Topic #1: Fed’s Interest Rate Hike Battle In this week's market update, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) increased the benchmark interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, bringing it to 4.5%-4.75%. This move was widely expected and is part of the Fed's commitment to maintaining transparency and stability in the markets....

Table of contents 2023 Market Outlook High & Falling Inflation The Fed Policy Recession Forecast What this means for your investment strategy 2023 Market Outlook As we move into 2023, investor hopes have been bolstered for the year with latest inflation numbers coming in below expectations for two consecutive months, signalling that the end to the...

Topic #1: China’s Lunar New Year Rebound Data out on Wednesday showed that Chinese families celebrated the Lunar New Year in high style. What does this mean? While the lifting of Covid restrictions alone will not immediately revive China's economy, recent indicators suggest that the country is beginning to recover. For example,...

In the past week, pessimism (i.e. bearishness) among individual investors about the short-term direction of the stock market slipped last week to its lowest level in 10 weeks. Neutral sentiment also pulled back, while optimism (bullishness) has rebounded. So, with positive investors sentiments picking up, here are this week’s...

Topic #1: US Inflation in line with expectations What happened The latest data indicates that inflation in the United States decelerated in December, as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded a 6.5% increase compared to the previous year. Notably, this marks the sixth consecutive month of decline in inflation. Furthermore, the...

Source: 5-day price movement for 3 major markets, Kitco Stocks start 2023 on a positive note as hopes grow of slowing inflation Stocks had a difficult year in 2022, with all three major averages experiencing their worst performance since 2008 and ending a three-year streak of gains. The Dow was the...

Souce: The Big Picture, Historical Average of Christmas Rally, Santa Claus Rally and Average  No Santa Claus Rally in December? The Santa Claus Rally refers to a seasonal stock market trend that typically occurs during the last five business days in December and first two days of January. During this period,...

Bank of Japan shocked financial markets by finally raising interest rates For the past 20 years, Japan has kept interest rates at zero in its battle against deflation. However, this week Tuesday, in a shocking move, it has finally deviated from its stance. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) hiked interest...

US Fed raise interest rates (again) The Federal Reserve (the Fed) hiked interest rates by 50 basis points on 14 December, bringing its key rate to the 4.25%-4.5% range. Investors were indeed expecting a smaller hike after recent CPI data showed signs that past hikes have been working.  Does this mean...

China eases Covid restrictions The double whammy of supply shortages and the country’s strict Covid rules in the past few months have challenged the narrative that China is the world’s factory. In November 2022, exports took a hit, contracting 8.7% compared to the same time last year - over double...