More than ever, the outlook depends on the turn taken by US geopolitical and economic policy. Assumptions about the scale and timing of the measures to be taken by the new administration mean that, in the US, the economy is likely to remain resilient, but there will also be renewed inflation, modest monetary easing and upward pressure on long-term interest rates. Moreover, these measures are only one...

Against an extremely tense international backdrop, drawing up an economic and financial scenario is rather fraught task. There are many sources of potential disruption on the short term, including the US election, the Middle East conflict and the war in Ukraine, where tensions are at a peak. In particular, the risk that Middle East tensions will spread is sowing uncertainty on the oil market. Moreover...