magazine archive
magazine archive
Russ Mould
Why Japan could yet affect wider markets’ mood
Thursday 29 May 2025Moody’s downgrade of its rating of American government debt by one notch, to the second-highest mark of Aa1 from the highest of all, AAA, is not causing too many market ripples, and nor should it. Fellow ratings agency Standard & Poor’s made this move back in 2011, after all, and Moody’s action...
Chip stocks can show if the economy (and stock markets) are cracked (or not)
Thursday 15 May 2025Trade deals, talks with China and even the reversal of the Biden administration’s restrictions on exports of advanced silicon chips all help justify the furious rally in global share prices from the early-April lows, which means most, if not all, of the losses in major headline indices are now...
Have Trump’s first 100 days taken us back to the 1970s?
Thursday 01 May 2025Much as this column would like to offer something which does not mention words such as ‘Trump,’ ‘trade,’ and ‘tariffs,’ it is rather difficult to do so and at least the approach of the 100th day of the president’s second term in office gives us chance to take stock. As we go to print, Trump’s...
Time for a new era of an unexceptional America?
Thursday 17 Apr 2025When a presidential social media post is capable of sending stock, bond, currency and commodity markets spinning, up or down, there is a danger that any article, podcast or comment has a limited shelf life. Even this is of value in some ways, as it makes it clear that no-one – but not one – knows...
What does gold see that equities and bonds do not?
Thursday 03 Apr 2025Stock, bond, currency and commodity markets continue to try and second-guess the implications of president Trump’s trade and tariff policies. It’s hard to be dogmatic – which may be part of the problem – but all we can probably say with any certainty is 2024’s surge in US equity valuations...
Why markets need more conversation and less action
Thursday 20 Mar 2025A second wobble in US equities in seven months, following the summer squall of last August, is creating a fair degree of noise, if not panic. Dyed-in-the-wool bulls will assert that the S&P 500 is down by just 9% from its high (at the time of writing), while even the Nasdaq’s 13% slide is no...
Berkshire Hathaway readies itself for another home run
Thursday 06 Mar 2025No investment style works year in, year out and even Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA:NYSE) has fallow spells in its history. Indeed, the so-called Sage of Omaha freely acknowledges this in his latest Letter to Shareholders, when he notes: ‘During the 2019-23 period, I have used the words...
Gold stakes its claim to be a glittering prize
Thursday 20 Feb 2025This year’s record highs in the US, UK and German stock markets continue to make headlines, but another, much more unsung asset is also breaking new ground and that is gold, which is trading above $2,900 an ounce for the first time this week. Gold’s 46% surge in the past year has even outpaced four...
Will money supply be a snake or a ladder for economies in 2025?
Thursday 06 Feb 2025China’s New Year Holiday festival is over, and the Year of the Snake is now under way. People with a much keener interest in, and better understanding of, the Chinese zodiac tell this column the snake signifies intelligence, mystery and renewal. Make of that what you will, but president Xi Jinping...
Why the 2020s may not roar like the 1980s in America
Thursday 23 Jan 2025The US and China are at loggerheads, philosophically, politically and economically – though thankfully not in military terms – and the contrast between how the two are perceived by financial markets could hardly be greater. Stock markets offer part of the story, as America’s headline indices sit at...