The surge in markets in late 2020, triggered by the positive vaccine news, Biden’s success in the US election and the favourable settling of the UK-EU trade negotiations, continued into the new year. Equity markets made a strong start while government bond yields rose. However, optimism waned as January wore on, concerns rising about Covid mutations, the pace of vaccine roll-out, especially in the EU, and the economic damage caused by tightened and extended lockdowns across many parts of the world, most notably Europe. By month end, expectations for a sharp economic recovery had been pushed out to later in 2021. Sentiment was also impacted by the bizarre antics of retail traders in the US driving heavily shorted stocks to nonsensical heights in an attempt to inflict damage on hedge funds, an investment tactic that could only lead to misery for many of those involved.