Inflation continues to hover at low levels in the Eurozone. Last month, core CPI inflation stood at only 0.7% YoY, certainly disappointing news for the ECB. In the details, when looking at different categories, while services inflation remains stable (at 1.2%), the recent disappointment is mainly due to weak core… Read More »
New research has found cryptocurrency prices are not influenced by any economic factors and instead are driven purely by the mood swing of investors. The stunning rise in the price of Bitcoin, hitting $17,500 last December as it increased by more than 500% in 2017, has seen investors flood to… Read More »
The stars were perfectly aligned for the financial markets in 2017. Strong and synchronous growth around the globe, no signs of inflation, still accommodative monetary policies, few geopolitical events impacting the economy, and strong corporate earnings all made for a solid year. The MSCI AC World Index climbed 24.0% for… Read More »
Donald Trump’s announced sanctions on Iran are proving to be quite a headache for European companies that had re-expanded their business in the market since the July 2015 agreement. It is vital here to draw a distinction between a potential political nuclear agreement between Iran and the other signatories of… Read More »
In any European country whose public finances are fragile, a government elected on the promise of fiscal easing has every chance of finding its path blocked by the censors of Brussels and Berlin. This leaves two possibilities. A headlong rush into the wall or the search for a compromise. The… Read More »
On April 27, North and South Korea brokered peace talks in a joint summit, the first of its kind in more than a decade. After the Korean War ended in July 1953, an armistice was signed to create the Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, however no peace… Read More »
The appointments of Pompeo and Bolton have made a lenient stance on the Iran regime inconceivable. Instead, they support Trump in delivering on his promise to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reinstate extended economic sanctions. It is doubtful if the U.S. manage to convince anyone but Israel to… Read More »
The Federal Reserve is likely to keep hiking interest rates – including at its next June meeting – and the latest labour market report is in line with this view. Last week, the Fed did only minor adjustments in its policy statement, recognizing that both headline and core inflation ‘moved… Read More »
The protectionist issue has not gone away and will probably be with us for some time, but the time has come for talks between the US, China and the European Union, as well as with Mexico and Canada over NAFTA. There have been some indications that agreements might be reached… Read More »
With economic data being on the weaker side, and surveys not suggesting any imminent improvement, we think that the Bank of England is likely to remain prudent and abstain from raising the Bank rate at this month’s meeting. Looking at activity data, we note the weak expansion in first quarter… Read More »