A plague on all their houses?

Timon Molloy (timon.molloy@informa.com), Editor

Markets are said to hate uncertainty. Well, yes – and no; there are always winners and losers. Equity (and bond) indices may have fallen off a cliff initially as the real economy seized, globally, with the onset of COVID-19 but the volatility since means those strongly constituted have had the chance to profit hugely from pandemic-induced gyrations. Bill Ackman, who manages hedge fund Pershing Square, reportedly [1] booked a US$2.6bn profit when he closed out his credit default swaps.