Fast & Furious First Half of 2021 Keeps Financial Markets At Full Throttle

• After the unprecedented pandemic-driven swings in global financial markets last year 2021 was never going to be dull, and so it has proved. Vaccine programmes and some of the biggest fiscal and central bank stimulus ever seen have made for compelling viewing. 
• Oil’s 45% surge will be its best start to a year since 2009, world stocks are on course for their second best H1 since 1998. World equities have recorded an 11% gain but mainstay U.S. and German government bond markets have had their toughest H1 since 2013 despite a better last few months. 
• Bank of America analysts estimate that U.S. President Joe Biden’s spending plans take the running tally of global fiscal and monetary stimulus over the last 15 months to $30.5 trillion, an amount equivalent to China and Europe’s economies combined. 
• Central banks alone have bought $0.9 billion of financial assets an hour. That has fueled a $54 trillion surge in global equity values, but also means U.S. inflation is now annualizing 8% compared to an average of 3% over the last 100 years.

(Source: Reuters)