Synopsis of the week The latest European Central Bank meeting and press conference confirmed what markets had suspected, that there will be no rate change and Mario Draghi has sidestepped the issue of QE tapering or extension until December. The latest US election debate once again offered something from the surreal to the ridiculous. Now that all three debates are…
Synopsis of the week The FTSE 100, FTSE 250 & FTSE all share all hit intra-day highs on the same day for the first time since December 1999. Political statements continue to crush Sterling as GBPUSD hits a succession of new 30-year lows throughout the week. German business confidence figures came in much stronger than expected while Chinese exports drop…
Synopsis of the week Theresa May’s speech at the Conservative party conference casts doubts on the UK’s ability to maintain passporting rights with the EU sending Sterling spiralling lower. The collapse of the UK Pound against the US Dollar has boosted the FTSE as 80% of the companies in the index see their income derived from US Dollars. News that…
Synopsis of the week Deutsche Bank has hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as markets squeeze the shares lower in both European and US trading. OPEC agree to cut output, but will not completely ratify or implement until its November meeting in Vienna. Having already seen April’s agreement fall apart and being reliant on Saudi Arabia and Iran…
Synopsis of the week For the ninth month in a row the Fed have decided to leave US rates unchanged. Ahead of Wednesday’s decision, markets had only been factoring in a 20% chance of change and subsequently Equity and FX reactions were muted. Three of the nine voting members voted for change adding to the likelihood of a move in…
Synopsis of the week The Bank of England have decided not to add to the stimulus measure that they took in September. While at the same time they have reaffirmed their intentions to take further actions in the future if required. European equity markets spend the week drifting lower as weak economic data and a lack of stimulus can’t prevent…
Synopsis of the week In total the ECB have purchased over €1 trillion of debt as they have remained firm in their efforts to stimulate the EU through Quantitative Easing. They currently have a mandate to purchase €80 billion of debt a month. ECB President Mario Draghi has not used this latest meeting to extend the current scheme beyond March…
