Highlights from May 2020 – Oil has best month ever; COVID-19 impact on employment; U.S. corporate earnings; First Quarter (Q1) GDP readings; Stocks continue rebound

Oil has best month ever

In April, oil prices briefly went negative. May was a different story with WTI Crude, the U.S. oil benchmark, registering its best month ever after gaining 88.38%. Record supply cuts and an uptick in demand pushed prices higher.

WTI Crude January to May 2020

Continue reading “Highlights from May 2020 – Oil has best month ever; COVID-19 impact on employment; U.S. corporate earnings; First Quarter (Q1) GDP readings; Stocks continue rebound”

Highlights from April 2020 – Strong rebound in stocks; Oil prices go negative (for a while); Central Banks announce big bond purchases

COVID-19 cases accelerating

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March. New cases and fatalities are still growing exponentially. At the end of April there were 3.25 million cases (up from 860,000 at the end of March). The number of fatalities has grown exponentially too to 231,000 at the end of April (up from 42,000 at the end of March).

Strong rebound in stocks

Almost after every crash comes a resounding boom. Continue reading “Highlights from April 2020 – Strong rebound in stocks; Oil prices go negative (for a while); Central Banks announce big bond purchases”

Highlights from March 2020 – Coronavirus now a pandemic; Equities record worst month since 2008; Government bond yields fall further; Major Shock, recession, or depression?

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) now a pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on the 11th of March. New cases and fatalities are growing exponentially. At the end of March there were about 857,000 cases globally (up from 85,000 at the end of February and 9,500 at the end of January).

Continue reading “Highlights from March 2020 – Coronavirus now a pandemic; Equities record worst month since 2008; Government bond yields fall further; Major Shock, recession, or depression?”

Highlights from February 2020 – Coronavirus moves the market; Oil down 27% so far in 2020; Equities Collapse; U.S. Treasury yields hit all-time lows; Japanese Q4 GDP falls big

Coronavirus – Worse than SARS and MERS

The new Coronavirus (officially named COVID-19 now) infected 85,000 people at the end of February (up from 9,500 at the end of January). It is far more widespread now, not just in China but across other Asian countries. Far worse than SARS and MERS already – will this turn out to be a global pandemic?

Continue reading “Highlights from February 2020 – Coronavirus moves the market; Oil down 27% so far in 2020; Equities Collapse; U.S. Treasury yields hit all-time lows; Japanese Q4 GDP falls big”

Highlights from January 2020 – U.S. equities flat but emerging markets fall big; Bonds deliver big returns; Brexit finally happened; Economic Growth slowing; Coronavirus

Not a stellar start for Equities in 2020

2019 was a stellar year for the equity markets, the new year started off well but there was volatility by the end of the month.

Continue reading “Highlights from January 2020 – U.S. equities flat but emerging markets fall big; Bonds deliver big returns; Brexit finally happened; Economic Growth slowing; Coronavirus”

Highlights from November 2019 – Stock Markets rally; S&P 500 up 25% so far this year but S&P 500 earnings flat in third quarter this year vs last year; Germany avoids technical recession

Stock Markets Rally
Equities markets continued their rally in November, the S&P 500 gained 3.4%, the Dow 3.7% and Nasdaq Composite 4.5% during the month. Elsewhere, the Japan TOPIX gained 1.9% during the month and the UK FTSE was up 2.2% during November.

Continue reading “Highlights from November 2019 – Stock Markets rally; S&P 500 up 25% so far this year but S&P 500 earnings flat in third quarter this year vs last year; Germany avoids technical recession”

Highlights from October 2019 – Stock Markets hit all time high; China growth slowest in three decades; GBP rallies; Eurozone economy fragile

What happened in October: The S&P 500 hit an all-time high as trade tensions eased. The Fed cut interest rates again. Meanwhile, China GDP growth was slowest in three decades. The British Pound soared in October and signs are that the Eurozone economy is faltering more than expected.

Continue reading “Highlights from October 2019 – Stock Markets hit all time high; China growth slowest in three decades; GBP rallies; Eurozone economy fragile”