I’ll begin with observations on the UK, where my time here has been dominated by nothing but doom and gloom from the mainstream media. There’s certainly some justification for this sentiment, as the British government appears lost: the economy is in disarray, unemployment is rising, and the national debt continues to climb.
How the toothless Bank of England plans to use interest rates to reverse this tsunami of disaster is anyone’s guess. Whatever they attempt will likely prove ineffective until the next government takes power—which most people believe will be Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.
I don’t want to dampen anyone’s spirits, but there are almost four years until the next election, so heaven knows what state the country will be in by then. Moreover, while Farage may or may not represent the best option, the reality is that the UK operates under a vastly different political system than the USA. Even if Reform manages to take office in the future, the next Prime Minister will not have the same kind of power that an American President has, so turning things around won’t be as straightforward as signing executive orders, building walls, and deploying soldiers to socialist cities.
Regarding the USA, the only positive news emerging from London concerned the constructive trade talks between the US and China, which helped strengthen both equity markets and the dollar—though the ranges have been far from expansive.
Indeed, it’s been a rather dull week overall. While the firmer tone in cryptocurrencies was welcome, we need to see more upside movement and new highs to generate additional buying interest.
The same applies to gold and oil, which have held their ground well but haven’t exactly given us reason for enthusiasm.
Ultimately, the markets have performed much as we discussed in last week’s report.
Elon Musk’s confrontation with Trump over the “Big Beautiful Bill” provided many of us with entertainment—albeit unwelcome entertainment for some. But when has the right side of politics ever managed to keep egos in check? Boys will be boys, even extremely wealthy ones.
Speaking of wealthy individuals, I see Zuckerberg has opened his wallet to acquire half of an AI company from a 29-year-old for $15 billion. Am I in the wrong business? When I consider the projections for AI’s future, I’m genuinely grateful to have built a career in our industry before the machines take over.
Finally, I delayed this report to await the “Spending Review Statement” from the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, which delivered no surprises. It was typical socialist governance: spend today, tax tomorrow. The statement featured backpedalling on vote-losing policies and presented figures that simply don’t add up. Remarkably, this statement barely moved Sterling’s value, suggesting that many investors have already written off the UK—they likely don’t hold enough British pounds or UK equities in their portfolios to warrant selling.
Oh well, let’s see if anything changes by the time I return to sunny Portugal next week.
The post This Week – Seen From The UK first appeared on JP Fund Services.
The post This Week – Seen From The UK appeared first on JP Fund Services.
The post This Week – Seen From The UK first appeared on trademakers.