SGM-FX insights

Libra: Digital Currency in Doubt?   PayPal pulling out of Facebook’s initiative to create a global digital currency is a key signal to the remaining members of the project which have each pledged but not paid the $10M joining fee. Watch for MasterCard and Visa to see if they follow PayPal. If they do, as […]

Mass Spectrometry   The process of mass spectrometry in its crudest format involves separating the components of a substance into its basic parts to allow us to understand what exactly makes it up. Invented shortly after World War I, the process is still used in areas of criminal and analytical investigation. I reckon it’s about […]

Taiwan and Typhoon Mitag   Despite markets, schools, airports and businesses being shut on Monday here in Taipei, Taiwan where I am writing this, there has been some unexpected good news for the economy. Analysts had concluded that Taiwan would suffer badly from the US-China trade war. Instead international funds are investing once again and […]

How much?!   Outside my window in Johannesburg there is an electronic billboard that, when not tempting me with the nation’s latest trendy tipple, displays an advert claiming South Africa’s best savings rate. On a 60-month fixed term the investment promises returns in excess of 13%. I haven’t been fortunate enough to catch the fine […]

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 […]

UK PLC   Great news is that the employment rate of 76.1% is the highest since (meaningful) records were kept and even though unemployment has edged up slightly, it is still only 3.9%.With 32.81 million people in work and an extra 425,000 jobs created in the past year, the UK employment figures are very good […]

Excuses   Argentina as a nation, with the exception of war, and provided we’re not talking about a specific key national export, is not a global market mover. To be frank, its spending power, population, financial market participation and share of global trade are all too small for the South American nation to move markets […]

Negative Interest Rates   Some of our readers have been asking what this means as they are struggling to get their heads around the concept. Essentially it is akin to a storage charge but imposed by banks for your money rather than by Big Yellow for your goods and chattels. Fortunately in the U.K. at […]

Gold Wednesday   Yesterday didn’t quite resemble the events of 16th September 1992, black Wednesday, when market chaos ensued and the British Pound was forced to drop out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. However, there were dangerous currents afoot across bond, foreign exchange and equity markets showing a widespread flee to safety: perhaps it’ll go […]

Turkey and Trump(TNT-hopefully not)   With Turkey taking delivery of the first batch of Russian S400 missile systems last week, it was inevitable that POTUS would retaliate by imposing sanctions this week. It is unclear what those may include and there is a range of possibilities from the withholding of the F35 jetfighter manufactured by […]

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 […]

Greece   Exit polls are reflecting what was widely expected: a widespread rejection of Syriza and incumbent PM Tsipras. The New Democracy Party led by Kyriakos Mitsokakis has a clear lead with 38% of the vote over Syriza with approx 28%. This will further strengthen Greece’s standing and build on its recent acceptance by the […]