China caused waves across our portfolio. First of all, in an admission that something was needed to set GNP growth back on track, China cut interest rates in a new stimulus initiative.

Realistically, a 5% tax rise should prompt a 5% spending cut, with the earning power lost to inflation adding more belt tightening. You can't squeeze blood from a stone. Workers have no money.

What is astonishing about the way banks cheated their clients by colluding to fix exchange rates to extract higher sums is not only that they did this to what they called “Numpty's”, but when they did this.

The Eurozone is suffering from restricted growth according to the European Commission which now forecasts that 2014 growth will be 0.8% overall for the 18 countries in the currency bloc. This is well below the earlier forecast of 1.2% growth, which was already low.

Sweden has reached the real bottom line. Their central bank has cut interest rates it charges to banks to zero for 0.25%.

The US is better able to live with cheap oil than many OPEC countries and outsiders, above all Putin's Russia, which both Saudi and Yankee oilmen want to hurt.