It’s well and truly upon us, World Cup 2022, even though it seems very strange to have a cushion of entertainment between ‘I’m a Celebrity’ and Christmas Eve.
Anyway, whoever you’re supporting I hope that they do well and, if it’s not England I can understand why at times; this squad gives us more up’s and down’s than the UK economy; it would be nice to win it all though!
On to what is happening in the investment world; the share and bond investment markets have been quietly moving forwards in terms of their recovery during the past month, although the property sector is stalling as one might expect, with higher interest rates predicted. We have seen average all-sector growth of around 4% and whilst this is not a signal that we are past the worst, there are a few of those ‘green shoots of recovery’ which we can grasp, not least the fact that China seems to be easing its lockdown measures, which in turn will allow one of the biggest global economies to reopen for business again.
Over in America (markets always watch what they are up to and often follow their lead), the economic situation for jobs and consumer spending are positive; so that’s good then? Well actually no it’s not, as it means that US inflation may remain high and that will most likely mean further interest rate hikes for many who can least of all afford them across there, something which has been reflected within global share markets during the past day or so, as there are fears that the picture may be similar in other countries.
Turning to our home economy and markets, whilst Christmas will bring some festive cheer as people spend what they can and enjoy this time of the year, unfortunately we appear to have dropped the ball in terms of moving ahead of some of our European counterparts, as they experience their own economic difficulties, Germany being a point in case. Our solution to the spiralling inflation problem has been to push for double figure pay rises and consequently we are now witnessing strikes throughout much of the public sector (and private sector, if we include the Royal Mail), affecting productivity and all that goes with it.
With pay demands becoming unaffordable and seemingly little to no will to find a solution, it’s a mess.
For my part, whilst there is no magic money tree, there are certainly potential solutions to the terms and conditions aspects being argued by some Unions for employees, but either way, this will have a consequence for all and not in a good way and is additional pain for an already beleaguered UK economy at a time when we least need further disruption, understandable as it may be for many who are struggling to afford to live, in spite of working full-time.
It’s a mixed basket to report upon right now I’m afraid, but my motto is very much, ‘keep one’s head down, focus on the immediate, control and influence what you can and leave the rest to others’ and, most importantly of all, remember to enjoy and respect the positive things that life brings us, they are out there, but all too often we just prefer to engage with the madness of the media and boy, aren’t they just heaping it on us right now?