July saw capital markets react to conflict, discord and feuds: all the way from war in the Middle East to the return of U.S. tariff threats and a family feud at the U.S. Federal Reserve....
The first half of 2026 was a tug of war between disruptive shocks and durable underlying trends. Markets were repeatedly tested by geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty and an inflation scare....
Year to date, the S&P/TSX and S&P 500 are up almost 10%, European markets are up mid-single-digit percentages, and Japan and emerging markets have climbed in the 20%-plus range....
The opening quarter of 2026 brought more shocks to the global economy and capital markets, culminating with the conflict in the Middle East – capital markets are being resilient....
February brought many developments to capital markets....
A fright from the Japanese government bond market, President Donald Trump’s Greenlandic overtures (intensified then modified), and his nomination for the next Federal Reserve chair impacted the markets....
Resilience and feedback and are two words that best sum up 2025. The year may also go down as the “t” year: tariffs, tensions, trade, TACO and Trump all featured prominently......