The threat of a third world war is increasing all the time
The threat situation in the Ukraine war is becoming ever more serious and Germany is increasingly becoming an active party to the war following recent events. In his “State of the Nation” report, Putin once again threatened to use nuclear weapons if Western troops support Ukraine on the ground. Nevertheless, the world’s stock markets have not reacted to these threats at all. Some global stock markets even reached new all-time highs again, but cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum also went through the roof, rising by almost 50 per cent in 1 month. Gold is now close to its all-time high again at USD 2083/ounce. However, the stock exchanges in Eastern Europe have also outperformed again.
ESTV 226 – The threat of a third world war is increasing all the time
ESTV 225 – 2 years of war in Ukraine – what’s next?
2 years of war in Ukraine – what’s next?
The Ukraine war turned 2 years old on 24 February. Many are now wondering what will happen now that Russia has successfully repelled Ukraine’s first major offensive. Now Russia is selectively going on the counterattack. The West has unanimously declared that it will continue to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, with Germany now the biggest supporter. At the same time, Israel continued its fight against Hamas in the south, a war that could turn into a powder keg if Iran and its allies become more militarily involved. There is a crisis in office property in the USA, which could lead to a new banking crisis. Inflation has risen again in the USA, which means that interest rates are unlikely to be cut any time soon.
Now the foolish times begin!
Things are getting lively in the carnival strongholds. After the corona-related break, it’s time to party, drink and sway again. This is also known as the “foolish times”. One may wonder whether the foolish times are now also beginning on the world’s stock markets, as investors have so far been relatively unimpressed by the geopolitical and political tensions. Driven by the AI euphoria, Wall Street even celebrated new all-time highs on 9 February. The S&P index passed the 5000 mark for the first time on 9 February. At the same time, there are major problems in the USA with loans for office property, which the market is currently ignoring.
ESTV 224 – Now the foolish times begin
Insider reveals: What’s really going on in Russia?
First week in the red, whole year in the red!
There is a well-known stock market rule that says that if things go badly on the stock market in the first week of trading, a bear market is more likely to follow over the course of the year. If this is the case, investors should not necessarily invest in Western stock exchanges, but selectively in individual stock exchanges in Eastern Europe. The indices on Wall Street, the EuroStoxx 50 and the DAX were all down slightly in the first week of trading, but some stock exchanges in Eastern Europe, such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Bosnia and especially Kazakhstan, were up. Last year, many stock exchanges from Eastern Europe clearly outperformed the Western stock exchanges, with the Budapest and Warsaw stock exchanges leading the way with gains of over 40 per cent each in 2023. The CECE index, with Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic on board, achieved a gain of 35 per cent in 2023 and the SETX index for shares from South Eastern Europe and the Balkan region achieved a gain of almost 30 per cent.
ESTV 223 – First week in the red, whole year in the red!
Eastern Europe is simply the best!
Most of the world’s stock markets have enjoyed an impressive year-end rally since November, with indices reaching new highs for the year. The DAX even reached a new all-time high in December, but Wall Street was also convincing, with the “7 glorious AI stocks” in particular catapulting the US indices upwards. This happened despite the fact that the economic outlook for the coming year is very gloomy and the geopolitical risks are still very high. This is known as a “crack-up boom”, which is only driven by a few stocks.