I’ve Been Away Six Days, and the Markets Seem to Have Misplaced Their Marbles

by Anne Bannerman | Jul 30, 2026

I’ve been on the road for the past week, taking care of my old mum in the UK. I thought if I leave the markets alone for six days, I could reasonably expect to return to little more than a slightly different set of prices. However, since last week, we’ve had oil...

The World Cup Is Over. Now Put Down the Charts and Prepare for the Sangria

by Anne Bannerman | Jul 23, 2026

Spain have lifted the World Cup, the final whistle has blown, and traders everywhere are about to enter that dangerous annual period known as “the family holiday”. For the past few weeks, our partners have complained about us watching football every night. Soon...

While Traders Watched the Football, Trump Tried to Bomb Iran Without Blowing Up the Oil Market

by Anne Bannerman | Jul 16, 2026

There are weeks when traders carefully study economic data, analyse central-bank speeches and examine every candle on the chart. Then there are World Cup weeks, when half the dealing room is watching football on a second screen and pretending the sudden shout was...

The Rally Was Wearing Sunglasses – Then Iran Threw a Brick Through the Window

by Anne Bannerman | Jul 9, 2026

The first week of July began with markets doing what markets often do when they have decided not to worry: pretending everything was under control. Equities were grinding higher, traders were nodding along to central bankers as if anyone truly understood them, Bitcoin...

The First Half of 2026: AI Kept the Party Going, War Kept the Barman Nervous

by Anne Bannerman | Jul 1, 2026

The first six months of 2026 were not exactly dull, were they? We started January with investors still arguing about inflation, interest rates, overvalued tech, oil risk, and whether Bitcoin was a proper asset or just a very expensive mood swing. By the end of June,...