An upcoming Budget, a previously announced rise in National Insurance contributions, growing talk of the reintroduction of coronavirus-related restrictions, soaring energy prices, supply and demand imbalances, supply chain challenges, and rising concerns over inflation and the ability of central banks to contain it. It’s a long list of potential headaches for UK equity investors to consider. But, as Richard Buxton argues in his latest update – recorded at the peak of the third-quarter corporate reporting season – for patient and selective investors, there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic.