Review of the week

The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street is putting off a ghoulish vibe, giving people the chills despite the summer drought.

A faultless tournament from the English women’s football team lands a team of dreamers a top-shelf prize, offering a welcome ray of good news in a tough year.

The eyes of the world’s markets are firmly on the US as it gears up for a critical week of economic data releases and corporate earnings announcements.

The central banks’ fight against inflation blazes on, now joined by boiling weather all over the Northern Hemisphere. Why does Europe have the toughest path ahead of it?

It’s bye bye for Boris after one scandal too many, yet it shouldn’t affect UK markets much if at all. Meanwhile, the Bank of England is making sure British banks are as safe as houses.

It was the worst six months in 50 years for US stocks, yet the market is still comfortably higher than before the pandemic struck. Risks have risen, but there’s also room for optimism.

A solid drop in bond yields helped boost stocks and reminds us of the earlier days of ultra-modern monetary policy. Meanwhile, gas prices see-saw on the Atlantic fulcrum.

With inflation running hot, central bankers are gearing up to hike interest rates fast. But this is worrying investors who think the economy may not be able to take it.

The price level is yet to find a ceiling, so the value of stocks and bonds have no floor. Markets will swing between hope and despair until inflation is inarguably falling.

Financial markets remain volatile as they try to gauge whether the healthy jobs market could stoke too-high inflation. Meanwhile, tensions between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his party are escalating sharply.

Ever been so happy it makes you sad? Ever been so distraught it makes you smile? Humanity is complicated, which makes markets tough to read as well.

Stocks are flirting with levels that delineate a depressed market. The mood is gloomy and the risk of recession is real, but are investors pricing in too much bad news?