SGM-FX insights

US Core Consumer Price Index   Those like Federal Reserve Chair Powell who doubt the risk of inflation will be heartened by yesterday’s release which showed a slowing of a rise in core CPI at only 0.1% in August after a 0.3% rise in July. Inflation is not quite over as a risk however given […]

Vax on, Vax off   The relative calm regarding Covid-19 in the northern hemisphere has allowed economies to open up and realise the potential growth stored up over months of lockdowns and socio-economic restrictions. A good part of the true or at least the attributed root of the ability to open societies and economies once […]

Video Camera Glasses   Facebook and Rayban have co-operated on the development of glasses that will enable the wearer to answer the phone, check diary, read mail and surf the net. Well that’s OK then -providing you’re not driving at the time. They will cost USD 295 or GBP215 and will be widely available next […]

Australia   Locked down since July, New South Wales and crucially Sydney is preparing to ease restrictions from the end of September. Currently half of Australia’s 25 million population is locked down and pressure is increasing on the Australian government given its slowness in rolling out vaccines and with the onset of the summer down […]

US Dollar and Oil   The dollar rose 0.1% against the index basket to 92.25 and 10 year Treasury Yields reached 1.36% (the July 14 high was 1.42%). EUR stood at $1.1840. Oil WTI down almost a cent at $68.50 with evidence that consumption remains subdued in the major importing countries.   French Wine   […]

Chip Shortage   Ahead of the Munich Car show when all the top brass of the auto industry traditionally gather after the summer holidays, the CEO of Daimler said that not only would the chip shortage extend through 2022 but would last into 2023. That is code for an early warning about Daimler’s production figures […]

Mexico   News that the Mexican market is now open to the UK’s pork industry is more symbolic than significant. Doing this trade deal may bolster the UK’s credentials for joining the trade pact CPTPP or to give it its full name, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership. In case you are […]

US Federal Reserve   “Substantial further progress” may sound like an end of term report card for a struggling pupil but that was as far as Fed Chairman Powell went with his prognosis for the US economy but restricted that view to the economy only meeting the criteria for inflation but not for labour. That […]

Emerging Market Shift   In the first half of 2020, lockdowns pervaded in much of the Western World. Despite the cause for economic concern in the world’s most developed economies, there was also cause for optimism with a new vaccine that promised to provide a conclusive end to the pandemic approved by one regulator or […]

Chinese companies listing in the USA   Many if not most US investors who buy Chinese stocks listed on US stock exchanges such as NYSE and Nasdaq believe that they are invested in the parent companies in China. There are two risks to that scenario: firstly they are invested in something called VIE’s or Variable […]

Germany   The post WW2 economic power house that is Germany currently looks a bit dented with economic growth for full year 2021 predicted to be 3.7%. So far so good. However what has market analysts scratching their heads is yesterday’s news of ballooning borrowing but much reduced production due to both supply chain and […]

Or Not.   As we wrote about last week, the decision to close the economy of New Zealand due to a suspected case of coronavirus within the community took a heavy toll on NZD. Against the US Dollar, the Kiwi did not find support at its recent lows reached earlier this month and set new […]