Published: 10 March 2021

Although the media continue to closely monitor developments of the covid-19 pandemic, financial markets have found another source of concern: interest rates. Indeed, investors have long been accustomed to low interest rates by central banks. In 2021, the bond markets experienced strong shocks that financiers were no longer used to. Since January 1, ten-year rates have climbed 0.63% in the United States, 0.80% in Canada and 0.53% in the United Kingdom. Even in Switzerland, Confederation rates jumped 0.30%.

The consequences have been quite different depending on the nature of the asset.

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Published: 18 January 2021

We remember that 2018 was a bad stock market year. The trade wars announced by the United States and the Fed's rate hikes had depressed financial markets. In 2019, a sense of optimism returned to investors following trade negotiations between the Trump administration and the Chinese. Agreements with other countries such as Mexico and Canada reassured the financial markets. The stock market upturn was also driven by the Fed's rate cuts in the United States.

The year 2020 thus promised to be auspicious, especially since in the United States, the unemployment rate was reaching historic lows. But it was without counting on the covid-19 which upset the world.

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