Worldwide Financial Planning

This week has brought some much needed clarity on two big issues: How closely does the market’s view of inflation match the Federal Reserve’s? And, how bad are Rishi Sunak’s chances of re-election?

The reality? The FTSE100 has virtually no meaningful reflection to the UK economy at all. To believe so is confirmation bias in the extreme.

The level of economic activity shown in this week’s Purchasing Managers’ Indices suggests any slowdown may be temporary, and US growth is still far higher than the level seen in the UK and Europe, However, there was little to dissuade bond investors from the assumption that Federal Reserve rate cuts will be delayed.

Frequent unsolicited contacts and a push for quick decisions are hallmark tactics used by scammers aiming to create a false sense of urgency. Be wary if you're asked to act fast—real investment opportunities don't need immediate decisions."

Since last autumn bond investors have been testing central banks’ willingness to keep rates high and have regularly had to adjust their outlooks when confronted by sticky inflation, high economic growth and central bank intransigence.

Following on from last week’s introduction to investment risk, and still using the maritime metaphors, I will cover the other risk measures you should be considering, to ensure you know the true risk of your investments and how to check them.