Markets Driven: Politics & Economic Decision Makers
The first week of June brought us the elections results from South Africa, Mexico and India, and the first G7 interest rate cuts since before the Covid-19 pandemic in Canada and the European Union.
Sunak announces UK election
Sunak announces UK election- political gamble Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the UK will hold a general election on Thursday, 4 July. Mr Sunakâs decision to hold a snap contest this summer represents a major political gamble, with the Tories currently lagging well behind the Labour Party in the opinion polls. Addressing the nation in […]
Calmer waters, volatility low for now
Calmer waters, volatility low for now. The currency markets have been relatively stable in the last two weeks, with volatility at its lowest point since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.Here’s a breakdown of what’s been happening with the major currencies and the factors affecting them: Pound Sterling (GBP)- positive and negative. Euro (EUR) […]
Uncertainty Reigns
Uncertainty Reigns: Navigating 2024’s Global Complexity Uncertainty over interest rate policy decisions by the foremost central banks around the globe. Uncertainty with our political leadership. This is the year of elections with over 40% of the worldâs population eligible to vote in an election in 2024. Uncertainty over the outcome of a rising number of […]
Higher for longer
Higher for longer Its looking increasingly likely that we will have interest rates staying higher for longer in the major economies than anyone thought at the start of the year amid stubbornly higher than expected inflation rates. In the USA, the first-rate cut is now only fully priced for November. We started the year with […]
Treasure your Easter Eggs
Treasure your Easter Eggs This Easter, best treasure those Easter eggs. The price of cocoa in the global commodity markets now exceeds the price of copper. Due to a supply crunch, the price of cocoa surged more than $700 per ton on 26 March and has surpassed $10,000 per metric ton for the first time […]
Itâs Decision Time
This week is decision time for a host of central banks that together represent 40% of the global economy with interest rate announcements from the central banks of Japan and Australia (19 March); USA (20 March), the UK and Switzerland (21 March). Will the Bank of Japan decide to raise interest rates for the first […]
Budget Day: What To Expect (And How It Might Affect You)
UK Budget The last UK budget before the UK general election will be delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday. One thing seems certain. Hunt will cut taxes. Things to look out for when the Spring Budget is announced include: – Currency Exchange Rates Update Ahead of the budget, the Pound rose to hit its […]
Uncertainty
A very busy period full of mixed economic data releases is fuelling ever higher levels of market uncertainty. With interest rate expectations for the Bank of England (BoE), the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) in the balance. Both the economic and political outlook remain uncertain. Currency Exchange Rates Update The […]
A Soft Landing
A soft landing An economic âsoft landingâ refers to when an economy slows down from a period of strong growth but avoids falling into a recession. The achievement of an economic âsoft landingâ has been the âholy grailâ sought by the worldâs major central banks since they started sharply raising interest rates in 2022 in […]