I hope you had a good Easter, and you were able to ‘pause’ on the madness that is going on in the world.
However, there is not much madness in the investment arena, unless of course you are a pessimist and you think it’s all too good to be true. There is a lot to be pleased about at the moment, with the main equity indices trending upwards so far this year, building on the rises since late October 2023.
Of course, we must be mindful of the extent of the recent rally and expect pullbacks from time to time, like we saw in the US and Europe in the last 24 hours.
The most important central bank activity last month came from the East, with the Bank of Japan (BoJ) abandoning its negative interest rate policy and altering its asset purchasing programme. This was the first time the BoJ raised rates in 17 years, although it was an extremely well telegraphed event, given strong wage data and dovish tone from the Bank.
UK economic data appears more encouraging, and globally the consensus among analysts is more optimistic. Themed investing is gaining more traction among investors as investment towards future-proofing economies picks up pace, despite some governments reducing their targets towards net zero.
Here is this week’s agenda:
- UK mortgage approvals hit a 7-month high
- Shop inflation falls below 2%
- Markets have got further to go
- Life after cash
- ESG is an important theme for the future
- Is Tesla an ESG company?
UK Mortgage approvals hit a 7-month high
A short timeframe but, nevertheless, encouraging news. UK mortgage approvals beat expectations in February to hit their highest in 7 months, according to official data that reflects the fall in borrowing costs since the middle of last year. The numbers exceeded the consensus by economists in a Reuters poll.
The figures on Tuesday suggest the recovery in the housing market is continuing (despite the contradictory figures announced today), on the back of mortgage rates declining from their peak in summer 2023. The fall in most quoted fixed rates since the second half of last year reflects expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will this year cut interest rates from the current 16-year high of 5.25% (ft.com).
Continues…
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