Markets largely drifted sideways again this past week, with U.S. stocks mixed, and European and Japanese stocks giving up ground. U.S. Treasury yields inched higher across the curve. The August U.S. jobs report showed solid growth, increasing the chance that the FOMC will raise the Fed Funds rate on Sept 18th. The Yen strengthened on expectations that the BoJ will do the right thing, and increase its policy rate. Gold was slightly weaker, and BTC held on to its recent gai

Not much happened in the dog days of late August, aside from Bitcoin rediscovering its mojo week before last as debasement returned to vogue.

Stocks mixed, with Japanese and emerging markets stocks chalking up gains, while European stocks lost ground. US stocks were mixed. Yields were higher at the belly and long end of the UST curve, with inflationary expectations remaining elevated. Gold and oil were higher, the Yen and Bitcoin weaker.

In spite of the noise in global markets, it’s August – does anyone care? Investors celebrated the weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday, rounding out a week in which both global stocks and bonds rallied. The U.S. jobs report pushed markets to price a higher probability that the Fed will hold rates steady in September and begin cutting later in the year, so stocks – especially more interest-rate sensitive stocks like small caps (e.g. the Russell 2000 index) – ra

A volatile month draws to a close, with global bond yields higher as inflation expectations remain elevated. With no sign of the end of the Middle East conflict, investors very much remain on edge. Ongoing concerns regarding A.I. spending are also weighing on sentiment.

Asia stocks got hammered on semi-conductor concerns, and US stocks were also weaker across the board. US Treasuries were stable, as inflationary expectations remain elevated even though June CPI data was better than expected. Fed chair Warsh spoke before Congress, and remains hawkish,

Happy 250th birthday to America, and Happy Independence Day to my American colleagues. The summary today has a table for 1H2026 performance across indices and asset classes, as well as an update for the week.

"....That being said, let’s motor on to what really matters in the coming days – May CPI in the U.S. (released yesterday), upcoming central bank meetings, the SpaceX IPO which is on the launch pad (no pun intended), and U.S. social security."

It was a holiday shortened, rather lacklustre week in markets. Good that 2022 is over. FY returns were poor across equities and bonds.