by James

Paying impressive homage to Jim O?Neill, the Goldman Sachs strategist who coined the BRIC acronym, Brazil, Russia, India and China this week convene their first summit. The event is obviously a significant positive, not least because it has proven so difficult for these nations to even sit down together, let alone agree on common interests. [...]

by James

Commodities and sovereign debt remained volatile last week. US equities managed to rise 0.7% and the dollar rallied back 1% as the bond market fluctuated before closing up. At one point, 10 year bonds sold for more than 4%, and the initial pricing of a 30 year auction on Thursday raised eyebrows. But, things snapped [...]

by James

Away the bulls! The headlines were stolen by the G-20 last week, but arguably more important events took place elsewhere. While protestors were clogging up the City and world leaders were amassing photo credits, the ECB and FASB made moves that moved markets. True, the G-20 outcome gave a lift too, but more a sigh [...]

by James

On economic matters, is a national leader a market commentator or a strategist? It was clear from the outset that Obama would disappoint some factions in his first 100 days, so broad were the expectations place on him. In the midst of an economic crisis, it is a catastrophe that he has disappointed so many [...]

by James

As oil prices have dropped below key fiscal support levels over the last few months, the outlook for the ruble has become a national concern. The currency rose steadily for five years but reversed course in July. Since then, it has given up most of its gains. After proudly portraying the ruble’s strength as a [...]

by James

US election week proved a turbulent period for the financial markets. A strong rally going into the vote gave way quickly to a sharp period of selling. The Vix Index declined by more than 6% over the week, but spiked close to 60 on Thursday, as the S&P 500 traded in an inter-week range of [...]

by James

The near 20% bull market of recent days not withstanding, equity markets are down around the globe, reflecting a financial market shock the likes of which has rarely been seen. Economies are reeling in response, meriting further nervousness about equity market perspectives. On many ratios, equities look cheap, but the prospect of a global recession [...]

by James

The Russian equity market has been making the news for a few months now, not least on this blog. Well it might, the key indexes dropped more than 70% from their May peaks. Russia is marginally impacted by the global credit crisis, but certainly not to this extent. What is going on? There are several [...]