

European equities were the classic ‘pain trade’ of 2017, the bull market’s wall of worry was scalable, even a slam dunk. Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen were defeated in the Dutch and French election, reducing political risk in Europe. Greece got its...
Europe faces macro storm clouds this autumn

Wall Street: a hawkish Federal Reserve and the US dollar comeback
Dr Janet Yellen surprised the financial markets with her hawkish take on interest rate policy and inflation even as the FOMC raised the Fed Funds rate for the fourth time since December 2015. Despite successive weak CPI and auto/retail sales data, Dr Yellen asserted...
Wall Street: a hawkish Federal Reserve and the US dollar comeback

Can UAE emerge as an aircraft leasing hub?
I was stunned to read a Boeing report that forecasts that the global passenger jet fleet will more than double to 45,250 by 2035. Given that almost 20,000 of the world’s in-service aircraft will be retired or converted to freighters in the next decade, Boeing...
Can UAE emerge as an aircraft leasing hub?

What next for G-10 currencies and crude oil?
The euro, the French stock market, OAT-German debt interest rates spreads, the Volatility Index (VIX) and the ghosts of Vichy, Oradour and Algérie française convince me that Emmanuel Macron will be the next President of France on Sunday. So I see no reason to abandon...
What next for G-10 currencies and crude oil?

France’s election and global financial risks
The French election is a game changer for global financial markets for multiple reasons. One: the worst case scenario of far right (Le Pen) and far left (Melenchon) as second round candidates for the Elysee Palace on May 7th is no longer a systemic risk. This was the...
France’s election and global financial risks