Spain at the head of new eurozone concerns After a strong first quarter, share prices fell back during April amid renewed apprehension over the outlook for the eurozone and particularly Spain, which took centre-stage against a backdrop of fresh concerns over signs of increasing dependence on emergency bailout funds. Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s reduced [...]

No room for policy mistakes, says IMF Share prices rallied during the first quarter of 2012 amid hopes of a global economic recovery underpinned by renewed optimism the eurozone would avoid a collapse. Investors around the world were nervous early in the month as Greece approached the deadline to secure sufficient backing for its controversial [...]

Asian markets surge as sentiment picks up Investor sentiment showed signs of picking up during February, with many Asian markets performing particularly strongly during the month as investors drew confidence from better-than-expected factory production in Japan, encouraging jobs data from the US and signs of improving confidence in the eurozone. The Nikkei 225 index surged [...]

Little room for complacency The new year began with many of the same overriding preoccupations that characterised 2011 although share prices were boosted during January amid rising optimism the global economy would manage to weather the worst effects of the eurozone’s ongoing sovereign debt crisis. Nevertheless, there appears to be little room for complacency. The [...]

Investors happy to see the back of 2011 December rounded off an exceptionally challenging year for investors. Various factors – political turmoil and civil unrest in the Middle East, Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, a lack of political accord in the US over the country’s deficit and, perhaps above all, the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis [...]

Central banks co-ordinate attempt to shore up markets Share prices experienced another month of marked volatility during November, characterised by mounting fears over Italy’s financial stability. In the US, the S&P 500 index fell 0.5% while, closer to home, the FTSE 100 index registered an overall loss of 0.7%. In Europe, the CAC 40 index [...]

Euro concerns weigh heavy on global markets Even though major markets were up significantly during October, the month was characterised by exceptional volatility across global indices. Investors remained jittery during the month amid intense speculation over the outlook for the eurozone and concerns the region’s leaders might not be able to reach an agreement over [...]

Global economy facing ‘dangerous new phase’ September proved another rough month for markets, amid mounting concerns about the state of the global economy and the possibility Greece might default on its loans. The FTSE 100 index fell 4.9% during September and 13.7% over the third quarter of 2011. In Europe, the German DAX and French [...]

August proves no holiday for investors August proved a tumultuous month for world markets, with many major share indices experiencing wild swings. Things started on an unsteady footing amid escalating concerns the US was in imminent danger of defaulting on its loan payments and, while its debt ceiling was eventually raised – narrowly averting a [...]

The sell-off in global risk assets over the last week has been both violent and unsettling and has demonstrated major concern over the European debt situation as well as the inability of the US to come up with effective policy measures to control the Federal deficit. Two things are apparent: ·         The US economy is [...]