Markets

Amid sharply rising global energy and food prices, inflation has threatened to spiral out of control worldwide, and this is prompting concerted action from major central banks. With inflation hitting multi-decade highs in most economies, central banks are responding by hiking interest rates at a similarly record-breaking pace. For instance, the Bank of England recently …

Interest rate hikes fight inflation. Here’s how central banks have acted Read More »

In a survey conducted in November 2020, McKinsey & Co. found that roughly 80% of European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) viewed their economy as “somewhat to extremely weak”. While the sentiment varied across national economies, SMEs in Italy and Spain were the least optimistic, while Germany had the most optimistic. Nearly two years later, …

Why are small businesses losing confidence in national economies? Read More »

As the World Economic Forum reports, oil prices jumped above $110 per barrel in the weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Likewise, natural gas prices more than tripled between mid-February and early March in reaction to the conflict, signaling how the war is affecting energy prices globally. But in the case of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, …

How important is Russian gas in the conflict with Ukraine? Read More »

There are strong arguments that uncertainty has been the defining economic feature of the past three years. From the US-China trade war to COVID-19 and the supply chain crisis of 2021, markets have been constantly up or down with remarkably few (and generally short) periods of stability in between. 2022 has only continued that trend …

Why will the uncertainty in markets continue for a long time? Read More »

For companies still reeling from pandemic tailwinds and last year’s supply chain shocks, the Russia-Ukraine conflict couldn’t have come at a worse time. While most organizations were focused on consolidating growth gained within the past year, new concerns raised by the war have forced boardrooms back into crisis mode as they grapple with rising energy …

European countries adopt the first support measures for companies harmed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict Read More »

Although Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) emerged before the pandemic, the attractive e-commerce payment option is soaring on post-COVID adoption. BNPL provides short-term financing to online shoppers, allowing them to split the cost of purchases into affordable installments. For most shoppers, BNPL is a comfortable payment alternative since it lets them enjoy goods instantly while …

How BNPL works and how it’s spreading after the pandemic crisis Read More »

In the past two decades, national banks pumped trillions into their economies to grapple with recession and stimulate economic growth in a process called Quantitative Easing (QE). However, with inflation at a 40-year high, the Federal Reserve, alongside other central banks, is backtracking from this policy in a bid to raise interest rates and disincentivize …

How could the FED implement Quantitative Tightening? Read More »