2024: A year in review

2024 was a year filled with change: from tech stock optimism in January to a UK recession in February, from the Swiss National Bank's rate cut in March to decreased UK inflation and increased US inflation in April. May brought a snap election in the UK and Putin's fifth term as Russian President, while June saw Macron call a snap election in France following a surge in support for the far-right.

January: Tech stocks rallied due to hopes that the US economy was absorbing higher interest rates; the Noto earthquake hit Japan.
February: The UK entered a recession; Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died in prison.
March: The Swiss National Bank became the first to cut interest rates.
April: UK inflation fell, boosting investor confidence, while US inflation rose unexpectedly, causing concern.
May: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a snap general election; Vladimir Putin began his fifth term as Russian President.
June: French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election due to a surge in far-right support.
July: A global IT outage originating from Microsoft caused widespread disruption; Joe Biden withdrew from the US Presidential race; the Labour Party won the UK general election.
August: Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee; Ukraine launched an offensive against Russia.
September: The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since 2020; Beijing announced record stimulus measures.
October: The new UK Labour government's first budget included £40 billion in tax increases.
November: Donald Trump's re-election as US President boosted share prices.
December: China’s economy continued to struggle; South Korea briefly enacted martial law.