Oil
Between August 2 and 6 oil traded steadily with Brent at $76.50. That changed just over a week ago with fears of an escalation in the Israel-Gaza conflict and a wider Iran involvement. With a spike up to over $82 the market has seen a rise in the oil risk premium on the grounds that the situation could give rise to prolonged oil supply disruption. So although fears of a US recession drove down oil last week when the market cut its short positions the result plus the fears of supply disruption resulted in the sharp move back up to $82+.
GBP/USD 1.2820.
Working Practices
Post Covid a whole new range of phrases has crept into the working lexicon but, it should be noted, they all apply to the Working From Home reduced office hours end of the spectrum. Apart from the Tues/Wed/Thurs workers affectionately named TWATS, a new variation has crept in for Thursdays: some firms are now saying that the Core Hours are 1100-1400 when employers are “requested” to be in the office, so by implication Thursdays are also optional office days after 1400hrs. At the other end of the working week, banks and especially investment banks “restrict” more junior staff’s working hours to 80 hours per week and have Protected Weekends when employees are encouraged to do something other than work or sleep; however managers are routinely instructing juniors to log the 80 hours but work 95-100 hours plus weekends. Inevitably there has been a recent further tragic death of an intern at Bank of America as he neared the end of his program which may finally force much needed change. Maybe.
GBP/EUR 1.1705.