The EU Commission revised its 2017 Euro-zone GDP growth forecast marginally higher to 1.6% from 1.5% previously, although this was still lower than the 2016 outcome and the underlying tone remained generally downbeat with a high degree of uncertainty over both domestic and US developments.
The inflation forecast for this year was revised higher to 1.7% from 1.4% previously, but with an expected slowdown to 1.4% in 2018 and still below the ECB target.
Chancellor Reeves Market observers were no better informed at the end of the Rachel Reeves speech than they were at the outset yesterday morning. The only surprise was that having comprehensively floated options in the past two months for inclusion in her November 26 Autumn Statement, that the Chancellor should have elected to speak at […]
UK Unemployment by Numbers Work and Pensions Minister Pat Mcfadden defined the art of politics when he announced that 329,000 people “had moved into work” this year and that this was part of the plan to “get Britain working”. The Office of National statistics saw things a bit differently. While not disputing the Minister’s claim, since more […]
USD and US Assets Surely one and the same, so if you own assets you are by definition long USD? Not necessarily. It’s looking like that foreigners are still storing their wealth or buying assets denominated in USD. So cash, bonds or equities primarily. However, this year as we know USD has depreciated by 13%. […]