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October usually has a bad reputation and is always approached with some apprehension by investors. In this case, too, it was no less. The major stock markets closed lower, maintaining a certain climate of uncertainty and volatility. The reasons for the worsening market tone were: The outbreak of a new conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian people, which once again highlighted the fragility of the situation in the Middle East. The worsening global economic situation, especially in Europe and China. The high level of bond yields, with the US Treasury reaching a peak of 5%. As said initially the [...]

The third quarter of 2023 closes in an environment still marked by high geopolitical tensions, with the "usual" conflict in Ukraine and aggressive cartel policies implemented by some oil producers, Saudi Arabia above all, which are limiting supply by cutting production. The main economic consequences of these dynamics are significant increases in energy prices, which fuel inflation expectations, leading to restrictive monetary policies and anticipations of interest rate hikes. At the level of financial markets, the correction that began in August continued during the month of September, with an acceleration of the decline after the Fed meeting on 20 [...]

The summer period just past was characterised by volatility on the financial markets. After a positive June, a change of direction was noticed. After months of almost exclusively positive movements, the market entered a correction phase in August, except for recovering some of the losses in the last few days. Over the month, global equities lost -2.5% (MSCI World), and so did bond futures (the Bund lost half a point, while the US ten-year bond lost about 1.5 points). Several factors contributed to this deterioration including the realization that the monetary policies implemented by the major central banks of [...]

The markets breathed a sigh of relief in April, thanks especially to signs of possible monetary policy easing by central banks. As a result, the world's major stock exchanges held up well overall, albeit with varying performances. However, concerns still persist about the high level of inflation and the resilience of the banking sector after the vicissitudes just experienced. At the aggregate level, the MSCI World index performed well for the month, closing at +1.9%. In the United States, the S&P 500 index did well, closing positive by 1.45%. Slightly positive also Nasdaq technology index that closed at +0.30% [...]

The month of March was marked by a lot of volatility and concern related to a possible financial crisis. The very rapid reversal of rates began to claim its first victims. In mid-March, U.S. banks Silicon Valley (SVB) and Signature Bank had to file for bankruptcy and were taken under surveillance by the authorities. Their problem was that they did not sufficiently hedge the risks of changing interest rates. Due to the sharp rise in interest rates, their bond investments suffered a significant loss in value. In order to fill the gap, SVB decided to intervene with a capital [...]

In contrast to January, where we saw a general rise in the main stock markets, the tone of the markets turned decidedly more negative in February. The main culprit for this change in direction was the release of some worse-than-expected inflationary data in both Europe and the United States. Upward surprises in economic growth as well as inflation that is struggling to decline significantly have had a consistent impact on expectations regarding the timing and magnitude of future central bank rate hikes, causing a slowdown in the stock market in February and a further sharp rise in bond yields [...]