Managing Partner Urs Vrijhof-Droese was recently interviewed for a "Miller, on the Money" article to discuss the Fitch downgrading the US credit rating, the devaluation of the USD, and an outside prespective on what direction the U.S. economy is going. "From an outside perspective, it is surprising that such influential and educated people do not recognize (or admit) that the U.S. financial household is in trouble.” - Urs Vrijhof-Droese.

The question is what to expect from the rest of the year. Is the halt in equity prices the start of a more volatile environment leading back to price levels seen last October? We believe so. The reason is that corporate profits will sink further. That leads to lower valuations, meaning lower stock prices. Financing costs are still on the rise. With increased interest rates, sticky core inflation, decreasing corporate profits, and weak consumer confidence, chances are that banks will become even more restrictive in giving out loans. This is not only an issue in the U.S. and Europe. Last week it was announced that Chinese banks’ lending plummeted to Rmb 345.9bn (USD 47.8bn) instead of the expected Rmb 800 bn. This is the lowest figure since 2009, even though the Chinese central bank lowered interest rates in June to boost consumer spending.