London, Tuesday, 19 October 2021 The Dow Jones and S&P 500 reached all-time highs as investors welcomed a better than expected earnings report. The report relieved concerns that pressure due to continuous Covid cases and rising costs would slow down the recovery. S&P 500: +0.74% Down Jones: +0.57% Nasdaq: +0.71% Health care stocks led the gainers on the day. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ): +2% Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW): +2% Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX): +3.11% Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG): +1% Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG): -1.18% Tech stocks continued their positive start to the week, supported by a rise in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), as the tech giant's new Macbook Pro line, powered by upgraded M1 chips, drew positive comments from Wall Street. ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE: BITO), trading under the ticker "BITO," rose nearly 1% in its trading debut. Bitcoin rose nearly 3% to $63,800, just shy of its all-time high of $64,778, boosting crypto-related stocks. Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA), Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) were more than 3% higher. Europe mostly positive With the exception of France, all major indices closed in a positive territory. STOXX Europe 600: +0.33% FTSE 100: +0.19% DAX 30: +0.27% CAC 40: -0.05% FTSE MIB 30: +0.25% IBEX: +0.67% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, Monday, 18 October 2021 - U.S. stock exchange closed mixed on Monday, S&P 500 and Nasdaq though closed positive. S&P 500: +0.34% Nasdaq: +0.8% Dow Jones: -0.1% AMC Entertainment: +5.6% Coinbase: +4.5% Apple: +1.2% Tesla: +3.2% Walt Disney: -3% IBM: -1.6% VIX volatility index: +0.12% Dollar Index almost unchanged at 93.96, while yield of 10-yeasr U.S. Treasury rose 0.8% to 1.589% Oil prices reversed course to show some losses, with international benchmark Brent crude trading at $84.14 with a 0.8% decline, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $81.53 – a 0.24% decrease. Precious metals were down, with gold losing 0.17% to $1,764 per ounce and silver trimming 0.36% to $23.2. After hitting $60,000 on Friday for the first time in six months, since April 18, price of Bitcoin was trading around $61,450 for a 1.6% gain. Europe closed lower All major indices in Europe closed in negative territory on Monday, retreating from their gains last week. STOXX Europe 600: -0.5% FTSE 100: -0.42% DAX: -0.72% CAC 40: -0.81% FTSE MIB 30: -0.83% IBEX: -0.68% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, Thursday, 14 October 2021 - Wall Street rallied more than 1.5% on Thursday, reclaiming the green arrows after the losses at the beginning of Q3. Major driver for the rally was investors’ shift to the economic outlook and strong earnings. Dow Jones: +1.6% S&P 500: +1.7% - best performance since March Nasdaq: +1.7% Financials led the way, with major Wall Street banks beating market forecasts; Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley among them. Back of America did stand out, up more than 4%, reporting, for Q3, record advisory and asset management fees. In the meantime, a significant component of Dow Jones, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), beat the expected quarterly results as its Optum drug benefits division soared. Its stock was up more than 4%. Big tech stocks such as Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet, benefited from the US 10-year Treasury note drop, below 1.52%. Other chip stocks including NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) and ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) were up more than 3%, pushing the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) up nearly 3%. Meanwhile, fresh economic data provided additional support with initial jobless claims falling to a new pandemic-low and producer inflation rising less than expected. Initial jobless claims in the US fell to 293,000 last week, marking the first time that figure was below 300,000 since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic on March 14, 2020, according to the Labour Department. Now, the central bank could start tapering as early as mid-November, the Fed implied that this might happen in mid-December, which would potentially add one more month of liquidity in the markets. The news pushed the blue-chip Dow Jones up 374 points, or 1.1%, to 34,751 at 9.46 a.m. EDT, while the S&P 500 rose 47, or 1.08%, to 4,410. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 175 points, or 1.2%, to 14,746. Rising risk appetite created downward pressure on the VIX volatility index, as the fear index plummeted 6.6% to 17.40. The dollar index declined 0.14% to 93.95, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes decreased 0.78% to 1.537%. However, crude prices remained on the rise again. International benchmark Brent crude was at $83.75 with a 0.7% gain and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $80.83, a 0.5% increase. Precious metals continued to increase with gold adding 0.14% to $1,795 per ounce and silver increasing 0.8% to $23.28. Bitcoin rose 4.8% to $57,370. In other crypto news, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) soared 5% as cryptocurrencies rallied. The cryptocurrency exchanged also unveiled a proposal urging Congress to pass legislation to create new regulator to govern crypto exchanges. Under the proposal, the regulator would have the authority to approve any cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin and ether for listing or trading in the U.S. In Europe, stock markets closed with gains. All major indices in Europe closed in positive territory Thursday. STOXX Europe 600: +5.3% FTSE 100: +0.92% DAX 30: +1.4% CAC 40: +1.3% FTSE MIB 30: +1.23% IBEX 35: +0.49% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, 15 October 2021 - U.S. Economic data help stocks build on gains Stocks built on the previous week’s gains, helped by some strong economic signals and positive earnings surprises. Dow Jones Friday’s Close: 35,294.76 Week’s Change: 548.51 % Change YTD: 15.32% S&P Friday’s Close: 4,471.37 Week’s Change: 80.03 % Change YTD: 19.04% Nasdaq Friday’s Close: 14,897.34 Week’s Change: 317.80 % Change YTD: 15.59% Europe Shares in Europe rallied on optimism about the continuing economic recovery and strong corporate earnings. STOXX Europe 600: +2.65% CAC 40: +2.55% DAX: +2.51% FTSE MIB: +1.68% FTSE 100: 1.95% Core Eurozone bond yields finished lower after a volatile week, while Peripheral Eurozone bond yields broadly tracked core markets, as did UK gilt yields. UK economy returns to growth with number of payroll employees hitting a record of 29.2 million UK GDP grew 0.4% in August with hospitality industry benefiting from the first full month of reopening. Japan Japan’s stock market returns turned green. Nikkei: +3.64% TOPIX index: +3.16% Yen feel to a three years low against the U.S. dollar to approximately JPY 114.3 China Markets in China closed nearly unchanged in anticipation of next week’s quarterly GDP report. CSI 300 index: +0.3% Shanghai Composite Index: -0.6% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, Wednesday, 13 October 2021 S&P 500 closed higher led by strength in tech. S&P 500: +0.3% Dow Jones: flat Nasdaq: +0.73% Blue-chip Dow: -0.54% The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.4% from the previous month and 5.4% from the same period last year. Bitcoin was down almost 4% to $54,700. \ VIX volatility index, was almost flat at 19.88, while the dollar index declined 0.26% to 94.27. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes decreased 2.6% to 1.538%. With international benchmark Brent crude at $82.91 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $80.11, crude prices presented some losses at a decline of 0.6% Precious metals were on the rise with gold adding 1.5% to $1,786 per ounce, and silver increasing 2.2% to $23.06. European stock markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday, as Europe's industrial production in August increased year-on-year, the EU's statistical authority said earlier. The reading was up 5.1% in the eurozone and 5.3% in the EU27 from the same month of last year, according to Eurostat. STOXX Europe 600: +0.7% FTSE 100: +0.16% DAX: +0.68% CAC: +0.75% FTSE MIB 30: -0.12% IBEX 35: -0.16% Asian markets closed mixed after strong sales in global markets due to inflation concerns on Tuesday. Asia Dow: -0.31% Nikkei 225: -0.32% Hang Seng: -1.43% Shanghai: +0.42% Singapore: +1.43% Sensex: +0.76% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London and Brussels, Tuesday, 12 October 2021 Investors showed strong demand for green bonds on Tuesday as the European Commission issued them for the first time, raising 12 billion Euros (approx. £10.2 billion). This first issue comes as part of the EU’s plan to further issue up to 250 billion Euros in green bonds by the end of 2026, in order to finance the recovery of the 27 EU member-states, from Covid-19. The European Commission noted that the 15-year bond was oversubscribed more than 11 times, with books exceeding 135 billion Euros. Johannes Hahn, the commissioner in charge of budget and administration, said “this marks the largest green bond order book ever in global capital markets, and the largest green bond ever issued, not in Europe, but in the world.” The recovery stimulus will be financed from capital markets up to an estimated 800 billion Euros, EU says. This is expected by the end of 2026 with a 30% to be raised via green bonds, while in total, the EU has agreed on a 1.8 trillion Euro budget and pandemic recovery package. By the looks of it, it seems that the EU wishes to play a leading role in sustainable investments and the green bonds will certainly be the vehicle to serve that scope. European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn said: “It will allow investors to diversify their portfolio of green investments with a highly rated liquid asset, thereby potentially accelerating a virtuous circle of sustainable investments”. As the 27-nation bloc is moving towards a “green reality” via its “Green Deal”, the EU is targeting to cut gas emissions that cause global warming by 55% over this decade, while its target is to be carbon-neutral by 2050. The recovery aid to the EU countries comes under the condition that at least 37% of the budgets will be allocated to climate-related projects. This was duly accepted. “Our future is green and it is extremely important that we seize the opportunity to clearly show to investors that their funds will be used to finance a sustainable European recovery,” Hahn said. (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, Tuesday, 12 October 2021 Quarterly earnings to be announced and inflation update maintained investors’ concerns, sending all major indexes down. S&P 500: -0.2% Dow Jones: -0.34% Nasdaq: -0.14% Banking stocks have gained about 40% in the year so far as the emergent rising rates continue to favour the sector. JPMorgan Chase & Co Q3 results are expected Wednesday, while Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley will follow on Thursday. Big Tech traded generally lower, despite Treasury yields, which affect growth stocks, fell. Google-parent Alphabent, Facebook and Apple ended lower, while Amazon, higher. Apple, in the meantime, noted that it plans to launch the new MacBook laptops and AirPods headphones, on 18 October. The 10-year Treasury yield ended below 1.6%. Ahead of the inflation report due Wednesday, Atlanta Federal Reserve President, Raphael Bostic stated on Tuesday: “Underlining inflation is indeed above the committees 2% objective - severe and pervasive supply chain issues will probably last longer than initially expected” Fear of stagflation intensifies among investors due to concerns about persistent inflation, while global growth is expected to slow. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its global economic growth projection to 5.9% for 2021, down by 0.1 percentage point, according to a report issued on Tuesday. Forecast for 2022 was kept stable at 4.9% compared to the previous update released in July, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook. Meanwhile, Asian markets ended lower and EU stocks fell Inflationary concerns and global semiconductor shortage are the main drivers for the red arrows in Asia and Europe. Asia Dow: -0.86% Nikkei 225: -0.94% Hang Seng: -1.43% Shanghai: -1.25% Singapore: -2.8% Only Sensex in India managed to stay in positive territories with an increase of 0.19% In Europe, all major indices were down. STOXX Europe 600: -0.1% FTSE 100: -0.6% DAX: -0.46% CAC: -0.54% FTSE MIB: -0.3% IBEX: 0.15% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, Monday, 11 October 2021 S&P 500: -0.27% Dow Jones: -0.32% or 111 points Nasdaq: -0.1% Energy stocks ended lower despite oil prices reaching $81 a barrel on expectations that tighter supplies will remain until the end of the year. Utilities were down more than 1% with investors expecting U.S. Treasury yields to continue their upward trend. Alliant Energy Corp (NASDAQ: LNT), DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) and Nextera Energy (NYSE: NEE) were down more than 2%. The bond market was closed Monday for Columbus Day. Materials stocks were best performers, led by a 4% jump of Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE: FCX) Europe closed mixed amid a rally in mining stocks STOXX Europe 600: +0.05% FTSE 100: +0.72% DAX: -0.05% CAC: +0.16% FTSE MIB: -0.46% IBEX: -0.63% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, Friday, 1 October 2021 - Global Markets Weekly roundup U.S. Dow Jones Friday’s Close: 34,326.46 Week’s Change: -471.54 % Change YTD: 12.15% S&P 500 Friday’s Close: 4,357.04 Week’s Change: -98.44 % Change YTD: 16.00% Nasdaq Composite Friday’s Close: 14,566.70 Week’s Change: -481.00 % Change YTD: 13.02% Stocks retreat on inflation and interest rate fears The rally on Friday, 1 October, resulted to modest losses. Large-cap benchmarks though and Nasdaq Composite Index saw their biggest decline since February and highlighted the worst monthly decline since the outbreak of the pandemic. Performance was affected by inflation and interest rates fears. Europe Germany - DAX: -2.42% France - CAC: -1.82% Italy - FTSE MIB: -1.36% UK – FTSE 500: gave up 1.36% Core Eurozone bond yields rose amid a sell-off in global developed market bonds and as hawkish Federal Reserve comments raised expectations of imminent U.S. monetary policy tightening. German inflation reached 4.1% - 29-year high creating and upward trend in core bond yields Core markets significantly affected by peripheral and UK government bonds Eurozone inflation strong at 1.9% up from 1.6% – Lagarde (ECB) says it’s temporary United Kingdom Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey notes that UK GDP will eventually start showing signs of recovery to the pre-pandemic levels, early next year. Germany Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by Olaf Scholz, won the German general election by only a small margin. The SPD and the centre-right alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), to compete for the support of the Green Party and liberal Free Democrats to form a majority coalition government Angela Merkel will stay on as a caretaker chancellor. Japan Nikkei: -4.89% TOPIX Index: -5% JPY/USD: 111.20 10-year government bond yield: nearly unchanged at 0.055% Japanese stocks follow the declining pattern of the U.S. stocks for the week China CSI 300 Index slightly higher, Shanghai Composite Index declined since last Friday’s close. Government bond yield: generally unchanged RMB/USD: 6.447, up 0.3% The weak ahead, 4-8 October Monday Factory orders, U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index Trade Balance, U.S. Census Bureau Wednesday ADP National Employment Report Thursday Weekly Unemployment Claims, U.S. Department of Labour Consumer Credit, U.S. FED Friday Jobs and unemployment, U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics Wholesale Inventories, U.S. Census Bureau (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

London, Friday, 8 October 2021 - Global Markets Weekly roundup U.S. Gains for most of the major benchmarks Dow Jones Friday’s Close: 34,746.25 Week’s Change: 419.79 % Change YTD: 13.53% S&P 500 Friday’s Close: 4391.34 Week’s Change: 34.30 % Change YTD: 16.91% Nasdaq Composite Friday’s Close: 14,579.54 Week’s Change: 12.84 % Change YTD: 13.12% Although the week started on a down note, global stock markets have been moving in an upward trend, while all eyes will be on the US Federal Reserve's meeting minutes and inflation data next week. Investors’ concerns summarised Debt ceiling rise as President Biden stated that he could not guarantee that the U.S. would avoid a default Facebook and its related services going offline Spike in oil prices Rising tensions between China and Taiwan U.S. efforts to force China to meet several commitments under the Phase One trade deal Energy stocks led the gains amid natural gas price record high prices in Europe and as leading oil exporters decided to keep production at current levels, resulting to a seven-year high crude oil prices on Monday. Real Estate sector fell behind with modest losses. The highly anticipated monthly payrolls report was released on Friday. Markets reacted mixed. The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls grew by 194,000 in September, well below consensus expectations of around 500,000. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note briefly approached 1.62%, its highest level since early June. Europe Despite the volatility, stocks in Europe ended higher. STOXX 600: +0.97% DAX: +0.33% CAC: +0.65% FTSE MIB: +1.70% FTSE 100: +0.97% Core Eurozone bond yields up due to inflation concerns deriving from the surge in natural gas prices. Further rise due to U.S. Treasury yields, following Senate’s vote to raise the U.S. debt ceiling temporarily to avoid a government default. Peripheral Eurozone bond yields and UK gilt yields followed core markets. Concerns about high inflation proving more persistent than expected, according to Bank of England’s Chief Economist, Huw Pill, further sent gilt yields up. Meanwhile, problems related to natural gas supply remain at the centre of the agenda in Europe, while natural gas prices surge to record highs, amid global fuel shortages. Cost increase for households and limitation to industrial production is now a realistic threat. Natural gas futures, which rose to €162 ($191) during the week, increased inflation pressures and brought with it questions about the security of the energy supply. Poland’s central bank increases rates; Germany industrial output falls Poland’s central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade to quell a surge in inflation, boosting its key rate 40 basis points to 0.5%. The move follows hikes in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania. German industrial production in August fell the most in 17 months due to supply chain disruptions, particularly in the auto industry. Japan Worries about global inflation, old prices and the Chinese property market, sent Japan’s stock market lower for the third consecutive week. The expected policies of newly inaugurated Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida also contributed to the slump, as investors are concerned that he might introduce a capital gains tax increase, perceived as a setback towards the efforts to make Japan a more shareholder-friendly country. Nikkei 225: -2.51% TOPIX: -1.23% 10-year Government bond yield: +0.08% China Chinese stocks rose on Friday. CSI 300: +1.31% Shanghai Composite: +0.67% 10-year Government bond yield: +2.92% - up 3 basis points RMB/USD: 6.4490 (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

Thursday, 7 October 2021 - The government default risk was averted on Thursday as the Senate reached a debt limit deal, sending the major U.S. indices higher. The debt ceiling will be extended through early December according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, whose statement came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered Democrats a short-term debt limit extension to cover current spending late Wednesday. At the same time, energy prices fell from recent highs, easing some concerns over a global energy crisis. Dow Jones: +0.98% S&P 500: +0.83% Nasdaq: +1.05% The dollar index was down 0.07% to 94.20 but the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes was up 3.4 to 1.576%. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $82.42 per barrel with a 1.6% gain and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $78.81 -- a 1.8% increase. Precious metals turned negative with gold falling 0.34% to $1,756 per ounce and silver fell 0.1% to $22.6. Bitcoin was trading at $54,200 down 1.7% European stocks closed higher Thursday, recovering from the previous day's losses. STOXX Europe 600: +1.6% FTSE 100: +1.17% DAX: +1.85% CAC: +1.65% FTSE MIB: +1.51% IBEX 35: +2.14% (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)

Wednesday, 6 October 2021 – European markets declined despite the upward trend of 0.3% in retail sales in the Eurozone and the EU in August. STOXX Europe 600: -1.03% closing at 451.33 points FTSE 100: -1.15% closing at 6,995 points DAX 30: -1.46% closing at 14,973 points CAC 40: -1.26% closing at 6,493 FTSE MIB: -1.35% closing at 25,605 points IBEX 35: -1.71% closing at 8,775 points US extends losses Investors’ worries about high inflation and rising commodity prices, send VIX volatility index at 7%, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted that higher inflation will probably further continue in the coming months. Nevertheless, the IMF estimated that inflation will return to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022. Major indices in the US extended losses after a weak opening. Dow Jones: -0.7% S&P 500: -0.57% Nasdaq: +0.47 Oil prices reversed course from three-year highs with a 1.7% loss. Brent crude was trading at $81.13 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $77.56. Bitcoin at $55,000, its highest level in approximately five months. While the dollar index was up 0.34% to 94.30, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes was down 1.25% to 1.512%. Precious metals were mixed with gold adding 0.1% to $1,762 per ounce but silver trimming 0.5% to $22.52 (Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)