Global Markets

Investors turn to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting of September 21-22, to see if it will provide more clues around its tapering intentions.

The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to move forward with its plans to taper the pace of its Quantitative Easing program, but to also extend its duration.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand opted to keep rates unchanged on Wednesday August 18th, in the aftermath of recent lockdown measures in the country.

The Fed is currently injecting $120bn into the economy every month via its quantitative easing programme. It is doing this by buying $80bn of Treasuries and $40bn of agency mortgage-backed securities and is committed to this until it has achieved "substantial further progress" on meeting its mandates of price stability and full employment. However, substantial progress does seem to have been made in this regard. The payrolls number for July…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the financial world to its knees in 2020. Steep sell-offs in equities and commodities plagued the markets as capitulation became a theme for March and April of 2020. Later in the year, a second wave of COVID-19 infections (1 July - 15 October) returned investor angst to the markets. By late-October, the Chicago Board of Trade's (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX) posted a reading near 40.00—the highest…

Australia's economy is officially above pre-pandemic levels. Economic activity has bounced back in the past two quarters. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 1.8 per cent in the March quarter of 2021. But will continued State lockdowns see that growth continue? The news was delivered on June 2nd, in parliament by Josh Frydenberg, Australia's Treasurer: ''Todays national accounts, show that Australian…

In its latest policy decision, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand offered a hawkish surprise, by announcing the discontinuation of its Large Scale Asset Purchases (LSAP)

The Reserve Bank of Australia maintained its cash rate at the record low of 0.1% and extended its bond buying past the current September due date, albeit at lower pace

The US central bank maintained its interest rates and QE pace yesterday, but upgraded its economic forecasts and view on rates path, sending the US Dollar higher

Companies looking to go public have more than one way to achieve their goal, including through Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), a method that has come to prominence in recent years.