SGM-FX insights

A reluctant Fed? Overnight, the Federal Reserve delivered its latest monetary policy decision. A cut was widely expected, however, a lack of available data caused by the recent government shutdown had cast doubts on the Reserve’s ability to take action. That doubt has played through in their decision. Benchmark rates were cut 25-basis points to […]

Condensed Hours This is a relatively new concept which used to be called flexi hours and is available to public sector workers who as we have already written, are permitted to WFH – almost 50% of the public sector are in fact WFH for 2 or 3 days per week and 73% want to WFH for […]

A short lived short squeeze? Sterling is undoubtedly benefitting from a short squeeze. Traders on net had increased positions that benefit from Sterling’s demise leading into the budget. Depending upon the participant’s persuasion, that could have meant gaining an outright short exposure to the currency or, in a more mild form, trimming any or all […]

Part-Time Employment It became fashionable to talk about the “Gig Economy” 20 years ago when technology allowed people to tele commute, and at the same time younger workers elected lifestyle over lucre and went for part time employment, permitting travel and more time for themselves to pursue their non work interests. Then the global financial […]

British Pound A reflection of post Budget relief that it’s over rather than due to its imaginative, growth positive or business friendly measures which are all conspicuously lacking, but British Pound is up over 1% this week. Braver voices than our own have claimed that a more positive view of British business activity is the […]

The Hassett Trade Not another one, I hear you say. So far this year we’ve seen bandied around the TACO trade, the Trump put, FOMO trade, the MEGA trade, surely there isn’t another to surface before year end?! Wrong. The so-called Hassett trade is that which is currently pushing the Dollar lower but coming to […]

Office of Budget Responsibility If matters were not already murky enough, it now transpires that the unscheduled release of forecast on Budget Day was not a first for the OBR. Not really much of a story now that the previous Head of the OBR has done the honourable thing and fallen on his sword. But […]

A week out Markets are now in their final few trading days ahead of a Fed blackout that will precede the Reserve’s decision next Wednesday. The US government shutdown, despite now feeling like a distant memory, continues to weigh on the Dollar and market pricing in general. In particular, as we approach the decision next […]

Gold and Silver As regular readers know we do not offer gold pricing but we do of course monitor the Gold price action as it is a key input into Equity, FX, and interest rate markets. Gold stands at USD 4,205 and Silver at USD 55.62. That gives a price ratio of 75. This week […]

OBR: Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? After Wednesday’s fiasco with the pre Budget post budget forecast release, it is worth looking at how the shadowy OBR is actually constituted. Who are the guardians of the UK’s financial probity? The Office of Budget Responsibility as the UK’s independent fiscal watchdog is supposed to be purer than pure, which is […]

OBR: Oops, Budget Released Traders who might have been out grabbing a coffee ahead of the planned publication of the UK budget yesterday afternoon would have returned to chaos. Reuters, a popular financial news agency, revealed that although not directly discoverable via a link on their website, the OBR had published its report on Chancellor […]

UK Migration of HNWs UK migration has become the focus in recent days in addition to, rather than instead of, immigration which is always front and centre in peoples’ minds and not just in the Isle of Dogs and Epping, as some politicians would have us think. Henley and Partners forecasts that the UK will […]