What to brace for in 2024

We must be getting close to the end of one thing… and the start of something else. The thing whose end is nigh is the bubble on Wall Street. As a bubble inflates, the lightest, lowest-quality stocks f

Speculation has reached fever pitch about the contents of the government’s forthcoming Autumn Budget. This follows the assessment of the highly respected NIESR (National Institute of Economic and Soci

François Bayrou, the beleaguered French prime minister, has said that the 8 September confidence vote in parliament, which is expected to go against him and his budget proposals, will not decide “the

Parents of young children, and pet owners, often start to worry when they have been enjoying an unusually long period of silence. Investors are experiencing a similar sensation. Markets seem calm, wit

A month ago, analysts were predicting that S&P 500 earnings growth for the second quarter would come in at a sluggish 5% year-on-year, says Sam Goldfarb in The Wall Street Journal. The spring period w

“There is always someone worse off than you,” as Aesop reminded us. That also means there is always someone to feel superior to. In post-war Europe, Italy was the country everyone made fun of, dismiss