In 2010, Ireland almost went bust after the state was forced to prop up a bankrupt banking sector. Now two years after exiting an IMF and EU bailout package, it has become the Eurozone’s star performer. Along with a rejuvenated…
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Like all other markets, Europe was impacted by the China crisis in August and September particularly as Germany is a major exporter to China. German car manufacturer Volkswagen was a major distraction to markets as it has been involved in…
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Investment Bank UBS has recently confirmed that the ratio of property prices to wages and property prices to rent has reached an all-time high and that London property has become more de-coupled from household earnings than anywhere else in the…
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Reinvested dividends account for a significant part of overall long term returns from stocks. With this in mind it is good news that British stocks are paying out record levels of income according to Capita Registrars. UK dividends reached £27.2bn…
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The prospect of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates coupled with slower growth in China unsettled the US equity markets in Q3. The S&P 500 fell from 2075 in early June to 1876 by the end of August. But, with…
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Asia contains the majority of the world’s population and is growing fast enough to produce an economy the size of Germany every 4 years. The Asia Pacific ex Japan Index has fallen by 28% from its April 2015 peak taking…
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Chinese authorities have for some time been accused of manipulating their GDP figures. The latest Q3 figures for 2015 report a 6.9% year-on-year growth which does nothing to allay these suspicions. The unofficial alternative index covering electricity consumption, bank lending,…
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This widespread opinion comes as government policies have turned to expansion in the US, China and Europe at the same time. In China, recent equity purchases by the Peoples Bank of China (PBC) and interest rate cuts are now filtering…
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After the dramatic falls in equity markets in August, stock market volatility extended throughout September. These market falls contributed to the worst quarter in global stock markets since quarter 3 of 2011 and the Eurozone crisis. Confidence in the strength…
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