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“Our destiny is in Europe, as part of the community. That is not to say that our future lies only in Europe, but nor does that of France or Spain or, indeed, of any other member. The community is not an end in itself.” – Margaret Thatcher in The Bruges Speech, 1988. It was in the ‘Bruges Speech’ that Margaret Thatcher’s views on Europe were brought to attention. Her speech highlighted five guiding principles; the first being an “active cooperation between independent sovereign states” which she said was the best way to build a successful European Community. The speech had celebrated the individualistic traditions, customs and identities ofRead More →

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The anxiety over election uncertainty has sneaked into markets, leaving enough room for a bigger market volatility for this week. The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) had already soared 40% from 15.67 on October 28 to 22.15 on November 3, while S&P 500 has lost 2.2% during the same period. On Friday, the S&P 500 index remained low for the longest period since December 1980. The pre- and post-election periods typically have opposite effects on an investor’s optimism. Pre-Election Period Real Clear Politics data shows that even though Clinton leads in most of the polls, the race could be a tight one. Except on 3 occasions sinceRead More →