Summertime blues

For many months, those with an eye on the capital markets have been mulling over the question of whether the global economy can cope with the continuing high inflation levels and interest rates as well as the reduced investor appetite that typically comes with them. At the end of the summer, stock buying came to a halt and any remaining optimism evaporated as concerns grew over US central bank policy, since, even though the market had been expecting one more interest rate hike, the Federal Reserve had categorically stated it was going to bring inflation down to its target level. However, by the beginning of October there had been a change in tone from the Fed, which has improved investor sentiment. The Fed is certainly going to leave interest rates where they are for a long time to come, but the fact that it just gave a hint that no more rises were on the cards was enough to push the indices back up. Other important central banks, such as those in the UK and Switzerland, have also been