedented lack of...

World equity markets are on a tear, driven by synchronised global economic growth – on track to expand by 3.6% this year, the fastest rate in six years. The world index hit a new high in September and the US market experienced its first 8-quarter...

Global economic growth remains positive, advancing steadily in a more balanced and sustainable manner. Corporate profits have responded with some vigour and are recording double-digit gains, well ahead of the slow to negative momentum of the 2014 to 2016 period. Worldwide equities have embraced the more buoyant...

In the US, the Fed announced its widely anticipated interest rate hike in March.  This was accompanied by dovish commentary which suggested that only two further increases were likely this year – despite near-full employment and core inflation already bouncing around the Fed’s 2.0% target...

The fiscal restraint imposed on the world as a result of the global financial crisis has markedly curbed excessive budget deficits. Since the depths of the recession in 2010, the OECD countries have cut their overall deficits from 8.0% to 3.2% in 2015. [CHART 1] Nevertheless,...