Financial Planning

  EUROPE MOVES TO THE RIGHT   This week we witnessed significant volatility in European markets after nationalist parties made significant gains in the European parliamentary elections. In France, president…

GOVERNMENT BONDS RATTLED BY US INFLATION This week bond markets were unsettled by US inflation rising for the second month in a row. CPI and core inflation both increased as…

MARKETS RISE ON HOPES OF SPRING RATE CUTS   This week falling inflation and positive updates from central banks helped generate an optimistic mood. Equities have done well so far…

USA – CORE INFLATION FIGURES RESUME DOWNWARDS TREND   This week investors breathed a sigh of relief as US core inflation resumed its downward trend. The Core Personal Consumption Expenditure…

UK ECONOMY – TECHNICAL RECESSION BUT INFLATION FALLING This week we got what should have been monumental news that the UK is officially in recession. The specific definition being used…

POSITIVE US EMPLOYMENT DATA WHILST CHINA RALLIES AND OIL PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES This week the headline news has been the continued decline of government bonds. The drop was sparked by a…

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IMPROVING?   This week the outlook for the UK and the US rests in part on consumer confidence and how that might translate to spending which will ultimately…

UK GILTS & US TREASURIES UNDER PRESSURE AGAIN AS OIL AND GOLD SOAR This week neatly illustrates the problem facing the central banks. In the case of the Bank of…

GLOOMY ECONOMIC DATA POINTS TOWARDS CENTRAL BANKS ENDING RATE HIKES   Last week there were strong signs that we may be entering the final phase of central banks’ battle against…

  INCREASING IMPACT ON MARKETS FROM GOVERNMENT DEBT   As our readers are very well aware, we have been banging on about the dangers of the exceptional (and still increasing)…

FITCH DOWNGRADE OF USA LEAVES MARKETS UNCERTAIN Finally, and as predicted by Antracite Investment Asset Management Limited during the Spring of this year, this week we saw the US Debt…

US FEDERAL RESERVE & ECB DELIVER EXPECTED RATE HIKES This week there were no particular surprises as the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) delivered rate hikes as they…