Omicron was barely getting started, but profit warnings had already started to rise in the final quarter of 2021. Supply chain problems were starting to bite.

It had all been going swimmingly for the UK retail sector. In November all the signs pointed to a buoyant Christmas period and recovery at last for the previously lacklustre high street.

Despite the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, major equity markets around the world ended 2021 in positive territory, boosted by mounting hopes that the variant would prove less serious than initially feared.

Markets have opened with a flourish – dismissing the new variant and inflationary pressures: should investors follow this new-found optimism?

In an unexpected move, Bank of England (BoE) policymakers opted to tighten monetary policy at their December meeting in a bid to address surging inflationary pressures.

Inflationary pressures are real and are looking increasingly persistent rather than transitory. Investors need to be wary of the assumption that all equities can weather an inflation storm.

Investor sentiment was shaken during November by the discovery of the new “Omicron” Covid-19 variant in South Africa.

Lockdown winners have become recovery losers. Is value emerging?

As UK inflation ticks higher, will the traditional strategies adopted by fund managers to deal with rising prices prove effective?

A lengthy bull market is always nerve-wracking. Investors start to fret on valuations, on earnings, on the strength of economic growth.