When the second quarter began, investors were confronting an uncomfortable combination of rising inflation and slowing economic growth. Thankfully, by the time it ended, the picture had completely shifted. The MSCI World index gained 13.5% during the quarter, its best performance since 2020. The quarter was shaped by three distinct developments, each of which carries implications for the rest of the year. The first was corporate earnings. Companies reporting first-quarter res

UK Politics and Market Implications Following Prime Minister, Keir Starmer's planned departure and Andy Burnham's anticipated arrival as Prime Minister, the initial view is that the impact on UK markets will be limited. Although Burnham is seen as slightly to the left of Starmer, bond markets care more about fiscal discipline than political labels. The UK's constrained fiscal position leaves little room for any government to pursue expansionary policy without unsettling gilts. Some...

I arrived in the City in 2002, in the wreckage of the dot-com bust. It was not the most auspicious moment to begin a career in markets, but it was an education. Spreads were wide, equity markets were still in retreat, and somewhere in Washington a 76-year-old Fed chairman was preparing to cut rates to one percent. I learned to listen carefully to what Alan Greenspan said. More importantly, I learned to listen to what he did not say.