Capital markets continued their decline in the wake of the US Federal Reserve chairman’s speech of the previous week, with the pain spreading across a wide range of asset classes. US stockmarkets failed to muster any kind of rally but, at least, they are still well above the lows reached in June. European stockmarkets, on the other hand, are retesting their lows of the year, following news that Gazprom had ceased natural gas supplies to Germany entirely. This was not wholly unexpected, but it does add to the crisis in energy markets and to the threat of higher inflation for longer. The realisation that energy bills are going to spiral upwards yet again has governments in Europe rushing to abandon free markets and impose fixed price-regimes. The implied subsidies are enormous - £130 billion in the UK if Prime Minister Truss’ new plan gets the go-ahead, equivalent to about one third of total government spending on the pandemic. European governments meet at the end of the week to outline their latest thinking, but the current range of aid packages already amounts to EUR375 billion. With such large numbers at stake, windfall taxes on the utility sector are very much on the agenda.

Stocks featured:

Addentax Group Corp, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, Dell Technologies, Pernod Ricard, Polestar Automotive Holdings, Seagate Technology Holdings and Volvo

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

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There was a lot to digest after a speech by the US Federal Reserve Chairman at a conference sent stock markets into a tailspin, but it was less the contents of the speech than the reaction of the markets that raised questions. For several months, now, central bankers in the western world have been explicit about prioritising inflation over economic growth. Chairman Powell’s speech made this same point, although perhaps with a tone of exasperation that had been missing before. Chairman Powell made it clear that the decision on whether to raise rates by a further 0.75% next month, or to drop to 0.5%, had not yet been made, but he also played down the idea that the softer recent inflation numbers would justify any change in course. This was exactly in line with comments he made in June that the Fed would need to see a clear run of lower monthly inflation data for it to change course.

Stocks featured:

Dell Technologies, Nvidia, Porsche and Salesforce

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

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Markets hit the buffers this week following two months in which they had mounted an improbable rally in the face of deteriorating economic data. It took only a few trading days for continental European stock markets to give back a third of the gains accumulated during the rally. American markets followed Europe down, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index leading the way, albeit after an impressive 23% rise from trough to peak. Once again, the FTSE 100 was the best performer, sustained by its unique mix of global pharmaceutical, mining, banking and energy companies. Unfortunately, the same did not apply to the more UK-focused FTSE 250, which suffered a 4.3% decline on the week. Bond markets resumed their downward spiral with US 10-year government bond yields back above 3% and 10-year gilt yields surging back towards their highs of the year. The US dollar resumed its safe-haven status, with the pound and euro dropping to new lows for the year. As you were, then.

Stocks featured:

Bed, Bath & Beyond, BHP Group, Home Depot and Walmart

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stock markets managed another week of gains, extending the rally in American indices to two months. This has encouraged a hint of euphoria to develop, which has been reflected in the rise of cryptocurrencies, meme stocks and, of course, the technology sector favourites. Judged by the strength and breadth of the rally, and the fact that a lot of bad news has been absorbed on the way up, some analysts are calling this the end of the bear market. Their optimism was somewhat confirmed last week when investors witnessed a rare decline in US inflation data for the month of July. This was seized on as evidence that inflation has now peaked, enabling the rally in asset prices to continue. In another positive development, a survey of US consumer confidence showed a surprisingly strong uptick and bounced off its readings of the previous few months, which had been the lowest in the survey’s 70-year history. Bad news was shrugged off, such as the startlingly poor business activity surveys for the Mid-West and East Coast, as US stocks produced an especially strong week. The S&P 500 index has now recouped more than half its declines since the year began.

Stocks featured:

GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Saudi Aramco, Six Flags Entertainment and Walt Disney Co.

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was another week in which stock and bond markets rose, overcoming worrisome news about inflation’s impact on the economy. The case for bonds is straightforward: the robustness with which central bankers are hiking rates has persuaded bond investors that they can bring inflation under control, even if it means causing a recession. Recessions are not necessarily bad for bonds and, after a historically big sell-off, valuations are much more attractive. The case for stock markets is not so simple: higher bond valuations do make equities more attractive by comparison, but equities have still to run the gauntlet of further inflation and interest rate rises, their combined impact on consumer spending and, more importantly, on corporate profits. It was remarkable that equities managed to continue their rally of the past month because the week’s data failed to offer much support in these respects.

Stocks featured:

• Apple
• Amazon
• Samsung Electronics
• Meta Platforms
• Shopify

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Stock markets showed impressive, some would say heroic, resilience in the face of another week of largely bad news. Europe was again at the centre of a geopolitical maelstrom, as fears grew that the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which had been closed for maintenance, might not re-open. Gazprom, the pipeline’s operator, certainly gave that impression when it invoked force majeure clauses in its contracts with European buyers. There were even rumours that European Union officials had begun to plan for voluntary rationing, with a 15% cut in natural gas usage being proposed to member states. As the week went on, Gazprom did eventually resume supplies, but at a much lower rate of flow, and public remarks by Russian President Putin made it clear that the pipeline will remain a geopolitical hot potato.

Stocks featured:

• IBM 
• Netflix 
• Snapchat 
• Meta Platforms 
• Alphabet 
• Verizon Communications 
• AT&T 
• Walmart 

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Stock markets managed to end the week roughly flat, despite the announcement of dreadful inflation data in the US that threatened to derail the current, month-long bounce. There was little to be positive about in the data: US inflation leapt to 9.1% in June from 8.6% in the previous month, far surpassing most expectations. Fuel and food did most of the damage but, excluding these more-volatile components, the so-called "core" rate of inflation also beat expectations as rent and second-hand car prices accelerated again. The only silver lining was that core inflation continued to fall from its peak in March.

Stocks featured:

Apple, Burberry Group, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Volkswagen

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bounce in equity markets had been overdue, and was duly delivered, with the US technology sector leading the way. Investors were initially somewhat cheered by an American service industry survey that showed only a slight reduction in activity from the previous month, bucking the trend from other nations for much larger declines. More importantly, the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s last meeting did not derail the rally, despite demonstrating plenty of determination to fight inflation combined with precious little concern for the weakening economy. Thanks to recent downward revisions to economic data, it’s possible that America is already in recession, but the Fed’s minutes seemed to emanate from a different dimension, stating that “overall economic activity appeared to have picked up”. The minutes referred to inflation as being “more persistent than they had previously anticipated”, ignoring the recent reduction in so-called “core” inflation, which strips out less-controllable items such as food and energy. In summary, there were suspicions that the Fed may have cherry-picked data to support its current, aggressively anti-inflation policy. But that stance seems to please equity markets, which continued their rally on the day the minutes were published, though bond markets reversed their recent strong run.

Stocks featured:

ASML, EDF, JPMorgan, Nikon, Tesla and Twitter

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a week in which market behaviour began to shift away from fear of interest rates rises towards fear of recession. This was most evident in a recovery in government bond markets where, at the short maturities that most clearly reflect the expected path of interest rates, a dramatic shift could be seen. In the blink of an eye, seemingly, investors have shifted from being convinced that the US Federal Reserve will do multiple rate-rises, to being convinced that softening global growth will soon translate into weaker inflation, putting the Fed on hold. Markets are even now pricing in 0.75% in rate cuts in 2023. Bond values were driven upwards by a series of poor economic data, including more declines in consumer confidence around the developed world and an American survey of manufacturers that indicated a rapid decline in activity.

Stocks featured:

Airbus, Boeing, Carnival Corp and Micron Technology

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The previous week’s rally in US government bond markets, that may have heralded a change in sentiment towards the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation, was repeated around the world. British government bonds followed their US brethren upwards after the release of UK inflation data that showed a surprising decline in so-called core inflation, which excludes more volatile components such as food and fuel. Eurozone sovereign bonds then had their own rally after the release of business activity surveys for the Eurozone that indicated a sharp slowdown in growth and, therefore, in inflationary pressures.

Stocks featured:

Asos, Boohoo Group, Deutsche Bank, Li Auto, Nio, Tesla, XPeng and Zalando

To find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:

https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/

This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.