30^th September 2024

September brought global investors a bazooka of early Santa presents: a 50-basis point-US rate cut, a game-changing stimulus in China, falling inflation in Europe and the US, declining oil prices, forecasts of lower default rates, and rising OECD forecasts of global growth. 

No wonder US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jay Powell said the US economy is `in a good place,’ and that stocks and bonds rallied around the world. 

The euphoria, as ever, was no short of caveats: in Europe, growth is stalling, especially in Germany. 

In Japan, (perceived) monetary and fiscal hawk Ishiba is set to become the new Prime Minister, raising concerns about tighter monetary policy ahead. 

In the Middle East, the war continued to escalate and continued to be ignored by surging financial markets.

The US rate cut led to a lower dollar, a relief for the many EMs that borrow funds in the US currency.