I said we were now on the countdown to Christmas and I had my first Mince Pie of the year today (M&S and only bite size) though nothing really to celebrate apart from maybe the fact that snow hit London. A few European investors probably wanting to close their Mince Pies (eyes for those not acquainted with Cockney rhyming slang) as the Stoxx 600 hit a 3mo low (intraday) on a day when things felt particularly shaky at times though managed to bounce a little late in the day. Though the Ukraine c…

I attended the Kings Road Christmas light turn on at the weekend which really was quite lovely (well apart from coinciding with the England vs South Africa Rugby match). Amongst the mulled wine, Children’s Choirs and Christmas carols it provided a clear and obvious reminder that we’re fast approaching Christmas! The European Equity complex today very much feels in the thick of quite a bleak mid-winter as volumes saw a significant drop with a lack of catalysts and a few things on the horizon lik…

This may sound absurd, but I’ve often wondered, how is it possible that I can get better internet connection in the west of Ireland compared to bang slap in the middle of London? However, I did find some solace in my suspicions being confirmed by the latest edition of midweek charts, which included a stat from the economist that mobile service in the UK ranks 46 out of 56 countries, giving it the worst mobile service in the ‘rich’ world. Admittedly, this is shamelessly quite a gen-z complaint t…

Using a bike as your mode of transport to the office is always a bit of a gamble given that the weather in London is prone to taking a turn for the worst and during a rather chilly commute to the office this morning, I did think to myself that I spend far too much time on Lime bikes, particularly because this was the exact same bike that I used to cycle home from the city only a few hours earlier. Realising that I’ve notched up 2300km on the old ‘iron horse’ since moving here last year came as…

As a Scot I’m a big fan of the word ‘Dreich’ – lots of translations but I like to think of it as damp, dark and dreary….all reasons really not to go outside! I found out today that Germany have their own word – Dunkelflaute – not quite dreich, but a term used in the energy industry to describe a period of consecutive days where minimal energy can be generated by renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind. Dunkelflaute (Dun-kel-flout-eh) has caused Gas prices in Europe to hit YTD highs toda…

When Butter Thefts in Russia is one of the leading stories in the FT you know it isn’t going to a memorable day and that proved to be the case. Veterans day in the U.S. and still lots of unknowns surrounding Trump policy and the political landscape in the Europe giving enough excuses to do…very little. But with all that in mind could today go down as the best ‘absolutely nothing happened at all’ day in Europe? The Stoxx 600 managed to close +1.13% without any obvious reason why; a catch up from…

The “Budget consequences for CPI to evolve over time” said Andrew Bailey but it does feel like that is quite a big unknown and on everyone’s mind as the BoE cut rates by 25bps as expected with an 8-1 vote. Catherine Mann, the only dissenter, who voted to hold rates, did so partly on the cost (National Insurance) and demand (increased public spending) effects of the Budget. She isn’t the only one who’s keeping a close eye on the fallout as UK Corporations continue to voice concern – Sainsbury’s…

The wait is over, Donald Trump will be back in office in January and the Republicans have made dramatic and significant progress across all areas of U.S politics as evidenced by the voting in the last 24 hours. In the small New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch the 3 – 3 vote split between Trump and Harris amongst the 6 strong voters was really as tight as this battle would get! An electoral vote confirmed in the early hours and a popular vote, a victory in the Senate and the House all looking p…

Has anyone been to Aarhus? My search today for news that is not related to the US election led me to the discovery of supposedly the world’s happiest city which is also listed as the second most underrated travel destination in Europe. Cobblestone streets, winding waterways, and the world’s oldest living museum… seems like a bit of a hidden gem to me! Writing a market wrap on the evening before a US election feels like a bit of a pointless task given that the headlines are impossible to escape,…

With markets in a bit of a lull this morning ahead of the blitz of market-moving catalysts later this week: a) US election b) FOMC and BOE rate decisions and c) potential further stimulus detail out of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee meetings, a lack of volumes in Europe (most indices nearly -20% vs recent averages) cast my eyes upon Deliveroo’s annual report of the top 100 food deliveries which revealed a few interesting snippets. Salads accounted for 30% of this year’s g…