When the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) initially struck Wuhan, China in January 2020, most investors in Europe did not expect the disease to reach the continent. Yet here we are; a seemingly innocuous holiday stop in the French Alps by a Brit returning home from a conference in Singapore has morphed into a full-scale virus outbreak […]

2020 brings with it the 10th year of recovery since the global financial crisis. Equity markets continue to break records, ample credit is available, yet the bullish performance appears cosmetic at times and investing in Europe in 2020 is fraught with political risks.  The US deficit doubled from $385bn to $779bn last year, the UK […]

Investor trepidation towards Europe in today’s markets is understandable.  Regional macro data remain anemic.  Europe continues to produce weak data, Euro-Area economic sentiment saw its worst losing streak in a decade and low interest rates are set to continue throughout the medium term.  Meanwhile, the Fed has raised rates nine times since December 2015, taking […]

We are nearly 20 years into the new millennium and it is an unrecognizable place compared to when it started.  Lehman is gone, Bear Stearns – gone, Merrill Lynch – acquired, Citigroup is a fraction of its former self.  Blockbuster, Toys R Us, Woolworths are all part of the history books now.  Europe, where we […]

If one ever needed tangible evidence of how much consumer habits have changed over the past decade, look no further than the UK high street. The litany of failures and restructurings continue unabated. In H1 2018 alone, the following establishments have issued announcements: Byron’s Burgers: Closing of 20 (or 30%) of its 67 premises while […]