Ear to the Ground

Central banks were back in the limelight this week. Sound familiar? On Thursday the Bank of England raised the base rate by 0.25% to 1%, in line with market expectations. This was the 4th consecutive…
Ear to the Ground

The market was caught off guard yesterday when US economic growth for Q1 came in much weaker than expected. The economy contracted by an annualised 1.4% in the quarter. This was well below the 6.9% annualised rate…
Ear to the Ground

This week saw the release of the latest economic growth projections by the IMF. Within this they forecast that the global economy will grow by 3.6% this year. This is 0.8% lower than the prediction which they made in January. Even following…
Ear to the Ground

Inflation again took centre stage this week with the release of key data for the UK and the US. In the UK consumer price inflation rose 7% in the 12 months to March, the highest reading since…
Ear to the Ground

This week saw the release of the latest minutes from the FOMC meeting. Whilst they increased rates by 0.25%, the minutes revealed that many members would have preferred a 0.5% hike. Without the conflict in Ukraine, it is likely…
Ear to the Ground

As inflation continues to surprise to the upside and the cost of living increases, the market is now pricing in more interest rates hikes in the US, more than the recent Federal Reserve Dot Plot indicated. There are now 8 hikes of 0.25% fully priced in by the market…
Ear to the Ground

In a further sign that certain stocks are priced for perfection we saw another technology stock take a tumble this week when it missed on expectations. This time it was Roblox, the open gaming platform, who on Wednesday saw their share price fall 26.6%. In good news for the company it reported 49.5m daily…
Ear to the Ground

Central banks were at the fore this week, with meetings at the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve. The Bank of England, as expected, increased the base rate by a further 0.25%, taking it to 0.75%. The MPC voted 8-1 in favour of the move, with one dissenter voting to keep…
Investment Topic: ‘WYSIATI’

The above jumble of letters may appear a strange way to begin an investment topic. However, this arrangement has significance in terms of the way in which we view things, including investment opportunities. Indeed, in the world of behavioral finance, this can play a significant role. So, what does…
Ear to the Ground

The conflict between the Ukraine and Russia continued to take centre stage this week. With no sign of de-escalation, countries and companies continue to try and exert pressure on Russia in whichever way they can. Countries around the world continue to increase trade…
