Synopsis of the week Friday saw the US unemployment rate drop to 3.7% and average hourly earnings continue to grow, confirming strong economic fundamentals are still in place in the US. US 10 year sovereign debt yields spiked to over 3.2%, the highest levels seen since 2011 as investors began to factor in even more rate rises in the US…
Synopsis of the week On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) increased US interest rates by 0.25% taking current rates to 2.25%. This was a move that had almost been fully factored in by the FX markets. A second member of the Swiss cabinet has resigned in a week as negotiations with the EU over renewing bilateral ties reach…
Synopsis of the week As expected, the Swiss National Bank left interest rates unchanged at negative 0.75%. With inflation still very low and the Franc still too strong, FX markets are not expecting to see a rate rise until 2020. UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s exit plans were thrown out by EU leaders at last weeks Salzburg summit calling her…
Synopsis of the week Although pencilled in to end before the start of 2019, ECB President Mario Draghi used last week’s speech to leave himself with a little wriggle room to extend the current QE program if conditions warranted it. As expected, both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged last week. The accompanying…
Synopsis of the week Strong US employment figures and wage growth increase the chances of the FED imposing higher interest rates. Emerging market central banks continue to feel the pressure of rising inflation and rising rates for US Dollar denominated short-term debt, seeing many currencies struggle. Worries that an increase in regulatory oversight for technology stocks have knocked the NASDAQ,…
Synopsis of the week US equity markets continued to climb with both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ hitting new highs. Trade Wars were again the focus for investors as progress with US & Mexican discussions were tempered by the Trump administration taking steps to implement new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. The revised second-quarter US GDP of 4.2%…
Synopsis of the week Since 2009, the S&P 500 has now seen gains of 418% and the current bull market run has lasted 3,450 days. This is now the longest run although not the biggest move. Last week’s speech from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole confirmed a continuation in the current pace of US Interest rate rises, regardless…
Synopsis of the week A big week for US corporate data saw almost a third of S&P 500 companies reporting quarterly figures and maintain the positive mood. During the week, Apple became the first company to see its market capitalization hit $1 Trillion as its shares traded above $208 during the week. US President Donald Trump has announced he is…
Synopsis of the week The EU and US agreed to progress with tariff talks and resolved to prevent an escalation of tit for tat tariff increases. Over halfway through the US reporting season and S&P 500 corporate profits are up almost 25% year on year and look set for the second quarter of 20% plus growth in a row. Facebook’s…
Synopsis of the week Equity markets suffer a negative week as worries over geopolitical issues outweigh good corporate earnings. The US banking sector continued its impressive performance with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley all posting impressive figures, helped by both rising interest rates and US tax reforms. EU antitrust regulators hand out its largest fine ever to…
