Despite having one of the largest EU unemployment numbers at 3.3million, Spain is continuing to post the highest growth rate in the EU at 2.5%. Next year Spanish growth is forecast to be 2.2% far ahead of the rest of the other largest countries -France, Germany and Italy in the Eurozone. Ole ole! Olé, Olé, Olé!
Commodities: Gold at $1310, WTI Oil at $59.98,
Currencies: With global interest rates having moved sharply lower following the Fed’s announcement on no rate rises this week, expectations are now for lower interest rates in the next two years than previously envisaged. Currency markets calm this morning despite GBP volatility overnight. EUR flat , USD 0.2% lower and GBP up 0.3%.
Equities: FTSE 7355, Dow 25,962.
I0 year Govt Yields: US 2.52, Germany 0.04, UK 1.06, France 0.40, Italy 2.46, Japan -0.07. All 10yr Govt yields on lows.
Last week Mike Love of the Beach Boys celebrated his 78th birthday and here’s part of California Girls from 1965- honestly you had to be there…but if you were, the chances are that you will not remember!
California girls
We’re unforgettable
Daisy dukes
Bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin
So hot
We’ll melt your popsicle
Ooh oh ooh
Ooh oh ooh
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

Gravity Defying If you remove yesterday’s price action and look at news flow alone it wouldn’t make for terribly appetising reading. In particular, there was seemingly no progress emanating from Pakistan from second round talks between the US and Iran. Markets may have been sanguine enough to take no news as good news, however, given […]
A gap lower Markets had been positioned defensively moving into the end of last week. This undoubtedly opened the door to a degree of short-covering moving into the Friday close. In order to sustain such a risk-rally markets certainly would have required more convincing headlines from events taking place over the weekend. Not least amongst […]
Missing haven At the start of the year, the Franc had performed well as a safehaven. As a result of political and economic developments in Japan, the Yen was not abiding by its usual safehaven form. Therefore, defensive plays within FX only had two credible places to go: the US Dollar or the Swiss Franc. […]