In the middle of May pubs and restaurants reopened after lockdown. Finally, we could have a drink or a meal inside.  But what was noticeable was the number of pubs and restaurants that didn’t reopen. Speaking on the BBC News, the owner of one establishment gave a very simple explanation: “we cannot get the staff.”...Read More

You have likely heard the terms ‘bull market’ and ‘bear market.’ A bull market is one where stock markets are rising and investors are feeling confident: a bear market is the opposite. ‘Bullish’ has even come to be used in a wider sense, meaning generally optimistic: ”I’m feeling bullish about our chances of beating United...Read More

In some ways, May was a relatively quiet month. Although, it did bring us the marriage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first PM to marry in office since Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, in 1822.  Having eaten a slice of wedding cake and gone straight back to the office, Boris Johnson will be...Read More

‘Fail to plan, plan to fail.’ It’s an expression that anybody who has worked in management or the military must have heard a thousand times. Like all oft-repeated clichés, it carries a kernel of truth – and in no aspect if human life is the phrase more apt than in financial planning.  Unless you have...Read More

Some of the numbers in this month’s Bulletin are simply staggering. Whether it’s Amazon’s profits or the ‘investment’ (which could alternatively be considered ‘spending’, depending on your political viewpoint) announced by President Biden.  There was a time where the ‘standard unit’ of currency we talked about was a million. Company profits and valuations were measured...Read More

At a seminar in March, Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, suggested that the central bank should immediately start “preparing thoroughly” for a future with its own cryptocurrency. While there were no immediate plans to introduce a cryptocurrency Kuroda stressed the importance of being ‘thoroughly prepared’ should the need arise.  In April it...Read More