Thank you, David Gardner and St James’s Place Asia and Middle East, for sharing your valuable market insights with our community in the SJP 27th August Week Watch.

This week, SJP will delve into the intricacies of the global financial markets, including the US, UK and Japan, and share practical tips to enhance your wealth management strategies and a perspective on interpreting the media reports and narratives. This week’s blog covers the following points;

Stock Watch

• Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

  • the US Fed will meet to decide on interest rates in September, where markets will be expecting either a 0.25% or a 0.50% cut.

• BoE will feel comfortable making further cuts to the UK Bank Rate, albeit at a measured pace, but cautioned that it is too early to declare victory over inflation.

• British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed that shop prices fell at an annual rate of 0.3% in August.

• UK’s fuel price cap will rise by 10% from October.

• Ongoing oil price pressures, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, continues to affect global markets.

  Last week saw increased missile exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, adding to the sense of nerves.

• Japanese Nikkei Index continued to recover from its drop at the start of August.

Wealth Watch

• Savings: How much is enough? Financial advisers recommend keeping three to six months’ salary of ‘emergency’ money in cash

• Retirements or Long-Term Savings: What should my strategy be? Investing in things like stocks and shares, or bonds and leaving the money untouched for ten to fifteen years or more, means it has the potential to grow into a bigger sum than it would in a cash account.

• Accepting your money will go up and down: Investing means accepting more risk with the money you put in since the markets may rise and fall – and so may the value of your investments. But the ups and downs of markets typically even out over the medium to long term (five years or more). And the greater growth potential means your money can benefit from the ‘snowballing’ effect of compounding, too.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and the value may therefore fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.

An investment in equities will not provide the security of capital associated with a deposit account with a bank or building society.

In the Picture

While stories can help make investing easier to understand, it’s important to take a step back and consider the wider investment picture, says Joe Wiggins, Investment Research Director at St. James's Place.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and the value may therefore fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.

The Last Word

“The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”

Oasis confirms a much rumoured reunion tour, 15 years after their last show.

If you’d like to learn more, reach out to David Gardner or directly to SJP Asia.

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