| The headline news though, has been dominated by the Trump and Putin summit, which has now become a non-event, with Trump reacting by imposing US sanctions on Russian oil. Not surprisingly, the oil price rose. Putin is not happy! The conflict in the Middle East is bubbling again with warmongering unfolding between Hamas, rival factions and Israel. This week, I want to change the flavour away from fossil fuels towards Sustainable Energy and sustainable investments. Unloved on a relative basis in the era of “drill baby drill”, is this sector offering attractive value at a time when there are talks of a bubble forming in other assets? Infrastructure is another asset which looks attractive, an asset which typically isn’t adversely impacted by consumer confidence. It has been one of the best-performing sectors over the last month. Short sellers (betting against stocks) have had their worst year since 2020 as markets have confounded their positions. They have blamed retail buyers for their demise. I’ll explain more later. With markets having endured some volatility, many opportunists have been deploying cash back into the market. There are a number of optimists who are now suggesting that this equity rally has got much further to run, which isn’t good news for those holding cash, but we’ll just have to see who is right. As we have highlighted previously, there is always somewhere to invest, and a re-appraisal is required of which equity sectors offer the best value moving forward. This week’s content: - Tax rumours gathering pace
- Geopolitical tensions heighten
- The oil price rises
- Is Sustainability back in vogue?
- Conditions for infrastructure look attractive
- A 1000% rise in four days!
- “Painful to get your face ripped off every day”
- What are the optimists saying?
- Summary
Tax rumours gathering pace It’s no surprise that the worst is feared over Rachel Reeves’s Budget in November. Feedback from our seminar suggests everyone feels the same. “Depressing” was the overwhelming comment from attendees. This, by the way, was no reflection on the speakers! The pressure has been ratcheted up with the government borrowing £7.2 billion more than forecast for the first six months of this fiscal year. This was largely put down to elevated debt interest costs. | 
