Welcome to theHertford blog.
I met a very interesting business owner at a networking event last week. His name is Brendan Brien and he’s a financial advisor.
He writes a weekly update about the markets and investments and it’s sentiment to his passion for his field. So below is his recent update, enjoy....
• Global markets enjoyed a more stable week with equities enjoying one of their best rallies for many months. The strong gains came on the back of increased optimism over the eurozone debt crisis even though some of the economic data was disappointing, such as unemployment increasing to over 2.5m in the UK.
• Whilst there has been no material change in the underlying eurozone debt issues, a firm statement from German chancellor Angela Merkel re-affirming EU support from Greece helped sentiment.
• However political tensions are growing between the EU and the US, which blames the current turmoil on the inability of European leaders to get to grips with the crisis. A broadside from US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner on Friday didn’t go down well, leading to ECB head Jean-Claude Trichet commenting that Europe’s economic position was better than that of other major economies.
• With growing speculation that Greece may still default, the possible choices and implications for the eurozone as a whole are discussed this week including outright Greek default; full economic integration of all members and even Germany exiting the euro.
• The implications of a government defaulting on its debt is looked at and a parallel with Argentina is discussed.
• Amidst the recent volatility it is important not to lose sight of long term investment objectives and John Wood of JO Hambro briefly explains his views on UK equity investing.
Thanks for reading, Rob
