Politicians will not voluntarily fix sovereign debt issues because fiscal discipline loses elections. The UK and France have already run out of runway and have their backs against the wall. The US is still "kicking the can", but when $1 out of every $5 collected goes strictly to paying interest, the market will eventually force a reckoning there as well.

The key driver last week was the US jobs report for September, which came in weaker than expected. This spared stocks, which staged a recovery on the basis that the Fed would not be so hawkish. But it did not spare bonds, in the US or elsewhere, as yields raced higher. What really caught my attention was the sudden widening in corporate credit spreads, which had remained resilient to the turmoil around for many months.

The SAVE Act is currently front and centre in the US Senate, second perhaps only to the unfortunate conflict in the Middle East. This article looks at the SAVE Act and voter fraud in the US, and how other countries deal with the issue of vetting citizens to vote in their federal elections.

Markets were good again this week, with stocks and bonds both increasing in spite of plenty of economic headwinds on the horizon and growing geopolitical risks. Nothing seems able to stop the momentum......until it does!

Stocks reached more record highs in the US, but Asian and European stocks outperformed. UST yields slightly lower. Bitcoin soars to record

The news narrative was dominated by elections in the UK and France, and the first Biden-Trump debate. Markets were lacklustre to close 1H24

US CPI surprised on the downside (lower than expected) this week, setting a constructive tone. The FOMC says one rate cut, Europe wobbles.