The month of August was marked by the highly awaited Jackson Hole symposium, at which Jerome Powell alluded to the beginning of tapering while still maintaining an overall accommodative stance.

In August, the investing environment was troubled, with the impact of the Delta variant and the new regulatory measures applied by the Chinese government disquieting investors, afraid of the consequences of the supply-side constraints (labour and product-line shortages) generated by these events.

August was a quiet month for continental Europe, with the European Parliament in recess and no announcements from the European Central Bank.

The world economy has significantly recovered since the lows of 2020 and, in most developed markets, it is close to pre-pandemic levels.

With most Annual General Meetings taking place in the first half, the year’s trends were well-established before the autumn ‘back to school’.

A strong global focus on climate change by governments, regulators and consumers has led to Environmental, Social Environmental (ESG) considerations taking a centre stage in investment decisions.

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In less than a month, Germany will vote to elect the new Bundestag, the German Parliament, which will eventually produce the first post-Merkel government in 16 years

European equities: positive month of July, especially for EMU equities .