Prepare for a perilous summer in markets

Potential hotspots include a reformist new Fed chair, weak yen and high-stakes earnings season

    • US Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh has put investors on edge as the central bank's next steps remain unclear.
    • US Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh has put investors on edge as the central bank's next steps remain unclear. PHOTO: REUTERS
    Published Mon, Jul 13, 2026 · 07:00 AM

    FINANCIAL markets are rolling into the summer with a near-perfect set-up for some outbreaks of madness.

    The summer months in the northern hemisphere are always a fertile time for market shake-ups. When senior traders and investors head to the beach, often leaving a more junior crew behind, trading volumes tend to shrink, and the lubrication behind markets evaporates.

    Gaps open up where lots of tradeable prices used to be, making it easier for stocks, bonds, currencies and everything in between to swing around based on little to no new information.