Darius McDermott: Complacency at the peak

Stock markets across the world continue to hit new highs, while credit spreads are at multi-decade lows.  It is a market environment that seems to suggest buoyant economic conditions, benign geopolitics and a compelling outlook. Yet it is tough to take this optimistic view on the evidence available – are markets too complacent?  The past few weeks have seen the FTSE100, S&P500, Eurostoxx 50 and the Nasdaq hit all-time highs. The catalyst appears to have been some certainty on the trade deals.  However, the tariff rate for goods into the US has gone from around 2.5% to around 15% an...