In times of financial stress, the market tends to take on a momentum all of its own. We may be in for further shocks, instabilities and dreadful No-See-Ums as investors try to discern what comes next following Trump’s tariffs. Interesting times to come…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has the most difficult job in the world. How do you explain to a cabinet of financial imbeciles the USA is on course for a stock market crash, recession, inflation and a possible collapse in the US Treasury Market? It’s high risk - Trump is a “shoot-the-messenger” kind of guy.

The yield on Sovereign Bonds is the “risk-free” rate from which relative risk in any economy is priced. There is a crisis across all developed nations in the quantum of debt they now face servicing in a global economy where risks are rising and there is a significant threat of stagflation. It’s time for nations to get aggressive about Liability Management of their outstanding debt.

Nothing beats teaching the next generation of financiers. I had that honour yesterday at Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh Business School Yesterday where we discussed Markets, Politics and Economics. There were some great questions from my post-grad students – and one: “Is this a correction and should we buy the dip”, is good example of how much has really changed. The answer is – No.

Markets tend towards complacency – especially while there is lots of “stuff” going on… The current noise, much of it Trump generated, is hiding lessons and danger points! How long will markets keep up their positive vibe, blithely ignoring just how much the foundations of the global economy are shifting?

The City of London as the financial centre of global markets has been in terminal decline since 2008. Over-regulation and bureaucracy has doomed it. To restore the UK’s excellence and swashbuckling success in financial markets, we need to embrace risk – not regulate it out the equation.  

Yesterday’s UK’s 15-year Gilt deal was a 15 times oversubscribed blowout success, demonstrating global investors have confidence in the UK’s competence, stability and markets. However, Ray Dalio is writing another book about why countries go bust, and reckons the UK is caught in a debt-death spiral. I doubt it.

Hard Hats to the Ready. Is Elon Musk trying to bring down the UK government by undermining sterling and the Gilts market through lies and disinformation on X? Might sound like conspiracy theory – but that’s what it feels like in the market.

It’s clear 2025 will be a challenging year – there are plenty of issues to cause markets headaches, but opportunities in abundance. The primary problems may come from the ongoing politics of disruption and the likelihood electorates are going to remain profoundly disappointed.

One man’s bubble is another’s irrefutable investment thesis. After a year when so many markets, and individual assets, have defied expectations and common sense, one stands out for its incredible and largely speculative upside – Bitcoin. No other “asset” so divides the market. Time for a deep dive into what it might and might not be.