As we prepared for our summer break in early December, the outlook for global markets appeared bright. The business community had largely welcomed the incoming Trump administration’s agenda on taxes, deregulation, government reform, energy, and even tariffs and immigration.

The US Federal Reserve had already cut interest rates by 100 basis points, and, while chair Jerome Powell had signalled a potential pause in further reductions, investors remained confident that with inflation declining, the central bank would resume easing policy in the second half of 2025. ..

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