Why I love the IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report

THE polite form of a question I’m often asked is: “What do I read to keep on top of financial markets?” The impolite form is more common, though. “Where on earth do your silly opinions come from?”

Famous investment analysts love to reveal their reading habits. The Financial Times or Wall Street Journal in bed. Then it’s an hour on Bloomberg and devouring a dozen research notes before a morning run while listening, of course, to downloaded academic papers. Or reports from the world’s major central banks and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or Bank for International Settlements. Depends on the route.

After that, a morning coffee and flicking through hundreds of Substack commentaries and social media posts from investment gurus who just can’t leave it alone post-retirement or having been fired.