Shares are often said to climb a wall of worry so this note reviews the current ‘worry list’ facing investors.
The key points are as follows:
– It seems that there are still plenty of things for investors to worry about: a double dip in the global economy; high private and public-sector debt in key countries; policy tightening; a resurgent US dollar; and a possible China collapse among them. Fortunately, most of these are not as worrying as they appear.
– More broadly though, it is actually a sign of a healthy market when there is still so much scepticism and fear around. It makes it easier for events to pleasantly surprise and indicates that there are plenty of buyers sitting on the sidelines that will help push share markets higher over time.