CHANGE: Japan’s slow-moving but potentially momentous monetary policy pivot took another step forward. With the naming of academic Kazuo Ueda as replacement for long-standing Bank...

SURPRISE: Europe’s Stoxx 600 index is within 5% of its all-time high and is the best performing region this year. Some, like the UK’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40, are already at...

BRACE: US inflation is the biggest number in markets. It’s driving the Fed rate cycle and macro and earnings recession risks. Plus the Fed ‘data dependent’ and markets looking for...

SUPPORT: Tuesday’s Valentine’s Day is the next test for the still-resilient US consumer. A lot hangs on it. It’s a top-5 spending event of the year, consumption is near 70% of the...

SHRINKING HORIZONS: Warren Buffett famously says his favourite stock holding period is forever. The same cannot be said for many other investors. The average holding period for US...

RALLY: The 2023 ‘everything’ rally has been led by the big losers of last year, from crypto to disruptive tech. It’s been dismissed as a low quality ‘junk’ rally or a ‘dash for...

SURPRISE: US share buyback announcements have tripled versus January last year. This is a welcome surprise and a key support to US equity markets. Stock buybacks have historically...

OWNERSHIP: Company ownership matters and differs a lot around the world. Understanding the incentives and time frames of owners is important. It helps explain key investment...

SLOWER: Global equities had one of their best starts to the year ever, confounding consensus. Both history and the fundamentals remain on your side, but the returns pace will...

LESS-BAD: The latest IMF global economic update validates the less-bad macro outlook. They raised their world GDP growth forecast this year by 0.2% to 2.9%. This change in tone...