Opinion – Thursday 12 April 2018

We come in this morning to the news that just 24 hours on from President Xi’s conciliatory speech to the Boao Forum advocating market opening and yet there is a semblance of a risk-off market mood. European Equity markets have closed lower, with the Dow closing down...

Opinion – Wednesday 11 April 2018

The impact on markets just after I posted early yesterday morning of President Xi’s comments, in particular the references to reducing car import tariffs and protecting intellectual property rights of foreign entities, was accentuated offshore. Seeing is believing of...

Opinion – Tuesday 10 April 2018

While ECB President Mario Draghi and other ECB Governing Council members have been out en masse imploring investors to not worry and be happy about the Euro-Zone economic outlook, while repeating the ‘’patient, persistent, prudent’’ mantra with respect to monetary...

Opinion – Monday 9 April 2018

After the Asian session headlines noting President Trump’s instructions to look for an extra $100bn in China trade tariffs, Trump’s tweets Friday afternoon added more fuel to the fire. A soft Non – Farm Payrolls report did not help sentiment and shortly after China’s...

Opinion – Friday 6 April 2018

US stock markets continue to lead currency and interest rate markets by the nose. A third consecutive trading session of gains, on further reduced Sino-US trade tensions and now a recovery in the technology sector (the NYSE’s FANG+ index is up 1.5%) have been the...

Opinion – Thursday 5 April 2018

After Tuesday’s US tariff proposal announcement on $50bn of imports from China, early this morning China matched the US move by announcing tariffs of up to 25% on $50bn of US imports. The tit for tat response triggered a sell-off in risk assets, but this initial...