There was a time, before the Global Financial Crisis, when the job of the central banker was relatively straightforward. The main objective was simply to control inflation and, as long as that sat around the 2% to 4% level, by and large, everyone was happy. Interest rates around 4% were tolerable. Indeed, by the time the Federal Reserve officially adopted…
If you are here in Switzerland as an expat, it can be time-consuming and confusing researching your pension options. And while everyone’s situation differs, there are three key benefits of the 2nd and 3rd Pillar Pensions that you may not be aware of and more importantly, can actually save you money. Our head of Investment Management Alastair McCaig was interviewed…
At the start of 2019, we confidently recommended that our clients stay invested in equity markets. Despite the fact that we had seen over 17% wiped out of the S&P 500 in December 2018 and people were beginning to ask if this was the end of the Bull run, we continued to advise holding your nerve and stepping back to…
Synopsis of the week Although most of the Geopolitical problems we saw in 2018 persist, equity markets have been able to shrug off the negative sentiment at the start of the year. Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, has overseen a shift in policy thinking in the last few weeks. As inflationary pressure in the US has eased, currency markets are now…
Synopsis of the week The latest G20 meeting in Argentina has helped ease trade tariff tensions and saw all the attending nations sign off on a mutually agreeable joint statement. Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, stated US Interest rates were “just below” neutral, triggering a bounce in US equity markets and a reassessment of US Dollar strength. Robust sales figures following…
Synopsis of the week US equity markets turn negative for the year, led lower by the technology sector. EU leaders sign off on the Brexit deal leaving UK Prime minister Theresa May needing to get the House of Commons approval. Oil prices fall for a seventh week in a row, raising doubt about the expected pace of interest rate increases…
Synopsis of the week Confidence in European equities took a hit with the dual problems of the UK and Brexit negotiations and Italy and its unwillingness to rebalance its budget proposals weighing on investor sentiment. The sell-off in Apple shares and its importance to both the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones saw US equities lower last week. Oil prices fell…
Synopsis of the week Markets enjoyed some resilience last week as the S&P 500, Dow & Nasdaq all closed the week up by over 2.4%. Three-quarters of the way through the reporting season and US equities look set to record their strongest profits growth for eight years. The Trump twitter account suggested the G20 would see substantial progress in trade…
Synopsis of the week Last week, markets reacted badly to both Amazon & Alphabet figures denting the Tech sector’s track record. With Apple up this week, we hope the sector will have something to be more optimistic about. UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s reign looks increasingly fragile and with the UK Budget on Monday and the Bank of England’s interest…
Synopsis of the week Last week’s equity market sell-off saw US$2.6 trillion wiped off the value of global equities and the Nasdaq, one of the hardest hit indices had its biggest fall since 2011. The US President used his Twitter account to target the US Fed labelling them as “crazy” for raising rates. Although a move he did not like,…
