There are two political events in the remainder of 2024 on either side of the Atlantic to which investors need to pay full attention.

The first of these is Labour’s first Budget for 14 years on 30 October, with chancellor Rachel Reeves giving few clues to the details in her speech to the party conference on 23 September.

Previous references to ‘hard decisions’ and those with the ‘broadest shoulders’ bearing the heaviest burden imply this could mean considerable changes for UK investors.

As Dan Coatsworth explores in his latest column, this may include inheritance tax relief on AIM stocks being abolished.

There are already signs the gloomy rhetoric about the UK’s prospects from Labour, which is an attempt to manage expectations and pin the blame for economic woes on the Conservatives, is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The latest barometer of sentiment from consultancy GfK found consumer confidence fell to -20, the lowest level since March. This column warned of such a risk two weeks ago.

In next week’s issue, Ian Conway will discuss in a lot more detail the key areas to watch in the Budget.

This week our attention is centred on the US and the key factors to weigh ahead of the presidential election, with Americans going to the polls in a little over a month.

As usual our own thoughts are supplemented by some expert opinion. With polling suggesting the election is on a knife-edge, investors may have to brace themselves for volatility at the back end of the year.

Also in this issue, there’s the second entry in our three-part series marking the addition of our My Portfolio section as Martin Gamble discusses how to manage a portfolio over time.

Our funds and trusts editor James Crux explains a key change impacting the investment trust sector, and we look at the fallout from the Federal Reserve’s blockbuster 50 basis-point rate cut. 

There is no doubt the first Fed rate cut of the current cycle is a significant milestone, but it is not the only consideration for the market to consider.

This was summed up pithily by Bank of America, the investment bank opining: ‘For US equity returns, policy moves take a backseat to the scarcity or abundance of corporate profits.’ With third-quarter earnings season due to get underway in mid-October, there will be hope US businesses can deliver some abundance and keep stocks afloat.

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