SGM-FX insights

  Markets   Big news this week has been the fallback in oil prices to WTI at $61. All eyes in the US and globally on the tea leaves following the Fed’s remarks this week and of course the forthcoming employment data. Bank of England upbeat about UK employment and Governor Carney said yesterday that […]

May Might Miss March M(deadline):     Sat in the pursuit of a synonym for ‘deadline’ that begins with the letter ‘M’ all for the sake of alliteration, it’s easy to let the tumultuous world of Brexit pass you by. Foreign exchange markets seem just as carefree unable to displace the Pound more than 0.01% […]

THE NOES HAVE IT; THE NOES HAVE IT!     In a dramatic series of events this evening, Theresa May’s conservative government has lost the first pivotal Westminsterial vote on her Brexit deal. Suffering a vote of no confidence as a result of her landslide loss in her government, Theresa May’s government is limping but […]

Sorry, come again?   Trouble throughout the Eurozone, the United States and the UK makes for interesting trading within the world’s most popularly traded currency pairs. Marked by a spike in the VIX, a volatility index traded on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, which currently carries a 19 handle, price movements across the board […]

Last Thursday, the European Central Bank undertook and presented what is, and what will be, arguably their most important monetary policy decision of this year. In keeping with the dominant theme from the Governor who hasn’t raised rates since he took office in 2014, the monetary policy decision was vague, dovish and resulted in an […]

European Economic Community   Talks on the formation of a populist coalition government in Italy have dominated headlines for the past week. Following a closely watched and ultimately as yet inconclusive election in Italy that took place over two months ago, a potential coalition between the ‘Five Star’ and ‘League’ populist parties appears to be […]

If it ain’t broke… Fix it. That’s certainly been the message and driver of the European Union (or its predecessors, the previously unbroken European Economic Community, or functioning European Coal and Steel Community). This observation, be it a criticism or a compliment, can’t be levied at the EU exclusively: everything human, perhaps even living, with […]

  A minor weakness in the Euro over the last week has helped to propel the GBPEUR cross to the precipice of the psychological 1.16 barrier. A potential fatigue arising across the Eurozone for concession building and monetary, fiscal and economic integration is one of the main reasons behind the decline.   On Tuesday, the […]

  The European sovereign debt crisis that gripped the eurozone at the beginning of this decade has left the bloc with rose tinted spectacles. During the crisis, the economic performance of key Eurozone member states tumbled considerably. Shown in the Graph below, the economic growth rate within previously flourishing and affluent member states tumbled during […]

  The Euro may have rightly earned its default position of strength and power that is so frequently actively and passively attributed to it when discussing Brexit. One of the principal arguments for forming a monetary Union is security, risk sharing and solidarity. When FX markets must move so freely in developed economies, why not band […]

  The European Central Bank has done very little to benefit the Euro in the past days and weeks. Following the ECB Bank Rate decision on the 8th March the Euro has underperformed. The rhetoric that emerged during the early afternoon press conference following the monetary policy decision has been sustained by a number of […]

Discussion and Analysis by Grace Gliksten:   The interest rate is a monetary policy tool used by central banks to manipulate the macroeconomy. Representing both the reward for saving and the cost of borrowing, interest rates can manipulate the attractiveness of prospective domestic currency exposures.   Unsurprisingly, the Bank of England decided not to raise […]