Economic Commentary

It is hard to get through a week these days without hearing something new regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI). Whether it be regulation or innovation, praise or criticism, most people have had their say by now.

As an investor, it may have initially been hard to look beyond the providers at the centre of AI development. For a while, the group dubbed the ‘Magnificent Seven’, consisting of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla, appeared the place for unmitigated growth…

With it hard to catch a breath amidst constant change and the uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump’s on-paused-and-off-again-tariffs I want to take step back to consider the bigger picture.

For many, 2025 in the financial markets has so far been defined by Donald Trump’s economic policies. Now, however, may be the time to start thinking of his tariff strategy as being focused on deliberation rather than liberation. The recently deferred 50% tariffs placed on the EU could serve as a helpful case study to understand the use of tariffs to get people to the negotiating table.

There’s no denying that global markets are facing considerable uncertainty at the moment. Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ on 2 April sent shockwaves across the world, and although ongoing negotiations have brought some relief, at the time of writing, the universal 10% tariff on imports to the US remains in place, along with additional country- and sector-specific measures.

In general, tariffs aren’t good for markets…

It is fair to say, over the last few years, the UK stock market has not been seen as that attractive or compelling for numerous reasons. But recently, we have seen a very definite uptick in interest in UK property assets…

It has been an eventful and often volatile start to the year for global markets. The first quarter of 2025 saw significant drawdowns, but this was nothing in comparison to what markets endured from April 2nd and the trading days that followed, largely driven by the economic policies of the US and Donald Trump.

Over the past year, US stocks have delivered strong returns, but much of the gains have come from a select few tech giants. The ‘Magnificent Seven’ – Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla – have been the driving force, fuelled by the AI boom. However, cracks are starting to show….