SGM-FX insights

UK: We Will Cut Taxes This morning will demonstrate that it is worth listening carefully when politicians make promises. In this case it is the word “will”, because with the economic tank almost completely dry, while he is a recent convert to the idea of cutting taxes, Chancellor Hunt has limited scope to do anything […]

Two defining developments Both for their respective currencies but also for wider market conditions, recent developments in the UK and Chinese economies will have a significant impact. The two headlines that have recently captured traders’ attention are publications of deflation in China and a push back on declining rate expectations in the UK. Let’s unpack […]

Sea of Green As expected the Bank of England yesterday kept UK interest rates at 5.25%. The accompanying narrative was firm: rates may go up again but the inference is clear, only if it is necessary, but it is much too early to talk about cuts. The market liked this nuanced message and the equity […]

Magnifying glasses We have been speaking about a data-driven FX market for some time now. Ever since the scramble to keep up with the global interest rate hiking cycle began to relax, markets have been forced to look towards data for clues regarding the path ahead. Virtually every developed market central bank that has begun […]

If the Dollar’s not you If you’re seeing the financial world dominated by commentary on the US Dollar but it’s not a currency that affects you, fear not: this briefing is for you. The Dollar and related US assets are without question the most important variables in markets at the moment. The sell-off in treasuries […]

USA In a sign not just for Americans but for everyone, a study based on Affordability 40%, Well being 25%, Healthcare 20% and Weather and Crime 15%, a table of the best and worst states to retire in has been published this weekend. The best are Iowa, Delaware and West Virginia. The worst are California, […]

Chinese Yuan Renminbi Chinese banks have been selling USD and buying CNY in London and New York in the past two days to support CNY at the behest of the People’s Bank of China. While not immediately apparent that it was having much of an effect on CNY given the easy money market conditions with […]

Data Update: UK Inflation Mixed messages for the UK macro economy were received once again yesterday. As the July inflation figures were released, it was clear that there wasn’t going to be one decisive narrative that would emerge as to whether the reading was supportive or destructive to the view that inflation is cooling in the […]

Intervention in the air Over the past 24 hours there has been a lot of talk of intervention and currency management within the market. Besides the Yen whose yield curve control debate has been dominating headlines for some time now, Argentina and Russia are in focus for the potential to take an active management role […]

UK A couple of statistics over the weekend that caught the eye: the first is more marketing than substantive economically, but the second one is rather more significant. Taking the first one, Saffron Building Society is offering its savers who have been with them for more than 1 year the chance to open a monthly […]

UK House Prices Unsurprisingly given the 12 interest rate rises and cost of living squeeze in the UK, the housing market has seen its largest year on year fall since 2009 when everyone was suffering from the global financial crisis. In the year to April the UK housing market has dropped by 3.4% with the […]

Turkish Lira While President Erdogan removed the uncertainty overhanging the Turkish market by winning the election in the run off over the weekend, the news served to cement the certainty that nothing much was likely to change with respect to Turkish economic policy or indeed the subservient role of the Central Bank of Turkey to […]