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!

Week ended April 21, 2023 [GO STRAIGHT TO THE TABLES] THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK U.K. economic data and consumer confidence The...

The UK is continuing to experience a BREXIT hangover. The economy is in desperate need of help, but the Tories seem unable to move forward

It is an interesting time to look at the ongoing discussions between the UK and the EU on a post-BREXIT trade deal......