♫ Summer’s here, and the time is right, for watching the Olympics ♫
Okay, it doesn’t quite scan, but it has the advantage of being true. Trading floor TV sets have been retuned from CNBC to the live Olympic coverage, and sighs go up at big moments in the Games, rather than big trading moves (the snapping of Cuban Lazaro Borges’ pole in the pole vault this morning, for example).
This all matters to investors. Trading volumes were already low as investors sat on the sidelines, but the combination of holidays and Olympics means even fewer than usual are focused on the equity markets – and that can be bad news, as the chart shows. Read more
James Mackintosh is the Financial Times' Investment Editor, writing and presenting the daily Short View column and video. In 16 years at the FT his posts have included comment editor, motor industry editor and hedge funds correspondent, as well as spells in the Parliamentary lobby and Paris. He was the first reporter hired for FT.com, joining two weeks before it launched.
John Authers is the Financial Times' Senior Investment Columnist, writing the Saturday Long View and a regular Monday column. In a 22-year career at the FT, his previous posts have included global head of the Lex column, investment editor, US markets editor, Mexico City bureau chief and US banking correspondent. His latest book is The Fearful Rise of Markets. 