Markets are in a festive mood

With the MSCI World index up more than 21% and the FTSE All-World index loitering just shy of all-time high, markets are determined to end the year in festive spirits.

Worker in a Chinese garment factory © Getty Images

Chinese factory activity has reached a three-year high
(Image credit: Worker in a Chinese garment factory © Getty Images)

"Politics creates short-term volatility," but "at the end of the day the business cycle matters above all", Andrew Milligan of Aberdeen Standard Investments tells Michael Mackenzie in the Financial Times. "Political and protectionist noise" has repeatedly rattled markets this year, says Mackenzie, but with the MSCI World index up more than 21% and the FTSE All-World index loitering just shy of all-time highs, 2019 has been a reminder that deeper factors than yesterday's headlines drive stockmarket returns.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.