Full coverage: Markets

Stepping away from finance, I set out to travel in search of perspective – and found it in Durham, where ancient faith, industrial memory, and resilient communities meet.

For deep and ancient reasons, we hate uncertainty and fear change. But for the long-term investor, volatility is not risk. The desire to dampen it is a costly distraction.

Exchange rates fluctuate. Reserve currency status does not. As allies question American stewardship and rivals seek alternatives, the greenback’s role as the world’s trusted anchor faces its sternest test in half a century.

The U.S. has long been a beacon of safety when uncertainty reigns. That is changing, write Justin Lahart and Sam Goldfarb, The Wall Street Journal.

Soaring asset prices have revived familiar warnings about debt, bubbles and central bank independence. Yet history shows that acting on well-worn fears can be as futile as building the Maginot Line.

Most US and European investment banks expect another positive year for equities in 2026, albeit at a more modest pace. Rate cuts without recession, a two-speed commodity outlook, and rising geopolitical and inflation risks define a more complex investment landscape.

Although inflation data and commodity markets point to less severe price hikes than initially feared, central banks are now on a tightening trajectory and equity markets are predicting a textbook recession.

The stocks of tech giants and start-ups alike are taking a beating. Some hire freezes will affect Ireland, but the type of multinationals operating here are least exposed to the crunch – for now.

For the past three years, many US tech multinationals have been paying their shareholders more money than they earn. The difference came from Ireland, thanks to tax incentives devised by the Trump administration. That cash is now running out.

Oil prices may easily decline below $30 per barrel in the weeks ahead. Covid-19 could spread materially beyond Italy, meaning that a whole range of new quarantine measures may be undertaken by the likes of France, the UK and Germany. If this comes to pass, oil prices may decline to the mid-20s.