Morning Brief – EU Border Controls

EU Border Controls

26,000 respondents in 18 jurisdictions have spoken and 51% of them are dissatisfied with border controls and the level of immigration into the EU. Now that is a statistic that political parties across the EU should sit up and take notice of in the next two months in the lead up to the EU elections due to take place June 6-9. Worth keeping an eye on the Swiss Franc. GBP/CHF 1.1430.

Japanese Yen

The stark contrast between Japan and the rest of the world is reflected in the exchange rate for JPY which, despite the Bank of Japan raising its interest rates fractionally has weakened. The low for JPY was in 2022 when USD/JPY reached 154.94 briefly. We are not there yet, but we are not far off with USD/JPY 151.46.

White Gold

Nothing to do with jewellery, this is what geologic hydrogen is sometimes known as. This type of hydrogen is thought to be part of the answer to wean the world off fossil fuels. Scant detail about the cost of extraction but a white gold rush is under way with exploration sites in USA, Canada, France, Spain, Australia, Colombia and South Korea. 40 companies are now involved up from 10 just over a year ago.
GBP/ZAR 23.92.

Krispy Kreme

By the end of 2026 US customers of McDonalds will be able to order a KK donut with their McCafe coffee whether it be original glazed, chocolate with sprinkles or chocolate with kreme. Donut devotees in the US should have gone down to their McDonalds yesterday as McDonalds were giving free KKs to celebrate the new partnership. While this alliance may do wonders for McDonalds bottom line, it is unlikely to do the same for its customers in a physical sense.
EUR/USD 1.0850.

Gary’s Back (sort of)

Modern day thievery in Lanarkshire, Scotland saw an 8-foot fibreglass gorilla named Gary stolen from a garden centre just over a year ago. While there have been sightings of similar sized primates strapped to the back of a trailer on the M25 near London, Scottish police found that the trail had long gone cold. That was until yesterday when the back half of a gorilla was found in a hedge on the A92 which runs between Aberdeen and Dundee. To be clear, the gorilla had been cut in half vertically which means that while Gary’s back is shortly to be returned to the garden centre, Gary’s front is still missing. The garden centre has issued a statement saying that it is happy in one way to have Gary back.
GBP/USD 1.2645.

I am…I said

This day in 1971 US singer songwriter Neil Diamond released this classic which ascended the charts over subsequent months but only made it to Number 4 in the USA. Hardly a cause for concern for the NYC born superstar who went on to sell 130 million records during his subsequent career.
 
L.A.’s fine, the sun shines most the time
And the feeling is “lay back”
Palm trees grow and rents are low
But you know I keep thinkin’ about
Making my way back
 
Well I’m New York City born and raised
But nowadays
I’m lost between two shores
L.A.’s fine, but it ain’t home
New York’s home
But it ain’t mine no more
 
“I am”… I said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair
 
“I am”… I cried
“I am”… said I
And I am lost and I can’t
Even say why
Leavin’ me lonely still
 
Did you ever read about a frog
Who dreamed of bein’ a king
And then became one
Well except for the names
And a few other changes
If you talk about me
The story is the same one…

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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