Five years on from the first pandemic in more than a century it is salutary to recall how working habits were upended, leisure was curtailed and family relations severed because of the Covid-19 lockdown — except, of course, in Boris Johnson’s riotous entourage in Downing Street.
Likewise, now that restaurants, theatres and holiday travel are vibrant again, to appreciate how the investment landscape has been radically transformed, leaving us with important questions about how we manage our money.
In pre-pandemic days there was little volatility in output and inflation. But everything changed with the Covid-19 lockdown. While central bankers have done well to bring down the ensuing inflationary surge without inflicting big increases in unemployment, inflation is proving difficult to return to target levels. At the same time, higher volatility has become endemic in the markets.