Much of the talk in recent days has been about a proposed three-tier lockdown system which should provide greater clarity and outline the risk level of various regions. The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will also present his proposals for a regional job protection scheme to curb the economic impact of the virus. We have seen small businesses shut, then reopen their doors and now may be forced to close again, a truly devastating blow to the economic recovery.

Last week, the FTSE All Share was up 2.35% on the back of the encouraging economic news that the UK grew by 2.1% during August. This was below market expectations since August featured the “Eat out to help out” scheme which was embraced countrywide.

It was an encouraging week across the remaining equity markets, as the recovery continues for much of the global economies. We have seen a very fast recovery in the US with significant fiscal stimulus being the major catalyst for its modest performance. However, in much less developed countries, the economic impact has been much more significant, and the recovery is expected to take much longer. The IMF and the World Bank are set to meet in the coming week, with the major discussion being the large inequality in economic recovery seen globally.

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