No fodder for bulls

The global economy is still doing well – the figures for the US have been keeping in line with projections based on positive consumer sentiment. This is reflected in the results of the financial publication season for Q1. Of the companies listed on the S&P500 index (which covers the widest range of industries), over three-quarters performed better than had been expected (in terms of profit and revenues). Giants such as Google and Amazon as well as smaller companies enjoyed improved results, thus supporting the economic data for Q1 (GDP in the US increased by 2.9 pct and a similar figure is expected for Q2 ). Clearly the uncertainty over the value of the dollar, the prospect of a trade war and the general geo-political situation have not conspired to deter traders from buying shares. Things have also been similar in Europe, where April in particular was quite a good month for the main indexes of the largest stock exchanges. But the situation for the real economy in across Euro