Yesterday’s military escalation in Eastern Ukraine has so far had only a limited further fall-out in global financial markets. Asian markets are relatively steady after the major US stock indices dropped into negative territory, with the S&P 500 closing in official “correction” territory for the first time in two years. That means it is 10% lower than its record closing high from early in January.

Oil prices have skyrocketed due to heightened fears surrounding the Ukraine crisis.

Brent crude has soared well over 20% so far this year to hit a fresh seven-year high above $96/bbl, a level not seen since 2014.

How does the Ukraine crisis impact oil markets?

The escalation of troops and military armaments, the non-stop headlines about explosions here and skirmishes there have caused very choppy financial markets in recent sessions, and this only looks set to carry on in the near term. Of course, geopolitics can be tricky to trade, but opportunities for intraday traders to take advantage of overbought and oversold markets are plentiful in this environment.

Here are some of the key events for investors and traders worldwide this week:

It’s been another 24-hours of whipsaw price action in financial markets with US stocks zig-zagging again on headlines from the Ukraine-Russian frontline. Shelling from both sides in either tit-for-tat hits or simply dangerous war gaming made investors run for the cover of safe havens yesterday, as gold notably hit $1900. But talks of a diplomatic solution and a meeting between the US and Russia late next week have seen US futures turn positive.

Markets have been rocked by the latest twists and turns surrounding the Ukraine crisis.

European stocks markets and US futures are in relatively buoyant mood while oil prices fell over 2% on more hopeful signs of a peaceful end to the Ukrainian crisis. Russia is supposedly returning some of their troops to their bases after military exercises were completed, signalling a de-escalation of the military build-up on Ukraine’s eastern border.

Have you ever been sprayed by a shaken soda can or seen the cork pop from a champagne bottle?

Now imagine a similar situation on the GBPUSD…

Here are the key economic events for investors and traders in the days ahead:

Monday, February 14

• EUR: ECB President Christine Lagarde speech

Tuesday, February 15

If one word could be used to describe the past few days, the best fit would be intense.

Inflation is the rise in the prices of goods and services over a period of time, as widely measured via the “consumer price index” (CPI).

Some inflation is a positive sign of a healthy economy. Several major central banks have an inflation target of 2%, which they believe to be a manageable and sustainable rate for the economy.

However, if consumer prices rise much too fast, not only does it hurt our pockets, but it also has negative repercussions for the broader economy: