The dogs of the stock market

THERE are 7.9 billion individuals in the global economy today. According to the World Federation of Exchanges, an association for exchanges and clearing houses, there are at least 47,919 companies listed in stock exchanges around the world. Estimates on the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide vary widely, but the ones I've seen peg the number at between 213 million and 400 million.

There is also a litany of problems currently plaguing our globe. The legendary US-based investor, Bill Miller, provided a list of worries in his latest 2021 third-quarter letter: "Today's worries include, but are not limited to, China's regulatory actions, high and rising fuel and food prices, labour shortages, inflation or stagflation, the effect of Federal Reserve tapering, disrupted supply chains, potential default due the debt limit standoff and the ongoing dis-function and polarisation in Washington." These are in addition to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

With the statistics and information in the first 2 paragraphs above, it's an understatement to say that the business world, and hence the financial markets, involve a lot of moving parts. This is a problem for investors and begets the question: What should investors be watching now?