Market Commentary

Over the last couple of weeks, investment markets have been largely supported. Corporate earnings have performed better than expected, with many firms meeting and even beating expectations. Additionally, market participants are starting to believe that we may have passed peak inflation. Leading up to the Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting on Wednesday, investors were asking the…

The market welcomed Rishi Sunak as the UK’s new Prime Minister, in a sign of relief and a belief that he will bring some stability in the period ahead. Since it became clear the leadership contest was a one-horse race, government bond prices have increased, causing yields and the cost of borrowing to fall. Sterling…

Following the departure of Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor, the circus at Westminster has continued this week. Having been in office just 45 days, Liz Truss claimed the title of shortest tenure ever as UK prime minister by announcing her resignation on Thursday. Her successor will be elected in a Tory leadership contest, to be completed…

Welcome to the latest edition of Caves Quarterly, where we take a look back over the last few months and look ahead to the future. To read, please click the link below: MHA Caves Wealth Quarterly – Edition 27 (Q3 2022)

It was another turbulent week for financial markets. This week saw yields on UK government bonds climb again (yields rise as prices fall) over worries that the fiscal books continue to look unbalanced and the Friday deadline for Bank of England (BoE) support in that market loomed. In the face of mounting criticism, Chancellor Kwasi…

It’s been a tough week for financial markets as central banks around the globe continued to raise interest rates in the face of persistently high inflation. It wasn’t the increase, per se, which dented sentiment, it was more the signalling that investors should expect moves of a similar size in the meetings to come. Given…

Investors looking for signs of a ‘Fed pivot’ were left disappointed following Chair Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium last week. Hopes that the pace of monetary policy tightening would be slowed or even paused were dashed as he held firm and reiterated his “unconditional” commitment to bring down inflation. Stocks sold off…

This week, investor thoughts were centred around what would be discussed and announced at a conference based in the unlikely location of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Set in an idyllic mountain resort, the annual event (first held in 1981) sees the world’s top central bankers, finance ministers, and academics discuss the challenges for the global economy…

On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose by 10.1% in July 2022, up from 9.4% in June. The latest increase in the CPI rate was driven by energy and fuel prices, as well as food prices which rose by a 20-year high rate of 12.7%. The ONS…

US stocks and government bonds rallied sharply on Wednesday after July inflation data came in at 8.5%, lower than the forecasted 8.7% following a sharp decrease in fuel prices. This eased investor concern that the Fed will again raise rates by 0.75% at the next meeting in September. The world’s largest economy posted inflation of…