| Dear *|FNAME|*
Over the past few weeks, markets have seen a relatively strong recovery from the beginning of the year, lead by the US. No surprises there! The latest US employment report reaffirmed the resilience of the labour market, with payrolls increasing by 335,000 in January, week ahead of expectations. The US economy is still in very good shape. Falling headline inflation along with a strong labour market has fed the narrative of “higher for just a bit longer” in terms of rates. The technology disruptors continue to lead the recovery, as AI continues to affect spending of all major industries, therefore benefitting the tech giants such as Nvidia and Alphabet.
China has seen a period of relative calm in recent times, and the Lunar New Year, falling when it did, provided a timely respite for investors. The UK officially fell into recession in the latter half of last year, with an overall economic growth of merely 0.1% for 2023. This situation presents a challenging backdrop for the Conservatives facing an election, necessitating the introduction of tax reductions to counter Labour’s increasing momentum. Nonetheless, such efforts are unlikely to reverse the prevailing trend.
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