Worldwide Financial Planning

Conmen aren’t successful if they aren’t clever or charismatic. Guess what the characteristics of a sociopath are. They see you as their stepping stone, not a mother or father with savings to feed your children.

Equities have done well so far this year, but bonds have struggled due to the tension between central banks and markets’ assumptions about rate cuts. Investors have been forced to readjust as inflation remained sticky and central banks appeared reluctant to move too early.

You only need to look at the wildness of its price to see that no-one knows the answer to that – other than the market makers creating it probably. There can clearly be no efficient pricing structure.

The monthly nonfarm payrolls report, released last Friday, showed a mixed picture, with strong job growth but rising unemployment and a noticeable slowing of wage inflation. This was seen as positive for the chances of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve before summer.

If my last three columns haven’t put you off investing into something you can’t rationalise the risk for, this will surely do it. When thinking of risk, remember that conmen who aren’t convincing or charming aren’t successful. Sociopaths are like that. Don’t expect them to play fair. That’s pushing a river up a hill.

With no official challenger to Joe Biden among the Democrats, it is now a two horse race between Biden and Donald Trump to the election in November. Meanwhile, China’s biggest annual political event, the National People’s Congress, also concluded this week.