AS we've seen the oil price spiral up with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, inevitably comparisons are made with the early 1970s when the oil price quadrupled.

TWO weeks ago, all attention was focussed on the emergence from Covid and the increasing focus on inflation.

AS we start to see a return to normality with rules around face masks, social distancing and self-isolation now downgraded to guidance, it is a good time to reflect on the journey we have experienced over the past two years.

JANUARY has never been my favourite month, but this year it has taken on a whole new guise.

By any measure it has been a strange start to the year.

AS the second year of Covid draws to a close it seems that we once again plunged into uncertainty with concerns around the new and highly infectious variant, Omicron.

THE revelation at the end of last week of the new omicron variant of coronavirus had a dramatic reaction in markets.

AS we enter the last two months of 2021 it is fair to say that this has been a year like no other.

TIME was that the London Stock Exchange was one of the most prestigious markets in the world.

AS normality starts to creep back in, it is less clear where markets are heading.

OVER the past few years there has been a sea-change in responsible investment, with much more awareness of ethical considerations.

THE market has been on an upward trajectory for several months as recovery is widely predicted.

DESPITE all the headwinds – a global pandemic and Brexit being the most notable – the stock market looks to be in remarkably good health as we enter the second half of the year.

TRADITIONALLY a quiet time, the markets last week saw some dramatic moves, emphasising that these are not normal times.

IT'S hard to get a handle on the direction of the market at the moment, with so much going on.