End of year message from RAM

We are approaching the end of 2021 and although we remain firmly open for business, it is around this time that I usually give myself, and your inbox, a break from the daily report, but there is always time for one more message.

It has been another rather unusual year, beginning with a lockdown in the early months. I cannot work out if that seems a long time ago or not. The year seems to have passed by so quickly and yet this time last year we were still looking for a Brexit agreement which seems so long ago. We did get an agreement although it isn’t really a surprise that one year on we are still negotiating parts of the agreement.

When I wrote last years message, GBPUSD was around 1.3500, EURUSD 1.2270 and EURGBP 0.9060 (GBPEUR 1.1035). Both GBP and EUR have weakened against USD but GBP has performed better against the single currency. For reference, levels as I type are 1.3310, 1.1290 and 0.8480 (1.1790).

To some extent 2021 feels like a year of fighting fires, living in hope that this pandemic passes or at least calms down, but we have been reminded in the past weeks that we are far from out of the woods just yet. Whether we see more lockdowns or not, we are likely to see a large increase in cases and unfortunately more suffering.

I know only too well how devastating Covid can be, having witnessed it so nearly claiming the life of my wife earlier this year. I am pleased to report she is pretty much back to running on all cylinders. Having seen it so bad, it does annoy me when people are blasé about Covid, and yet when I look at the numbers of people who have had it but experienced only mild symptoms I do understand how, for some people, it seems like a relatively minor issue being blown out of proportion.

I think the government had been doing a reasonable job in difficult circumstances. I don’t care what side of the political fence you sit on, these are unprecedented times and no one would ever get everything right. Our vaccination program has been nothing short of incredible, it is still going on and I would imagine it will be for some time to come, perhaps even years. I know track and trace didn’t work well but the NHS app seems to be something of a success. I would not have been surprised if both the vaccine program and the App were complete disasters, but no, they work well.

Having said that, the recent news about these Christmas parties should turn out to be quite damaging. As you know, I accept there is always a degree of privilege that comes with wealth or power, but to be caught and then deny it is just a bit much. I don’t disapprove of Boris Johnson as much as some, but I can’t see him lasting 2022. Mind you, quite who would replace him I really don’t know. Not many suitable candidates in my opinion.

Anyway enough about 2021. Let’s look forward to 2022. Covid lockdowns, NI protocol, Russia/Ukraine, China/Taiwan, economic and political uncertainty, rising energy prices, global warming. Oh crikey, why did I start that? I was determined to make this upbeat. But as we know, we always find ways to keep life going on despite the adversities that may be thrown our way.

Look at the positives. So what if we have a lockdown in early 2022? Who wants to go out too much in January? If I’m honest, it would mean I wouldn’t have to go and stand on the touchlines during the coldest months of the year, can’t say I’d be disappointed about that. Schools and places of work have found ways to continue remotely. I know there are industries that would be affected but they’ll hopefully find support and come back fighting when things settle down. We will get through it with patience and determination.

A quick word on business. We don’t claim to know where currencies are headed but we do hope that by working with RAM you will be well placed regardless of what the market throws at us. Surprisingly though, there are still some readers who are not yet working with us.

Last year I wrote ‘To those readers who are not yet clients, I have to ask, why not? We have now been through some life-changing times together, we have hopefully kept you informed and maybe even entertained over the past year. We have the knowledge, experience, and ability to work for you. We have the right products for you. We are decent enough folk. And if you have got this far through, you even read some of the stuff we write. What more do we have to do?’

This struck a chord with some, but not all. If you are one who is still not working with us, you’d better start coming up with some pretty good reasons! You’ve got away with it for another year but not much longer!

To all of our clients, new and old, we thank you once again for your support. We hope we have repaid the trust you put in us and look forward to continuing to work with you through 2022, whatever it may bring.

To one and all, we wish you and your family a delightful Christmas and a healthy, safe and prosperous new year.