Financial markets started 2023 on a frothy note thanks to expectations of a rapid comeback of inflation. Such hopes had been fueled by data on European inflation (released right at the beginning of January) and then U.S. inflation, both of which had fallen more than expected

In the previous report, we pointed out that in their latest meetings, central banks have paved the way for a less hawkish attitude than in the past. In the days that followed, macroeconomic data suggested that restrictive monetary policies may be needed for longer than expected, especially in the...

The central bank meetings held last week were expected to bring clarity on monetary policy stance and the path of interest rates.

The beginning of a new year is typically heralded by a dramatic rebound of everything that experienced the most severe declines, as is frequently the case following bad years

We have finally left behind a truly horrific year. The best way to illustrate this is through the chart below, courtesy of Deutsche Bank: in the 150-year history of U.S. financial markets (such a long time series is only available for the U.S.) it has never occurred that stocks and bonds both...

With last week's meetings, central banks ended a year that saw a record number of rate hikes around the world. As Bloomberg reports, “Bank of America Corp. has spotted around 275 rate hikes this year, enough for one every trading day, with just 13 cuts” and “more than 50 central banks have...

As long as central banks implemented monetary policies that favored asset class price increases, the market motto was "don't fight the Fed (or the central banks)”.

Since mid-October, a mighty rotation has taken place in financial markets, bringing a reversal (or perhaps just a temporary retracement?) of many of the major trends that have characterized the year so far.