The news that incumbent ANC President managed not only to arrest the decline in his party’s share of the vote but reverse it to win 57.5% is a small but encouraging step for the ZAR and the nation.
Hard on the heels of the imposition of US tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods comes the news that talks are going to resume. Having sifted through the goods affected, it is clear that the main area is that of computer and communications technology. Given the push that China continues to make to become a leading global player in that market, it is no coincidence that they will be returning to the table with sharpened pencils. Meanwhile global equity markets lost 2%+ across the board led by the Shanghai Composite that bore the brunt of the poor trade talk.
If you are worth $50 Billion what do you buy? Answer: the toyshop itself. India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani snapped up the loss making Hamleys flagship store at the end of last week from the Chinese company C Banner Intl. A shrewd move given that his company Reliance already manages 88 Hamleys stores across 29 Indian cities and with GBP at the level it is. Could it be better? Both a toyshop and a FX play!
More than 4 out of 10 species of frogs globally are on the edge of extinction due to rising temperatures which encourage the spread of the disease ranavirus. Before you think this is not a UK problem, it is, and the croaking of frogs in ponds and streams will be reducing and likely becoming a rarity in the next ten years. SGM-FX’s James was spotted in his wellies looking for tadpoles in the wetlands of South London over the weekend-bless!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
A revised 2024 The Dollar opens stronger this morning following the Federal Reserve’s decision last night. The decision confirmed interest rates were to stay on hold following this meeting. As we have highlighted following previous decisions, the forward guidance offered by the Chair Jay Powell was once again underwhelming. However, the Dollar’s bid this morning […]
Dot dot dot With the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision looming large tomorrow, there is a significant risk that the Fed will fail to communicate sufficiently. Recently Powell and his fellow US rate setters have been reluctant to commit verbally to how they see the outlook for near term interest rates. Simultaneously, they have also […]
Fuel for the fire An upside inflation miss in the United States has certainly not helped allay many developing nations’ concerns about a strong US Dollar. CPI inflation registered in the United States at 3.7% for the month of August. That compares with a 3.2% July figure which was clearly much closer to the Fed’s […]