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The markets open with little change from yesterday as the focus for international markets remains split between economic developments in China and US Fed policy. Other than weak figures from China, which included a reduction in industrial production from 6.1% to 5.7%, all but confirming a slowdown, there wasn’t much…
The Pound strengthened against both the Euro and Dollar last week after speculation that monetary policy in both the U.S. and Eurozone will be slacker for longer than market participants had previously thought. The Pound gained versus most of its counterparts last week after mixed data from the UK showed…
Sterling maintained a generally firm tone against the Dollar and advanced versus the Euro yesterday. With further fundamental support from Wednesday’s labour market report and, in global terms, markets expecting the UK to out-perform, it could result in the Bank of England (BoE) moving into policy tightening mode before other…
Inflation results from the the UK yesterday mean that Bank of England (BOE) Governor, Mark Carney, will have to write a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer explaining why inflation has fallen into negative territory. The actual release showed us that UK inflation fell to -0.1% for the month…
With no U.S. economic reports scheduled for release and bond markets closed for Columbus Day, the liquidation of long Dollar positions continued. Technically, the Dollar has fallen too far fast against commodity currencies (AUD,CAD, ZAR, NOK) and is trading near key support levels versus the Euro, Sterling and Yen. In…
As the US is celebrating Columbus Day today (a Bank Holiday), we’re waiting until Wednesday for any important economic data being released and for corporate earnings season getting properly underway. Two Federal Reserve members are due to give speeches today – voting members Lockhart and Evans. Fed Chair Janet Yellen…
Bank of England’s (BOE) rate-setting committee suggested policymakers were in no hurry to raise interest rates soon. Nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to keep rates on hold at a record-low 0.5 percent. This result was as expected by the market and most saw a relatively soft…
Sterling received a boost in early European trading yesterday with merger activity in the brewing sector as InBev went public with a £68bn bid to purchase brewers SABMiller. Any deal would probably involve substantial purchases of Sterling which in turn would enhance the currency. UK industrial production was stronger than…
Sterling appears to have struggled to adjust to getting out of bed in the dark these days after suffering a poor start to the weekend. Friday’s U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls report for September disappointed the market; a lukewarm job gain of 142,000 positions, far below the 201,000 forecast. The US unemployment…
With all the talk about Interest Rate rises that never seem to appear, why would today’s results affect us? The Fed is waiting for clear signs that the global economy is stable and their own is strong enough to sustain itself after a rate rise. During last month’s Fed rate…