‘Twas the market before Christmas,

And let us not ignore,

The major events of 2024.

The economy was stirring and continued to grow,

And unemployment thankfully remained quite low.

The Fed cut rates four times with a measure of care,

With hopes that a victory on inflation was there.

Trump lay with his phone all tucked in his bed,

With visions of tariffs dancing through his head.

His election victory proved to be massive and deep,

With the Republican party delivering a decisive red sweep.

As China’s economy continues to stumble,

Its policy response can be described best as a fumble.

While overall commodity prices continued to deflate,

Cocoa prices were up almost 200 per cent year-to-date!

When what to our wondering eyes did appear,

But the first-rate hike in Japan in a 17th year.

Even so nothing seems to keep the king dollar down,

As the greenback once again retained its crown.

With less regulation to face,

And the SEC chair to replace,

The market surrounding crypto continues to unfold,

Will bitcoin become the world’s new gold?

The Bermuda economy continues to grow

We hope international business momentum won’t slow.

The new corporate taxes could lower the debt

But don’t count on those Christmas presents just yet.

The bond market this year was not one to slight,

As credit spreads hover around record tight.

Treasury yields overall barely rose,

Despite all the federal deficit woes.

Conflict in the Middle East rages on,

Yet will Syria finally see a new dawn?

When out in Baltimore there arose such a clatter,

As a massive container ship made the bridge shatter.

The Paris Olympics break dancing did the trick.

With the amazing athletes moving so lively and quick,

Meanwhile, Argentina hosts its own big event,

With Milei’s free market experiment.

While competing AI models and LLMs clash,

Their data centre builds have risen in a flash.

The resulting need for power will be a ton,

Has the nuclear renaissance now begun?

Investors continued to buy the Mag7 stocks by the bucket,

Which contributed to most of the gain in the U.S. market.

Now, maybe the time for many to see,

What can happen with the other 493?

The market was great in 2024,

Let’s hope 2025 brings plenty more.

So, sit back and hang on tight,

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a good night!

• Nathan Kowalski CPA, CA, CFA, CIM, FCSI is the Chief Financial Officer of Anchor Investment Management Ltd. and can be contacted at nkowalski@anchor.bm. The sole responsibility for the content of this article lies with the author. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion, policy or position of Anchor Investment Management Ltd