Looking at the net movement over the past 10 years there is a mixed picture: Broadly the USA has done best; Bank of America +1066%; JP Morgan +756%; Wells Fargo +505%. Europeans the worst Deutsche -595, Intesa -11% and Unicredit -86%. But having said that, ING +332%, KBC +742% and Skan Enskilda +417%. In the UK there is a bit of both: HSBC +63% and Barclays +216% versus Lloyds -32% and RBS -42%. Those with plenty of sub prime lending and those slow to react to the financial crisis have suffered the most. The USA was the fastest and most interventionist and the results speak for themselves.
My comments earlier this week about what some call the dismal science have resulted in quite some postbag from our readership! Hamish McRae a highly distinguished economist and financial journalist has the last word on this one:
“There are 3 kinds of economists. Those that can add, and those that can’t”
Most successful chimpanzee on Wall Street
Before you reach for the Complaints Procedure button, I am not being un pc. In 1999, Raven a 6 year old chimp, became the 22nd most successful manager in the USA after choosing stocks by throwing darts at a list of 133 internet stocks. That index named inevitably MonkeyDex achieved a 213% gain and outperformed more than 8000 brokers. Here at SGM-FX we do not have a chimp but we do have a champ called Charles when it comes to market analysis!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
Calling the bluff As expected, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in the United States yesterday evening by a further 50 basis points. As a result of this policy adjustment, immediate target policy levels now stand at 4.25-4.5%. As also expected, the Fed pushed back fairly hard on the idea that it is ready to […]
Pencil to pen As with any year ahead, 2023 has been fervently speculated over by market participants. Whilst forecasts for the forthcoming year take great priority every year, 2023 has perhaps the most divergent set of forecasts between analysts and institutions on recent record. Across asset classes and between institutions the core themes expected to […]
False Illusions On Friday last week markets had got very exuberant over comments made by the Federal Reserve Chair the day prior. As a result of the interpretation of those comments, the US Dollar had dropped several cents to trade at its recent lows. There was a narrative that was being pieced together and justified […]