I started penning this update with my recurring rant about the antics of the Trump Administration. The daily “war is over” rhetoric coming from the leader of the free world is super-annoying, especially since Iran and the U.S. remain more or less deadlocked, with the Strait of Hormuz closed and no oil flowing through it. But does this really matter anymore, at least to investors? Yes, higher oil prices are hurting consumers (see “Consumer confidence” below) and will rev

All four major central banks held their policy rates steady last week, but all of them also had a hawkish bias. Earnings continued to be supportive of higher stock prices, with five of the Mag 7 companies all beating on the top and bottom lines. Yields were higher as bonds got hammered, thanks to ongoing concerns regarding higher oil-induced inflation. There is no end in sight to the Iran-U.S. conflict.

The weekly update covers NVDA's excellent earnings; the A.I. shine which is wearing off; the minutes from the last FOMC meeting (Oct); and the fall of Bitcoin.

A.I. featured large again last week, mainly because it was the key talking point as five of the Mag 7 companies released earnings with mixed results. The FOMC decision also went as expected, although Mr Powell threw some caution into the wind. Global stock markets took it in stride, but the US Treasury market was less happy as yields rose across the curve. Gold was weaker again, and the US Dollar strengthened.

I am not expert in artificial intelligence, although I do have a basic grasp of its expected benefits balanced by the possible social implications. However, this article focuses on A.I. from an investor's perspective, since the stocks of companies that can attach themselves even loosely to the A.I. narrative have taken off like a rocket.

Let’s face it – nothing can slow the “risk on” sentiment currently charactering equity markets. SPACs were the first to reappear a few...

This is the early edition of the weekly, covering earnings (TSLA and GOOG), Trump capitulation (again) and 2024 en primeur Bordeaux campaign

Tech companies drove the 7% return of the S&P 500 in the 1Q23. Without the "magnificent seven", the index would have been flattish.

The five mega-tech FAMAG names start reporting their quarterly earnings ended Dec 30th, 2022, this week. I also included TSLA.