We are taking steps to reduce risk. The markets are talking the world into a worse slowdown. Confidence is crucial to growth and economic recovery.  The twin problems of Euro and US debt began to spook the markets a little over a week ago.  Now we have to contend with falling asset values, weak banks [...]

Comment from 7IM CIO, Ros Price on the downturn in the market seen last week; The initial falls in the market were marked by the relatively low volumes of business – levels that are the norm for the time of year. Over the last few days however, volumes have risen quite dramatically and the market [...]

Twin debt crises weigh heavy on markets Global equity markets were unable to withstand the tide of poor economic news that came their way in July – most notably the political deadlock in the US on the country’s debt and yet another calamity in Greece. Both crises ultimately received the policy equivalent of a sticking [...]

Investors suffering as Greek crisis lurches on June proved a torrid month for many investors amid intensifying concerns over the possibility of Greece defaulting on its debt and the wider implications for the eurozone and the rest of the world.   Although share prices rallied towards the end of the month as investors became less preoccupied [...]

Eurozone crisis rattles investors Most equity markets ended May in negative territory, with the global MSCI World index falling 2.5% in US dollar terms. Continued worries over Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and, in particular, mounting fears Greece might default on its debt pulled down share prices around the world. Elsewhere in the eurozone, Portugal reached [...]

Bumps on the road to recovery Most major equity markets ended April in positive territory while the MSCI World index rose 4% in US dollar terms. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes the world economy remains on track for recovery although it did warn against ongoing risks that include geopolitical turmoil, rising commodity prices, inflationary [...]

Japan crisis heads list of market woes Equity markets in March were dominated by the earthquake in Japan and its repercussions although other events also served to drag them lower. After a short-lived rise at the start of the month, the markets had already started to drop as a result of the Middle East crisis [...]

Oil price and North African woes spook investors Investors’ attention during February was focused on events in the Middle East, amid reports of escalating civil unrest in Libya. The price of oil surged, fuelled by fears the turmoil could spread to neighbouring oil-producing countries. Meanwhile, global food prices soared to new highs during January. The [...]

January proved an eventful month with newsflow dominated by surging prices for food and fuel and reports of unrest in North Africa. Overall, the month saw the MSCI World index rise by 2.2% in US dollar terms. Investor sentiment was undermined by protests against the ruling regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. Amid fears the instability [...]

All eyes back on Europe November saw a reversal of fortune for many major equity markets. With the exception of Japan, which bucked the trend and registered strong gains, most leading indices dropped over the month as a whole. The MSCI World index fell by 2.4% in US dollar terms while the Organisation for Economic [...]