The year 2023 was a year of extremes and divergences. The global economy was resilient against aggressive monetary policy hikes, but China faced serious structural growth issues. The US equity markets were pushed to new highs by the technology hype cycle, but the green transformation stocks were the biggest losing theme. The war in Ukraine continued, and a new hot spot emerged in the Middle East. While central bank policy was more or less synchronized, the Bank of Japan held on to its negative policy rates. 2024 will be a year of uncertainty. Investors will be wondering whether the US economy will fall into a ... (full story)