Not quite there yet

In mid-March, the global stock exchanges hit a low point due to the latest fit of pandemic-induced jitters. But almost a month of declines was followed by a sudden spurt that made up for these losses, and on some trading floors (especially those over the ocean) a bull market has even been unleashed, resulting in historic highs. Market analysts, however, believe that the current situation, with the Dow Jones having broken yet another record, could be the peak of the boom. This conviction comes from the fact that the US economy is beginning to pick up steam due to the rapid roll-out of the vaccination programme (over 100 mln jabs in the first half of March), which means the situation should return to normal in the second half of the year. Joe Biden is also poised to upend consumer spending by handing over billions of dollars of support to US families. But somewhere over the horizon lurk the tax rises needed to finance the USD 1.9 tln package to reconstruct the economy after the pandemic.