This week rates have headed resolutely upwards, and stocks have not liked it much with most markets heading steadily downwards throughout the week.

Equity markets declined over the past week, with the S&P/ASX 300 down -3.3% and the MSCI World Ex Australia index falling 2.7% in local terms, but only -0.9% in Australian Dollar terms for the unhedged Australian investor. Most of the falls happened overnight as a higher-than-expected GDP number put upward pressure on short-term rates.

During October, global markets experienced a downturn amidst inflation worries and the threat of rising interest rates, leading to a 2.7% fall in global equities and a 3.8% drop in Australian stocks, with tech sectors and major companies like Nvidia and Tesla taking notable hits. Despite the gloom, the materials sector saw gains, and gold shone brightly as a safe haven, appreciating by 7.3%.

Most markets were up slightly this week as the US tech stocks led the way for most of the week before falling back overnight as Jerome Powell struck a more hawkish tone, implying that while rates in the US may be near their peak they might have to stay there for a while longer.

Stocks continued their strong November rally this week, as hopes grew that inflation has peaked and the Fed is nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle. The S&P 500 rose 1.9% on Tuesday following the cooler than expected US CPI print, bringing its gains for the month so far to 7%.

It has seemed all week that, in quiet US holiday trading, the only thing moving markets was the ‘will they/won’t they’ speculation about the future role of OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman.

Last week Andrew visited the InvestSense offices and shared his observations and findings from his visit to the United States, specifically New York.

Nathan Fradley explains how the ethosesg technology can help you assess and design an ethical portfolio that aligns to an investor’s personal values.

ETFs that invest in carbon credits are now available. Why should we assume that their price will go up over time? And does buying a carbon credit ETF actually contribute positively to emissions reduction? Will it actually generate the outcome investors are expecting? This article explores the issues around investing in carbon credits.

There are many direct assets and funds that contribute positively to climate action within the InvestSense Better World Portfolios. Meridian Energy is one of the stand-out direct assets in the portfolio with a climate energy focus.

In recent years professional investors have got increasingly used to the fact that good news is bad news for markets because higher interest rates are likely to be necessary, and of course vice-versa. However, last week the effect was stronger than ever and stocks rallied mid-week amidst reports of widespread lay-offs and expectations of a weak US jobs report.

The US market finally market caught a bid last week. Early in the week the market was down few percent after an earnings miss by ad dependent social media platform Snap (of Snapchat fame) combined with weak guidance raised more doubts about the economy and economic resilience of tech companies.

The seventh negative week in a row for the US sent it briefly into official bear market territory before it recovered slightly late on Friday. The world’s largest stocks (Apple, Microsoft Amazon and Google) are all down 25%.

Mark Lewin was a financial planner, but is now the Director of Back Office Heros. In his planning business he gained significant efficiencies by recommending and implementing managed accounts for his clients. He tells us how...