Market Update
Weekly Market Update
Notable events over the last week US retail sales ticked up 0.2% in November on the back of a 0.1% rise the previous month, just shy of the 0.3% gain predicted. Performance was largely dampened by weak auto sales (down 0.4% in November after a 0.3% drop in October) and cheap oil. US core retail…
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Weekly Market Update
Notable events over the last week The ECB dominated headlines last week underwhelming markets with its latest stimulus package, causing government bond prices to fall and the euro to jump in value. The Central Bank lowered its deposit rate by 10bps to -0.3% and pledged to extend its quantitative easing programme by at least six…
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Weekly Market Update
Notable events Following subdued trading over Thanksgiving in the US, attention this week is largely focused on the ECB meeting on the 3rd of December. Draghi and several board members have remained very dovish and signalled that the central bank is working on a number of different options to ease policy. Markets are now expecting…
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Weekly Market Update
Notable events over the last week In a week of largely positive data for the US, jobs data stole the headlines. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 271,000 in October; a sharp jump from the weak August and September numbers of 153,000 and 137,000 respectively and easily exceeded the median estimate of 180,000. The unemployment rate fell…
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Weekly Market Update
Notable events over the last week The FOMC unsurprisingly held off on raising rates yet again last week, however provided a strong indication that a 2015 lift-off is still firmly on the table. In the statement released on Wednesday, the FOMC specifically mentioned the “next meeting” and expressed less concern about international financial conditions; a…
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Weekly Market Update
Notable events over the last week Last week’s existing US home sales provided further evidence that the US recovery is likely to be supported by the strengthening domestic economy. Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rebounded last month to the second-highest level since February 2007, growing 4.7% to 5.55 million, beating expectations of 5.39 million….
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