Buttonwood

Our column on financial markets offers expert analysis and perspectives on global finance, market trends and investing

Illustration of a happy face with clasped hands with rockets in its eyes

Wall Street’s undignified SpaceX mania

Is that a rocket in your lobby, or are you just happy to see me? 

4 min read

Illustration of a horse jumping over the statue of the thinker

Want to know the future? Don’t trust the stockmarket

Share prices are buffeted by far more than just new information

4 min read

A white rocket with building-filled windows, a ladder, and a man at the bottom of the ladder checking his watch

Giga-IPOs are a symptom of public markets’ giga-problem

The incredible shrinking stockmarket

4 min read

A person listens anxiously as a huge pile of documents looms overhead

Investors fear another surge in inflation

So why aren’t more buying inflation-protected bonds?

4 min read

Illustration of a hand pointing out of a cloud made of papers at a little man with a certificate for his head

Index rebalancing is now the biggest event in markets

But profiting from it is another matter

4 min read

Illustration of a lock with a share certificate on it on top of an ionic column

Can Bill Ackman save the closed-end fund?

An outspoken financier wants to build a modern-day Berkshire Hathaway

4 min read

An illustration of people digging holes with shovels made of the central bank.

A global fight over banking rules is just getting started

Co-operation on the financial system will be the casualty

4 min read

Illustration of a bit coin as a bowling ball, ready to strike through bowling bottles formed as a building. The ball is forming a dent in the ground.

The stablecoin market has got too stable

Rapid growth in dollar-backed crypto has stalled

4 min read

An alterophile trying to lift a bar with the weights on one side only.

How to build a portfolio when bonds fail to buffer stocks

The classic hedge has fallen apart, but don’t dump it just yet

4 min read

An illustration of bond on top of a paper bin. The bond is yellow and in the shape of a wave, like Donald Trump's hair.

Bye, bye to the Trump trades

Markets are calling time on many Donald-adjacent bets

4 min read

An illustration of a gold lingot with bitcoin wheels going up the top of a rocket.

After Iran, gold is looking less glittery

Is the yellow metal the new crypto?

4 min read

An illustration of a person holding two telephones. The left side of the face is the Scream by Munch, and the other side is a happy smiley.

Markets are gripped by an alarming cognitive dissonance

Investors all seem to think everyone else is wrong

4 min read