Cashiered? Herodotus reported – and archaeologists agree – that the Lydians were the first to mint coins. The earliest surviving coin (found in western Turkey) dates to around 2,700 years ago; making paper money, which first appeared in China just 1,300 years ago, a relative upstart. The
Waves not tides Just 17 days ago investors were finally reminded, after an extended hiatus, that stocks can in fact go down as well as up. Yet if you’d been away for those few days, you might have wondered what all the fuss was about. In
Normal service? Much has been said in the past couple of years about the feasibility of having your cake and eating it. On markets, however, investors in recent years have become inured to the miraculous – until last week. When the global economy is growing and unemployment
Groundhog Day Last Friday, the US celebrated Groundhog Day, in which the North American marmot is consulted for the seasonal outlook. Punxsutawney Phil – Pennsylvania’s (and America’s) lead marmot – warned of six more weeks of cold ahead. Other indicators released the same day told a
Bottom dollar Joachimsthal (or Jáchymvok, as it has been known since 1945) in Bohemia doesn’t feature much in financial news these days, but its linguistic progeny certainly does. The ‘thaler’ (from the word ‘Joachimsthal’) was launched as the currency of Bohemia exactly 500 years ago, providing
Frozen air In some ways, Donald Trump ended his first year in office with much to celebrate, although Saturday’s government shutdown certainly put a dampener on celebrations. Growth in the US is rising, joblessness remains relatively minimal and stocks have performed strongly. Moreover, predictions of further
Smooth running Volatility on equity markets last week struck a 60-year low while, in the US, Treasury market volatility slipped to a 50-year low, despite yields recently creeping upwards. The S&P 500 rose by 1.37%, while the FTSE 100 and Eurofirst 300 rose by 0.7% and
Shared faith “Go into the London Stock Exchange… and you will see representatives from all nations gathered together for the utility of men. Here Jew, Mohammedan and Christian deal with each other as though they were all of the same faith, and only apply the word
Bull’s eye The Old English word bula means ‘steer’ as well as bull. As a verb, however, ‘to bull’ means to tell untruths or polish to a high shine. Bears might nod knowingly at the double-meaning, but the truth is that it has not been their
Diplomatic capital “The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world,” said Benjamin Disraeli, Britain’s first Jewish prime minister. Last week that history took a new turn, as Donald Trump announced that the US would shift its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to the ancient
88/89 Whiting Street
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk, IP33 1NX
01284 703422
abbeygatewm@sjpp.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales
Company No.06803554
Representing only St. James's Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group's wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group's website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The titles 'Partnership', 'Partner' and 'Partner Practice' are the marketing terms used to describe St. James's Place Wealth Management representatives.