'Stormy September' is not all bad news, says Harvey Jones
ORIGINALLY I planned to open this week’s section by warning of a “stormy September”, with global stock markets wilting under a range of threats.
Hurricane Harvey sweeping across Houston and Donald Trump's controversies put me in a gloomy mood
War talk in North Korea, my namesake Hurricane Harvey sweeping across Houston, President Donald Trump’s controversies, and floundering Brexit negotiations had all put me in a gloomy mood.
History shows that September is the worst month of the year for stock markets, which only added to my anxiety.
However, I then took a closer look and realised this is not quite the end of the world.
Brexit talks broke up amid mutual recriminations
Hurricane Harvey has retreated, albeit leaving anything up to $190billion (£146billion) of damage in its wake, while North Korean rhetoric has calmed.
Brexit talks broke up amid mutual recriminations, but at least the UK is standing its ground rather than being pushed around.
Also, we might expect more progress once the German elections are over later this month.
We need politicians such as Germany’s Angela Merkel, assuming she wins on September 24, and Emmanuel Macron in France, to up the pressure on EU technocrats to strike a mutually beneficial trade deal.
We can rely on Donald Trump to trigger a few storm warnings
There is further good news as China recovers and central bankers continue to backstop sentiment by tightening monetary policy at a gentle pace.
We can rely on Donald Trump to trigger a few storm warnings, otherwise the outlook is brighter than it appears.
harvey.jones@express.co.uk