SGM-FX insights

Breakfast @Tiffany’s?   Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) announced the acquisition of Tiffany for $16.2 Billion at about the time that you are reading this. This will complement the A to Z of brands that LVMH already own that includes Acqua di Parma, Berluti, Bulgari, Celine, Christian Dior, Dom Pérignon, Fendi, Krug and alphabetically all […]

Thirty Years Ago: The Fall of the Berlin Wall   Since that seismic event in Europe and the ensuing wave of globalization that the world has experienced, it is interesting to see which economies have benefitted most: the answer is of course the USA, Brazil, Russia, India and China. In Europe the biggest winner has […]

Currency Markets   Lots going on in international currency markets largely due to the perception(note the word perception) that the talks and recent activity between USA and China are leading towards the signing of a trade deal later this month. Consequently trade orientated currencies led by the Yuan(CNY) and the Aussie Dollar (AUD) have benefitted […]

No seriously, this is the last one   I hope the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of America Jay Powell doesn’t have a sweet tooth. If he does, he’s in trouble as it appears, he simply can’t stop at one. Much like a child set loose with a biscuit tin, he couldn’t resist just […]

Markets   Optimism was the name of the game on Friday: China-USA Trade and anticipation of a meeting between the two Presidents in Chile next month. Then the identification of a U.K. and Europe pathway towards a Brexit deal. The Hang Seng soared then later in the day the Dow followed suit. GBP rose 4 […]

The World’s Top Performing Currency is?   In case you had not spotted it, it is of course the Russian Rouble which has been as muscular as Russia’s President Putin in 2019. However with a stronger US Dollar battering all emerging currencies, it is likely that the Rouble will lose its crown before the end […]

Largest Risk Facing Global Economy   This is the lack of policy instruments at the disposal of central banks in the event of a financial crisis: with interest rates on historic lows and the ability to provide any fiscal stimulus heavily curtailed, the options available are limited. Nothing obvious in the way of a solution […]

Crude Responses: Oil and Brexit   The attacks over the weekend on Saudi Aramco’s eastern facilities have moved foreign exchange markets. Unlike a lot of financial headlines at the moment, this serious threat to the provision of global energy looks as though it could have an enduring impact upon global FX. Throughout yesterday’s European trading […]

WeWork: Nice work if you can get it- they can’t as it turns out…   Goldman Sachs had previously advised a pre IPO valuation of $65Billion for the trendy hipster office sharing business. Smaller businesses have been struggling to find office space in all major cities worldwide as WeWork have relentlessly mopped up multi occupancy […]

Recession?   About a decade ago you could pick up virtually any newspaper (with perhaps the exception of the Daily Star or the Sun) and see the phrase Double Dip Recession or equivalent brandished on the front page. Whether it was accompanied by a vitriolic attack on the incumbent Conservative government, a backward-looking blame on […]

Fed Up   Powell’s on board – we think – following his testimony to the House Finance Committee yesterday afternoon. The chairman of the Federal Reserve, the United States’ monetary policy and interest rate setting authority, spoke to politicians yesterday offering a dovish testimony that saw the value of the US Dollar fall sharply. The […]

Swing Low   The carry trade is a favourite in foreign exchange (or indeed any) investment: use something cheap to buy something rewarding that you hope in turn is still worth something at the time you decide to cash your chips in. For example, with the Rand yielding 6.75% due to its underlying interest rate […]